Tierney Page is a BookTok creator and spicy romance influencer who I’ve been following for a while now. When I saw that she had written a book of her own, of course, I had to read it.
The Other Brother is a contemporary romance, the first in a series of standalones set in London. It’s a rock and roll romance where the heroine finds herself in quite a complicated situation with her ex-fiancé’s brother.
April just got engaged, and everything seems like it’s going great. She’s got the perfect ring, the perfect house, and what seems like the perfect guy, her new fiancé Lucas. But something feels off. Lucas has been distant, even at their engagement party. Then one day, Lucas leaves his phone behind by accident and inadvertently changes everything.
When April’s besties book a retreat to help her recover, they invite Lucas’ brother James to watch April’s cat while they’re gone. As one does. The unavoidable chemistry between them sparks, and the drama unfolds.
Among my biggest problems with this book was the main character April. Nothing about her makes her particularly interesting as a character. Her backstory was generic, and she came off the page very hollow. The most interesting thing about her is that she’s been cheated on, which is simply not enough for a well-rounded portrayal.
James, Lucas’ younger brother, and April’s love interest, is your classic romance hero. He’s moody and broody and also just a little boring. Again, the most interesting piece of his backstory is that he has also been cheated on and can therefore empathize with April. It all just feels very basic and surface-level.
There’s a lot of “telling” in this book. The exposition is just thrown on the page, explaining everything to the reader very simply. It’s also quite melodramatic, something that usually works just fine in a romance novel when done right, but here it feels rather forced.
April and her friends don’t speak to each other in a way that feels authentic. As a matter of fact, the dialogue as a whole is very cheesy. It doesn’t mirror the way that people actually talk to each other.
The spice is good, with passion and chemistry, but it’s not anything particularly special, certainly not enough to make up for what the rest of the book is lacking. It is very consent-conscious, which is something I always appreciate in these cozier romances. Consent is sexy.
There are some fun moments in this book, like when April and her friends gather after her breakup with Lucas. They do tequila shots and sign him up for a Scientology welcome kit in revenge. It was a nice light read, but there just wasn’t enough weight to it to make it truly interesting.
Debut novels are tricky, and I deeply respect anyone who has the guts to put their words out into the world. Just because I didn’t love this book, doesn’t mean it won’t find its people. If you can’t tell, I deeply wanted to like this book. I just couldn’t get past some of the writing and style choices. However, this book is reminiscent of Elodie Hart, a very popular romance author who’s just not quite my thing either. If you like her writing, you will like this.
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