Review ~ All Lined Up by Cora Carmack

Title: All Lined Up
Author: Cora Carmack
Series: Rusk University #1
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance
Published: May 13th 2014

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.

Buy Now - Amazon

I have wanted to read All Lined Up for some time, because I have enjoyed Cora’s work before. As I expected, I really did like this new series of hers. I am a bit of a sports fan, if you didn’t know, and even though I live in Australia, I enjoy stories and movies about American Football (One of my favourite movies of all time is Remember the Titans).

Dallas was raised by her single father and has been around football her entire life, through his coaching role. She was looking forward to branching out on her own and pursuing her dream of dance at college. Her father still likes to control her life and decides that they both go to Rusk. I enjoyed seeing Dallas trying to spread her wings and build a new life, allowing her friend Stella to push her as well.

Carson transferred to Rusk trying to chase his dream of football. He had plans which didn’t include meeting a girl. Both Carson and Dallas hit it off immediately though, and pushed boundaries they would normally not cross. I thought Carson was sweet, taking his time with Dallas, and there was a moment in the book where some guys would allow it to happen, but he was sensible enough to put a stop to it. That moment made me like him that little bit more.

I loved watching Dallas and Carson’s relationship build. They weren’t expecting to find love so early, but seeing them together was sweet. They both want to succeed with their passions and try to be honest with one another. There a few hiccups along the way and they try hard to work through them. There were a few secondary characters that I liked and can’t wait to see more of – Stella, Ryan and Silas (Silas’ book is next *wink*).

Cora put this book together beautifully and shown me why I enjoy football entwined with romance so much. She put an amazing amount of detail into the football and dance scenes that I could imagine actually being there. I am excited to read more in this series, that’s for sure.

Other posts related to Cora Carmack

Losing It series

Losing It (Book 1)

Keeping Her (Book 1.5)

Faking It (Book 2)

Finding It (Book 3)