Friday, May 9, 2014

Blog Tour Review and Deleted Scene: All Lined U by Cora Carmack






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.


4 Star Review by Lisa Kane

Dallas Cole is the new college football coach's daughter. She is hoping that even though he just started coaching the football team, that she won't be under his thumb so much. She lives for her dancing and this college has one of the best dance programs, so she has to make this work. Her father raised her, it's been the two of them forever, but there has always been a disconnect. She has always thought football came before her. He lives, breaths, and eats football. His players live in fear of him, because of his strict reputation.

If they weren't all petrified of my father. Or even worse...panting after him like he's bacon dipped in Nutella wrapped in more bacon.


Levi Abrams, Dallas' asshat, former boyfriend, goes to the same college, but she is hoping that his being there won't be a problem. He was her only lover, and he burnt her badly. She never told her father what a jerk he was, and he is now the star quarterback for the team. 

When she and her room mate Stella go to their first frat party, she nervous and out of practice.

God, do they make WD-40 for flirting? Because I am rusty.

But she manages to catch the eye of a gorgeous hunk named Silas. The two have some friendly flirting, she gets nervous and escapes to the bathroom. When she is coming back down she hears Silas and Levi talking about her and whether or not Silas will be able to get into her pants.

"Come on. Give me one hint, " Silas says. "Dude, it took me years to get in her pants." Levi. Freaking Levi. "No way I'm giving you an easy in. And no way you're managing it in one night. She's and icebox, man." I shiver. Like I really have been coated in ice. Silas chuckles before replying," oh ye of little faith." "Oh ye of little chance."

Frustrated, she goes into one of the bedrooms, walks out to the balcony and screams out. Little did she know, just like Romeo, a good looking guy was just underneath the balcony witnessing her little melt down.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you've decided against going Greek."

The two banter back and forth. She climbs down the balcony, falling on top of him. They joke and laugh and enjoy each other's company. When Silas comes looking for her she makes sure that she lets him know what she overheard, but that this time she'll keep her mouth shut, but if he bothers her again, she just might need to unburden her worries. He gets her point.  Disgusted with the guys that seem to be everywhere at this party, she lets Carson McClain (the Romeo like hunk she is talking to) know not to think she's sleeping with him. 

"Again with the assumptions," I say. "Like you weren't thinking about it." "Thinking about and expecting it are two different things. One makes me a douch-bag, the other just makes me a dude." 

The story is told in both POV's and we learn that Carson comes from a poor family, loves football and is trying to secure both a permanent position on the team and a scholarship. Girls can't factor into this plan. But maybe he can make an exception for Dallas. This guy is genuine and sweet and thoughtful. I think I may have to add him to my book boyfriend list!

These two take things easy and slow. When Dallas learns Carson is on the team and he learns she is the feared Coach Cole's daughter, things get a little complicated. But both agree to keep things from her dad.

"Carson McClain, you scare me like nothing has ever scared me before. You drive me crazy and make me laugh and push my buttons on purpose. You make me feel safe and smart and pretty. Sometimes I think I might actually melt when you wrap your arms around me, and right now I feel a little bit like I might die if you don't kiss me."

But they are fast falling for one another. What happens when a couple of vicious rumors threaten their relationship? What would her dad think about the two of them? Can they possible overcome all these obstacles? 

I enjoyed this book. There are some pretty colorful secondary characters and I saw that Silas is next up for his own story. I think Dallas' best friend and roommate Stella can certainly hold her own in a story. She and Ryan (her somewhat boyfriend) have the makings for one too. I hope we get to read about them.
DELETED SCENE

I’d dropped by the Fine Arts building yesterday before I went to lift, and I only had to ask a few people before I found out what time the Freshman studio dance class was.
I show up early to chat with the instructor, who is incredibly excited when I tell her that I’m thinking about signing up for a basic ballet class next semester. Plenty of football players have sworn by ballet as the secret to their success.
I’m not sure about all that, but watching Dallas prance around in a leotard for an hour sounds like the perfect use of my free period. I’m already anticipating the glare she’ll give me, and I’m irrationally excited about seeing that fiery look in her eyes.
The instructor tells me to call her by her first name, Annaiss. She says all the students do, and then she tells me I can watch from the corner of the dance studio. There are no chairs, but there’s a pile of mats that make a decent enough seat. So, I settle in and wait while she preps the room for class.
Unsurprisingly, Dallas is the first to arrive. She takes a seat right beside the door beneath the wooden bar that stretches down three walls of the studio. She opens her bag, and I see the traditional pointed toe shoes that I associate with dance, but she reaches beneath them and pulls out a simpler, stretchy pair of leather shoes. She’s wearing slim black yoga pants, and a white T-shirt that reveals the dark leotard underneath. Her gorgeous red hair is piled up on top of her head in a messy ball. She pulls up the ankles of her pants enough that I can see pale pink tights that are knotted around her shins. She slips off her flip-flops, throwing them in her back, and then undoes the knot on her tights and pulls them all the way down and over her feet. As she slips on the soft leather shoes, I see the hole she’s cut in the bottom of the tights so that she can pull them on and off her feet as needed.
I drink her in as she straightens out her long legs, her beige shoes bending to a delicate point. A few more girls enter, but Dallas doesn’t look up from her stretches. She bends at the waist, completely laying her body along the tops of her legs. Her back lifts as she takes a deep breath, and when she exhales, her body sinks even closer to her knees.
Still bent at the waist, she separates her feet, spreading her legs wide and then pressing her body close to the floor. My jaw is dropped in astonishment when a petite brunette playfully swats the bun on top of Dallas’s hair and plops down beside her.
Dallas lifts herself up just enough to rest on her elbows and turns her head sideways as she says, “Hey Esther. How was your…”
She trails off and then jerks upright, staring at me.
“Uh, Es? I’m gonna run to the bathroom really fast. If I’m not back by the time Annaiss gets started, apologize for me?”
She grabs her phone before darting from the room, and I’m already holding mine and ready by the time the text comes in.
What the hell do you think you’re doing, Carson?
I feel a small pang of disappointment that we’re not having this conversation in person. I remember how adorable she’d been at the party, stumbling over the word asshole like she’d never actually said it out loud.
We can talk after class.
Don’t be a tool.
OUCH.
Carson.
It’s not the most subtle exit in the world, and I’m sure I’m not fooling any of the girls in the room, but I get up, stretch, and casually leave the studio. I find her just around the corner in a hallway that leads to the restrooms. Her back is to me, and she’s holding her phone in a crushing grip that almost makes me turn around and go back to the class.
“You know… I kind of resent being called a tool.”
She jumps and let’s out a yelp that completely defeats the purpose of her stealthy hiding place. A group of students passing by peer down the hallway curiously, and her eyes widen for a few seconds before she schools her reaction.
“I didn’t call you a tool. I told you not to be one. It was preemptive.”
“It was hurtful.” I place a hand over my heart, holding back a smile, and her eyes linger on my chest for a few seconds longer than necessary. The surge of want I feel is damn near unbearable.
Her shoulders slump on a sigh, and she looks… resigned.
“What do you want, Carson?”
Now I feel like an ass.
“Hey,” I step forward and rest a hand on her shoulder. “I can leave if you want me to. I asked your instructor if I could sit in and watch to see if it’s something I might want to do to supplement my football workouts.” Her eyebrows lift in surprise, and I add, “If I’m honest, I’m also here to see you. To see if there’s something we could have in common besides football.” And our attraction.
I don’t say that last part, but when I smudge my thumb across the curve of her shoulder and she shivers, I know she’s thinking it.
“Fine. We can try to be friends, but if you’re serious about taking a dance class, it needs to be a different class. I won’t be able to concentrate with you in there.”
My grip on her shoulder tightens instinctively because, God, I want to kiss her. I want to push her up against the wall to her left, and I want to wrap her long legs around my waist and lose myself in her lips.




Cora Carmack Bio:
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.

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4 comments:

  1. mine is going to see a baseball game with my dad when i was a kid denise smith

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  2. When Joe Carter hit the game winning home run and the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series & then again the year after. Baseball was something my Dad and I always shared. Every season he'd take me to games & it was something special for just us.

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  3. When I was 7th grade I went with my dad to a soccer game! :)

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  4. I would have to say when I went to my first University of Kentucky basketball game with my dad! We had a blast!

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