Isn't It Bromantic?

The Bro-Magnet was a pleasant surprise - a funny, sweet Lad Lit novel written by a woman. Hero Johnny Smith was a great guy but clueless when it came to women, so it was easy to root for him to woo and win the fair Helen Troy. Now Lauren Baratz-Logsted has written a sequel that relies heavily on Johnny's charm and humor to disguise the fact that there really isn't much of a story left to tell. Johnny and Helen get married, have a semi-disastrous honeymoon on a cruise ship, and settle into married life together. There are several funny episodes and the welcome return of secondary characters from The Bro-Magnet, but the stakes don't seem very high and there's not much of a dramatic arc. You have to admire a novel that admits that it's the little things that define a marriage - like not telling your wife that her habit of mangling song lyrics drives you nuts - but it doesn't make for terribly compelling reading. Lauren Baratz-Logsted should have enough confidence in her writing skills to move beyond this series and create a different cast of characters.