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lcmarie19's review against another edition
3.0
RATING: 3.5 STARS
*This book was given to me in exchange for my honest review**
Another solid effort by Carmack. I had a good experience with this third installment of the Rusk University series. Unfortunately, I didn't love this one as much as I loved the first two, but I am still a big fan of the series.
ALL PLAYED OUT follows Antonella "Nell" DeLuca and her recently developed fixation on obtaining the full college experience. Nell is a very straight laced girl, who's always done what was expected of her. She's extremely smart and has a very simple social life of...nothing. So, throughout this book, she is seeking to change that.
In her journey to obtain a decent social life, she encounters some familiar characters that readers know and love (from the previous books), but the one that catches her eye -- to her surprise and constant resistance -- is Mateo Torres, the wide receive for the RU football team. Torres, being the wild party guy, finds Nell to be someone he hasn't experienced before. But together they learn that opposites really can attract.
This was classic romantic comedy in book form -- Girl meets boy, girl resists boy, boy teases and chases girl, girl gives into boy, boy hurts girl, girl forgives boy, and they live happily ever after. One thing that I can always count on when it comes to Cora's books is that they read like a film in my head. That's one of things that I enjoy about her books. I can easily picture what's going on with each character. That fact remains true with this book.
The book progresses quickly and smoothly. There's tons of character interaction. I'm reunited with characters that I fell in love with in previous books. Dylan and Silas. Stella reappears and even Dallas and Carson get a few mentions. It was all very fun to see those character names again. While I had my good times with Nell and Torres, I kept finding myself wondering what was going on with Silas and Dylan or Stella or even Dallas and Carson. I was never fully invested in Nell and Torres, to my unfortunate surprise.
While I can appreciate what Cora was trying to do in giving us characters like Nell, I just didn't connect with her like I did Dallas. Or like with Dylan. Nell's character wasn't as tangible to me. Torres, though a fun guy, was a bit one dimensional for a lot of the book. I didn't feel the development of his character was as solid as Carson's was. Or even Silas'. Thus making it difficult for me to see how he and Nell worked together. I just wasn't able to get on board with these two as quickly as I usually am with that other characters.
Every now and then, I would find a scene in the book that I connected with, like when Torres and Nell got to finally sit down together and just get to know one another. THOSE were my favorite scenes. I needed more of that in this book. I feel that given how extreme both Nell and Torres were, with Nell being the classic "girl genius with no social life" and Torres being the "wild party guy", they needed more one on one personal bonding in order for me to believe that their relationship was as solid as it was by the end of the book. There was more sex and less intimacy, in my opinion. And I think that's what I was missing in this installment.
BUT with that being said, I loved being in the RU world again. It was familiar but different. Cora was a little more bold and descriptive in her writing. Especially when it came to the sexy times between our two main characters. Not that I minded. I got hit of my favorite Cora writing in this one, but I was missing the overall essence of books one and two.
I don't want to sound like I didn't enjoy the book, because I did. I just know that book one touched me deeply, book two shared that same essence, but book three just kind of screamed fluffy fun. The amount of depth that could have been in this book, just wasn't there this time. In my opinion. And that's okay. It happens. Still love this series! I can't wait for book four!
*This book was given to me in exchange for my honest review**
Another solid effort by Carmack. I had a good experience with this third installment of the Rusk University series. Unfortunately, I didn't love this one as much as I loved the first two, but I am still a big fan of the series.
ALL PLAYED OUT follows Antonella "Nell" DeLuca and her recently developed fixation on obtaining the full college experience. Nell is a very straight laced girl, who's always done what was expected of her. She's extremely smart and has a very simple social life of...nothing. So, throughout this book, she is seeking to change that.
In her journey to obtain a decent social life, she encounters some familiar characters that readers know and love (from the previous books), but the one that catches her eye -- to her surprise and constant resistance -- is Mateo Torres, the wide receive for the RU football team. Torres, being the wild party guy, finds Nell to be someone he hasn't experienced before. But together they learn that opposites really can attract.
This was classic romantic comedy in book form -- Girl meets boy, girl resists boy, boy teases and chases girl, girl gives into boy, boy hurts girl, girl forgives boy, and they live happily ever after. One thing that I can always count on when it comes to Cora's books is that they read like a film in my head. That's one of things that I enjoy about her books. I can easily picture what's going on with each character. That fact remains true with this book.
The book progresses quickly and smoothly. There's tons of character interaction. I'm reunited with characters that I fell in love with in previous books. Dylan and Silas. Stella reappears and even Dallas and Carson get a few mentions. It was all very fun to see those character names again. While I had my good times with Nell and Torres, I kept finding myself wondering what was going on with Silas and Dylan or Stella or even Dallas and Carson. I was never fully invested in Nell and Torres, to my unfortunate surprise.
While I can appreciate what Cora was trying to do in giving us characters like Nell, I just didn't connect with her like I did Dallas. Or like with Dylan. Nell's character wasn't as tangible to me. Torres, though a fun guy, was a bit one dimensional for a lot of the book. I didn't feel the development of his character was as solid as Carson's was. Or even Silas'. Thus making it difficult for me to see how he and Nell worked together. I just wasn't able to get on board with these two as quickly as I usually am with that other characters.
Every now and then, I would find a scene in the book that I connected with, like when Torres and Nell got to finally sit down together and just get to know one another. THOSE were my favorite scenes. I needed more of that in this book. I feel that given how extreme both Nell and Torres were, with Nell being the classic "girl genius with no social life" and Torres being the "wild party guy", they needed more one on one personal bonding in order for me to believe that their relationship was as solid as it was by the end of the book. There was more sex and less intimacy, in my opinion. And I think that's what I was missing in this installment.
BUT with that being said, I loved being in the RU world again. It was familiar but different. Cora was a little more bold and descriptive in her writing. Especially when it came to the sexy times between our two main characters. Not that I minded. I got hit of my favorite Cora writing in this one, but I was missing the overall essence of books one and two.
I don't want to sound like I didn't enjoy the book, because I did. I just know that book one touched me deeply, book two shared that same essence, but book three just kind of screamed fluffy fun. The amount of depth that could have been in this book, just wasn't there this time. In my opinion. And that's okay. It happens. Still love this series! I can't wait for book four!
lenamarie_wind's review against another edition
3.0
3,5⭐️
War eine nette Geschichte, perfekt für 11 Stunden Flug, aber trotzdem eine ganz typische 'unerfahrenes Mädchen trifft auf Sportler' Geschichte, war nichts besonderes
War eine nette Geschichte, perfekt für 11 Stunden Flug, aber trotzdem eine ganz typische 'unerfahrenes Mädchen trifft auf Sportler' Geschichte, war nichts besonderes
jscarpa14's review against another edition
4.0
Yes I started with book three in the series because I wanted to know about Nell's list. That's what attracted my attention to this series at all was Nell list. That said the story was fun as well as emotional and I did enjoy it, but I'd like to have seen more to it, explored more facets of their relationship and had a better idea of where it would go in the long term. Overall though it was a great story that I'd definitely recommend.
canadianbookaddict's review against another edition
4.0
I had never read the previous 2 books in this series (Rusk University) and I had never read any other books by Cora Carmack but I had been wanting to for a while because I keep hearing fantastic things about her books so when I received a copy of All Played Out I just couldn't wait to read it.
I read this book on Friday and it didn't take me long to read this since it is a quick, fun and easy read. It is very well written and it did get me hooked right away.
I read this book on Friday and it didn't take me long to read this since it is a quick, fun and easy read. It is very well written and it did get me hooked right away.
micamartinez26's review against another edition
4.0
These boys, oh my...
I really really liked it, i could easily get into nell's head, she was relatable to me. And Mateo is a cutie pie(? What a definition! I finished this book a few minutes before going to class and I want more
I really really liked it, i could easily get into nell's head, she was relatable to me. And Mateo is a cutie pie(? What a definition! I finished this book a few minutes before going to class and I want more
joliendelandsheer's review against another edition
4.0
Review first published on my blog The Fictional Reader
This was definitely my favorite book of the three! Probably because I could relate to Nell the most. She was just trying to get out of her comfort zone, and experience college at its fullest before it’s over. I like that this one didn’t include any major family issues/traumas for the main characters. Often in NA, it’s that one of the two has this trauma, injury or issue. But this is just a story of a girl trying out new things. With some help from Mateo and her friends.
I really, really loved this. Of course there was some drama present. But I liked how it wasn’t 75% of the book. Mostly, it was just a joy to read. I could really relate to Nell, and I fell in love with Mateo. I also thing that’s a beautiful name, Mateo.
I both liked and disliked how the side character I mentioned previously dealt with her experience. Her friends were supportive, yet gave her some space. She didn’t lock herself up but she didn’t participate in many things either. Which of course, I understand. But I did feel like she should have asked for help! Maybe you don’t like to talk about it. That’s completely fine. But you should try and find a way to deal with it. I don’t know, I’ve luckily never been through anything similar so I can’t really tell her what to do.
This was definitely my favorite book of the three! Probably because I could relate to Nell the most. She was just trying to get out of her comfort zone, and experience college at its fullest before it’s over. I like that this one didn’t include any major family issues/traumas for the main characters. Often in NA, it’s that one of the two has this trauma, injury or issue. But this is just a story of a girl trying out new things. With some help from Mateo and her friends.
I really, really loved this. Of course there was some drama present. But I liked how it wasn’t 75% of the book. Mostly, it was just a joy to read. I could really relate to Nell, and I fell in love with Mateo. I also thing that’s a beautiful name, Mateo.
I both liked and disliked how the side character I mentioned previously dealt with her experience. Her friends were supportive, yet gave her some space. She didn’t lock herself up but she didn’t participate in many things either. Which of course, I understand. But I did feel like she should have asked for help! Maybe you don’t like to talk about it. That’s completely fine. But you should try and find a way to deal with it. I don’t know, I’ve luckily never been through anything similar so I can’t really tell her what to do.
bookwife's review against another edition
5.0
http://megansbookmaddness.blogspot.com/2015/10/all-played-out-by-cora-carmack.html
I am not going to lie and say that I have loved this series.. but this book I loved! I freaking loved it. Nell is absolutely adorable. I love how awkward she is with everything. It was like my first year in college.. except I didn't have a hot football player thinking I was adorable because of it but oh well. It was still cute. And Torres was amazing. I really thought I was going to hate him because I thought he was just using Nell to get over his feelings for his first love but I am glad that Cora Carmack didn't keep that going through out the whole book.. Otherwise I would have hated him. I am glad he realized that Nell was a complete different person and he realized he was a jackass for even thinking about using her to get over the other girl.
I really loved seeing Torres and Nell together. They were complete opposites but they worked so well together. Honestly I loved both of the characters personalities. I was so much like Nell and I think that's why this book spoke to me so much. I just wish I had a Torres to skinny dip with me and feed me breadsticks after I throw up on his friends. I'm pretty sure that just doesn't happen in real life. If I throw up on someones friends Im thinking they are going to be running as fast as they can in the other direction.
Also can I just say that the freaking couple on the cover are like perfection. Where the hell were those people on campus? I may be seriously in love with both of them.
I am not going to lie and say that I have loved this series.. but this book I loved! I freaking loved it. Nell is absolutely adorable. I love how awkward she is with everything. It was like my first year in college.. except I didn't have a hot football player thinking I was adorable because of it but oh well. It was still cute. And Torres was amazing. I really thought I was going to hate him because I thought he was just using Nell to get over his feelings for his first love but I am glad that Cora Carmack didn't keep that going through out the whole book.. Otherwise I would have hated him. I am glad he realized that Nell was a complete different person and he realized he was a jackass for even thinking about using her to get over the other girl.
I really loved seeing Torres and Nell together. They were complete opposites but they worked so well together. Honestly I loved both of the characters personalities. I was so much like Nell and I think that's why this book spoke to me so much. I just wish I had a Torres to skinny dip with me and feed me breadsticks after I throw up on his friends. I'm pretty sure that just doesn't happen in real life. If I throw up on someones friends Im thinking they are going to be running as fast as they can in the other direction.
Also can I just say that the freaking couple on the cover are like perfection. Where the hell were those people on campus? I may be seriously in love with both of them.
syndi3's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I am not entirely sure I like this book. This is suppose to be NA romance. So the theme is a bit juvennile. The bucket list from heroine and with the help of beutiful hero, the adventure begins.
Its not like Indiana Jones that kind of adventure. Just typical college life bucket list. The sexual attraction between the characters is there but not sizzling hot. Juat mediocre to keep the story rolling.
I need more connectiob, more vulnerability between the characters. I also need more drama/ twist on the plot.
Overall I do not like this book nor hate it either.
Its not like Indiana Jones that kind of adventure. Just typical college life bucket list. The sexual attraction between the characters is there but not sizzling hot. Juat mediocre to keep the story rolling.
I need more connectiob, more vulnerability between the characters. I also need more drama/ twist on the plot.
Overall I do not like this book nor hate it either.