Title: Bromantasy
Author: Máire Roche
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication date: May 26, 2026
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Fantasy romance
Source: Purchased
Rating:
Two heroes. One brain cell.
BROMANTASY is a cozy, queer fantasy about the mortifying ordeal of being known by your totally platonic best friend and the epic quest that might force you to confront the truth.
Fellas, is it gay to kiss your bff while on a quest through the forest you’re unqualified for?
Juniper O’Reilly is good at only two things: demolishing a pint of mead and finding the perfect skincare routine. Everything else—taking care of the farm, bartering for goods, any sort of manual labor—falls to Juniper’s best friend, the absurdly capable, endlessly patient Mo Elmthorn.
But when Juniper accidentally volunteers them both for a quest to kill a fearsome monster, he knows he’s finally gotten in over his head. Juniper hates camping, he hates the dark, and there’s no way all these foraged mushrooms are going to sit well in his stomach. One thing he doesn’t hate? How good Mo’s thighs look in his questing pants—he doesn’t have time to think about that, though, with a monster to hunt and their futures on the line.
But monsters come in all shapes and sizes. When Juniper and Mo realize that the terrifying beast they’ve sworn to kill is just a scared little girl torn from her family, they’re off to find not only the true villain of the story, but maybe even a happy ending.
If you’re craving sweet, silly, flirty fun… plus a quest… plus dragons… have I got a book for you!
Bromantasy is the story of two best friends, Juniper and Mo, who’ve lived and worked together on their cozy little farm for ten years. They enjoy their harvests, their sheep and cat, trading and bartering with other local farmers, spending warm evenings by the fire, eating lots of cheese, and drinking delicious mead at the local taverns. They’re also always up for a brawl — such a satisfying way to stretch their muscles and work off any lingering tension at the end of the day!
But Juniper worries that Mo is dissatisfied. Each autumn, he’s afraid that this will be the year when Mo decides he needs more adventure in his life. When an unfortunate mistake (involving drinking and brawling) lands Juniper in trouble with representatives of the king, the consequence is a choice between joining a quest or facing, as Mo puts it, “unalivement”. Mo is not about to let Juniper go off on a quest without him there to look out for him, so with little preparation, the two BFFs find themselves trekking through the land with the goal of capturing and/or eliminating dragons. This is not at all good for Juniper’s skin care routines!
Who knew quests could be so complicated? Until now, Juniper had assumed you just went out and glamped, camped, or cried in the woods, and came home after a brief, mostly uneventful, and slightly depressing vacation.
The quest — full of uncomfortable sleeping arrangements and accidents involving rivers, fires, and trousers — eventually leads Juniper and Mo into confrontation with the non-crown prince, who is both insanely attractive and also quite an arrogant jerk. And soon after meeting the prince, they discover that the fearsome dragon everyone is hunting is actually a little girl (and dragon shifter) who misses her mother and tends to burn villages when she’s feeling scared or threatened.
For the first time in his fool life, though, Juniper forced his body to stay still instead of running headlong into danger. Mo had already done that for the both of them, and they had always had an unspoken pact: When one was in their “running headlong into danger without a second thought” era, the other had to be in their “levelheaded enough not to do that” era.
While Juniper and Mo realize the little dragon girl (named Bear) needs protection, the prince and his followers want to drag her off to the capitol, get a big reward, and then use her to help them hunt down and eradicate any other remaining dragons. Soon, Juniper and Mo find themselves on a heroic quest of their own… while trying to outsmart their enemies, rescue a dragon, and finally — FINALLY — talk about the feelings they’ve spent a decade suppressing.
Prepare for utter adorableness when you pick up Bromantasy! The two lead characters are goofballs with big hearts, competent in different ways, utterly in love, and completely clueless when it comes to one another’s feelings (although the admiring looks, hand-holding, and massages really should have been major hints all along).
Mo’s hand wrapped around Juniper’s bicep. Juniper swallowed hard at the sight, as was common for two men who shared a bond of deep but friendly camaraderie.
The quest itself is entertaining, with a nefarious prince, various henchpeople, a questionably motivated princess, and Juniper’s nemesis (who maybe isn’t actually terrible?) crossing paths and swords, double-crossing one another, and mainly being pretty ridiculous when it comes to actually achieving anything.
Juniper is a total cinnamon roll character, and Mo can be too, although he also leans a bit more toward the strong and silent side of things. Together, they’re a delight, and it positively hurts (except we know it’ll all be fine, so maybe more of a little pinch than actual pain) when they are at odds or (as they do) misconstrue one another’s actions and feelings and end up feeling unloved or abandoned.
But obviously, with a cover and title and premise like this, you just know that Bromantasy promises and delivers a happy ending. This book is oodles of fun, and I’m so glad I picked it up on a whim and read it instantly. What a treat!
A reader’s note: Don’t miss out on how utterly adorable the physical edition is! I love my little paperback…
Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
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