The Barkeep and the Bro (Single Dads Club #3) by A.J. Truman


Mitch and Charlie dance around their mutual attraction in The Barkeep and the Bro

From the blurb:

I’m his boss. He’s my daughter’s ex-boyfriend. This has nope written all over it.

For twenty-five years, I’ve been in an exclusive, all-consuming relationship with Stone’s Throw Tavern, my family’s local bar.

I don’t need a boyfriend. What I need is a new bartender.

And what I get is Charlie, my daughter’s old college boyfriend, a guy who still acts like he’s chillin’ at the frat house. He was canned from his Wall Street job and escaped to small town Sourwood for a fresh start.

He knows bupkis about bartending, but he makes up for it with his cocky charm…and the tight shirts he wears, which secretly drive me wild. Now I’m making up excuses to hang by the bar during his shifts.

There’s a pile of reasons why I can’t cross the line with an employee. Especially this one. He’s twenty years younger than me, and I’m a foot taller than him. Even on a purely mathematical level, this can’t work.

And yet…

The growing heat between the fratboy and me burns like a shot of whiskey. I just need to keep my beer can in my pants, or else I could lose my business and my daughter.


The Barkeep and the Bro will serve you up a glass of age gap, size difference, boss/employee, grumpy/sunshine, small town romance goodness, garnished with humor and lots of heat. And it won’t even ask for ID. This is the third book in the Single Dads Club series, but can be read as a standalone. 


Jacquie's Review:

The Barkeep and the Bro felt like the finale for the Single Dad's Club and it went out with a bang, rounding up all the characters and catching up with them at important points in their lives.

Mitch and Charlie were the perfect grumpy/sunshine pairing, and I adored how Charlie went about his bi-awakening with the support of his roommate, Amos (can't wait for the series he's in!).

Charlie showed a lot of growth in the book and had his eyes opened to a few things. I liked how Mitch took a chance on him and helped him grow.

Plenty of steam and sweet moments in an entertaining read.

Rating: 5 Stars


Miki.J's Review:

This book was soo much fun.  

Mitch is the grumpy older guy and Charlie is the bright, positive and laid-back younger guy.  

I absolutely loved this book – it made me laugh and cringe and just filled me with happiness.  

There was no over the top miscommunication twists or anything …. just a very real-like story about two guys who fall for each other, while also realising that all they have to do is live their lives … and not how others expect them to.  

Also, I enjoyed that the other “single” Dad’s do appear in this book and I loved meeting the new characters (can’t wait for next series).  

Overall, The Barkeep and the Bro is a thoroughly enjoyable book and a great series !!  

Rating: 5 Stars


Sheena's Review:

The Barkeep and the Bro is the third in a series, and while you could read it as a standalone you'd get much more out of this if you read the other two first, as both couples appear prominently in this book too.  

This is Mitch and Charlie's story, and it's a grumpy/sunshine, age gap romance with tons of heat and more than a little awakening.  Perhaps for both men.  Mitch has spent his life married to his bar and bringing up his daughter, now she's getting married and his friends are happily involved, perhaps the bar isn't all there is anymore.

Charlie is fired from his Wall Street job, and needs a new direction so heads to the only place where he has friends left.  He takes a job in the bar and discovers a previously unknown side to himself when he's attracted to his ex-girlfriend's father.

First of all I loved Charlie's relationship with his friend Amos, they were so funny together and I like that we are going to see more of Amos because he's an intriguing side character.  Charlie teaching Amos and his friends to flirt was a hoot.  I liked how open Charlie was straight away to discovering his sexuality and didn't shy away from experimenting.  Him and Mitch together though were 🔥🔥.  I loved the banter between them, I liked how things developed until they got together, and how you could see Charlie changing and growing as the book went on.

I liked the cameo appearances from the other couples in the previous books, it made sense as they're best friends with Mitch his entire life.  My only pick is that once they got together it was instant love almost, which is a peeve for me.  That's minor in the grand scheme of things because I really liked this book and it wraps up things for the single dads nicely.  

I understand we're not done with Sourwood though and I'm here for Amos and his friends.

Rating: 4.25 Stars


Heather's Review:

The Barkeep and the Bro really did feel like the end of a chapter - having read and loved the first two books in the Single Dads Club series, I was waiting impatiently for Mitch's HEA and I have to say that The Barkeep and the Bro was the perfect one!  

If you love an Age Gap, boss/employee, grumpy/sunshine style romance with size difference and a little snark, you'll definitely want to add The Barkeep and the Bro to your tbr - but do you want to do it without reading The Falcon and The Foe and The Mayor and the Mystery Man, IMHO, you can but you really don't want to...  as a series it comes together and gives you a breadth of characters and depth of storytelling that you will want to sink into!

I have to say that I'm so glad that while we're done with this particular series, we aren't leaving Sourwood yet and that some friends who have been circling the series will be getting their HEAs soon!

Rating: 5 Stars


Nicole's Review:

What a smoking hot Age Gap, Forbidden Love story!  I fell in love with these characters.

The scenes in this book were ON FIRE 🔥 🔥 🔥 I loved Charlie’s arc. He went from a fratboy bro with no drive, to an amazing man with a future and goals. Mitch was my favorite kind of bear, wanting all the snuggles and knowing when to take charge. 

If I had to change anything, I do think the daughters ex boyfriend was a little stretch (I did know going into the book). I think I’m more of a fan of the sibling ex trope, if only because we now have dad and daughter potentially having babies the same age 🤷🏼‍♀️ 

I definitely will be going back to read the first two installments in this series. The dynamic between Russ and Cal has me very excited to read more!!!"

This is the 3rd installment of the the Single Dads club series, and my first. I could tell the other characters who had already had their stories, but had no trouble filling in the blanks. 

Rating: 4.5 Stars

The Barkeep and the Bro is currently available in e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription

Comments

  1. Thank You for sharing these great reviews. I also love this series now I can't wait to read it!!

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