The Bro-Magnet: A Johnny Smith Novel

By Lauren Baratz-Logsted

"There are so many memorable moments in this book that I could spend page after page quoting them." —USA TODAY

Poor Johnny Smith.

At age 33, the house painter has been a best man a whopping eight times, when all he's ever really wanted is to be a groom. But despite being everyone’s favorite dude, Johnny has yet to find The One. Or even anyone. So when he meets high-powered District Attorney Helen Troy, and falls for her hard, he follows the advice of family and friends. Since Helen seems to hate sports, Johnny pretends he does too. No more Jets. No more Mets. At least not in public. He redecorates his condo. He gets a cat. He takes up watching soap operas. Anything he thinks will earn him Helen, Johnny is willing to do. There's just one hitch: If he does finally win her heart, who will he be? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diversion Books
• Release date: Feb 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781626816053

Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Lauren Baratz-Logsted has written books for all ages. Her books for children and young adults include the Sisters Eight series, The Education of Bet and Crazy Beautiful. She lives with her family in Danbury, Connecticut.

Reviews for The Bro-Magnet

[ellenavondale · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fun. Believable. We have all known people like the protags.

Two people who saw the way their future was going and took steps to stop it. They tried to hide their "reality" but it came through for all the better.

The writing is interesting. I have not read anything else by this author so I am not sure how she writes. The inner dialogue and the spoken dialog seemed to fit the protags well. The H, a painter, not very well educated but certainly intelligent, had grammar issues and a certain inability to express himself. He did not sound like an idiot, nor was he an idiot; but the h, a DA, was well spoken whose grammar was fine. You really don't "hear" her inner dialogue since the story was told from the POV of the man, an interesting twist.

Overall, it was fun and enjoyable. I have reread it and didn't enjoy it as much the second time as I did the first, some parts of it seeming too too -- too too cute, too too precious, too too unbelievable in some parts.

But an enjoyable read if you don't look at it too too hard.

[ellen1213_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fun. Believable. We have all known people like the protags.

Two people who saw the way their future was going and took steps to stop it. They tried to hide their "reality" but it came through for all the better.

The writing is interesting. I have not read anything else by this author so I am not sure how she writes. The inner dialogue and the spoken dialog seemed to fit the protags well. The H, a painter, not very well educated but certainly intelligent, had grammar issues and a certain inability to express himself. He did not sound like an idiot, nor was he an idiot; but the h, a DA, was well spoken whose grammar was fine. You really don't "hear" her inner dialogue since the story was told from the POV of the man, an interesting twist.

Overall, it was fun and enjoyable. I have reread it and didn't enjoy it as much the second time as I did the first, some parts of it seeming too too -- too too cute, too too precious, too too unbelievable in some parts.

But an enjoyable read if you don't look at it too too hard.

[kaethe_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Poor Johnny. Always a best man, never a groom. Sure, he's thirty-three, good looking, has a lot of friends, a loving family, his own business and home; he has a pleasant, fulfilling life. Romantically, though, there's not a lot going on. And as much as loving circle might like to seem him happily settled down, there's really no prospect on the horizon.

Baratz-Logsted has taken the traditional rom-com formula and made it about a guy. What was rather tired material becomes fresh and amusing when it's a guy trying to find love, following whatever Rules he can get. There is a hilarious poker night that devolves into a lecture on gender essentialism, which is immediately contradicted. There's nesting, and the quest for all the right elements to suggest "good husband material." There are, as well, poignant scenes about love over a long marriage, and at retirement age. There's even the Disney-mandated shopping makeover. But the opera, re-mixed from Pretty Woman, is the set piece of my heart.

Funny, sometimes slapstick, but warmly sympathetic to the characters, my only complaint about the book was that there wasn't more of it.

[cranberrytarts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have to admit, I was turned off this book initially by the title and cover. If the author hadn't contacted me with an excerpt, I probably wouldn't have bothered to read it. Which is a shame, because this was a hilarious, engrossing read.

I struggled a bit through the first couple chapters. After that the story captured me. I actually laughed out loud several times while reading. I even shared passages with my husband, which he snickered at as well.

There are some flaws. The writing was a bit off-putting at first (the style is very informal) and at times I wanted to smack the characters upside the head. But overall it was an entertaining read. I'd definitely recommend it.

[creativejunkie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars

When I started this book, I was super excited. It had a great premise that I hadn't ever read before. Plus, it was told first person, MALE narrative! I'm a sucker for getting into a guy's head, and I actually really love first person books.

I think in this particular piece, it HAD to be done that way. There's no way that Johnny's voice could have come through if this was done in third person. Let's talk about his voice a little, should we? I was laughing so. damn. hard. through the first half of this book. Loud, barking laughter that had my husband looking at me like I was crazy. The storyline was engaging, Johnny was engaging. The first half of this book gets a solid 5 stars from me. And I'd give that part 10 stars if I could.

His humor and personality had me hook, line and sinker. His relationship with Sam was amazing--one of my most favorite things about this book.

But then we got into the second half of the book.

Which, to be honest, was a great big letdown. I felt it dragged on unnecessarily, and it lost the humor that had me wowed in the first place. Through the last half, Johnny...er...John changes almost everything about himself to get the girl (name change, clothing change, complete condo redo, no sports, starts watching General Hospital (whert?), AND HE BUYS A CAT.).

You could see where the story was going from the half way point, which was probably why it was so frustrating. It wasn't hard to see what was going on with Helen, and I think that's why I was waiting for it to just get there already.

Finally, when we did "get there", it was at the end of the book. I had no warm & fuzzy time, as I like to call it--when I get to bask in the wonderfulness of the characters and their eternal love. I got half a page.

This is my not amused face.

So, while this one started out with a bang, it crashed and burned by the end. I'd give the second half of this book 2, maaaaaaaaybe 3 stars, because it was somewhere between being just ok and being likable. But the first half was so funny, so engaging, that I rounded my 3.5 overall rating to a 4 star on here. Who knows? Maybe the 2nd half won't drag for others, and I'd hate to have you miss out on this hilarious book because of how it bothered me.

[paideiamom · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fun. Believable. We have all known people like the protags.

Two people who saw the way their future was going and took steps to stop it. They tried to hide their "reality" but it came through for all the better.

The writing is interesting. I have not read anything else by this author so I am not sure how she writes. The inner dialogue and the spoken dialog seemed to fit the protags well. The H, a painter, not very well educated but certainly intelligent, had grammar issues and a certain inability to express himself. He did not sound like an idiot, nor was he an idiot; but the h, a DA, was well spoken whose grammar was fine. You really don't "hear" her inner dialogue since the story was told from the POV of the man, an interesting twist.

Overall, it was fun and enjoyable. I have reread it and didn't enjoy it as much the second time as I did the first, some parts of it seeming too too -- too too cute, too too precious, too too unbelievable in some parts.

But an enjoyable read if you don't look at it too too hard.

[has_bookpusher · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Full Review to be posted soon:

The cover isn't that inspiring but the GOOD GOLLY the story is really hilariously funny. I laughed out-loud and giggled through out this book of the guy who never got the girl but is always the Best Man. I highly recommend it if you really want a fun book which grabs you and I love the diaglogue and humourous exchanges/scenes - Def will be checking out more from Lauren Baratz-Logsted!

[readerlas · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I had to DNF this one. I just couldn't accept the premise. I'm supposed to believe that a man who's as popular among men as Johnny is so hopeless with women? Then the disgusting conversation with his lesbian friend, where she tells him that he's an idiot for not raping--because, yes, that would have most definitely been rape--a woman who was passed out drunk just made the book unreadable.

The small bit I read reminded me too much of self-described Nice Guys complaining about woman only preferring jerks. In my experience, those guys aren't "nice" at all. I really don't want to see one as the hero of a book.

That said, I found the author's style appealing, and while this book was a disaster for me, I will definitely browse through her other books.

[kaetrin_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Why I read it: I saw tweets about this really funny book from a guy's perspective from Jane at Dear Author and then I saw it on NetGalley so I snapped it up.What it's about: (This is the blurb from Goodreads) Women have been known to lament, "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride." For Johnny Smith, the problem is, "Always a Best Man, never a groom." At age 33, housepainter Johnny has been Best Man eight times. The ultimate man's man, Johnny loves the Mets, the Jets, his weekly poker game, and the hula girl lamp that hangs over his basement pool table. Johnny has the instant affection of nearly every man he meets, but one thing he doesn't have is a woman to share his life with, and he wants that desperately. When Johnny meets District Attorney Helen Troy, he decides to renounce his bro-magnet ways in order to impress her. With the aid and advice of his friends and family, soon he's transforming his wardrobe, buying throw pillows, ditching the hula girl lamp, getting a cat and even changing his name to the more mature-sounding John. And through it all, he's pretending to have no interest in sports, which Helen claims to abhor. As things heat up with Helen, the questions arise: Will Johnny finally get the girl? And, if he's successful in that pursuit, who will he be now that he's no longer really himself? The Bro Magnet is a rollicking comedic novel about what one man is willing to give up for the sake of love.What worked for me (and what didn't): This book is SO funny. I was cackling my way throught his book and I think I started laughing pretty close to page one. Johnny is hilarious. I actually found him to be a really nice, sweet, funny, considerate guy but most of the girls in the book didn't feel that way. When he meets Helen, he so wants to impress her, that he decides to ditch the sports references and other things which girls are always telling him are annoying. Helen is the District Attorney so he also has to cover up his fondness for finding loopholes in the law (he likes the puzzle solving aspect of it) on crime shows and when talking to his lawyer friend Steve. "So let me get this straight,": she says. "It's not loopholes you have a thing for, it's ice holes?" "Oh, yes," I say. "From when I was little and my dad used to take me ice fishing. Ever since he got MS and can't get around as well anymore, I liked to remember the times when we used to be together on the ice, sitting around the ice holes." Well at least the part about his having MS is true. "That's sweet," she says. Hey, I'm on a roll here. "Not only do I like ice holes," I say, "but I like sinkholes." "Sinkholes?" "I mean, I'd hate to get my truck stuck in one, but they're so interesting, the way they just appear all of a sudden. And peepholes, I like those too." "Peepholes?" "It is always good to see who's on the other side of the door so you know whether you want to let them in or not. Oh, and blowholes - you know, whales. They should be saved." "So," she says slowly, reviewing my case item by item. "you like ice holes, sinkholes, peepholes and blowholes?" I nod. "But not loopholes?" I nod gain. Hole this, hole that - even when I'm determined not to just be myself, I'm such an asshole. I just can't help it.Pretty soon, the girls have him watching General Hospital (the conversations about the Cassidines and the Spencers are hilarious!), redecorating his condo and even getting a cat (because, he's told, girls like cats). So, he and his equally clueless-about-women BFF Sam go cat hunting. "Which one should we check out first?" I ask Sam, looking over the listings. "First? What do you think, we're going to drive all over Danbury like we're house-hunting or something, interviewing various feline applicants?" "I'll take that as a 'we're just going to one place and take whatever they have'?" "Precisely. Here's one. 'Free, six adorable kittens in need of a good home'." "But I dont need six. I only need one." "What are you, stupid? We look at the six and pick out the one you like best. How hard can it be?" "But is says 'good home', not 'homes'. Clearly whoever placed the ad is looking to have all the kittens adopted at once." "Oh, for Christ sake Johnny just get in the truck and drive."But, as funny as this book is (Did I tell you? It's REALLY funny), there are some really poignant moments too. Johnny is loyal. He goes to the local hardware store every day to buy supplies for his paint business, partly because he doesn't like being tied down by buying in bulk, but mostly because he wants to help out the local hardware store - he's not a fan of the big chains. He goes to Leo's coffee shop every day out of loyalty to Leo rather than go to a Starbucks or similar. He even goes to Leo's everyday later in the book just to cheer the old man up when he's not really even in the market for coffee. He has an "opportunity" early in the book to get laid but she's so drunk he feels uncomfortable and leaves rather than take advantage of her. See? I told you he's a good guy.In the end, Johnny decides that even though he loves Helen, he has to to come clean because if he can't be himself (or a slightly cleaned up version of himself - he finds he looks good in J Crew, but he really prefers to be called 'Johnny' rather than the more mature 'John'), then she's not the woman for him. Which is also sweet. I liked that he came to the conclusion that he deserved honesty in his relationship.Helen has secrets of her own and I don't think it will come as a surprise to readers that they are more suited to each other than either knows.Because the story is told in Johnny's first person POV, we don't get to know Helen all that much but it's such fun to be in Johnny's head that I didn't really mind that. I would have liked to see another conversation between the couple at the end or maybe a scene showing their life as they decided to live it once all the secrets are revealed but it was otherwise an excellent read.It's very much on the "sweet/subtle" side of the heat intensity so it is suitable for younger readers too.What else? In the end, the message of the book is that there is someone out there for everyone, even self-confessed assholes. Sure, it doesn't have the best title or cover in the world. But, this is a great book. I highly recommend it.Grade: B

[thebooknerd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a fun story -- sweetly romantic and delightfully humorous. I enjoyed the novelty of a romance story completely from the male perspective, and I feel like this author pulled it off admirably. I chuckled many, many times while reading this, and I would definitely recommend that other people give this one a go.

[theepicrat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am not sure what exactly Lauren Baratz-Logsted was snarfing down when she dreamed up of THE BRO-MAGNET, but whatever it was I would like some more please, ma’am, because I cannot remember find a more charming male narrator than Johnny Smith. Irreverent, hilarious, and oh-so-smoother-than-butter, he is absolutely a ridiculous specimen of a man with such poor luck at impressing the female species that I felt so bad for him. I admit the story premise sounds a little far-fetched and predictable as far as matchmaking goes, but I had a most excellent time with Johnny and Helen that I was simply happy to go along with the ride – even if it involved a strange detour to a family-run barn opera. If you are looking for some random and cheerful fun, get ready to be pulled into THE BRO-MAGNET and laughing your pants off (which is good because otherwise you might pee your pants, and I wouldn’t want that to happen!).