Rock Bottom Girl

4.5 stars — Well that was everything and a bowl of ice cream. Honestly? There were parts of this book that were like 10 stars, and then a few parts that were less, so I averaged and got to 4.5 rounded up…feel free to figure that one out. But seriously. I can’t tell you how much some parts of this book freaking delighted me. I laughed and laughed, and I didn’t even care if anything was over the top, because it didn’t feel over the top in a shameless looking for laughs way, it just honestly did make me laugh. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but I have a very specific tolerance for these things, and this one did not trip that switch. I was just having so much fun, I wanted more and more and more. The cast of characters was delightful. They were quirky and crazy and endearing and PERFECT. I never talk about the secondary characters first, but honestly? They played such an integral role in Marley and Jake’s lives that you can’t NOT talk about them. I even appreciated Amie Jo in a weird way! I mean, wait what? Marley was someone I simultaneously adored and wanted to smack on a frequent basis. I understood her to a degree, and I loved that through her we could see someone who internalized high school awfulness to the nth degree…and I guess I’m relieved that I didn’t do that. She focused so much on the negatives, that she completely glossed over everything good. She took FOREVER to figure things out, and I’m not sure I quite understand the depths of the kind of complex she must have had. That would be the part that was less for me, and prevented a full 5 stars. She just took slightly too long, and I felt for all the people who got hurt while she was focusing on the wrong things. But on the other side of it, we have this story with all these amazing wins! We got to see how one person could make such a difference without even realizing it, and I loved every single step forward she had with both her team and the students (and even old nemesises). It was a super feel good story in that way. I loved how at the same time all of those people were teaching *her* things about herself, and helping her grow as a person…especially her girls. And then there’s Jake. I loved that he was this seemingly god-like guy, but he was wholeheartedly not perfect…and not perfect in not great ways (especially the slobbiness). I love when characters get flaws to bring them down to earth and make them not too good to be true. Normally I like a 50-50 split with dual POV, but the off-balance worked really well in this story because it was mostly a growth story for Marley, but we still got to enjoy things from Jake’s side too. I couldn’t imagine this story without those occasional chapters from him. I adored him, and particularly adored the way he loved Marley. He was fun, caring, unapologetically overconfident…I don’t even know how to quantify him. And they were fire together. They made me laugh, they gave me amazing chemistry, they just had me swooning over the way they fit with one another. There were so many amazingly fun moments in this book that I’m never going to forget, and I can wholeheartedly see this book being added to my reread pile whenever I need a pick me up. I love it when a highly recommended book ends up actually being a match — it’s so freaking satisfying.

📚 Book Review: "Rock Bottom Girl" by Lucy Score 🏆 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ What I loved: 1. Marley & Jake’s chemistry 🔥 2. The high school nostalgia 🎓 3. Vicky 🤣 "Rock Bottom Girl" is the perfect small-town romcom packed with humor, second chances, and a fake-dating trope that delivers. Marley is at rock bottom—jobless, aimless, and reluctantly moving back to her hometown. But when she takes on the role of a high school soccer coach (despite knowing nothing about coaching), her past crush and new fake-boyfriend, Jake, steps in to help. This book gave me serious high school nostalgia in the best way. Marley’s self-pity moments were frustrating at times, but her journey of self-discovery, friendships, and rekindled romance made it all worthwhile. And let’s talk about Vicky—she was absolutely hilarious! We need a whole book about her because she was one of the best side characters I’ve read in a while. The humor kept me hooked, and while there was a moment near the end where Marley frustrated me (no spoilers, but girl), it didn’t last long. If you’re looking for a fun, laugh-out-loud, heartwarming read, this one’s for you. And yes, I’ll definitely be reading more from Lucy Score!

This book should be require reading for all ages. If you’re going to start high school this book will prepare you or you have been through high school to show you you’re not alone. I can’t say enough good things about this book. To say it delivered all the feels isn’t enough. On every level this story touched me in some ways. I laughed, a lot. I teared up, felt all the swoons and all the rejections as if it were my own. It took me down my own memory lane. In fact, I think it took everyone down memory lane. I don’t do spoilers cause I feel it’s unfair to the author but I feel safe in giving this part away. At one point Jake gives the class an assignment to create their own Declaration of Independence. I actually highlighted that paragraph because he was so cool, on point and inventive. It made me think of my favorite teacher, who was in fact my high school history teacher. She used similar techniques to keep us interested. I will never forget it. It made me love history. Anyway, that’s what this story does. It invests you in these peoples lives. The characters are diverse, charming, diabolical, sweet, funny, quirky, tender, loving and on and on and on. There is literally someone for everyone you want to meet. Marley can be every girl at one time or another. She’s insecure, feels bad about herself and certainly doesn’t see herself or anyone else clearly. Although, she thinks she does and she’s trying to be her best self. All the while shes’ growing but doesn’t know it. Jake is every girl’s fantasy, except he’s a mess (literally). He has his baggage but has dealt in a different way to handle his life. He thinks he’s happy (and he is) but he’s discovering there’s more to life than the way he’s been living. One of my favorite parts of Jake is his ability to make everyone feel special. He just says things to Marley like calling her pretty girl. Every time I read it my heart melted. I could visualize the smile, his eyes and the sincerity even if it was just a flirt. The secondary characters, which are every person you ever met in high school are as important to the story as the main characters. To watch them grow and evolve had me cheering and tearing up or howling with laughter. The bonus epilogue is worth the price of the whole book all by itself. Believe me you get way more than you will pay for this book. I couldn’t book this book down yet I didn’t want it to end. You want to stay with these people. I want to go AmieJo’s party. The scene in the tree will have you laughing, crying and commiserating. Seriously there are too many favorite scenes I cold go on about. I’ll just say it is one of my favorite reads for 2019 and I know it will remain there. It’s a book I will definitely re-read over and over. Lucy, you are a talented genius. Thanks for the laughs, the tears and a trip down memory lane.

I had the most amazing reading day today. I managed to get the washing, cleaning and shopping done AND start and finish a fabulous book. Actually, I'd have to say it was an amazing weekend of reading. Two 5-star books in one weekend are what every reader dreams of. Rock Bottom Girl took me on an emotional journey of highs and lows and left me with a big goofy smile. Marley has hit rock bottom and returned to her childhood home with her tail between her legs. Broke, homeless and single, at 38 she's desperate to finally be on the right path to success. Being home is not her path to happiness it's just a fork in the road. When her mum manages to score her a job as a soccer coach and PE teacher at her old school, she accepts it on the proviso that it's short term. Marley wants more than her small town, and she definitely doesn't want to get stuck being constantly reminded of her biggest mistakes. One of those mistakes...is still in town and still as sexy as he was at 17. Jakes Weston is a history teacher and cross-country coach. Besides teaching, his main priorities are his family, dog and fellow teachers. Now that he's nearly 40, he's started to realise that the short hook-ups and dating isn't enough. Jake's lonely and wondering if he's meant for more. When Marley comes back to town he can't help but remember that one steamy kiss under the bleachers. She's still extremely sexy and manages to make him laugh each time they're together. Maybe, Marley is the right person to test the waters to see if he could do more. Honestly, I loved this story. Yes, Marley could be a pain in the butt with her negativity and *woe-is-me* mentality but in some ways I kind of got her. Like Marley, high school was not my best years. Luckily, unlike Marley, I managed to move on and still lead a pretty great life. Poor Marley, never really found her happy place. Meeting Jake, falling for Jake, it seems like more but it's just a matter of time before it all goes wrong. Jake is my favourite type of hero. He's far from perfect, a little gruff, a wee bit egotistical and a know-it-all. But, the swagger has its charm, his sexiness and good looks make me swoon, and his thoughtfulness and kindness make me sigh. It's so nice to have the heroine stuff up instead of the hero. At times, I started to agree with Marley...Jake was too good for her. Rock Bottom Girl was funny, sexy and very thought-provoking. Lucy Score has thoroughly entertained me from start to finish. Her characters came to life for me and I enjoy her look into a small town. Most of this story revolves around the local high school and I loved seeing a positive side to what kids get out of modern media. If you're looking for a story to make you laugh, sigh and swoon, you can't go wrong with Rock Bottom Girl.

As a lifelong resident of Lancaster County, PA, reading this book was so delightful in a way that literally every other book I’ve read about my hometown has lacked. As a rule, I tend to stay away from books set in LancCo because the cringe factor is palpable (especially those Amish romance and wannabe trad wife books written by women who’ve never lived here—blech). However, Lucy Score did this place justice in a big way. Her Lancaster references and descriptions were freakishly accurate and absolutely hilarious, as usual. (I sent my sister the entire Dutch Blitz scene through tears because I was laughing so hard. We’ve had similar experiences with that accursed game and how the competition ruins friendships and families worse than Monopoly😂 and it was just so perfect. Like, *chef’s kiss* perfection.) Not to mention, I could absolutely see this entire book playing out on the backdrop of my own small town Amish country high school. Okay so now that I’ve waxed on about my apparent hometown love, let me just say that not only does Lucy Score nail it with the setting, but my God, her characters and plot are fantastic. We all know where the story is going to eventually end up (and let’s be honest that’s part of what we love about her books), but the hi-jinks and situations the characters get into in the meantime are somehow both absolutely hilarious and entirely relatable, which is a hard thing to achieve. The banter/conversation is a 10/10 without being hokey, there’s always some hidden quirky side of the secondary characters that make them even more endearing, and maybe it’s just because I’m a 37 year old woman who had dreams of leaving her hometown behind for something bigger and better and still happily ended up here anyway (thankfully with my own wannabe bad boy with a good heart), but I loved this book so, so much. Definitely recommend.

I was in a mini book slump before reading this and boy am I glad I picked this up. Initially, I had some misgivings because I wasn't liking the herione much, and there's still things I would slap her over to wake the eff up, BUT the overal story was awesome. The hero really takes the cake with this one because he's a "reformed" bad boy, who brings enthusiasm for all aspects of his life and he respects the heroine. Then as he respects her more and more, he tumbles into love for the first time in his bacherlordom and it's awesome to watch. He definitely balances out the heroine's insanity. Speaking of, she was a lot of work. Constant self-pity and disgust because she couldn't get over high-school bullying, which is a real thing and her feelings are valid. But for 90-percent of the book?? I felt like her insecurities were split down the middle between high school and feeling overshadowed by her sibling and both sides definitely got tired. However, her growth over the book is what makes it worth it. You see progress as she refuses to let history repeat itself in front of her eyes and learns how to be confident. So, when it gets to the climactic point and she regresses it is beyond frustrating. But ultimately she gets her head out of her derrier, so yay. I did like how all the characters were pretty well-fleshed out, even if I confused some of them in the larger group settings. It makes it way more interesting and feel more of a small town, but thankfully it didn't go into the "small town, small minds" thing. I especially liked the interactions with all the teens, they were funny. Overall, this was an excellent read I had a hard time putting down. The only thing that bothered me besides the grow-up-already heroine was how she interacted with the main kid bully; I felt like that was a missed opportunity to help stop that cycle. Although seeing the heroine and her main nemesis come to terms was hilarious and better than the constant antagonism.

Rock Bottom Girl by Lucy Score is a contemporary, small town, fake relationship, romantic comedy told in first person dual POV. Marley Cicero - 38-years-old, downsized, broken up with, and newly homeless - moves back in with her parents in her small hometown of Culpepper, PA. She takes a temporary position at the high school as a gym teacher and girls soccer coach but plans to get a better job and leave town as soon as the semester ends. High school was humiliating for Marley, so she's not thrilled about being back in the place where she experienced some of her worst days. She's also not thrilled to learn Jake Weston works there too, because he's responsible for one of her most painful high school memories. Jake Weston is the American History teacher and cross-country coach at Culpepper Junior/Senior High. He liked Marley in high school and they meet again when he rescues her and the girls soccer team from heatstroke. After Marley pulls a prank on the misogynistic, bullying, boys soccer coach, Jake covers for her by providing an alibi stating they were together because they're dating. This results in the school principal asking them to sign a morality contract stating they are in a monogamous relationship and thus begins their fake relationship. As is always the case in these situations, the lines between fake and real easily become blurred. Will Jake and Marley's relationship last beyond its expiration date? Will Marley leave at the end of the semester as planned? And what really happened between Jake and Marley in high school anyway? I loved Marley and Jake's story! The characters are close to my age, so the scenes from their high school years brought back memories of my own experiences and so much nostalgia. As a single woman, I could definitely relate to the feeling of being perceived as somehow being "behind in life" because my experiences are different than most women my age. I really enjoyed how Marley and Jake both learned and grew together bringing out the best in each other. The story was fun, sexy, humorous, and heartwarming. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I really enjoyed the first 2/3rds, but the third act kind of tanked it for me 🫠 I think it’s a personality/emotional maturity thing for me. I’m not a fan of grown adult women being told “I love you” to their face, only for them to turn around and be like “they couldn’t really love me, they’re confused”. Especially in their mid-to-late 30s. 😵‍💫 The Psych major in me is like: “Actually dude - let her go. Let her swim around in rock bottom for a bit and then invest in a few months-years of counseling before you try to make this work. In the mean time, feel free to go find someone who won’t require you to be the sole source of their sense of self esteem for the next 40 years, if your sanity makes it that far.” Again, it’s me - not the book. Lucy is a clearly a skilled, established, and well renowned author. It’s just a a personal pet peeve of mine (in real life) for grown adults to actively refuse to take any steps or any measure of responsibility to address their glaring insecurities. 😬 Were it not for that part of the arc, it would’ve been a solid 4 🌟s for me! It was cute, fun, light, and the characters were distinctive and quirky. So much to love here. It was my first Lucy Score and I may try another one in the future sometime if I can be convinced they’re not all about 30 year olds with the emotional maturity of a middle schooler. Open to recs!