Joint Review – Rush Me by Allison Parr

Publisher: Carina Press

Publish Date: Out Now

How we got this book: NetGalley

 

When post-grad Rachael Hamilton accidentally gatecrashes a pro-athlete party, she ends up face-to-face with Ryan Carter, the NFL’s most beloved quarterback.

While most girls would be thrilled to meet the attractive young millionaire, Rachael would rather spend time with books than at sporting events, and she has more important things to worry about than romance. Like her parents pressuring her to leave her unpaid publishing internship for law school. Or her brother, who’s obliviously dating Rachael’s high school bully. Or that same high school’s upcoming reunion.

Still, when Ryan’s rookie teammate attaches himself to Rachael, she ends up cohosting Friday night dinners for half a dozen football players.

Over pancake brunches, charity galas, and Alexander the Great Rachael realizes all the judgments she’d made about Ryan are wrong. But how can a Midwestern Irish-Catholic jock with commitment problems and an artsy, gun-shy Jewish New Englander ever forge a partnership? Rachael must let down her barriers if she wants real love–even if that opens her up to pain that could send her back into her emotional shell forever.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

 

MinnChica: I was a little hesitant to start reading books in the NA genre, mostly because I not a big fan of young adult books. At All. But I decided to give this one a chance because of it’s football playing hero. I love my sports romance books. I have to say, I am so glad that I took a chance on this book. I loved it so much, the hero, the heroine, the self-discovery… it was all so wonderfully done. It was the perfect introduction into the New Adult genre, and I’m anxious to read more!

Lou: I’m so glad MinnChica decided to take a chance on NA because there are some great books out there. Rush doesn’t have a young tone so even though this is geared up towards the NA genre, I do think it can also be listed in adult contemporary romance. Rush Me is very much about the heroine’s discovery and learning to trust herself where she has some big self-doubts, especially when it comes to her sexuality. Rachael doesn’t take chances but she decides to take one of her biggest chances in party crashing a party that is full of footballers. During her accidental party crash, Rachael meets the arrogant and sexy, Ryan, the star quarterback of (can’t remember the name of the footie team) and ends up arguing with him about jocks and their brains. Their first meeting was full of stereotypical insults coming from both sides and I wondered how both Ryan and Rachael would change their views on each other throughout the book.

MinnChica: I always love when a couple starts as enemies, and Rachael and Ryan are the perfect example of this. Ryan pisses Rachael off, and she comes back verbally swinging with all her might. I love that they are adversaries, but as they spend more and more time together, they realize just how good and hot they can be. I adored it! Plus, I thought the way that Parr forced them to spend time together was genius. It was a great way to show Rachael’s tiny bit of heritage, have her get some friends from outside her normal circle, and thrust her front and center into Ryan’s life. Love. Love. Love!

Lou: My favourite parts of the novel, apart from the scenes with Ryan and Rachael, are the scenes with Rachael and the rest of the footballing team and how she bonds with them. The poker game scene was fantastic, and I loved that Rachael didn’t shy away from making male friends. Rachael was bullied in school, and whilst I sometimes thought she was a little harsh in her insults towards Ryan, I could understand where she was coming from. When she first meets Ryan he’s getting  a blowjob so it’s not the greatest of first meetings. Going back to her bonding with the team, like MinnChica, I loved that her Jewish heritage was the main factor in bonding with one of the members of the team, and the others joining in. It was great seeing a football team highlighted in such a positive manner, but I did question, was it realistic?

MinnChica: I thought that Rachael was a little harsh with Ryan at times too, but I kinda liked that about her. She didn’t let her past dictate the way people would talk to her, and she used her quick wit to the fullest advantage. I can also see why you would question the validity of such a wholesome professional football team, but I liked it. Sure it wasn’t all that realistic, but I kinda like the idea of a group of professional athletes that were all around great guys. They weren’t the kind of cocky douchebags of today’s professional athletes. I hope that Parr will continue to write stories about these other great guys!

Lou: This novel was positive in the friendships and relationships shown which was fabulous. I thought her relationship with her brother’s girlfriend was interesting at first but it sort of fizzled out towards the end where they both forgave each other. I kinda wanted the girlfriend to at least acknowledge the pain that she put Rachael through but it felt as if she was still acting like she did in high-school. Rachael treated Ryan worse than how she treated the bro’s girlfriend so in that aspect I wanted a little grovelling. I also wanted to mention that I loved that this book wasn’t instant love with the two main characters. Rachael has sex with another man in the novel and whilst I like only my heroes and heroines to smex with each other, the scene was done well in regards to where the story was because Ryan and Rachael were not boyfriend and girlfriend, nor were they dating. All in all this was a fun read where sports people were shown in a positive light. I hope to see more books about the other guys and see where it leads. I also loved that her career was given equal attention and I loved how proactive Rachael was in wanting her dream job.  I give Rush Me a B.

MinnChica: All in all I really enjoyed Rush Me, and the wonderful introduction to the New Adult genre. This book got me excited to read more coming-of-age stories that are mixed with the romance that I love dearly. I adored Rachael and Ryan together, as well as separately. they were fun and sassy characters to read, and their romance was easy to root for. I loved the supporting cast of characters as well, and hope we get to see more from Parr.

I give Rush Me an A-

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