New Release Review: Underdog by L.A. Witt

14 September of 2022 by ButtonsMom2003

Underdog By L.A. Witt

Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM

Tropes: Ex-con, farmer, family business

Released: September 13, 2022

Publisher: Heart Eyes Press

Series: In Vino Veritas, Book 4

Length: 402 Pages

Cover Design: Christine Coffey

Synopsis

Life in foster care wasn’t easy. Life after prison? Unforgiving. But I’m determined to stay out of trouble, and I’m gaining a foothold on the closest I’ve ever known to normal.

Then, thanks to a pair of escape artist dogs from the sanctuary where I’ve found work, I cross paths with my boss’s neighbor, Ty Adams. He’s a horse trainer, and winter is his quiet season. It’s also the season when he gets restless and lonely—two things I know all about. He’s not interested in love or romance. I’m just happy someone’s interested in me at all, even if emotions are strictly forbidden.

When we’re not together, I’m thinking about him. When we are together… Well, I’m definitely thinking about what he does to me and what I want to do with him.

As we keep each other warm through the Vermont winter, this feels a lot more than physical. Somehow he soothes my pain, and I wonder if I’m touching something deep inside him too. But Ty won’t let himself love anyone. I never had a chance. And now, with my past closing in, I could lose the one man I hoped I could count on. The one I thought might be different.
When his present and my history collide, is it too much to hope he’ll choose me?

CW: Sick horse and a minor accident involving a horse—no animal deaths or serious injuries/illnesses.

Teaser Graphic

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

I love this series!

This story was a tough one (emotionally) to read at times. Landon is an ex-con out on parole; he never wants to go back to prison. He’s a changed man and wants to turn his life around. He’s terrified that he might do something innocent (like getting a ticket for a moving violation) that will end his parole and send him back to prison.

Ty’s now the owner of the family farm and it takes up all of his time. His experiences growing up taught him that devoting so much time to the business doesn’t leave adequate time to give a partner the attention he deserves. He only allows himself to have hookups with no feelings involved. He meets Landon while helping his neighbors with a problem and finds out that he’s good with horses. Since Ty’s recently lost several of his workers, he offers Landon a job working on the days he’s not at the neighbor’s place. (Note: while Ty’s place is referred to as a farm, it seemed to me that it was more of a boarding stable for horses where riding lessons are also given.)

This was such a good book and its length allowed for a lot of character development. It wasn’t hard to figure out what the climatic event would be but that was fine with me because this is a romance not a mystery. Landon also did something that most people would find surprising but it really reinforced the kind of man he’s become.

I’m really having a difficult time expressing how this book made me feel (reviewers can get writer’s block, too 😊). Reading this book put my emotions on a roller coaster and that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned. Shedding a few tears is also a good indication of how much I loved a story. I can’t forget to mention that the epilogue was beautiful.