ARC / Book Review

The Bro Code by Elizabeth A. Seibert

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* Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of The Bro Code in exchange for an honest review*

Synopsis

As a certified stand-up bro, Nick Maguire knows that some things in life are sacred: Do not skip ab workouts. Never back down from spicy foods. And always accept the outcome of Rock, Paper, Scissors. For these are the revered doctrines of The Bro Code, rules of conduct that have been passed down through the ages from bro to bro.

Heading into his senior year, Cassidy High’s star soccer player has his priorities straight and intends to spend his time playing sports, hanging out, and living by the code. But when his best bro Carter’s sister Eliza returns from studying overseas, the awkward, academic girl Nick remembers is different.

Carter might be Nick’s bro, but Eliza becomes his whole world—and he has to make a choice between them. Is being with the girl of your dreams worth breaking the most important rule: never date your best friend’s sister? Somehow, Nick never expected that following The Bro Code may have even bigger consequences than breaking it.

What I Liked

Bros* before hoes**
*A bro is any dude, chick, they, or robot in a bro’s circle of friends.
**A hoe is any dude, chick, they, or robot who is toxic, disingenuous, or only wants to be around you for attention.

Rule number 1

There were quite a few things I liked about The Bro Code, but I thought I would enjoy it more than I did. The characters are likeable and I found myself wanting to get to know them more. Each chapter is a different rule of the Bro Code which is a nice insight into the boy’s world. It also brought back a lot of high school memories including the ‘he likes, she likes’ drama. However, sometimes the characters were a bit over the top, making them unrealistic at times. But I was able to move past this for the majority of the book.

The Story

A bro shalt treat his mother like a queen.

Rule number 7

We follow Nick, Carter (his best friend) and their group of ‘bros’ through their senior year of high school. Enter Eliza, the girl Nick is in love with but doesn’t realise yet. The only problem is he can’t have her due to rule number 4 of the bro code: Don’t date your bro’s sister.

I did find the story a bit slow in the beginning, but once I got to know who the characters were, I got more into it. The whole premise of the book revolves around the ‘bros before hoes’ concept and I enjoyed it for the most part yet I did think it was a bit cringy to read about. The boys were oblivious on how to treat girls at the beginning and sometimes ‘boys will be boys’ doesn’t make up for that. It can be argued that Seibert purposefully made these boys unaware of girls thoughts and feelings to amp up the dramatic change the boys make of themselves.

The romance between Nick and Eliza is quite sweet and enjoyable seeing as there is this kind of forbidden love between them. As well as a love story, issues such as toxic masculinity and homophobic behaviour are tackled. This is great for a young adult book, especially a high school romance, as it teaches a younger audience about toxic behaviour and how to deal with it.

The Characters

A bro shalt text a love interest whenever a bro wants.

Rule number 11

Eliza was my favourite character by far. She is always the one to call out the boys behaviour and always thought of her own happiness before jumping into a situation. Because of her past, she was very sensible throughout especially when it came to dating.

I couldn’t stand Nick or any of the other boys at the start of the book. I know they are immature students going into their last year of high school, but I feel like it was a bit excessive and too stereotypical at times. Once they started to realise that high school was coming to an end and had to grow up, they became a lot more bearable and I ended up really liking a lot of the characters and rooted for them to do well.

Overall Thoughts

A bro shalt decide for themselves what rules are worth following.

Rule number 25

It was a nice change to read a young adult, high school romance and just forgot all about my adult problems haha! I wish I liked it more, but it seems like a book I would have really enjoyed a couple of years ago before I started really reading adult fiction.

Rating: 3/5