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A review by lcmarie19
All Lined Up by Cora Carmack
5.0
Oh. My. GOSH! I'm on FIRE from this book! The feels, the feels, the FEELS! I need a drink. Cora Carmack, you ROCK my world! I finished this book in less than FIVE HOURS! It was THAT fantastic, THAT enthralling, THAT hot! I haven't even finished the Losing It series, but I knew that I needed to read this book as SOON as it came out. Because I've heard NOTHING but great things!
ALU is a sports focused story, which drew me in immediately. I am a football fan. A HUGE one. I grew up with football because my mother grew up with three brothers, who loved football. So guess what she passed down to me. A love for Texas teams - college and professional. So right away, I am in LOVE with Dallas Cole (her name and her knowledge of the game). Dallas' father is a football coach who, because he's a single father with a teenage daughter, instilled ALL he knew about the sport into her brain. She, unwilling, develops a love/hate relationship with the sport because she always felt second to football in her father's eyes. Dallas, an aspiring dancer, is strong-willed, honest, beautiful, smart, and just all around fascinating. I liked her from page one.
Then we have Carson McClain, a walk-on football player (or that's what he aims to be once he gets Coach Cole to notice him), with an extremely humble beginning. Cole is the perfect depiction of how I wish my encounters with college athletes were. He's sweet, flirtatious, humble, loyal, protective, and just a really decent guy. From the moment, Cora introduced him to me, I fell. Hard. I immediately trusted him to do right by Dallas, the girl that I already began to care about.
The meet-cute (that's a film/tv term, but it's definitely appropriate in this case) was perfect. Carson's instant flirting game was on. Dallas tried to fight, but was failing miserably. I just found myself wanting them to have all good things in life right away. But both characters had so much to deal with. Dallas, a controlling father coupled with her own mental prison (insecurities, fear, etc.) and Carson, with his focus on getting a position on the Rusk University football team as well as a scholarship. As a walk-on, that's really hard to do, so it required a lot of focus. They both struggled to balance their mutual attraction with their personal goals. Not to mention, that Dallas aversion to all things football put up another wall of protection of what Carson represented for her.
Carmack does a phenomenal job of painting the picture of what it's like to be a coach's daughter. The responsibility, burden, expectation that it comes with. Watching Dallas struggle was hard, but it was done so well. It was honest, it was believable. Her depiction of Carson as a walk-on "football practicer" was great as well. You witnessed all of the blood and sweat that went into being noticed. And Cora showed you what happens when those worlds collide. When a battle of the heart overpowers the need to protect it.
The character development of Dallas and Carson was done so seamlessly. There was never a time where I felt something more could have been done with these two characters. And the supporting characters, from Stella to Ryan to Levi to Sila to the delicious Coach Cole (yes, I LOVED him), were perfect. How they interacted with Dallas and Carson, how they aided in their development -- it was so fluid and natural.
The emotional and/or intimate scenes between our two lead characters were absolutely feels-worthy. I felt so much. They were written in such a way that you couldn't help but be a little warm after reading them. Cora has a way a writing just enough to keep you wanting more. And there's satisfaction in that. I was rooting for these two before I even know I was. It was obvious how attracted they were to one another, to us as readers, more than anything.
One of my favorite themes of this book is: forgiveness and healing. Witnessing the forgiveness of friends and family, while seeing the healing of new and old relationships. It's a very well-rounded story. There's so much more than what's presented to you at face value. Dallas had some realizations to reach, as did Carson. And it was a beautiful gift waiting to be unwrapped.
I loved it all. I couldn't stop smiling. I couldn't stop laughing. There were some zingers through the book that I want tattooed on my body! As well as some very perfect quotes that hit me personally.
I could honestly go on and on about this book. There's no stopping me. But it would get repetitive. Basically, if you want sports, love, family, friendship, humor, and an all-around fun time. This is the book for you!
ALU is a sports focused story, which drew me in immediately. I am a football fan. A HUGE one. I grew up with football because my mother grew up with three brothers, who loved football. So guess what she passed down to me. A love for Texas teams - college and professional. So right away, I am in LOVE with Dallas Cole (her name and her knowledge of the game). Dallas' father is a football coach who, because he's a single father with a teenage daughter, instilled ALL he knew about the sport into her brain. She, unwilling, develops a love/hate relationship with the sport because she always felt second to football in her father's eyes. Dallas, an aspiring dancer, is strong-willed, honest, beautiful, smart, and just all around fascinating. I liked her from page one.
Then we have Carson McClain, a walk-on football player (or that's what he aims to be once he gets Coach Cole to notice him), with an extremely humble beginning. Cole is the perfect depiction of how I wish my encounters with college athletes were. He's sweet, flirtatious, humble, loyal, protective, and just a really decent guy. From the moment, Cora introduced him to me, I fell. Hard. I immediately trusted him to do right by Dallas, the girl that I already began to care about.
The meet-cute (that's a film/tv term, but it's definitely appropriate in this case) was perfect. Carson's instant flirting game was on. Dallas tried to fight, but was failing miserably. I just found myself wanting them to have all good things in life right away. But both characters had so much to deal with. Dallas, a controlling father coupled with her own mental prison (insecurities, fear, etc.) and Carson, with his focus on getting a position on the Rusk University football team as well as a scholarship. As a walk-on, that's really hard to do, so it required a lot of focus. They both struggled to balance their mutual attraction with their personal goals. Not to mention, that Dallas aversion to all things football put up another wall of protection of what Carson represented for her.
Carmack does a phenomenal job of painting the picture of what it's like to be a coach's daughter. The responsibility, burden, expectation that it comes with. Watching Dallas struggle was hard, but it was done so well. It was honest, it was believable. Her depiction of Carson as a walk-on "football practicer" was great as well. You witnessed all of the blood and sweat that went into being noticed. And Cora showed you what happens when those worlds collide. When a battle of the heart overpowers the need to protect it.
The character development of Dallas and Carson was done so seamlessly. There was never a time where I felt something more could have been done with these two characters. And the supporting characters, from Stella to Ryan to Levi to Sila to the delicious Coach Cole (yes, I LOVED him), were perfect. How they interacted with Dallas and Carson, how they aided in their development -- it was so fluid and natural.
The emotional and/or intimate scenes between our two lead characters were absolutely feels-worthy. I felt so much. They were written in such a way that you couldn't help but be a little warm after reading them. Cora has a way a writing just enough to keep you wanting more. And there's satisfaction in that. I was rooting for these two before I even know I was. It was obvious how attracted they were to one another, to us as readers, more than anything.
One of my favorite themes of this book is: forgiveness and healing. Witnessing the forgiveness of friends and family, while seeing the healing of new and old relationships. It's a very well-rounded story. There's so much more than what's presented to you at face value. Dallas had some realizations to reach, as did Carson. And it was a beautiful gift waiting to be unwrapped.
I loved it all. I couldn't stop smiling. I couldn't stop laughing. There were some zingers through the book that I want tattooed on my body! As well as some very perfect quotes that hit me personally.
I could honestly go on and on about this book. There's no stopping me. But it would get repetitive. Basically, if you want sports, love, family, friendship, humor, and an all-around fun time. This is the book for you!