Info: William Morrow Paperbacks, copyright 2014, 360 pages
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. -Goodreads Description
The Rundown
This is the second book in Cora Carmack's Rusk University series. I read the first one, All Lined Up, too long ago to give it a proper review on my blog. The same goes for Carmack's first series, Losing It. Maybe one day I'll reread them to review, but let's be real, it would just be me being a gushing hot mess fan girl about how much I love Cora Carmack's books! She was my gateway author into the fabulous world of new adult lit back in 2013 when I first read Losing It.
We first met Silas in All Lined Up as Rusk's handsome, cocky running back who struck out with Dallas, the coach's daughter, in a play to win a bet. That's okay, because we got a great story out of Dallas and Carson! And, in my opinion, we get an even better, hotter story with Silas and Dylan!
I had always hoped there was more to Silas than what I saw in All Lined Up, and praise Jesus there is! Key people in his childhood saw that he could rise above where he came from, and football was his ticket out. Still, he's felt like an outsider at Rusk. He believes most of the students come from good homes and families, and he's just poor white trash pretending to fit in. After a run in with the past (first, his absent and all around bad news mom, then his all around bad news former friend and ex Rusk quarter back, Levi) he lands himself in a jail cell for fighting. What should have set the tone for a negative, downward spiral of a school year is about to change his life forever.
Why? Because in the holding cell across from him is sweet, beautiful, perfectionist Dylan. How does a good girl land herself in jail? By handcuffing herself to a sign during a protest to keep a local homeless shelter open, that's how. She just feels so trapped her current world. Almost invisible, like she's playing the role of perfect daughter, perfect student. Dylan even wonders if that's why her boyfriend of four years just ended it. For someone who fights for even the most hopeless of causes, why can't she stand up for herself? Still, she can't take her eyes off of the guy with bad news written all over him in the cell across from hers.
Dylan's more than just a perfect little rich girl. And Silas is more than just a bad boy. Their chance meeting sets them off on an unforgettable journey of friendship, love, and self-discovery. I want you to read it and know their story, so at the risk of spoilers I'll leave it at that!
Cora Carmack has this knack for writing New Adult exactly the way it should be! She blends a believable romance, likable characters, realistic trials and triumphs, and steamy scenes with the humor, parties, and coming of age in campus life. And her author note at the end of the book (after a very tragic thing happens to one of Silas & Dylan's friends) spoke to my heart about standing up and fighting for the underdog and what's right. We really all can be better. We owe that to one another.
For those of you unfamiliar with New Adult, think of it as the bridge between YA and Adult literature, with main characters typically in the 18-30 age range. Like teen lit: the college years!
Rating: 4/5 Stars: A really great & enjoyable read!
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