Review: All Played Out (Rusk University #3) by Cora Carmack

Title: All Played Out
Author: Cora Carmack
My rating: 5 hearts
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publication date: May 12th 2015
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Synopsis: First person in her family to go to college? CHECK.
Straight A’s? CHECK.
On track to graduate early? CHECK.
Social life? …..yeah, about that….

With just a few weeks until she graduates, Antonella DeLuca’s beginning to worry that maybe she hasn’t had the full college experience. (Okay... Scratch that. She knows she hasn't had the full college experience).

So Nell does what a smart, dedicated girl like herself does best. She makes a "to do" list of normal college activities.

Item #1? Hook up with a jock.

Rusk University wide receiver Mateo Torres practically wrote the playbook for normal college living. When he’s not on the field, he excels at partying, girls, and more partying. As long as he keeps things light and easy, it's impossible to get hurt... again. But something about the quiet, shy, sexy-as-hell Nell gets under his skin, and when he learns about her list, he makes it his mission to help her complete it.

Torres is the definition of confident (And sexy. And wild), and he opens up a side of Nell that she's never known. But as they begin to check off each crazy, exciting, normal item, Nell finds that her frivolous list leads to something more serious than she bargained for. And while Torres is used to taking risks on the field, he has to decide if he's willing to take the chance when it's more than just a game.

Together they will have to decide if what they have is just part of the experiment or a chance at something real. (synopsis from Goodreads)

My thoughts: I loved this book. I loved the previous ones, too, but All Played Out might be my favorite so far.

   We met Nell (aka Antonella, Dylan's roommate) in All Broke Down. She's very into school, studies a lot and doesn't have much of a life outside of school, so when her roommate Dylan starts doing more than studying, she decides to make a list of things she has to do before she graduates in a few months (did I mention she's graduating early?), things that normal college students do, like pull an all-nighter and go to a party and stay more than 30 minutes.

   We met Mateo (aka Torres) the first time in All Lined Up. He's always joking, and in the previous book, he seems pretty happy, since he's always joking or flirting. If you don't know him really well, you'd think he has this great, easy life that everyone wants but no one really has, so it was interesting to read from his perspective.

   Nell could be my favorite character to read about so far from this series. She's a very logical person, and she sees everything in life as an experiment. She loves making lists. She makes decisions based on facts and logic, rather than her own feelings, she thinks with her head rather than her heart. She reminded me a little of myself, the way she always thought everything through and never made a decision without considering every possible outcome, all the consequences, but it didn't make her seem indecisive, but rather careful and smart. Everything about Nell felt well-thought out, kind of like everything in Nell's Life.

   There is chemistry between Nell and Mateo, although it's pretty different, since Nell has very little experience in that area. I think they make a very interesting couple, and that they can teach each other plenty, considering they are two completely different people, yet they have some similarities. It really made them the perfect couple.

   I also loved that every time it was from Nell's perspective, it started with "Nell's to-do list" and one or a few things from her to-do list. I think it added to her character, and I just really liked it.

   Enough about the characters. I could write an essay about how much I love them, but that would probably be pretty boring to read.

   I honestly have nothing to complain about; I loved the plot, the characters, and, most importantly, the character development. It's a crucial part of every book, no matter the genre. Everyone makes decisions, everyone makes mistakes, and so everyone grows. Simple as that.

   If you haven't read it yet, do, because you're missing out on a great reading experience.