Scan barcode
A review by adammm
The Underdog by Briar Prescott
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.
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.