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!

Release Day Launch & Giveaway: Faking It by Cora Carmack

 

Hello readers! I'm excited to be part of Cora Carmack's Release Day Launch for Faking It because I LOVED Losing It! If you haven't read it what are you waiting for?! What girl doesn't melt over a hottie with a British accent calling her "love" all the time?  So here's a little about Faking It, and don't forget to fill in the rafflecopter below for a chance to  win a SIGNED copy of Faking it or a Kindle Fire with an e-copy of Faking it.

 

 

 

Faking It by Cora Carmack

Publication Date: June 4th 2013 by William Morrow

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Book: Mackenzie “Max” Miller has a problem. Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. Even worse, they’re expecting to meet a nice, wholesome boyfriend, not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, but then she meets Cade.

Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. So far though, he’s kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. But when Cade plays the role a little too well, they’re forced to keep the ruse going. And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel.

 

About Cora Carmack: 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. 

 

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

 

 

 

 

 

Cora has generously provided not one but two giveaways!  Just fill in the rafflecopter for a chance to win a SIGNED paperback copy of Faking It or a Kindle Fire with an e-copy of Faking It. Amazing, right?  US or CANADA residents only.



 

Review: Losing It by Cora Carmack

Losing It by Cora Carmack
Published October 15th 2012 eBook
Purchase: Amazon

About the book

Virginity.

Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible-- a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She'd left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

My Thoughts
Losing It by Cora Carmack was our first Waves of Sunday spotlight, and I'm excited to share with you my review of this novel!

Going into this book, I thought the majority of the story was going to be about the main character trying to cash in her v-card. Oh so very misleading! Losing It proved to be so much more. That aspect of the book was such a minor element that I have to admit I feel the title is a bit misleading. Now the cover... that's a different story. Love.love.love the fantastic art cover we have going on here; and I will say, that's exactly how I pictured the two main characters Garrick and Bliss.

As far as the story goes, it starts off with Bliss, a Theater major completing her senior year in college, going out with her bestie Kelsey. These two have one mission in mind and that's to get Bliss to drop her well guarded defenses and land herself a hottie. See Bliss seems to always self destruct when it comes to guys and relationships, and for that reason she's never gotten close enough to someone to take it to the next level. Well, she ends up meeting Garrick who has the looks, the British accent, and all the right moves, until it comes down to that "moment" and Bliss ends up leaving this hot and oh so sexy guy in her room... without a stitch of clothing and no clue what went wrong. After an embarrassing night of mishaps, Bliss shows up to her first day of class the following morning and oh bloody hell, guess who happens to be her professor? You'll just have to read it to find out. :)

I really enjoyed Bliss and Garrick's story. However, I have to admit that it took me a few chapters to fall into the main character's first person narrative, but I eventually came to really like her and her unique wit.

"The look on his face was somewhere between shock and amusement. He was flabbergasted. That was the best word. His flabber had been thoroughly gasted."

There are a few other characters we get to meet along the way and I feel if the story were about 50 to 75 pages longer, it would have been nice to invest in their character development. I felt Brandon the bartender who had a very small part in the beginning of the story was left hanging and for some reason I felt there should have been more to him than what we got. I liked Cade, but after the awkward encounter, he seemed to fall apart at the seams and despite his attempt to salvage his relationship with Bliss, it never really happened.

Bliss and Garrick have some pretty steamy moments together, but let me tell you... WHAT.A.BUILD.UP!! Cora Carmack really knows how to keep a girl at the edge of her seat, but the development between these two characters and their ultimate destination was well worth the wait.

Overall, I really enjoyed Losing It by Cora Carmack and I can't what to see what else she has out there. Fun and romantic story which was just what I was craving!

3.5 Suns

Waves of Sunday #1

Welcome to our first edition of Waves of SUNday where each Sunday we'll be spotlighting a book that has been making waves in the book scene or has simply caught our attention causing a riptide on our TBR.

Today we're excited to spotlight:

Losing It by Cora Carmack
Published October 15th 2012 eBook
Purchase: Amazon

About the book
Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible-- a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She'd left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

Here's what we had to say:
Arlene: So Rachel, I know you've seen me crush over book covers before, but tell me did this cover not catch your attention pretty hard? I love it! What do you think?

Rachel: I'm a sucker for an eye-catching cover, too, Arlene, and let me tell you, this one caught my eye!  That girl looks like she's in heaven!  I guess I might be, as well, if I were in her position (pun intended, lol!) I had to immediatley click on the description to see what is was all about!

Arlene:  It sounds like the genre for this book falls under the new category that's been making waves call New Adult. I'm excited to see more authors explore this genre. Have you heard about this new book category?

Rachel: Yes, I've been loving this new genre.  I think it started with the author Abbi Glines with me.  Her Vincent Boys series and Sea Breeze series started out as high school stories but moved to college age, and with each one the steam was amped up.  Easy by Tammara Webber was another "New Adult" I absolutely fell in love with.  Originally, it was self-publised, but with it's astounding populatrity, it was picked up by a big publishing house (Penguin). 

Arlene: Well, I can't wait to read Losing It. Should we make it a book date and explore the angst I predict by the excerpt alone? :)

Rachel: I would love that, Arlene! The sooner, the better! It's already clicked and loaded on my Kindle.

Well that's our pick for this week's Waves of SUNday. If you've read Losing It by Cara Carmack, be sure to tell us what you thought of it!