Book Review: Chasing the Rush by Lauren Rowe

I was thrilled to start reading Chasing the Rush! It was a light and entertaining story filled with great banter and just the right amount of spice. Luca and Chelsea were perfect together! The second book in the Footballs and Feels series is now available!

Chasing the Rush (Football and Feels #2) by Lauren Rowe

Rudy meets Moneyball in a sexy yet warm-hearted, second-chance football romance for fans of Sarah Adams, Tessa Bailey, Monica Murphy, Kristen Callihan, and Lucy Score, as the analytical, math-nerd, type-A daughter of a tough love coach is assigned to babysit the team’s adrenaline junkie pass rusher.

Chelsea Parker, 25, knows football, thanks to growing up with a football coach for a father and two linebackers for brothers. But Chelsea’s true passion has always been math: crunching numbers to predict statistical outcomes for everything from football to stocks to romance. Chelsea dreams of merging her two passions to become the first female head of analytics for an NFL team. But for now, she’s got to convince the powers-that-be at her father’s new team, the Mastodons, the worst in the NFL, to give her that entry-level position in the front office.

Luca Maguire, 26, a pass rusher and adrenaline junkie with a famous last name, knows this upcoming training camp with his new team, the Mastodons, will likely be his last, if he can’t get out of his own way long enough to make the cut. The dire nature of his circumstances is the only reason Luca didn’t quit on the spot when Coach Parker assigned his daughter, Chelsea, a statistics-loving, spreadsheet-making math nerd, as Luca’s “personal coach” for the duration of camp. More like his babysitter, if you ask Luca.

Well, okay, Luca didn’t quit for that reason and another one: the thing that happened seven years ago between Luca and Chelsea as strangers, when Luca’s college football team stayed at the same hotel as Chelsea’s mathletes squad. Luca would never admit this to Chelsea, especially not with her being Coach’s daughter and the newly assigned bane of his existence, but the truth is Luca hasn’t stopped thinking about that cute little mathlete who ditched his ass seven years ago, right before their clothes came off, ever since.

4 out of 5 stars

Chasing the Rush was so incredibly entertaining! I loved the humor and fun and the off-the-charts chemistry and banter between Luca and Chelsea. It was steamy and exciting, and I had a fantastic time reading it. I loved their connection, the push and pull between them, and how they had to keep their relationship under wraps, creating so many witty scenes. Wonderful addition to the series!

I loved learning about Luca and Chelsea and how they first met. They were so cute and flirty. The instant connection they had was so sweet. I liked them reconnecting as adults and how Chelsea held herself back because of what she was trying to accomplish in life. Luca had an infectious personality, I loved him being in hot pursuit of her. It was so entertaining how she was in the position to have to babysit him, that made for a lot of playful scenarios and moments. Luca could be a bit over the top at times, but his heart was in the right place. I liked their back and forth as their feelings and connection grew and how it eventually exploded. There was such a great build to their happily ever after.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and thought it flowed well. I liked the dual POVs and how Luca and Chelsea were both faced with obstacles but worked through them and grew. Granted, they did have some moments where they came off younger than they were, but I was so hooked, I kept turning the page, excited for what was next. I loved the build to them truly connecting and when their feelings showed through. I liked the different relationships involved thanks to the full cast of characters and how lively the story felt. There were quite a few football details involved, and I thought it worked well with the story, not too much but just enough.

This was such a charming, light read with the right amount of spice mixed in. There are bits of drama mingled in but nothing too stressful. It was a story that left me smiling and happy and rooting for these two. This was an awesome read that was hot and sweet all rolled into one!

Complimentary copy received.