@swaldenauthor @KirstyLBooks
The Hopeless Romantics Book Blog are pleased to be a part of the Release Day Blitz for S Walden's "Good." (Review and Giveaway included.)
Cadence Miller is a good girl. She just happens to make one terrible mistake her junior year in high school which costs her ten months in juvenile detention. Now a senior, she’s lost everything: her best friend, the trust of her parents, driving privileges, Internet access. It’s a lonely existence.
But there is one bright spot: Mark Connelly, her very cute, very off-limits 28-year-old calculus teacher. She falls hard for him—a ridiculous schoolgirl crush headed nowhere. She can’t help it. He’s the only good thing at Crestview High. She doesn’t expect him to reciprocate her feelings. How inappropriate, right? But he does. And he shows her.
And that’s when her life goes from bad to good.
Review: Kirsty Lander:
* 5 Forbidden Hearts *
I apologise in advance for bad language but this book was fucking incredible. Completely. Totally. Absolutely out of this world. I loved it.
Cadence has spent the last year of her life in what she considers hell. She's been in juvie for committing one of the stupidest (I admit though, I giggled when I finally found) crimes. As part of her punishment whilst in juvie she has to pick up trash on the side of the highway. Humiliation at it's highest form. And it's about to all get worse when she bumps in to one of the hottest people she's ever laid eyes on, 'Midnight in a Perfect World'. Who is this guy that looked at her like she meant the entire world to him, like if he didn't have her he would rather die? She was about to find out..
A couple of days later, whilst on her first day back at school, she finds out exactly who this guy is. Her brand new, very hot, very cute, calculus teacher. Don't get me wrong, I know it was wrong and bad and completely inappropriate but I could not help rooting for these two. The attraction between these two was instant and I was pleased that nothing happened for a long time. I can't say that they tried very hard to deny their feelings because well, really, they didn't but Cadence at least really struggled to come to terms with what she was feeling. A 17 year old crushing on her teacher? A Christian 17 year old who has spent her life going to church and believing in rights and wrongs and that sex before marriage is all kinds of wrong. I actually felt a little sad for her for having all of these struggles.
Cadence's home life was awful after returning from her little stint in juvie. As I said, her whole family is Christian and spend a huge chunk of their time at church, so having a daughter who had been so 'bad' was surely embarrassing for them and her punishment was to not be able to live at all. She had no freedom, no friends, no life. Maybe a crush on her school teacher is just what she needed..
Dammit I just loved Mark or Mr Connelly so much.. I know it was wrong, he is 28 after all, but he cared about Cadence, wanted her to be happy and he knew all too well how much trouble he could get in if anybody was to find out but his love for Cadence was way more important to him than that. I completely understand that many people are going to have an issue with this, I mean I'm sure I should too but I just didn't. I didn't find that any of it was 'too much' or that it was wildly inappropriate. Yes, I did feel slightly uncomfortable with some things. For starters Cadence, when it comes to anything to do with sex, she is very naive and finds it way too uncomfortable to talk about it, let alone partake in anything so that was slightly too much at times. But Mark never pressurized her, pushed her, or made her do anything she didn't want to. And I think that helped me believe and fall for their love story.
S Walden's writing was what really made this book. A story like this could have really gone either way in whether I was going to love it. If it isn't done properly, in the right way, with no sleaze then it just isn't going to go well. That wasn't the case with Good though. It was written beautifully and perfectly and I didn't have one issue with it. The prologue sucks you in "Cadence.." I looked him square in the face. "They know." and oh my god I had to hold on tight and ride the crazy. I had to know where the story was going, what caused these two to be sneaking around and who knew? I was hooked.
This is book #1 of a two part series but there is no relationship cliffhanger. Yes there is a cliffy of sorts but Cadence and Mark are happy and ready to fight for their love. I can't wait for #2 because I just know they are going to have one hell of a battle on their hands. So excited!
Excerpt:
As soon as I heard the music start, I knew it was time to go in. I placed the rest of the programs on a nearby table and tentatively walked inside the sanctuary. I slipped into our usual row and tried my hardest not to look at Mr. Connelly. But it was impossible, and when I did glimpse him, I saw a tiny smile playing on his lips. What was that? I rolled my eyes and directed my attention to the large screen on stage that highlighted the words to the current song.
Ours was your typical big ass non-denominational church complete with Starbucks-toting attendees, a church band that liked to play U2 hits before the service, and a pastor who always wore jeans. He did more teaching than preaching, which I liked very much, never having been the type of girl who enjoys being yelled at or sweated on.
The church was more an auditorium than a classic sanctuary, and there were no pews. Just rows and rows of cushioned chairs. No hymnals. No cross up front. No pulpit. None of the traditional “churchy” things. We rarely took communion. And many people dressed inappropriately, at least according to my mom. She went livid the first time she saw a teenage girl walk in wearing sweatpants with the word “Juicy” plastered on her butt.
After the offering was collected, Pastor Tom took the stage and began his lesson. Mr. Connelly didn’t have a Bible, and while the verses were displayed on the screen up front, I shared with him. Another clichéd habit: when you see someone without a Bible, you share yours. I shouldn’t have, though, because when he leaned into me to get a better look at the page, I smelled his cologne. And it made me feel something I wasn’t supposed to feel inside a sanctuary. Or auditorium. Holy auditorium. Whatever.
“So it’s really about weighing options: what I can do versus what I should do,” Pastor Tom continued. “We have the will to choose. That’s how God designed us. Free will. Everything’s permissible. Go on and do it. But understand the consequences first.”
I inhaled deeply, almost tasting the cologne on my tongue, and wanted to rest my head on Mr. Connelly’s shoulder.
“Let’s read this verse again,” Pastor Tom said. “Paul says, ‘Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive’. So yeah, you can do whatever you want, right? Sure. But why would you do something that would ultimately harm you? What you really need to ask yourself before you engage in anything is, ‘Does this glorify God or me?’”
Mr. Connelly has nice lips.
“And why don’t we take it completely out of the “Christian” context for a minute,” the pastor went on.
I wonder what it would be like to kiss them.
“Whether you believe in God or not, whether you’re a Christ-follower or not, Paul’s words resonate with all of us. Ask yourself this: I’m permitted to do whatever I want, but how will it affect my life, my health, my relationships, my friendships, my community? Because whether you’re a Christian or not, those things matter. And unless you’re completely self-destructive, you want to live a healthy life. You want to have healthy relationships. You want what’s best for your community.”
What am I thinking? I can’t kiss my math teacher!
“So, in essence, that’s living ‘beneficial’,” Pastor Tom explained.
But maybe I could kiss him. Just a little.
You think that’s a good idea, Cadence? I heard my conscience ask. I mean, have you not been paying attention to the lesson for the last thirty minutes?
What lesson?
The lesson about not doing things you shouldn’t be doing. Like your math teacher, for one. Pay attention! my conscience cried.
I shook my head and huffed.
I was only fantasizing, I argued.
And that’s where the trouble begins.
Whatever, I replied.
At the end of the lesson, we sang one more song. I didn’t sing any of the songs in the beginning of the service because I was too nervous being so close to Mr. Connelly. But I couldn’t resist the closing song, and sang along with the crowd, forgetting for a moment that Mr. Connelly was standing beside me until he mentioned my singing after church.
“You have a really pretty voice, Cadence,” he said.
“Thank you,” I replied, eyes glued to the floor.
“If there was a choir, you ought to be in it,” he went on.
“No choir here. This is a contemporary church,” I said, grinning.
“I gathered as much. And I suppose ‘contemporary’ defines a place of worship that, in no way, resembles a traditional church?” he asked.
“You got it,” I replied.
“It’s very sneaky,” he said.
I laughed. “Sneaky?”
“Oh yes. You make it look this attractive, and who can resist?” he asked.
I instinctively smoothed my hair. I knew he was referring to our church service, but the way he looked at me suggested he was really talking about me. It was that same look. The one from Highway 28.
About S. Walden:
* 5 Forbidden Hearts *
I apologise in advance for bad language but this book was fucking incredible. Completely. Totally. Absolutely out of this world. I loved it.
Cadence has spent the last year of her life in what she considers hell. She's been in juvie for committing one of the stupidest (I admit though, I giggled when I finally found) crimes. As part of her punishment whilst in juvie she has to pick up trash on the side of the highway. Humiliation at it's highest form. And it's about to all get worse when she bumps in to one of the hottest people she's ever laid eyes on, 'Midnight in a Perfect World'. Who is this guy that looked at her like she meant the entire world to him, like if he didn't have her he would rather die? She was about to find out..
"He's cute. Very cute. And very smart. And very manly... And very off-limits."
"Those are always the best love stories,"
"Which ones?"
"The dangerous ones."
Cadence's home life was awful after returning from her little stint in juvie. As I said, her whole family is Christian and spend a huge chunk of their time at church, so having a daughter who had been so 'bad' was surely embarrassing for them and her punishment was to not be able to live at all. She had no freedom, no friends, no life. Maybe a crush on her school teacher is just what she needed..
"You're the saddest thing I've ever seen, Cadence. The loneliest thing I've ever seen.
And any chance I get to see you smile, I'm gonna take it."
Dammit I just loved Mark or Mr Connelly so much.. I know it was wrong, he is 28 after all, but he cared about Cadence, wanted her to be happy and he knew all too well how much trouble he could get in if anybody was to find out but his love for Cadence was way more important to him than that. I completely understand that many people are going to have an issue with this, I mean I'm sure I should too but I just didn't. I didn't find that any of it was 'too much' or that it was wildly inappropriate. Yes, I did feel slightly uncomfortable with some things. For starters Cadence, when it comes to anything to do with sex, she is very naive and finds it way too uncomfortable to talk about it, let alone partake in anything so that was slightly too much at times. But Mark never pressurized her, pushed her, or made her do anything she didn't want to. And I think that helped me believe and fall for their love story.
S Walden's writing was what really made this book. A story like this could have really gone either way in whether I was going to love it. If it isn't done properly, in the right way, with no sleaze then it just isn't going to go well. That wasn't the case with Good though. It was written beautifully and perfectly and I didn't have one issue with it. The prologue sucks you in "Cadence.." I looked him square in the face. "They know." and oh my god I had to hold on tight and ride the crazy. I had to know where the story was going, what caused these two to be sneaking around and who knew? I was hooked.
This is book #1 of a two part series but there is no relationship cliffhanger. Yes there is a cliffy of sorts but Cadence and Mark are happy and ready to fight for their love. I can't wait for #2 because I just know they are going to have one hell of a battle on their hands. So excited!
Excerpt:
As soon as I heard the music start, I knew it was time to go in. I placed the rest of the programs on a nearby table and tentatively walked inside the sanctuary. I slipped into our usual row and tried my hardest not to look at Mr. Connelly. But it was impossible, and when I did glimpse him, I saw a tiny smile playing on his lips. What was that? I rolled my eyes and directed my attention to the large screen on stage that highlighted the words to the current song.
Ours was your typical big ass non-denominational church complete with Starbucks-toting attendees, a church band that liked to play U2 hits before the service, and a pastor who always wore jeans. He did more teaching than preaching, which I liked very much, never having been the type of girl who enjoys being yelled at or sweated on.
The church was more an auditorium than a classic sanctuary, and there were no pews. Just rows and rows of cushioned chairs. No hymnals. No cross up front. No pulpit. None of the traditional “churchy” things. We rarely took communion. And many people dressed inappropriately, at least according to my mom. She went livid the first time she saw a teenage girl walk in wearing sweatpants with the word “Juicy” plastered on her butt.
After the offering was collected, Pastor Tom took the stage and began his lesson. Mr. Connelly didn’t have a Bible, and while the verses were displayed on the screen up front, I shared with him. Another clichéd habit: when you see someone without a Bible, you share yours. I shouldn’t have, though, because when he leaned into me to get a better look at the page, I smelled his cologne. And it made me feel something I wasn’t supposed to feel inside a sanctuary. Or auditorium. Holy auditorium. Whatever.
“So it’s really about weighing options: what I can do versus what I should do,” Pastor Tom continued. “We have the will to choose. That’s how God designed us. Free will. Everything’s permissible. Go on and do it. But understand the consequences first.”
I inhaled deeply, almost tasting the cologne on my tongue, and wanted to rest my head on Mr. Connelly’s shoulder.
“Let’s read this verse again,” Pastor Tom said. “Paul says, ‘Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive’. So yeah, you can do whatever you want, right? Sure. But why would you do something that would ultimately harm you? What you really need to ask yourself before you engage in anything is, ‘Does this glorify God or me?’”
Mr. Connelly has nice lips.
“And why don’t we take it completely out of the “Christian” context for a minute,” the pastor went on.
I wonder what it would be like to kiss them.
“Whether you believe in God or not, whether you’re a Christ-follower or not, Paul’s words resonate with all of us. Ask yourself this: I’m permitted to do whatever I want, but how will it affect my life, my health, my relationships, my friendships, my community? Because whether you’re a Christian or not, those things matter. And unless you’re completely self-destructive, you want to live a healthy life. You want to have healthy relationships. You want what’s best for your community.”
What am I thinking? I can’t kiss my math teacher!
“So, in essence, that’s living ‘beneficial’,” Pastor Tom explained.
But maybe I could kiss him. Just a little.
You think that’s a good idea, Cadence? I heard my conscience ask. I mean, have you not been paying attention to the lesson for the last thirty minutes?
What lesson?
The lesson about not doing things you shouldn’t be doing. Like your math teacher, for one. Pay attention! my conscience cried.
I shook my head and huffed.
I was only fantasizing, I argued.
And that’s where the trouble begins.
Whatever, I replied.
At the end of the lesson, we sang one more song. I didn’t sing any of the songs in the beginning of the service because I was too nervous being so close to Mr. Connelly. But I couldn’t resist the closing song, and sang along with the crowd, forgetting for a moment that Mr. Connelly was standing beside me until he mentioned my singing after church.
“You have a really pretty voice, Cadence,” he said.
“Thank you,” I replied, eyes glued to the floor.
“If there was a choir, you ought to be in it,” he went on.
“No choir here. This is a contemporary church,” I said, grinning.
“I gathered as much. And I suppose ‘contemporary’ defines a place of worship that, in no way, resembles a traditional church?” he asked.
“You got it,” I replied.
“It’s very sneaky,” he said.
I laughed. “Sneaky?”
“Oh yes. You make it look this attractive, and who can resist?” he asked.
I instinctively smoothed my hair. I knew he was referring to our church service, but the way he looked at me suggested he was really talking about me. It was that same look. The one from Highway 28.
About S. Walden:
S. Walden used to teach English before making the best decision of her life by becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Georgia with her very supportive husband who prefers physics textbooks over fiction and has a difficult time understanding why her characters must have personality flaws. She is wary of small children, so she has a Westie instead. Her dreams include raising chickens and owning and operating a beachside inn on the Gulf Coast (chickens included). When she's not writing, she's thinking about it.
She loves her fans and loves to hear from them.
Author Links:
Email: swaldenauthor@hotmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/swaldenauthor
Twitter: @swaldenauthor
goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/swaldenauthor
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