Rock Bottom Girl: A Small Town Romantic Comedy

By: Lucy Score

Narrated by: Natalie Duke, Stephen Dexter

Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

"You may be faking the relationship, but you're not faking the orgasms."

Downsized, broke, and dumped, 38-year-old Marley sneaks home to her childhood bedroom in the town she couldn't wait to escape 20 years ago. Not much has changed in Culpepper. The cool kids are still cool. Now they just own car dealerships and live in McMansions next door. Oh, and the whole town is still talking about that Homecoming she ruined her senior year.

Desperate for a new start, Marley accepts a temporary teaching position. Can the girl banned from all future Culpepper High Homecomings keep the losing-est girls soccer team in school history from killing each other and prevent carpal tunnel in a bunch of phone-clutching gym class students?

Maybe with the help of Jake Weston, high school bad boy turned sexy good guy. When the school rumor mill sends Marley to the principal's office to sign an ethics contract, the tattooed track coach, dog dad, and teacher of the year becomes her new fake boyfriend and alibi - for a price. The Deal: He'll teach her how to coach if she teaches him how to be in a relationship.

Who knew a fake boyfriend could deliver such real orgasms? But it's all temporary. The guy. The job. The team. There's too much history. Rock bottom can't turn into a foundation for happily ever after. Can it?

Warning: Story also includes a meet-puke, a bouffanted nemesis, a yard swan and donkey basketball, a teenage-orchestrated makeover, and a fake relationship that gets a little too real between the sheets.

©2019 That's What She Said Publishing, Inc. (P)2024 That's What She Said Publishing, Inc.

Awww great story…

About how unhappy we all are on the inside! Lmao! Actually it was super cute, very relatable on so many levels - there is a midlife situation for all represented in this book. Marley had a tough string of events that did a number on her confidence starting in high school. She ends up back home and finds herself though it takes busting up the reality of her dreams before she recognizes it. The love story is good too but Marley’s journey here is really the highlight. In most romances I’d have liked a baby bump epilogue but this is even better and more appropriate - people who want to see a couple with no intentions or interest in having kids? This is your book! I will say I was a bit frustrated by Marley holding her sister on this pedestal and tight fisting this “dream” that wasn’t REALLY hers but there was a lot of realism here too. It’s hard to let go and really make yourself happy sometimes. Painful process. Great book!

Laugh out loud funny

This was a very cute and funny book. This is my first Lucy Score book. it was a very feel good, entertaining small town romance .
Natalie Duke is brilliant in this. Her comedic timing, her delivery and just that little bit of snark she gave to Marley was all so perfect.
Stephen Dexter is a fantastic Jake. His more somber moments were my favorite.
Altogether this was a really good listen.

Three dimensional characters you can care about

I really got invested in these characters. Jake helped Marley find the confidence to be her real self and learn to be present in the moment. I was willing to spend 14 hours because they evolved and grew. And they were FUNNY!

The one issue that made the 14 hours really drag was how loooonnnngggg it took Marley to get past the idea that everything was always her fault. Really tiresome Marley. The proverbial “get over it”.

But I am for sure going to try more books by Lucy Score.

Score!

Such a sweet(a little heat!🔥), funny, and fantastical story! Always love a Lucy Score book!

Loved it!

Fantastic story with fantastic narration! They both delivered some great performances that made me visualize the story wonderfully. Well done and absolutely recommend a listen!

Loved It!

While so many moments had me reliving my own not-so-great high school experience, I was more entertained by Marley and Jake that my own crisis thankfully averted. Great story, great character chemistry, literally LOL banter in every chapter.
Outstanding by performance by Duke and Dexter.

Jake Weston………🥵

Marley is trying to restart life in a new setting. Jake just happens to work at the same school. The heat becomes hotter with this story! Narrator was delivered exceptionally well! Lucy Score does it again!

Funny and Sweet. No need for so much saucy talk!

i would have rated this book a 4 all around if it weren't for unnecessary use of sex descriptors peppered throughout the book. I am not a prude, it was just an "Okay, got it. The characters lust after one another.". The characters were well developed and the book funny and sweet. Almost quit after the 3rd incident of sex talk but glad I finished it.

Great Narration

I'm giving this one 4.75 stars because I really loved it.

It was funny and emotional and heartwarming and swoony and sexy and all the good things that a romance novel should be!

Marley has hit... rock bottom. She's 38 and she's lost her job and her boyfriend and moves back home with her parents. She ends up getting a temporary job as her old high schools gym teacher and the coach of the girls soccer team.

I love Marley. I saw so much of myself in her. Especially moments like:

𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐈’𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.

I can't imagine being thrown into the lions den of teenage girls and the way that Marley gets these people to come together and work as a team takes a while, but it's hilarious on it's journey.

And then there is Jake. Inked, former bad boy cross country coach and history teacher. They shared a kiss back in high school and I don't think Jake ever stopped thinking about her.

“𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦? 𝐇𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐱 𝐠𝐨𝐝! 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞. 𝐇𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐨𝐠-𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐮𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲.”

I mean, what's not to like? The fact that he falls first and falls HARD is just so swoony.

Marley is trying to just move on with her life and suddenly she and Jake have to fake date to keep the principal of the school happy.

It's a story of overcoming the horrors of high school, of confronting your bullies, of standing up for yourself and what you want. Heck it's a story about realizing what you DO want. Marley spends so much time trying to get out of her home she doesn't stop long enough to realize it has everything she wants. And it's so special when she finally does.

Then the part that is the most special to me. We have two fully childfree MCs and we don't see these enough in romance. There is a bit of a twist to this at the end, but no pregnancies for the MCs in this book! More childfree characters please!

𝐈’𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐈 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈’𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Overall, I loved it so much. It's got so much in it that I love, and I just took off a bit because the 5th act breakup is kind of lame. I got over it though. :)

Narration put me off

I have read and really enjoyed this book. I did not enjoy the narration, I only made it through two chapters before giving it up.