Review: First & Then

First & Then
Author: Emma Mills

Published: October 13th, 2015
Hardcover, 272 pages
5 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

Devon Tennyson wouldn't change a thing. She's happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon's cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn't want them first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights in this contemporary novel about falling in love with the unexpected boy, with a new brother, and with yourself.

I'll be honest, I haven't read Pride and Prejudice yet (though it's on my list this year) but as a fan of the movie and Jane Austen in general, this book was the perfect mix of the classic novel and contemporary life. Devon is your normal high school girl. She's best friends with Cas, one of the football players, and watches all the games from the comfort of the bleachers while also harbouring a secret crush on him. But when Devon's cousin, Foster, moves in, suddenly everything changes. She knows he'll embarrass her but when the star running back, Ezra, takes him under his wing, things change. Ezra has a superiority complex and every girl in school wants to be with him, but the way he treats Foster makes Devon re-think her judgement on him and the more time they spend together, the more she thinks he's not so bad. 

Devon is such a realistic character. She's in her final year of high school and still has no idea what she wants to do in life. Sounds a lot like me to tell you the truth. As she's trying to figure it all out, enter Foster, someone she wants nothing to do with but is suddenly forced into acting like his sister. For an only child, I can imagine this is a shock to the system and it takes Devon a while to finally understand Foster and why he's there. When he starts to fit in with the football jocks, she can't believe it and thinks they are trying to mess with him and will eventually will make a fool out of him. When she realizes that they actually do like him and the more she gets to know him, the closer they become. I love a story that focuses on more than just romance. The love between siblings is just as important and Emma does a spectacular job of showing acceptance and the bond that forms between siblings. 

Ezra as Mr. Darcy made me swoon. He's standoffish at first and seems exactly how you'd think a star football would be. But the way he treats Foster is seriously the best thing ever. He's gentle in his teachings and confidently lets Foster know he'll make a good kicker. He's patient and supportive and anyone would be a fool not to fall for him. The dynamic between him and Devon is wonderful. I love a story where they start by not really getting along and growing to realize they are totally hot for each other. Ezra is the quiet, brooding type, someone who prefers to be on the sidelines of a party. He watches Devon deal with Cas being a jerk and is there for her when she needs it. 

I love that this takes place in a football town. The Friday Night Lights comparison is perfect and you really see how football is its own character. It's where Ezra came to life and where he taught Foster he could do whatever he wanted to do. It brought Devon and Foster together. It's as wonderful as the Jane-isms that Devon throws in here and there. I know I'll appreciate this more once I read P & P, which will just give me a good excuse to reread this wonderful book. It's short, and boy do I wish it were longer just so that it wouldn't have ended. The romance is wonderful (want more kissing) and the sibling relationship was so well done that it made me go hug my brother. This book is just a perfect little thing that everyone needs to read, Austen fan or not. A contemporary I won't soon forget.

"I should've been better. But sometimes all you can really stand to do is think about yourself. Sometimes it's the only way to cope."

"Just because you like hair and makeup doesn't mean you're stupid."

Review: All Lined Up

All Lined Up
Author: Cora Carmack
Published: May 13th, 2014
Paperback, 320 pages
4 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

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.

I'm not sure why it took me so long to read a Cora Carmack book, but man am I glad I've read them now! All Lined Up is the first in her new Rusk University series, but you'd probably know her name from her first New Adult series Losing It. I've been having really good luck with NA lately and Carmack has quickly become one of my favourite authors in this genre. Dallas' life revolves around football whether she likes it or not. Her dad has just taken a job as the head coach at Rusk and her quarterback ex-boyfriend constantly shows up whenever she's around. Dallas just wants to have a real college experience, but football haunts her every move. When she meets Carson in a funny, dramatic, awkward way, she thinks she's found a guy that has nothing to do with football. By the time she finds out he's second-string quarterback, ready to take her ex's spot in the line up, and he finds out she's the coach's daughter, it's too late for them to stop the feelings riled up inside of them.

This is one of my favourite plots. As a reader, we know that Dallas is the coach's daughter and that Carson is a football player, but each character is in the dark and I loved waiting for the moment when all would break loose. Carmack wrote this wonderfully, in dual perspectives, keeping the dramatic irony going for just long enough for us to fall in love with both characters together. Dallas was very different from the girl NA characters I've seen out there. She's smart, ready to step away from her father's shadow, and put her bad relationship behind her. She's strong willed and not afraid to speak her mind, and her relationship with her father is very touch and go, as she tries to figure out who she is but still make sure her father knows she loves him. Carson has to work much harder than Dallas to get to where he wants to be. He works out and trains constantly, while also studying in his free time. When they start hanging out, Carson loses his focus and it's a harsh reality when you put someone you love before your needs. The conflict between the two of them, trying to keep the relationship under wraps, deciding if the relationship is worth it, and figuring out how to get through college, is written beautifully and captured me the entire time.

The fun part of reading NA, as I'm sure we all know, are the sexy scenes. These are the selling points to this genre and for good reason. You get all the angst and drama that you get in YA, but you also get the experience that us adults enjoy without the boundaries that YA puts on it. Carmack writes these scenes really well. They are too graphic like some and it's more about the tension between the two characters than anything else. I love a good steamy scene and boy does this book deliver! I lvoed that this involved sports, I feel like that broke it out of the very small NA shell and I loved getting to know the characters at Rusk University and I'm excited to get more of them. Every side character could have their own story and I hope Carmack has a plan for them. Stella was a long of fun and I know Silas is getting his own book next, All Broke Down, which actually comes out tomorrow! If you're looking for a fun, quick, saucy read, pick this one up! I'm sure you'll fall in love with Dallas and Carson as much as I did.

"I swallow and stare and swallow again, because dear, sweet Jesus riding a unicorn, he's perfect."

"It takes talent to be a gawking hot mess, and I am a gawking hot mess to the third power."

Review: Catching Jordan

Catching Jordan
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Published: December 1, 2011
Paperback, 283 pages
4 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

One of the boys.

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys though - she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. 

But everything she's ever worked for is threatened when Ty Green moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he's also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan's feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart's on the line?

It took me a long time to pick up a Kenneally book and I regret not reading this sooner. There aren't that many YA books with sports as a main theme, and though I don't know much about football, I really enjoyed reading about girl keeping up with the guys. Jordan is the Queen of the field, both the captain and the quarterback of her high school team and she's determined to get a scholarship and play football in college. Her father doesn't want her to play in college, worried that she'll get hurt, but she's not worried, she just wants to play. But when Ty Green shows up at school one day, the new kid and a damn good quarterback, she feels immediately threatened. But the more she tries to hate him, she the more she falls for him instead.

Every character in this book stood out to me. Jordan is brave, fierce, and determined. She's a really good friend to all the guys on the time and they are just as good back, willing to do anything to protect her. They never treat her like a girl and she likes it that way. Her best friend Sam Henry is with her every step of the way, rooting for her to get into a good school and play football in the big leagues. It's pretty obvious that he loves her, but she doesn't see this as she starts dating Ty. Ty was sweet and never tried to steal the QB position from Jordan, instead he encouraged her along with the rest of the guys.

Jordan's life isn't perfect though and she has to deal with a lot of problems that most teenagers face. She feels like her dad doesn't believe she can play as he never comes to watch her but he always goes to her brother's games. He's scared for her but she is determined to prove to him that she can do it. She is scouted by a college, but they only want her for her looks and because she is a girl and she knows she'll never actually get to play if she goes there. She's worried about her weight and what she looks like because she's bigger than the other girls in school. And of course she's fragile around Ty. her feelings overruling her head and she's not sure what to do. This is the perfect contemporary book, with a good plot and great characters. Kenneally has what it takes to be a great contemporary author and I'm excited to read her other books in this series.

"One thing I learned a long time a go is that even if you think you're meant to be with someone, that doesn't necessarily mean you get to be with them."

'When unrequited love is the most expensive thing on the menu, sometimes you settle for the daily special."