Reviews - All Hail the Underdogs

433 reviews for:

All Hail the Underdogs

E.L. Massey

4.36 AVERAGE

fhilt03's review against another edition

3.75

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

juli_g's review against another edition

3.75

hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

potatogrr_na's review against another edition

4.25

emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

cottagesalam's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

elizabethchristine's review against another edition

4.0

All Hail the Underdogs is a book that hooked me from the start. I adore grumpy/sunshine pairings and this fits the bill. Rome and Damien come from seemingly opposite worlds, but as the story goes on they learn more about each other and how everything isn't as it seems on the surface. This story incites some great conversations about economic privilege and race, which is something I always appreciate about E.L. Massey - she's willing to include real important topics in her stories.

Rome and Damien are young and experience a lot of growth and changes together. The two boys learn how to apologize and forgive throughout these intense growing pains. Their deconstructing and rebuilding as a couple is a wonderful thing to read.

As I read, I kept waffling between giving this book five stars versus four. I really thought this book was going to be five stars for me. However, I felt that the hockey actually took away from the majority of the book. Hockey is definitely a background character in this story, and sometimes it feels like a forgotten background character. I think the story would've been stronger and more meaningful had hockey not been included, which is unfortunate because I enjoyed E.L. Massey's first two hockey books! I also feel that the side characters were forgotten for the last third of the book as well. They were interesting and compelling characters but didn't get their endings like Rome and Damien.

Overall, this book was heartwarming, intriguing, and I love the main characters. It was close to a five star book, and I would recommend it to anyone!

bookish_bonnie's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Just as cutesy as ever, E.L. Massey has written perhaps one of the healthiest LGBTQ+ series ever. There’s no long term misunderstandings. There is tons of accountability. Sincere apologies. Healthy introspection. Therapy speech (used correctly). And much, much more.

There are some heavy topics addressed in this book so there are some potential triggers.

These two might be my favorite Breakaway series couple so far. As much as I love Eli and Alex, Damien and Rome have such a unique communication style (I’ve categorized it as aggressively affectionate) I can’t help but love them together. They’re adorable and bring out the best in each other in the funniest ways possible.

These books are bringing the best vibes possible and curing my anxiety. Highly recommend

Content Warnings

bettielovesbooks's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

What a fantastic book!! The way they went to dislike to understanding and then live was executed so perfectly, so hopeful so full of love, the ending was a little too perfect and a tad unrealistic but sometimes that’s what’s needed!!