All Lined Up by Cora Carmack

 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 have never been disappointed in a Cora Carmack book I’ve read.  To me, she’s like the master of the coming-of-age story.  I mean, there are a ton of college age books out there right now, but Cora manages to put her own stamp on this kind of story.  The characters stick with you, make you feel, and many times make you laugh.  This is the first book in a new series, and I have to say it did not disappoint.

All Lined Up is the story of Dallas. She’s a dancer; her dad is a college football coach.  Dallas hates football, and is only attending Rusk University because her father doesn’t give her a choice.  She’d rather be at a dance school, but is making the best of it.  Carson McClain is trying desperately to get noticed as a walk on player.  In the shadow of the star quarterback, he’s working hard to make his dreams come true.  Those dreams don’t include women, especially the coach’s daughter.  But life doesn’t always work out as planned, and Dallas and Carson must decide if they will fight their attraction, or fight for one another, no matter the price.

I could not put this book down, it was awesome.  I have read Cora’s books since the Losing It days, and I have to say that I can really tell she has grown as a writer.  I loved “Losing It”, but the characters in this Rusk University book have an amount of depth to them that may have been missing from earlier books.  I really felt for Carson and Dallas, their individual struggles and the struggles they faced together.  They were easy characters to get to know and fall in love with.  I enjoyed reading their journey.

I also loved the forbidden love element to this book.  Dallas is not into football players (anymore) and Carson is afraid to rock the boat with the coach by dating his daughter.  When they meet, each has no idea who the other is.  When they find out…oh boy.  The attraction has been established, and it’s difficult for either to walk away.  The tension and angst of the whole thing will keep you totally into this story.

Overall, I thought this was a great and promising start to a new series and I can’t wait to see where it takes us in the different character’s lives.  4.5 stars!