Sometimes you just want a cozy adventure and Bromantasy seemed like the type of book that would give me just that. Also, how could I resist this very pretty cover and funny puns? Today I want to tell you all about this book and what I thought.
A big thank you to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing me with an eARC to read and review. This doesn’t affect my opinion in any way.
Two heroes. One brain cell.
BROMANTASY is a cozy, queer fantasy about the mortifying ordeal of being known by your totally platonic best friend and the epic quest that might force you to confront the truth.
Fellas, is it gay to kiss your bff while on a quest through the forest you’re unqualified for?
Juniper O’Reilly is good at only two things: demolishing a pint of mead and finding the perfect skincare routine. Everything else—taking care of the farm, bartering for goods, any sort of manual labor—falls to Juniper’s best friend, the absurdly capable, endlessly patient Mo Elmthorn.
But when Juniper accidentally volunteers them both for a quest to kill a fearsome monster, he knows he’s finally gotten in over his head. Juniper hates camping, he hates the dark, and there’s no way all these foraged mushrooms are going to sit well in his stomach. One thing he doesn’t hate? How good Mo’s thighs look in his questing pants—he doesn’t have time to think about that, though, with a monster to hunt and their futures on the line.
But monsters come in all shapes and sizes. When Juniper and Mo realize that the terrifying beast they’ve sworn to kill is just a scared little girl torn from their family, they’re off to find not only the true villain of the story, but maybe even a happy ending.
Review
Bromantasy is a cozy fantasy that feels like a hug and can be touching at times, but it also definitely feels like it’s making fun of romantasy tropes I was here for it. Our main characters, best friends Juniper and Mo, end up on a quest because Juniper gets drunk and signs them up for it. As they’re on their quest there’s one mess after the other. This gives us some laugh out loud moments and I loved the way the author made jokes with present day things and pop culture.
Juniper clearly loves Mo, but hasn’t had the courage to admit this. He’s been looking for security since how he was treated as a child and I think that’s why he’s hesitant to risk their friendship. This does lead to so much communication in this book that it was frustrating at times. I do also believe this would’ve worked just a little bit better if we had had at least a few chapters from Mo’s POV. Once we got them actually talking and admitting feelings, I was sold and really wished that would’ve happened sooner in this story.
That being said, Bear made up for a lot of this. Our little Bear was the cutest thing and she really stole the show. The way our two characters just wanted to make her feel safe was very touching and her love of cheese was hilarious. I have to say I wouldn’t mind a story with all three of them together being happy on a little quest.
Bromantasy was so much fun and I just saw the cover for the next book in this world, Situationship. I’m hoping it’s just as fun. Have you read any cozy books recently that you’d recommend? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
