Favorite Quote:
I never really know which of Cora's novels will be my favorite. I always think it will be the most recent one I have read. The same goes for this one and she did not let me down. Each and every novel is better than the last. This novel is about breaking down your walls and really living life. I ADORED it. I have to say it might be her best work yet.
Nell is living her college life to the absolutely least. She is excelling at her academics, but as for the rest of the life? None of it exists. So Nell makes a plan. She is a planner and a list maker. A girl after my own heart. So Nell makes a list. A Bucket List that she wants to finish before she graduates.
Hello Mateo Torres. Nell and Mateo meet at a party with mutual friends and from there the real adventure begins. They are both drawn to each other for different reason, and despite warnings from friends they can't help each other. That is where our story really takes off.
This book fit right in with the Rusk series and still felt all its own. It was a novel about breaking down misconception and finding the true you behind all the façade. Mateo and Nell aren't all who you think they are. Both of them completing this list for different reasons. Nell because she wants to really experience life and live in the moment, and Torres because he can't seem to pull himself away from anything related to Nell. He wants to see her succeed and be the reason she gets too. Beyond that, this story is also about Torres finding out some truths about himself. That is the thing with bucket lists and love. Neither tend to leave you with what you thought you were getting. Live in the moment and let it take you where it will.
A story about falling in love in the most unique way. Join Nell and Torres on this adventure. Equal parts laughter and romance, this is another Carmack novel that you will want to add to your shelves.
My Bucket List:
For this tour we are each doing a Bucket List of a different variety. For our stop we are doing Places you should visit before you die. Now, I am not a very well traveled person so I took my own twist on this. I made a list of ten places i want to RE-VISIT with my husband before we die. Each place for a specific reason. That is that thing with bucket lists, they don't always have to be things have Haven't done, they just need to be goals that you want to do before you die. For Nell, this list was of things she felt she should be before she graduated. Though her journey may not be the same as yours, it was an adventure to read and definitely inspiring. When you makes lists and goal, you have set things to work towards. For Nell this brought her out of her shell. For you, who knows?
Okay, so now onto my list.
1. Groton, CT - I want to revisit the place where my husband and I got married.
2. Pensacola, FL - The place where my first child was born. I never got to swim in the ocean. This needs to happen.
3. San Diego, CA - I would love to really take advantage of this glorious place and revisit all the fond memories we made while living here.
4. Grand Canyon - We planned to visit here but never made it on our trip. I would love to see a place that has inspired many.
5. New Orleans, LA - Another place that haunts my desires. I would love to experience the awe of this entire place. The love that floats in the air and the history of it.
As you can see, my list isn't exciting or anything or grander, but it is special to me for my own reasons.
If you had a list what is something you would put on it?
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.
