Review: All Broke Down (Rusk University #2) by Cora Carmack

All Broke Down (Rusk University #2) by Cora Carmack
Release Date: October 28, 2014
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

In this second book in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack s New Adult, Texas-set Rusk University series, which began with All Lined Up, a young woman discovers that you can't only fight for what you believe in... sometimes you have to fight for what you love.

Dylan fights for lost causes. Probably because she used to be one.

Environmental issues, civil rights, corrupt corporations, and politicians you name it, she's probably been involved in a protest. When her latest cause lands her in jail overnight, she meets Silas Moore. He's in for a different kind of fighting. And though he's arrogant and infuriating, she can't help being fascinated with him. Yet another lost cause.

Football and trouble are the only things that have ever come naturally to Silas. And it's trouble that lands him in a cell next to do-gooder Dylan. He's met girls like her before fixers, he calls them, desperate to heal the damage and make him into their ideal boyfriend. But he doesn't think he's broken, and he definitely doesn't need a girlfriend trying to change him. Until, that is, his anger issues and rash decisions threaten the only thing he really cares about: his spot on the Rusk University football team. Dylan might just be the perfect girl to help.

Because Silas Moore needs some fixing after all.  

My Thoughts:

This second book to Cora Carmack's Rusk University series BLEW MY MIND AWAY. I loved All Lined Up, so my expectations for this one were high too, but I never even dared to experience the level of awesomeness this one delivered.

Dylan is known to fight for what she cares about. She feels like for her whole life, she has been fighting to get acceptance and to be loved. Her parents love her and she loves them, but at the same time, she feels like she can never fully be herself around them. She has had two serious relationship in her life, the longest of them with Henry, the guy who's perfect on paper and loved by her family. So when Henry leaves her and her latest cause, a homeless shelter in the city, lands her in jail, she has a feeling that things are falling apart. But then she meets Silas Moore, a gorgeous, enigmatic young man who's in jail for fighting and everything changes.

Silas Moore was a complete douche in All Lined Up. But in this one we see a COMPLETELY different side of him and I must admit that I now love him more than I love Carson. Silas is arrogant, temperamental and yes, bit of a douche, but he is also broken and misunderstood. What I really love about Cora Carmack's characterisation of him is the fact that though he might have violent tendencies or a temperament, he never hurts Dylan. He talks her dirty and has sex with her, but only when she's okay with it. I am so tired with new adult male characters who are glorified despite the fact that they are abusing both mentally and physically. Silas is not that, and that is why I love him. Constantly while reading this book, I kept thinking of Tim Riggins (one of my future husbands for sure) from Friday Night Lights, making connections between the two characters. I am happy that towards the end, I started to see Silas as his own individual, but at the same time, I did not mind at all the fact that every single time Silas was present on the page, I had the image of Tim Riggins at the back of my mind. They for sure share similaries and to be completely honest, I am dying to talk to with someone about them both.

Though the development of the relationship between Dylan and Silas might feel a bit quick for some readers, I did not mind it because at the end of the day, it is not instalove. It's more like insta-attraction, which I totally get, mostly because I feel it towards so many fictional characters, celebrities and professional ice hockey players. They become friends (with some benefits) and through getting to know each other, they learn something new not only about each other, but about themselves as well. Yes, there are some sexy times here, but throughout, the sexual encounters feel natural and like they actually have a purpose within the narrative. Carmack's prose is touching, romantic and also incredibly funny – I laughed out loud several times while reading this book, which is something that does not happen very often.

What I really enjoyed about the first novel and what I kept loving about this one as well is the sports setting. Though football is not really my piece of cake, I also happen to be in love with a team sport, ice hockey, and always find myself really enjoying novels that deal with the team dynamic and a relationship between someone who's on the team and someone who's not. Honestly, the only thing that would make me love these books even more is if they were set around an ice hockey team instead of a football time. But then at the same time, I probably would not have made the Tim Riggins connection if the football wasn't involved and really, you should know, I am always greatful when I get a chance to think about Tim Riggins. ALWAYS. 

5 Snowflakes

Review: All Lined Up by Cora Carmack

All Lined Up by Cora Carmack
Release date: May 13, 2014
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack follows up her trio of hits—Losing It, Faking It, and Finding It—with this thrilling first novel in an explosive series bursting with the Texas flavor, edge, and steamy romance of Friday Night Lights.

In Texas, two things are cherished above all else—football and gossip. My life has always been ruled by both.

Dallas Cole loathes football. That's what happens when you spend your whole childhood coming in second to a sport. College is her time to step out of the bleachers, and put the playing field (and the players) in her past.

But life doesn't always go as planned. As if going to the same college as her football star ex wasn’t bad enough, her father, a Texas high school coaching phenom, has decided to make the jump to college ball… as the new head coach at Rusk University. Dallas finds herself in the shadows of her father and football all over again.

Carson McClain is determined to go from second-string quarterback to the starting line-up. He needs the scholarship and the future that football provides. But when a beautiful redhead literally falls into his life, his focus is more than tested. It's obliterated.

Dallas doesn't know Carson is on the team. Carson doesn't know that Dallas is his new coach's daughter.

And neither of them know how to walk away from the attraction they feel.

My Thoughts:

The moment I read the synopsis of this book making a reference to Friday Night Lights, I knew I would have to get my hands on it. FNL is one of my favorite shows and since watching it, I have been extremely interested about every possible chance given to think about that show and how much I love it, and fortunately this book brought back so many wonderful FNL memories.

NA has been one of those genres for me from which I have either completely loved the books I've read or the total opposite. I don't mind the sexual content but often I find it being used in new adult novels just for effect, meaning that the narrative of the book would not really change if they were cut away. Think of TV shows that use a lot of nudity for no effect (pretty much everything on cable) and connect that to new adult books... Yeah, I bet you can find some similarities. Also, unfortunately, it too often feels like that in order for the love interest to be swoon worthy, he also needs to be ridiculously mysterious and in worst cases, abusive. After reading All Lined Up, I am happy to say that Carmack does not take either of these routes – her steamy scenes really do have a narrative purpose and in order for the reader to fall in love with the love interest, she does not need to employ the “mysterious bad boy” tropes.

For her whole life, Dallas has traveled around Texas with her father, following him and his passion for football and she has often felt like she's second best to her father's passion for the sport – someone he just needs to bring with him, a baggage on the road he has dreamed about. When Dallas's father is appointed to be the head coach for the Rusk University football team, Dallas, rather than following her own dream to a prestigious dance school, has to follow her father, once again, and enroll for the dance program at Rusk. Right away, Dallas senses what a joke the program is – it does not challenge her and it really does not help her own the road to becoming a professional dancer. And her wish of escaping football after high school fails too, when it very quickly becomes clear to her that as the coach's daughter, all eyes are on her.

Carson, a transfer to the Rusk team, is determined to train harder than anyone else to make sure that he won't be QB2 forever. His decision to avoid all distractions and to focus on training enters a slippery slope when he meets Dallas. As they come to the realization about their connection – Dallas's being the coach's daughter and Carson being a member of the team – they realize that it might be better for them both if they do not keep on going with their budding relationship. But how can Dallas stay away from someone who makes her feel like herself? How could it possibly be bad for her to spend time with a guy who understands her and her passion for dancing, for her need to express herself through her body? And why should Carson avoid a girl that is quickly becoming his only and closest friend?

I really love Dallas as a character. She is passionate and strong, but also very confused and torn apart. Her relationship with her father is problematic, and though she tries to understand his reasoning, sometimes it is just hard for her to see what his father is trying to do and from what he thinks he's protecting her from. Having been forced to put her dreams on hold, she is aimlessly wandering around, trying to find a purpose for her existence at Rusk. What makes it so incredibly easy to like Dallas is the fact that she is so real – she's flawed, she makes mistakes, she says the wrong things, but she also learns from her mistakes and tries to avoid making them again.

Carson is nice, charming and honest. What I really appreciated about his characterization is the fact that he really is one of the good guys – he shows that he is willing to prove that he's worthy of Dallas's love and her trust. The encounters between him and Dallas are so real and filled with chemistry – the romance never feels cliché and makes you swoon just in the right kind of ways. Carmack is brilliant at writing funny, slightly awkward encounters and her characters are incredibly easy to fall in love with. Writing romantic scenes seems to come naturally to her and I am glad to say that the scenes involving sexy times never feel awkward or unrealistic. Finally, as a huge fan of team sports (ice hockey is my fix), I was able to instantly connect with the way Carmack describes the atmosphere of the games. Reading those scenes really made me miss hockey and count the days towards the next time I get to see a match live.

5 Snowflakes