 Bromance Posted by Beth Andrews Jul 20 2012, 5:39 am
After all, I am a romance writer But I’m not talking about the romance between Sherlock and Irene or even the one between Watson and his beloved Mary. What I’m talking about was the clear and heartfelt affection between Sherlock and Watson. These two men are as close as brothers who, though they often disagree, would risk their life to keep the other safe. And while Watson wanted to move on with his life with his new fiancée, he just couldn’t force himself to walk away from Holmes. Not completely. Just as Holmes couldn’t imagine his life without his trusted sidekick and did everything in his power to dissuade Watson from leaving (luckily, he came around in the end and even helped Watson get Mary an engagement ring *g*)
I love when friendship between men is portrayed so well! Nora Roberts does an excellent job of this, especially in books like her Sign of Seven trilogy about three lifelong friends who are destined to fight a horrible evil. Another favorite is the bond between the men of Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooters and Tall, Dark and Dangerous series. What are some of your favorite ‘Bromances’ in books, movies, TV and/or real life (Matt Damon and Ben Affleck? Matthew McConaughey and Lance Armstrong?)? Posted in Beth Andrews, bromance, heroes Comments68 thoughts on “Bromance” |
  
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Is he coming for a visit
Have Fun
Helen
Looks like he is here again, Helen
Helen, congrats on the rooster? Better lock up your Tim Tams!
Helen, I wonder if the GR has any good buddies? Have fun with him today!
Beth
I too loved both of the Shelock Holmes movies and totally agree with the love between them they would do anything to help each other yep you are going to love the 2nd movie I think it was even better than the first.
Friendships and caring for each other is such a big part of the romance stories I read whether it be brothers and sisters or just great friends and I have read many series with this being a big part of the over all story line I am reading Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh the newest book in the Psy Changling series and this group or packs as they are known are so supportive and protective of each other the love shines through. I don’t watch a lot of TV so no shows come to mind.
Enjoy watching the movie
Have Fun
Helen
Helen, Nalini Singh is on my list to try. Which of her books do you like best?
Nancy
Start with Slave To Sensation that is the first in the series I am sure you will be hooked they are fantastic stories I think my favourite in the series has been Carresed By Ice so far although I truly have loved all of them.
Have Fun
Helen
Thank you, Helen. I’ll check them out.
Helen, I totally agree! Friendships and family relationships are so important and I love reading romances that show the hero and heroine having close ties with others
I don’t really watch too much TV or movies these days but I do remember Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid….. is that showing my age lol
Barb, that movie was in TV here recently. The dh and I enjoyed watching it. Newman & Redford were great in The Sting, too.
The Sting was on the other night too! LOVED that!! :>
LOL, Barb. I’m always showing my age so I let it shine *g*
I watched that movie years ago – definitely a great bromance between those two
Bromances are funny and cool… it shows a great connection between men and how they care for each other.
However, I have seen it destroy friendships too. I’m right in the middle of one actually – really I am – and it’s not a pretty sight!
Years ago, I befriended a married couple. And they introduced me to a wide circle of friends. One of them was a lovely man named Will. He’s sweet, charming and made me laugh. Now, Will and I met a little over 2 years ago and it wasn’t until late last year I had real, honest and wonderful heart-felt feelings of love for him. However his best mate – the man of the married couple – wasn’t pleased about this. He didn’t like this in the least and has been doing his best to keep me away from Will… the wife has been trying to explain that Will needs to find a new woman (and is thankful it’s me and not some little weirdo off the street) but nope, her husband doesn’t want me to love Will….
I talked to my brother about this (he’s had plenty of male friends and lots of male bonding sessions over many pints of beer with his buddies) and he told me that getting in the middle of bromance is really messy… but can be overcome; so long the guy I’m interested in hasn’t told me he doesn’t like me – which he hasn’t. So! There’s hope for me yet!
As for the best mate being weird and jealous? Well, let’s cross that bridge when we come to it, shall we?
Yeah, bromances…. cool and charming in the movies and television…. not so great in real life!
Mozette, good luck with that!
Sorry to hear that, Mozette! Hope things work out for you.
Thanks… I hope so too. I guess I have to be patient and see what happens. I’m in no rush to get into a relationship – all great ones take time – and I’m not out to hurt Will because he’s such a lovely man.
I just don’t think his best mate sees this… Will has said to me to wait until next year; and we’ll start looking into getting together more… and if his best mate doesn’t like that, well too bad.
Beth, I was just watching an episode of ‘Lewis’ tonight – a British crime show where Lewis is the inspector and Hathaway is his younger, better educated sergeant. They’re very different types but both are laconic with a self deprecating sense of humour and what comes through is a pair who respect and like each other enormously. Terrific stuff.
Annie, that sounds like a great show. I don’t think it has made it here yet.
Annie, I’ve caught an episode or two of “Lewis” . How and where I can’t remember, maybe late night on BBC America, (insomnia has it’s benefits) Loved those two!
I found it! It is available on Netflix’s watch instantly. Have added it to my queue
Hi, Annie! I’ll have to check out Lewis. Maybe I’ll get lucky and I can find it on Netflix *g*
I caught one episode of a new show on USA called Common Law about two very different men who are police detectives/partners. I loved it but haven’t caught any more episodes.
I really need to watch more TV
Beth, I saw one episode of that and enjoyed it a lot. Couldn’t remember the title, though.
I think it’s on Friday nights which is probably why I never seem to get to watch it but you’d think I could remember to set the DVR!
I think that’s why I seldom see it. We get busy on Fridays, and we don’t Tivo or have a DVR.
While the critics panned that one, I liked it. I also like the collaboration between Neil and (Yikes, forgot the char. name!) on White Collar!
THere’s sort of a Bromance Triad in Criminal Minds with all the male characters. :>
Beth, I hope you enjoy the movie. We did.
In the Silver Age comic books, Superman and Batman were close friends. Now, not so much. In recent years, the two have had conflicting outlooks.
On Burn Notice, Mike and Sam have this kind of relationship. So do Neal and Peter on White Collar.
The guys of Catherine Mann’s Dark Ops, Cindy Gerard’s Black Ops, and Dee Davis’s A-Tac have similar but wider bonds. There are groups like these in historical romance, too, but I’m drawing a blank at the moment.
Nancy, I love Burn Notice but haven’t watched all the seasons yet. Yes, Mike and Sam have a great relationship.
I also loved the relationships between Andy Sipowicz and his various partners.
Sipowicz is a great choice. And how could I–of all people!–forget Kirk and Spock?!
LOL! Well, I forgot them because I’m not much of a Star Trek fan but they did have a great bromance!
Hahaha! You beat me to it, but yes, totally on Kirk and Spock!!
I’d have to say George Clooney and Brad Pitt. For the pretty factor alone.
Then there’s Jo Beverly’s Rogues series. Excellent example of this sort of Bromance. Love those books!
LOL.Great pick, Terri!
Actually, now that I think about it (and am thinking about Robert Downey Jr *g*) there was a blooming bromance between Tony Stark and both Steve Rogers (more conflicted to start) and Bruce Banner in The Avengers. Fun stuff
Will have to check out the Rogue series!
I really liked that commaraderie, Beth. I felt like it was really building a great rapport for future movies. :>
I second Terri on Jo Beverley’s Rogues mention. I also think bromance is a thread in the Beverley’s Malloren books with the relationships among the brothers. Others include Mary Jo Putney’s Fallen Angels, Anne Gracie’s Devil Riders, Courtney Milan’s Turner Brothers. Grace Burrowes’s Windhams. The friendships that developed among the marines who fought together is an ongoing thread in Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series. I think Nora Roberts does a lot of bromance. There are the brother series, of course–the Quinns and the MacKades, and the guys in her Key trilogy are life-long friends with that real-guy relationship she does so well. JoAnn Ross is another who does bromance well.
Hey, Janga! Thanks so much for all the great suggestions – so much bromance out there, so little time
Janga, I love the Quinns, too. And speaking of Nora, Gulliver Currie and Dobie Karstain in Chasing Fire have a kind of bromance thing going on that’s very cool.
I still haven’t read Chasing Fire. Must remedy that as soon as my WIP is finished!
You really have to! It’s now my favorite Nora.
I particularly liked Gull and Dobie too, Nancy!
Hey Beth!!! You are sooooooooooo going to love the second Sherlock Holmes movie!! I did and I’m pretty sure they’re planning a third! YIPPEE!!
Bromances, huh?
Well there was the Bromance between Mel Gibson’s character and Danny Glover’s in all four of the Lethal Weapon movies! And in books, I adore the relationship between the brothers in the Black Dagger series by JR Ward. I also think Jo Davis/JD Tyler does an excellent job with her alpha males, be they firefighters of shape shifters.
I’m looking forward to the movie, Suz!
Oh, the bromance in the Lethal Weapon movies is a great one! Love those movies *g*
Oh, Suz, I LOVED the Lethal Weapon movies! So good!
Beth, I forgot to add that I love the Sign of 7. That’s one of my favorite ever series.
Mine, too, Nancy. It was a bit darker than some of her other paranormal stories but I think that added to the urgency.
I agree. The dark elements, some of them with horror overtones, ramped up not only the urgency but the stakes.
Beth, I have to admit I haven’t seen the new Sherlock Holmes movies. I really need to get back onto Netflix! But Bromance is something close to my heart right now as I’m writing a hero-centric trilogy featuring three guys who have been friends since Eton and I’m loving writing the interplay between these stiff upper lip Englishmen who clearly have great fondness for one another and would take a bullet to save their friends!
Anna, that sounds very cool!
Anna, that sounds so great! Can’t wait to read their stories *g*
Thanks, guys. Never realized I’d enjoy writing a series so much – you can really build on these relationships across several books, can’t you? And yes, I know I’m speaking to the converted here!
Oooooh, Anna! Ever since you told me about this interlinked series I’ve been dying to read them! Can’t wait! :>
Hey, thanks, Duchesse! Just wrote a Bromance moment so Wonder Beth’s post was extremely apposite.
Ahhhh, Bromance
You named my faves. The Seven trilogy is a standout for me because of that relationship, and I love me some Sherlock Holmes! Nora Roberts’ Chesapeake Bay series is so wonderful for that, too. Seth’s story is my favorite, but the way they brought that boy into their lives and made him a part of the bromance is so heart-warming.
Tawny, you know I love all of those, right?
Oh, Tawny and Nancy, I love those too! :>
Oh, man, I love them, too. Especially Ethan’s story – but then you probably guessed the most tormented one would be my fave *g*
Hey Beth! I love Bromances. I really love the interplay of “guy-stuff” with how each individual character handles their other life-relationships. That’s really well done in the Lethal Weapons movies.
Beth you’re going to LOVE Sherlock as it’s there too. SO well done!!
Kirk and Spock, and Nancy mentioned, have to go down in Movie History as one of the best all-time bromances. :> Even in the re-boot movie, they’re setting that up. Scottie, Sulu, Checkov and Bones kinda make it a kinky-six-some Bromance. SNORK!
There are some other great ones in TV and Movies and I’m not remembering them…I just know it…
I loved the bromance in the old Wild, Wild West TV show with Jim and Artie. Which puts me in mind of the really cool bromance in Men in Black I, II and III. Grins.
Jeanne, that’s true about the cast of Star Trek, I think. I’d forgotten Wild, Wild West, but I agree with you there, too.
Jeanne, I think well done bromances help show a different side of male characters which is so intriguing especially when you compare bromance to female friendships *g*
Scottie, Sulu, Checkov and Bones kinda make it a kinky-six-some Bromance. SNORK!
Geesh, Jeanne, I couldn’t even come up with that!!
LOL!!!! Love that!
Hee!
Of course, I left out books! Arrrgh, how could I? Grins.
I like all of Nora’s bromances, from the most current Boonsboro Inn series, to Chesapeake series to the single ones lik Chasing Fire’s Dobie and Gull. :>
Y’all are going to love the bromances in Nancy’s series! (I’ve read ‘em and you’re gonna LOVE ‘EM!!!) :>
Suz’s Surrender has a pretty awesome bromance going there too….Grins….
Also, my friend, Barbara Devlin (Guesting with us on 8/4) has a debut series with a secret society of “brothers” – serious bromance!)
Thank you, Jeanne!
I was going to chastise you for forgetting Dobie and Gull, but then I saw you remembered.
Ya know, Suz does have great bromance goin’ on there, a lot of it. Leigh Greenwood’s The Cowboys was another family-style romance. If not quite as smokin’ as Suz’s. *g*
And you’ve got a bromance going on with Gates and Dav in Deadly Little Secrets and Deadly Little Lies.
Any bromance in your upcoming Deadly Charms?
Indeed I do, Nancy! Deadly Charms is the beginning of a new series which has a sort of “band of brothers” in it. :>
Nancy, you’re so right. Our Jeanne does lovely Bromancey lurve!
Can’t wait to read Nancy’s series and Jeanne, I’m thrilled you’ll have a new series out! Yay! More bromances for me to read
Thanks, Beth! I’m looking forward to seeing it in book form.
Aww, thanks ladies for lovin my Los Hombres boys! Poor Will, if y’all knew where I’ve left him in the story for the past few months, you’d all be volunteering to help the poor guy out!!! hehehe