Wednesday 27 November 2013

Release Blitz & Giveaway: S Walden's "Better (Too Good # 2)."

@swaldenauthor    @KirstyLBooks   
The Hopeless Romantics Book Blog are pleased to be a part of the Blog Tour for S Walden's "Better (Too Good # 2)"
(Giveaway at Bottom of Post)

~4 Hearts Review ~ 

Synopsis:

Their relationship has been exposed, and now their lives are changed forever.

For Cadence Miller, the fast track to adulthood proves intimidating and frustrating. She’s a little girl lost—abandoned by her family and uncertain of her future. She doesn’t think she “fits” anywhere. She’s eighteen. She wants to be older. And the result is both comical and heartbreaking.

Mark Connelly will do anything to provide Cadence a stable, loving home—to be her protector. But he’s just as broken and lost, and his heart won’t let go of his past so easily. He knows he should share his secret with Cadence. He should trust that she’ll understand. But what if she doesn’t? What if their love doesn’t grow stronger?

What if it doesn’t get better?

Blog Tour Review: Kirsty Lander

This is a kind of difficult review to write because for the most part I loved Better and would give it an easy 5 stars, but then things took a turn for the worse and I felt like I was reading a different story, one I would only give 3 stars. So it has to be 4 stars for me, even though parts were less and other parts were more. 

I was a mahoosive fan of Good. I loved Mark and Cadence individually and I loved them as a couple. I know people had their issues with Mark, they thought he was creepy and such, but I never once felt like that, in both Good and Better. He simply fell for a young girl, his student. Nothing more, nothing less. BUT he was hiding some things, he had his own set of secrets. Secrets that seemingly had the power to hurt Cadence and destroy their relationship. I couldn't WAIT to find out what they were. 

"I don't wanna mess her up. I want her to make me a clean slate, too."

So.. we find out Mark's secrets.. and my heart breaks. I had guessed his past by the time I got to the end of Good (and I was right *does a little dance.. woo*) but there is no way that could have prepared me for it actually being revealed. Summer really wrung out all of my emotions on that scene and I felt everything. Unfortunately, at the same time this was a massive, vital part of the book, for me it was also the turning point from it being an incredible book to a what-the-hell-has-happened-to-these-characters book. 

In the previous book, readers accused Cadence of being childish, she is only 18 after all, how is she meant to act? That wasn't the case for me. I never felt she was immature or acted her age, I found her wise beyond her years, especially where her relationship was concerned. Oh my word I was WRONG. From about the 56% mark until 80ish% (yes, that long), I wanted to throttle her. Mark shared his secrets, and yes, Cadence had every right to act up a little when he has kept things from her, but in my opinion she took it too far. I got tired of her attitude and failure to act responsible for her actions. I don't know what happened to her character but she was not the Cadence I knew in Good. She was a horror story. Thankfully she did redeem herself in the end, when she finally saw the error of her ways *hallelujah* but I think it may have been a little too late for me. 

"I let you act like a little bitch for two straight months because I love you. 
I let you worry the shit out of me because I love you. 
I let you break my heart because I love you? And now? Now, I'm gonna beat your ass."

And that leads me directly to my next not so great point... It's hard to talk about without slight spoilers. So here goes... spoiler alert. Jump to the next paragraph if you don't want to see it. 

Mark's slight Dom/BDSM tendencies are a real what the fuck moment for me. In Good, we see him and Cadence have the whole strangling episode and back then I felt it was odd, like it came out of nowhere, but I accepted it for what it was and moved on. When I came across it again in Better though I knew I had to mention it. There is a scene towards the end where Mark turns in to a crazed animal. Yes seriously. He spanks the shit out of Cadence and it comes out of NOWHERE. I honest to god don't get it. Aside from those two episodes it is SO unlike his character and actually it made me dislike him a little.

 Yep, all that LOL. 

Aside from all of my negatives or positives I did enjoy the story, and the series, and am going to be a little sad that there is no more Cadence and Mr. Connelly.. my favourite teacher/student romance couple. I enjoyed the ending but I also wanted so much more, I felt like there were loose ends that needed tying up and major character changes that I really would have liked explained. 

"I'm mad for you. I'll do anything for you. I'll take on the whole world. 
I'll rescue you. Always, Cadence. You tell me, and I'll do it."

I rated "Better" 4 Hearts

Purchase Links:

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/I2j6RG
B&N: http://bit.ly/179PCae
iBooks: http://bit.ly/1envOIa

Author Bio:

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. Email her at swaldenauthor@hotmail.com and follow her blog at http://swaldenauthor.blogspot.com where you can get up-to-date information on her current projects.

Author Links: 

Website: http://www.swaldenauthor.com
Blog: http://swaldenauthor.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/swaldenauthor
Twitter: @swaldenauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/swaldenauthor

Good by S. Walden

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17801215-good
Amazon: http://amzn.to/18jbbEU
Paperback: http://amzn.to/18NTMr4
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/151En2r
Kobo: http://bit.ly/19yBwPl
B&N: http://bit.ly/15lL4Qk
iBooks: http://bit.ly/HKMCKH


Giveaway: GRAND PRIZE:
-signed copies of Good and Better
- DJ Shadow's Endtroducing... CD
-$15 Amazon gift card
-$15 iTunes gift card

1st RUNNER-UP:
-signed copies of Good and Better

2nd & 3rd RUNNERS-UP:
-signed copies of Better
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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