Reviews

The Underdog by Briar Prescott

ashish_ras's review

Go to review page

5.0

This underdog is hilarious

My second book by the author. The flirting and banter is next level. So is the grump, Wells and the sweet as honey Anders. A great Rom-com

endemictoearth's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I really enjoyed this! Grumpy/sunshine, body diversity, helping a buddy out to oh no I have feels, and an off-color joke that still has me laughing days later. (The bants were quite good in this one throughout, tbh.)

layla87's review

Go to review page

4.0

Q&A to cover some of the basics?

Q: What are the tropes in this book Layla?
A: Forced Proximity and Friends with Benefits! #DoubleWhamy

Q: Are the characters lovable?
A: YES! Anders is the sweetest big brother, a rock to his family and friends, and Wells is a bitter a$$hole who Anders brings down a peg or two. #MatchMadeInHeaven

Q: So Wells doesn't stay an a$$hole?
A: NOP! He turns out to be a cute fluffy marshmallow covered in sexy muscles. #TransformationComplete

Q: What else is special about this book Layla?
A: Welp... you got Anders who ACCIDENTALLY becomes a triathletE. #LittleBigLies
You also have Wells who is an amputee and has been in a standstill until he meets Anders. #LightUpMyWorld

Q: Steam-o-meter?
A: Medium Steam but so sexy and sweet. #PerfectCombo

Q: Angst-o-meter?
A: Mostly no angst because why not. #FeelGood

Q: Does it have an HEA Layla?
A: Of course it does! A sweet sweet one too! #Forever

teresab78's review

Go to review page

5.0

made me cry; made me laugh

5 big happy stars!!! So many triumphs after so much adversity. I loved both characters and loved seeing them grow as people and fall in love. I really like this series so much!

chris3377's review

Go to review page

inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes

4.0

adammm's review

Go to review page

4.0

On paper, this book features the exact trope that I have always wanted to see: a character training for a race (in this case, a triathlon). As a person who runs far too much and trains for races on the regular yet is still tragically bad at running and no I'm not just being modest - this is what I want to read damn it.

In reality, I was nervous when I picked up this book. Why? Because I have found the series to be incredibly uneven. I read book 2, The Dating Experiment, first, and thoroughly enjoyed it. But then I read book 1, The Happy List... and it was bad. It was bad in such a way that I didn't bother writing an indignant review about it. But The Underdog had the trope I wanted so of course I sucked it up and gave it a read.

And I liked it a lot. I do wish the book focused more on, y'know, the training itself, but it's a romance, so I'll grant it some leeway. This book really ended up being less about the triathlon and more about the former-hockey player (and improbably named) Wells and his psychological recovery from a leg amputation. And, like, I'm kind of here for that. His counterpart, Anders, is incredibly realistic and downright funny. And there wasn't a speck of GFY or coming out here! Oh, and best of all? Nobody went from barely running five minutes to winning a race. We love a realistic storyline.

This is a good book. Recommended if you like characters with weight differences; hurt/comfort/recovery; sports romances (kinda); and relatively normal people doing relatively normal things.

robazizo's review

Go to review page

3.0

3.5 stars. It started out a bit slow and missed some oomph at times, but overall this was a cute story about two underdogs actually. Wells and Anders both deserved to find love badly, both in different ways and I really liked both characters. Wells' journey back felt real and Anders finally found the time for himself he deserved. And what's going on with Max and Isac?

lunariver's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

aimora's review

Go to review page

4.0

This managed to feel fluffy despite the serious subject matter. The epilogue was especially sweet.

brokenrecord's review

Go to review page

4.0

This was pretty cute! Not my favorite Briar Prescott, and probably my least favorite of this trilogy, but still very enjoyable. I liked the dynamic between Anders and Wells and how they got to know one another and broke past each other's boundaries. My biggest complaint was
SpoilerAnders overhearing Wells talking to his friend at a party about how he wasn't like them because he didn't want the guy to set Anders up with someone else, but Anders misunderstands. I hate cliche/forced misunderstandings like that generally speaking, but I did think it was handled well — Anders pulls away and Wells is confused, but they sort things out shortly after that, and there's no major blow-up or anything. And the "I thought you didn't want to kiss me again." / "All I want to do is kiss you," exchange was very sweet.
So yeah, I enjoyed this. I'm curious about the Max/Isaac romance that seemed to be set-up here. I'm not 100% sure if I'm on board for it, but I'm curious enough to read their book.