All Broke Down (Rusk University #2)

All Broke Down by Cora Carmack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Let me just start by saying that I love this series. Cora Carmack has a winner with these books about football - because they're actually about football!

This second book features Silas, a guy with a troubled past who falls for Dylan - a girl from a good family who's a perfectionist with a heart. The strength of this book is these two characters who are more like real life people than not.

The synopsis for this book paints Dylan as a self-confident, driven activist who fights for worthy causes. In reality, she's more like an insecure good-girl who would like to live a little but is scared to death of disappointing her parents. Silas, on the other hand, is a good guy from a bad family who's just trying to escape his upbringing. And he has a bit of a temper. He's not an upstanding kind of guy; he's trouble. But he's trying.

One of the things I liked the most about this book was the way Silas kept refusing to let Dylan "fix" him. I also liked the way Dylan wouldn't take no for an answer. For all her insecurities, she was able to face what she wanted and had the courage to at least try. The deal they make that starts the romance is a bit far-fetched. Or maybe not, depending on the way you look at it. If Silas is a player who'll do just about anything to get this girl, then it's believable. If he's really serious about what he's agreeing to, then probably not. But you've gotta like a guy who's willing to look at himself and the mistakes he's making that are costing him dearly - and deciding to do something about it. And why wouldn't he when it involves a girl he wants?

And once again there's football! College football with real players doing real plays and talking about the real mechanics of the way the game is played. Silas doesn't just "go to practice." We get a look at the kinds of drills he does and how he deals with the various coaches. The football coach is tough on him. So while this is a romance, it's not just a romance. It's got some grit to it.

Cora Carmack has a good thing going here. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

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