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kimmypete1's review against another edition
5.0
Best of the series so far! Mateo and Nell were so much fun. :)
quinn_0611's review against another edition
4.0
As someone who really never wants to be the center of attention, I wasn’t really sure what to expect of All Played Out by Cora Carmack, a book about a life-of-the-party football player, but oh my gosh, I just fell in love with this book and the football player hard and fast! All Played Out was a fantastic read, one I couldn’t put down.
All Played Out is about Mateo Torres and Nell DeLuca. Torres we’ve met before in the other Rusk University books. He’s loud, he’s the life of the party, and he’s always up for a good time. Nell, on the other hand, has been solely concentrating on her studies, and has therefore missed out on a lot of the normal college experiences. Nell decides she wants to try out some of these normal college experiences, and Torres gets involved.
I will admit that I had a bit of a hard time making a connection to Nell, initially. I thought I would be able to identify with her easily, because it sounded like she was a lot like me. But being in her head at the beginning wasn’t working that well for me. Luckily, a little into the story I did form a connection to Nell, and I was absolutely reveling in the growth she had.
Torres, though, I just loved him from the get go, which turned out to be a bit of a surprise. Like I mentions above, those sort of attention getting people are just too much for my introverted self. But that wasn’t so with Mateo. I fell so hard for Mateo it’s kind of ridiculous. He might be my favorite Carmack boy, and that’s saying something.
The romance was pretty darn swoony and totally sucked me. I was a bit nervous at first, because Torres kept saying that Nell reminded him of a past girl friend, and I did not like that. But Carmack handled it brilliantly, and I was 100% rooting for these two to get together and stay together.
There were a few things that took me out of the story a bit, though. All Played Out is told in alternating POVs between Torres and Nell, and sometimes these guys would have these long inner dialogues that didn’t quite ring true to me. But nonetheless, I still gobbled up this book. All Played Out is a great book if you’re looking for something sweet and swoony. I'm already looking forward the next Rusk University book!
All Played Out is about Mateo Torres and Nell DeLuca. Torres we’ve met before in the other Rusk University books. He’s loud, he’s the life of the party, and he’s always up for a good time. Nell, on the other hand, has been solely concentrating on her studies, and has therefore missed out on a lot of the normal college experiences. Nell decides she wants to try out some of these normal college experiences, and Torres gets involved.
I will admit that I had a bit of a hard time making a connection to Nell, initially. I thought I would be able to identify with her easily, because it sounded like she was a lot like me. But being in her head at the beginning wasn’t working that well for me. Luckily, a little into the story I did form a connection to Nell, and I was absolutely reveling in the growth she had.
Torres, though, I just loved him from the get go, which turned out to be a bit of a surprise. Like I mentions above, those sort of attention getting people are just too much for my introverted self. But that wasn’t so with Mateo. I fell so hard for Mateo it’s kind of ridiculous. He might be my favorite Carmack boy, and that’s saying something.
The romance was pretty darn swoony and totally sucked me. I was a bit nervous at first, because Torres kept saying that Nell reminded him of a past girl friend, and I did not like that. But Carmack handled it brilliantly, and I was 100% rooting for these two to get together and stay together.
There were a few things that took me out of the story a bit, though. All Played Out is told in alternating POVs between Torres and Nell, and sometimes these guys would have these long inner dialogues that didn’t quite ring true to me. But nonetheless, I still gobbled up this book. All Played Out is a great book if you’re looking for something sweet and swoony. I'm already looking forward the next Rusk University book!
zareena's review against another edition
4.0
Review originally posted on The Slanted Bookshelf.
My Rating: 4 stars
*sigh* I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Cora Carmack write some of the best characters EVER. All Played Out is Torres and Nell’s story, both of whom we briefly meet in All Broke Down.
I adored both these characters. Nell is super driven and very intelligent but with her early graduation coming up she feels like she may have missed out on the “college experience” so she makes a college bucket list. Nell is slightly nerdy and doesn’t always know how to interact with others and this made me REALLY like her because I could definitely relate with a lot of her feelings on not feeling comfortable in the party scene, etc.. I think so far, Nell is the person who’s gone through the most development in all of Cora Carmack’s books and I was so. damn. proud. She pushes outside of her comfort zone and takes chances, even when she’s scared and I couldn’t help but kind of want to be Nell ;)
Torres was pretty darn awesome too and oh so swoon-worthy. Torres is a fun and flirty guy on the outside but he has very serious feelings too that most of his friends don’t seem to notice. I loved how he pushes Nell to experience life but never too far. Torres is sweet and funny and he basically melted my heart into a pile of goo.
All Played Out was a pretty light read and I really didn’t have any complaints (because Cora Carmack’s books ROCK). One thing I will say is that this book felt WAY too short – but don’t they always – and I wish Nell and Torres had more page time as a couple. But don’t worry, there are plenty of swoons ;)
All in all, Cora Carmack did it again and you NEED these books in your life.
Thank you very much to Inkslingers PR for providing me with a copy of the book for review! All views and opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way for this review.
My Rating: 4 stars
*sigh* I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Cora Carmack write some of the best characters EVER. All Played Out is Torres and Nell’s story, both of whom we briefly meet in All Broke Down.
I adored both these characters. Nell is super driven and very intelligent but with her early graduation coming up she feels like she may have missed out on the “college experience” so she makes a college bucket list. Nell is slightly nerdy and doesn’t always know how to interact with others and this made me REALLY like her because I could definitely relate with a lot of her feelings on not feeling comfortable in the party scene, etc.. I think so far, Nell is the person who’s gone through the most development in all of Cora Carmack’s books and I was so. damn. proud. She pushes outside of her comfort zone and takes chances, even when she’s scared and I couldn’t help but kind of want to be Nell ;)
Torres was pretty darn awesome too and oh so swoon-worthy. Torres is a fun and flirty guy on the outside but he has very serious feelings too that most of his friends don’t seem to notice. I loved how he pushes Nell to experience life but never too far. Torres is sweet and funny and he basically melted my heart into a pile of goo.
All Played Out was a pretty light read and I really didn’t have any complaints (because Cora Carmack’s books ROCK). One thing I will say is that this book felt WAY too short – but don’t they always – and I wish Nell and Torres had more page time as a couple. But don’t worry, there are plenty of swoons ;)
All in all, Cora Carmack did it again and you NEED these books in your life.
Thank you very much to Inkslingers PR for providing me with a copy of the book for review! All views and opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way for this review.
slc333's review against another edition
4.0
Another great NA romance. Who would have thought I would love a series revolving around college football (about which I know NOTHING) yet I do. In every book so far I have loved the characters, loved the connection between the couples, loved the heat and a real positive is the inevitable misunderstanding/break up in these sorts of books is never too painful or drawn out. I also find them amusing and this one was no exception. Nell is really funny with her analytical response to everything - I loved when she was going with Dylan to the frisbee game and Dylan is explaining who everyone is and how the guys all use surnames and Nell is all "I don't want to be called De Luca, learning to play frisbee is confusing enough I don't want to have to learn a new name too". Can't wait for Stella's story. Not sure if that will be next or if will will get Brookes. It doesn't really matter though I am sure it will be good.
awise420's review against another edition
5.0
I am just going to start off with saying that this one is my all time favorite of the three! I felt like it could be my story. Mateo is funny, confident, sweet, and hot! Nell is nerdy, compassionate and has a hidden wild side. They are completely opposite, but is that always a bad thing? I have seen some reviewers concerned with something Mateo brings up frequently that made them dislike this book. I personally think it adds more of reality into this story that I love. In reality that situation is something that is very prevalent in your mind and future relationships and I just found it refreshing for it to be in this story and define Mateo and Nell's relationship. I recommend it highly, it might not be your cup of tea but it's worth a shot!
aflv_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Remember the Ana’s line, when she walked inside Mr. Grey’s office? “Raising the ordinary to extraordinary.” That’s what Cora does. Every. Single. Time.
I’m not sure if it has happened to me before, but I identified myself with both Matteo and Nell. This is probably what I loved the most in this novel. You see, I have been that Nell; the girl who focus on school and nothing more, even the one who is getting called a nerd. But I also have ridiculously high expectations from myself and I do feel sometimes that what I do, who I am is not enough, like Matteo does. Cora gave us both POVs in this novel and it is EXCEPTIONAL! We not only intrude in both minds, but we also become one with them. We understand them, we feel for them. Cora’s writing was brilliant, like always, and I felt I was one with the book. I felt my heart splitting into two equal parts; a Nell and a Matteo part.
Cora, not only dragged me into her story, but she made me feel like I was a part of it!
The way she wrote her characters and the way they evolved throughout the book made this novel stand out to my eyes. It’s not a typical shy-girl-meets-sexy-athlete-in-college story. It has depth and meaning, as well as purity that is unprecedented in College novels. Everything is so much more in this story!
Nell is not an ordinary smart, shy girl. She may not be so social, but she isn’t exactly shy either. She speaks her mind and is confident. She may be hurting but she keeps going. She is full of contradictions and she made me love her very much. So, *coughs* Cora, I would really love a sequel to this one!
Matteo is not your typical handsome, charming player. He has his reasons for acting the way he does. He is loyal, faithful, patient and confident; yet, he’s also unsure, sensitive and makes mistakes and assumptions. But he learns from his mistakes and he becomes a stronger person.
Like I said earlier, I loved many things about this book. But the most significant attribute it has is how effortless you become a character in it. I felt like I was right there with Nell and Matteo. I felt what they felt. I even think like them in most cases. The level of familiarity between me and the characters is unparallelled.
This novel will stay with me; I can already sense it. I finished it 2 days ago, and as I think about the story, the characters and Cora’s writing now that I write the review, I fall in love with it all over again.
So, yes, without a doubt..
All Played Out receives 5 Amazing Stars, because I haven’t felt so closed to the characters in my life.
Cora, you just added another amazing novel in your career! Well done!
I’m not sure if it has happened to me before, but I identified myself with both Matteo and Nell. This is probably what I loved the most in this novel. You see, I have been that Nell; the girl who focus on school and nothing more, even the one who is getting called a nerd. But I also have ridiculously high expectations from myself and I do feel sometimes that what I do, who I am is not enough, like Matteo does. Cora gave us both POVs in this novel and it is EXCEPTIONAL! We not only intrude in both minds, but we also become one with them. We understand them, we feel for them. Cora’s writing was brilliant, like always, and I felt I was one with the book. I felt my heart splitting into two equal parts; a Nell and a Matteo part.
Cora, not only dragged me into her story, but she made me feel like I was a part of it!
The way she wrote her characters and the way they evolved throughout the book made this novel stand out to my eyes. It’s not a typical shy-girl-meets-sexy-athlete-in-college story. It has depth and meaning, as well as purity that is unprecedented in College novels. Everything is so much more in this story!
Nell is not an ordinary smart, shy girl. She may not be so social, but she isn’t exactly shy either. She speaks her mind and is confident. She may be hurting but she keeps going. She is full of contradictions and she made me love her very much. So, *coughs* Cora, I would really love a sequel to this one!
Matteo is not your typical handsome, charming player. He has his reasons for acting the way he does. He is loyal, faithful, patient and confident; yet, he’s also unsure, sensitive and makes mistakes and assumptions. But he learns from his mistakes and he becomes a stronger person.
Like I said earlier, I loved many things about this book. But the most significant attribute it has is how effortless you become a character in it. I felt like I was right there with Nell and Matteo. I felt what they felt. I even think like them in most cases. The level of familiarity between me and the characters is unparallelled.
This novel will stay with me; I can already sense it. I finished it 2 days ago, and as I think about the story, the characters and Cora’s writing now that I write the review, I fall in love with it all over again.
So, yes, without a doubt..
All Played Out receives 5 Amazing Stars, because I haven’t felt so closed to the characters in my life.
Cora, you just added another amazing novel in your career! Well done!
literaryhaylee's review against another edition
4.0
The last book in the Rusk Series. I love this author; however, I did not like one of the characters Mateo Torres. With that being said, this football and genius girl trope was super sweet and entertaining.
yche09's review against another edition
4.0
I'm all for TEAM NEO! Best couple of this series so far!
Nell and Mateo couldn't be more different from each other...
But they make it work. They friggin make it look awesome!
What can we, romance readers expect from this book?
Suffice to say those are the things that I kind of expected and GOT!!!!!!
What else can I say?
The story's oh so cute though I didn't like the first dilemma about the other girl. That's the only reason that I'm not giving this a five. It revolves around a girl and a boy with such different interests you'd think they wouldn't even bump into one another. Let's start with the girl... Nell built her entire life in facts and statistics. She's one smart girl, I tell you that. However, while she was building this life, she missed out on a lot of things that comes out naturally for many people. She set out to do this and finds.. well.. finds her self in the middle of something she totally didn't imagine! It's more that what she expected and that's not necessarily bad. :) Now the boy... Mateo.. He's clueless, to me at least. Mateo wants things, but isn't sure if he's out to get it or not so he plays safe. He jokes all the time and just like everyone else who does it, he has a reason for it. Little by little, he opens up to Nell. They both learn how to not let the past dictate their futures and when the worst is over, they manage to find each other. :)
The characters are actually well rounded. There were so many things that the main characters thought at the start of the book that all turned around in the end. I have missed the other characters, so I really thank this book for giving me glimpses of them. STELLA, my Stella... I really wish for her happily ever after. :)
This one's actually quite a light read. If you want to just feel good and fall in love, read this!!!
All I can say at this point is....
Nell & Mateo!!!
An ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
Nell and Mateo couldn't be more different from each other...
But they make it work. They friggin make it look awesome!
What can we, romance readers expect from this book?
Suffice to say those are the things that I kind of expected and GOT!!!!!!
What else can I say?
The story's oh so cute though I didn't like the first dilemma about the other girl. That's the only reason that I'm not giving this a five. It revolves around a girl and a boy with such different interests you'd think they wouldn't even bump into one another. Let's start with the girl... Nell built her entire life in facts and statistics. She's one smart girl, I tell you that. However, while she was building this life, she missed out on a lot of things that comes out naturally for many people. She set out to do this and finds.. well.. finds her self in the middle of something she totally didn't imagine! It's more that what she expected and that's not necessarily bad. :) Now the boy... Mateo.. He's clueless, to me at least. Mateo wants things, but isn't sure if he's out to get it or not so he plays safe. He jokes all the time and just like everyone else who does it, he has a reason for it. Little by little, he opens up to Nell. They both learn how to not let the past dictate their futures and when the worst is over, they manage to find each other. :)
The characters are actually well rounded. There were so many things that the main characters thought at the start of the book that all turned around in the end. I have missed the other characters, so I really thank this book for giving me glimpses of them. STELLA, my Stella... I really wish for her happily ever after. :)
This one's actually quite a light read. If you want to just feel good and fall in love, read this!!!
All I can say at this point is....
Nell & Mateo!!!
An ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.