All Broke Down by Cora Carmack

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Title: All Broke Down
Author: Cora Carmack
Series: Rusk University #2
Published by: William Morrow
Release Date: October 28, 2014
Format: Kindle Book
Pages: 371
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Sports Romance
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2018 Beat the Backlist Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 New Adult Challenge, Lenoreo's COYER Big Summer Birthday Bash 2018
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound
My rating:

Blurb:

In this second book in "New York Times" and "USA Today" bestselling author Cora Carmack s New Adult, Texas-set Rusk University series, which began with "All Lined Up," a young woman discovers that you can t only fight for what you believe in sometimes you have to fight for what you love.

Dylan fights for lost causes. Probably because she used to be one.

Environmental issues, civil rights, corrupt corporations, and politicians you name it, she s probably been involved in a protest. When her latest cause lands her in jail overnight, she meets Silas Moore. He s in for a different kind of fighting. And though he s arrogant and infuriating, she can t help being fascinated with him. Yet another lost cause.

Football and trouble are the only things that have ever come naturally to Silas. And it s trouble that lands him in a cell next to do-gooder Dylan. He s met girls like her before fixers, he calls them, desperate to heal the damage and make him into their ideal boyfriend. But he doesn t think he s broken, and he definitely doesn t need a girlfriend trying to change him. Until, that is, his anger issues and rash decisions threaten the only thing he really cares about: his spot on the Rusk University football team. Dylan might just be the perfect girl to help.

Because Silas Moore needs some fixing after all."

My Review:

4 stars — Oh, I enjoyed this one much more than the first one.  I felt like the story resolved a lot better at the end.  There were still storylines that I almost wish I had more of, otherwise I don’t know why they were included, but all in all much happier!

I will admit, one of the reasons this one didn’t rate higher for me is that I didn’t really understand why Silas hung out with Levi and participated in the bet in the first book.  It just didn’t feel like it worked with the Silas I got to know in this book, and I guess I wanted something there.  I really enjoyed the Silas we got in this book.  He had a lot of depth, and while I wouldn’t have minded an even deeper look into his background, I was satisfied enough with what we learned about how he grew up.  And I felt like it reasonably explained why he was how he was.  I will admit that I was not quite as satisfied with how the anger management issues were dealt with…which, wasn’t really at all.  Be calmer?  How is that sustainable?  Did he really deal with his past in the end?  Meh.  I guess what I liked most about him was how sweet he could be with Dylan.  I enjoyed seeing how she awakened another side of himself.  I also appreciated how he grew with Williams…at least that was moving in a good direction.

Dylan was an interesting character herself.  I thought she was a good foil for Silas, because she had passion, but she was also sweet and more innocent?  I appreciated the internal struggle she was going through — wanting to please everyone else, but finally realizing that she was losing herself in the process.  I wish I’d been able to see how her relationship with her family played out, but I did enjoy seeing her put herself first.

I LOVED the chemistry between them — from their meet cute in the holding cell to the steamy scenes they shared.  I loved seeing Silas care about Dylan, and want and feel more.  The only bummer for me was that I didn’t always like how Dylan saw the relationship…I know she was supposed to be convincing herself to downplay her feelings, but I didn’t always feel the feelings first and then the downplay if that makes sense.

I appreciated all the secondary characters in the story as well.  It makes me even more intrigued about Brookes, and of course Stella…which is a bit of a bummer since this series seems to have stalled after the next book.  So I’m super excited that we get Torres’s book at least, b/c he was freaking hilarious in this story.  I also really loved Matt, and would have enjoyed even more from him.

So happy I enjoyed myself more than the first book.  These stories have so much potential, and I think part of me is bummed that not all of that potential is met, you know?  Still a solid new adult book though.