“Hey,” I said, drawing her attention back to me.
She tried to soften her expression, but her eyes darted back to the game. “I just wanted to apologize for earlier. One of the freshmen had a meltdown that would rival Three Mile Island.”
“Three mile what?” I asked, searching my brain and coming up empty. “Wait isn’t that an Eminem song?”
“Dr. Monroe was right, you didn’t pay attention in class today.” She shook her head as a grin lifted her cheeks.
—
Mallory: What makes you think I’m reading anything?
I chuckled quietly.
Me: Just a hunch.
Mallory: Don’t judge me, but it’s a romance.
Me: A romance? Let me guess, a hot teacher falls for a sexy baseball player?
Mallory: It’s not a book of advice.
—
Shaking off the feeling of disappointing my father again, I took my computer out of my bag and powered up. The first email I saw was from MFine. I laughed at Mallory’s last name. She was pretty fine with that pixie face and hair a guy could get lost in. I opened it and smiled.
Dear Mr. Betts,
I hope you made it back to campus without any problems. We will meet in the library on the third floor by the microfiche. Nobody uses those except history majors and the area is always quiet. I’d like to meet on Mondays at three, Wednesdays at five, and Fridays at three. Our sessions will go no longer than an hour and a half; although I doubt we will need that entire time. Most of my tutoring sessions only last an hour, but I always schedule in extra time in case we hit a particularly difficult stretch. If these times are not going to work for you, please let me know immediately.
Sincerely,
M.Fine
I hit respond, amused by her formality. It was like talking to a character out of one of Chelsea’s silly historical romances. Not that I would know anything about that. Okay, not that I’d ever admit to reading one. Once.
Dear Ms. Fine,
Those times are acceptable. For now. In a few weeks, I’ll start physical therapy so we may need to make adjustments depending on the doctor. Is there anything you want me to bring to the sessions?
Sincerely,
Aaron #4
I waited less than a minute for a response.
Dear Mr. #4,
Bring your books and your brain.
Leave your brain, and we may need the entire hour and a half.
Mallory
Maybe this girl wasn’t as stiff as she pretended to be.
HOSTED BY:
I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting before breaking open Full Count to read. Maybe the typical new adult sports romance with the opposites attract storyline. That is so not what you get with Lynn Stevens’ Full Count.
From the beginning, I was quickly pulled into Aaron’s story. With his injury, Aaron’s history grade has fallen and his athletic standing is now in jeopardy. Although Mallory has misgivings working with Aaron, she takes on the job as his history tutor. There’s more to both characters than the other knows. Learning what keeps Mallory to herself is a revelation. Aaron’s POV is refreshing and kept me turning the pages.
Stevens breaks away from the typical and really gives a realistic portrayal of a student athlete with big dreams. We have characters that make decisions and live with the results of those decisions. I loved that Stevens gives readers complex characters that still grow and develop as we are reading their story.
Travels n Reads 