Allison: Slow and Steady Rush | Laura Trentham | Book Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

She lives by the book—and is still searching for her happily ever after.
Darcy Wilde has tried hard not to live up to her last name. As a librarian in Atlanta she lives a fine life far away from the football-obsessed town of her childhood. But when her beloved Grandmother needs help, Darcy takes a leave of absence and heads back to the home and past she left behind.
He knows how to play the field—and is in no rush to settle down.
Robbie Dalton knows a thing or two about painful pasts. After bouncing around in foster care and the Army for years he is finally ready to move on and make a home for himself in Falcon, Alabama as the newest high school football coach. Sparks fly when the sexy new coach and the sharp-tongued librarian meet, but neither of them is looking to make ties.
But when it comes to love, sometimes you’ve gotta throw away the rule book to cross the finish line…
Everything changes when Darcy falls in love, not only with the gruff, protective, and smoking hot man who's sharing her days and nights, but also with the complex tapestry of people who weave Falcon together. Could this be where she belongs - and who she belongs with?

So hold me now
I’m fallin’, I’m fallin’
Just lay me down and steal my heart tonight
There’s fire in your eyes
There’s magic in your touch
It’s too early to say
But it feels like us so
Hold me now, I’m fallin’, I’m fallin’ for you
-Lady Antebellum

Slow and Steady Rush by Laura Trentham is a delightful way to push away those winter blues I think all of us have been feeling recently. Set in a small town in Alabama, the author brings together two characters who have always felt like they’ve had a piece of themselves missing but never knew exactly where to look to find them. First, there is strong-headed Army veteran Robbie Dalton, who never felt like he had a place to really call home, and who is determined to officially start over in Falcon, and for once stop running from life. Second, there is snarky librarian Darcy Wilde, who grew up in Falcon but never felt like she ever really fit in, and who is forced to return to take care of her ailing grandmother Ada. Separately, these characters have built walls up around themselves for protection. Yet, when they’re together, these walls start coming down, and suddenly they find themselves on truly uneven territory for the first time in their lives.

Darcy and Robbie are fire together. They try to resist their attraction to each other but it proves to be a little bit harder than they anticipated. Especially when a little rumor gets started at the hands of Darcy and she finds herself in the position to help Robbie get out of it. Yep, she accidentally starts a rumor that he’s gay because of a simple misunderstanding, and the wrong person overhears, and because it’s a small town, the next thing you know it’s all over the place. So, in order to help him out of it, Darcy agrees to faux-date him until the rumors die down. Of course, once something like that is put into play, it’s a little harder to put out the flames than they originally thought they would be. Trust me, these two have chemistry is just the right ways but they’re both a little stubborn. Okay, maybe more than a little but again they’re both individuals who are struggling with many things in their personal lives. Like I said, they’ve both built walls … and sometimes walls are hard to break down … while other times they crack with the simplest little bit of force.

The small town of Falcon also impacts the way that Darcy and Robbie’s relationship works. Remember that little rumor that I talked about getting started? Well, for those of you who kind of grew up in a small town, you know how long those types of rumors last even with an attempt to combat them. Falcon is a town with some of the quirkiest characters. You’ve got Ada, who is Darcy’s grandmother, and who is one of Robbie’s biggest supporters as he becomes the newest coach for the high school football team. The rest of the town is not so sure about having a newcomer take over the football team so Robbie has a lot to prove, not only to himself but also the town. Luckily, he also has Darcy’s cousin Logan, who is an assistant coach and who is slowly becoming one of his good friends. There is also the local librarians and the Falcon high school football team members who each play a role in the connection between Robbie and Darcy as well as the small town sheriff and a flirtatious recent divorcee who is looking for more than a little comfort in the arms of Robbie who both amp up the angst factor in their relationship. All the characters in Falcon had a role, and helped with the connection between the main characters, and the overall push-and-pull sensation of Slow and Steady Rush.

Laura Trentham did a very good job at creating this town of Falcon, which is exciting because Slow and Steady Rush is only the first book in the Falcon Football series. I know that this a small town that I will want to go back and visit again. I want to know how the Falcon football team is doing especially after the influence which Robbie was able to have over them. I want to visit the local library and see how everyone is doing there. I also want to know what kind of small town high jinx are going on because after reading about what occurred in the first book, I can only imagine what else may happen in that area. Especially since Laura Trentham was able to hit on some pretty serious issues which are still very much occurring in small town America. I don’t want to give too much of it away, and I don’t want to stress the point too much as this really is a fun story (“Friday Night Lights + Steel Magnolias” according to my interview with Laura Trentham which was posted earlier this week) but I still feel like it deserves to be mentioned as it is important to the story.

All in all, I was a fan of the development of the relationship between Robbie and Darcy, and the way it progressed in the little town of Falcon, Alabama. I couldn’t help but want them to get together and to figure things out so that they could stay together without unnecessary problems ruining their happiness. They had me cheering for them from their first albeit awkward introduction. Looking back on it now, I must admit I’m laughing when I think about it. I truly hope that you all will give Slow and Steady Rush a chance because Laura Trentham is now definitely on my radar an author to keep an eye on, and I can’t wait for the next installment of the Falcon Football series to come out in July!