Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: All Lined Up by Cora Carmack

I really enjoyed Losing It by Cora Carmack so I was thrilled to be part of the tour for All Lined Up, Cora's newest New Adult Series. This tour is hosted by InkSlinger PR and you can find a complete tour schedule HERE.

All Lined Up (Rusk University #1) by Cora Carmack

Publication Date: May 13th 2014 by William Morrow Impulse

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

About the book:

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:

All Lined Up was a story of romance, football and growing up.

Dallas Cole is starting her freshman year at Rusk University, a college in Texas, where her dad is the football coach, and her ex, Levi is the quarterback. Dating a football player didn’t work out so well so Dallas is determined to stay away from the players. Being the coach’s daughter underscores that decision, because the players either are scared to death of messing with her or they suck up to Dallas to get on her father’s good side.  All her resolve is tested when she meets Carson.

Carson is at Rusk hoping to earn a scholarship through football, something he’s naturally good at. He knows it’s an uphill battle so he’s determined to focus and work hard.  His plans do not include girls or relationships, but meeting Dallas turns him upside down and he can’t stop thinking about her.

Both Dallas and Carson weren’t planning on falling for someone, but sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants.  Keeping their relationship in the friend zone is just too painful, and as Dallas and Carson come to realize, unnecessary. As their connection builds, Dallas deals with her strained relationship with her father.  No parent/child relationship is perfect, and both Dallas and her father work at coming to terms with the past and future. 

Football and the life around it is a large part of this story and I enjoyed getting the feel of a place where the sport is a huge part of life.  I’m not a sports person, but I do appreciate the fun way it molds people into a community cheering for the same thing.

While I enjoyed All Lined Up I didn’t connect with the story as much as I hoped.  All lot of the struggles and inner turmoil from Dallas didn’t move me, and I wish some of the passages were cut down. Still, romance between Carson and Dallas was pretty hot and I was happy there wasn’t a lot of angsty drama between them.

This is a promising start to a fun series, and it sounds like resident playboy, Silas is up in the next story.

3 Suns

About the author:

Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

Connect with Cora Carmack:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

As part of this tour we have a generous giveaway of 5 Signed Copies for 5 winners of All Lined Up. US Residents Only. Simply fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win. Good luck!

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