Book Review – The Guy on the Left by Kate Stewart

The Guy on the Left (The Underdogs Book 2) by Kate Stewart

Contemporary Romance. Book 2 in a related Series. 

I loved The Guy on the Right by Kate Stewart so much that I immediately jumped into The Guy on the Left. Though I haven’t really been reading, I needed Troy’s story and wasn’t willing to wait for the audiobook. The Guy on the Left can easily stand alone because the events run concurrently with The Guy on the Right, but to fully appreciate all that is behind Troy, I think these books should be read in order.

“In your eyes, I’ll always be the teenager who lied and got you pregnant. Not the man you rely on.”

Troy and Clarissa met years ago when he was still in high school. He pretended to be older and hooked up with Clarissa, a teacher. That union resulted in the most adorable kid, Dante, but Clarissa refuses to have anything to do with Troy. Still, he has been there, watching over them all along. Now that Troy is a senior in college and it looks like he will be drafted by the NFL, he is not hanging back anymore.

“You keep punishing me for something you won’t let me apologize for, for something you won’t ever let me make up to you.” He rakes his teeth across his bottom lip. “But I want to, Clarissa. Oh, how I want to.”

While Troy came off like a fun, popular, womanizing man-whore in the first book, we really got to know him in The Guy on the Left, and let me tell you, Clarissa and Dante are so lucky to have him. He is so devoted to Dante and it just broke my heart that Dante didn’t know.

Speaking of Dante, that little boy kind of stole the show. I want to buy the merch from this pint-sized YouTuber! And Troy’s relationship with Dante—I know I already said it but…Le sigh…. But it’s his relationship with Clarissa that really needs work, and she wants nothing to do with him. Especially because every time she lets her guard down, he screws up. OMG, the angst! I don’t know how Clarissa held out.

Do you think about that night? His voice is low, gravelly, and sexy as hell.
“D-d-do you?” my voice is just as affected. “Do you even remember it?”
“It was the hottest fucking night of my life. Of course, I remember it. …The way you kissed me back. Fuck, the way you kissed me back. You didn’t hold back with me. I remember that the most.”

The Guy on the Left was a longer and deeper read than the first. While there was still humor, this time it was more in the form of comic relief by Dante and Parker, Clarissa’s best friend. Otherwise it was raw, it was real, it was layered, it was slow burning, and it was sexy as hell.

“I’ve memorized you, Clarissa, the shape of your lips, the lilt of your voice, your every smile, every mood, your everything. I used to think it was because I’ve grown so used to watching because of Dante,” he wipes another tear from my cheek, “but it’s not just our son, baby, it’s you. He wasn’t the only one I was falling for.”

While at times I got frustrated with Clarissa, at other times I didn’t blame her. Troy was a manwhore at first but he proved himself over and over and I really did get annoyed that Dante didn’t know. But Troy and Clarissa were messy. And real. And The Guy on the Left was another amazing Kate Stewart ride.

Likes:

• Dante. I love that kid, and I love his relationship with Troy.
• Seeing Theo and Lainey and how the story ran concurrently with The Guy on the Right.
• There were just so many layers to this story that really built throughout.
• Troy proved himself over and over and was just the perfect guy.
• Just the right amount of emotion to angst to comedy.
• Parker. I loved her so much!

Dislikes:

• Clarissa held out too long IMO, and it made me have trouble really liking her, which, to me is the most important factor in me loving a book.
• I didn’t like Troy’s sluttiness at the beginning. It just didn’t jive with everything else he was trying to be.

The Down & Dirty:

Rating: 4 Stars, 4 Heat

Purchase The Guy on the Left by Kate Stewart