TWO HEROES, ONE BRAIN CELL, AND ONE ANXIETY SPIRAL I RECOGNIZED IMMEDIATELY

The cover says “Two heroes. One brain cell." and I want you to understand that this is not marketing. That is a load-bearing description of the entire book. Bromantasy is a queer cozy MM romantasy about two men who go off to slay a monster despite having, between them, approximately one usable skill and zero relevant experience. Juniper Reilly is a tavern brawler who hates camping and is afraid of the dark, which are both extremely inconvenient traits for a person who has agreed to go monster hunting. Morn Elmthorn is his roommate and is competent, which in this genre is its own kind of romance. They set off. It goes about how you’d expect, right up until it doesn’t. This is one of my favorite books I’ve read this year and I have been insufferable about it. The pivot There is a shape that cozy adventure books fall into. You know the shape. Two charming people banter their way across a map, hitting set pieces, and around the 60% mark your brain quietly notes that the last three…