The Guy on the Right

The Underdogs, Book 1

By: Kate Stewart

Narrated by: Aaron Landon, Angie Hickman

Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Strike One: My mother named me Theodore after her favorite chipmunk.

Not cool, Mom.

I‘ve spent most of my life answering to Teddy because I couldn’t make Theo work.

Except for here. College. The place where all bets are off, and I’ve managed to redeem myself. There’s only one problem, my new roommate, Troy, is football royalty and looks like he stepped off the set of an Abercrombie shoot.

Doesn’t matter, I cook a mean breakfast for his panty parade, and we get along well. And anyway, this year I got the girl. And she’s perfect.

That’s right. Theodore Houseman, former band geek, now marching-band rock star has finally landed the girl of his dreams

Everything is perfect.

That is, until Troy takes a good look at her.

I’m not going down without a fight. As a matter of fact, I’m not going down at all. As glorious as these days may be for my all-star roommate, Laney is my end game.

I may not know much about play strategy, but I’ve been the good guy my whole life. I’ve been listening, and I know exactly what women want. Framed in a picture standing next to me, Troy may seem like Mr. Perfect, but he’s underestimating the guy on the right.

©2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Another Kate Stewart hit!

Where does Kate come up with all these perfect men???? I can’t get enough of her books!

#relivingmycollegeyears

TYVM to everyone who rec'd this! ❤ I am loving this so much! It's funny (sooo funny at times!) and a realistic slow romance that leaves you with all the feels. Who doesn't know Madea!? 🤨 Yes...I realize these are fictional characters but I still yell at them lol.

This is how it’s done

This book was a masterclass in writing a fun friends-to-lovers. Sometimes I get pissed off at how hard it is to find one of these novels with main characters over 30, like, how about some legit adults and not just zygotes??? But Lainey and Theo were SO fun, and SO drunk on each other, that their youth felt perfect. I lolled A LOT. They really embodied ‘hot girl’ and ‘underdog’ (but also ‘hick’ and ‘city’ then later on 'lady' and her 'knight') without turning those tropes into caricatures. These two were completely likeable and authentic and sexual and hot.

The writing didn't repeat or dumb it down. It had me looking things up ... like wait, snipe hunting?? freelance repo work?? scholarships for band?? Uh... ghostin’ the whip??? 🤯

Likes: the mfc/mmc were committed by the midpoint, so a lot of the story was devoted to letting us feel the feels. Also I loved their clingy inseparable love. Dislikes: the female narrator, the guy should have read the whole thing, he was great. Also the ending was a bit ott for me AND the author used that ‘we need a break to thrive’ myth that so many of these stories use when the mains are young, (ie. solo months in another city, or long solo international vacation, or solo overseas deployment) I hate it.

One last observation, women reviewers who hated this beta male must hate looking in the mirror. It’s obvious that Theo was written using romantic heroine traits. It’s actually a loathing of femininity that triggers people.

Wow!

Wow! I am impressed with this book! I thought it would be a while bunch of cheesing lines but it wasn't.

I could have done without all the hashtags at the end of most of the chapters, though. #itannoyedme

Loved this!!

Kate Stewart does it again!! Love this truly genuine underdog love story. The male voice was spot on, the female narration was good, loved her southern drawl, at times though I felt she sounded robotic.

Great for 3/4 of the Whole

I like Stewart’s sense of humor, and certain characters she writes allow that cheeky side to shine. Lainey is so easy to like and listen to. Theo’s character is a good example of both wunderkind boyfriend and beta-male toxicity. I know there must be an obstacle that keeps the lovers apart, but I balked at this one. I get it; it’s realistic, too. But I also hate the ultimate outcome.

If I can’t read romance for the escape, I’m not going to read them. There is much to admire here, but I wish I would have skipped this one. A lack of trust is a lack of trust. Boooooooo.

File Under: Not Enough of an Escspe

HEA

Theo and Lainey, from friends to everything to each other, their story is HEA in its finest form.

Terrible Voice - Good Story

Absolutely could not STAND the feminine voice. She made Lenny sound like a little girl and super whiny. I almost stopped listening because of it but kept going because I liked the story.

loved it

incredible!! love love love! The book and narration is off the chart! Again, well done Kate Stewart

Loved it.

What a great story. I was intrigued from start to finish. Love love loved Laney.