Release Day Blitz Review + Giveaway: Good by S.Walden

Good (Too Good #1)
by S. Walden
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Published: August 26th 2013 by Penny Press Publishing
Format Acquired: eARC (Thanks Stephanie and Summer!)
Purchase: Amazon eBook | Amazon Paperback | Smashwords

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

I'm always up for reading books with controversial topics. I'm interested in how authors explore the matter and how they deliver. A few months ago I reviewed a couple of books that deals with a taboo relationship - one between an underage highschool student and her much older teacher. Long story short, I didn't like any part of it. I was very disappointed that I was so eager, almost desperate, to read a similar book that would meet my expectations. Then I found Good.

And I was blown away.

Yet another book by S.Walden that got me completely hooked and invested in the characters. It's exactly the kind of book that shows student-teacher relationships in a softer light. Cadence and Mark are ten years apart. What I love about them was how, despite their age gap, they had incredible chemistry. They were sweet and hot and...awkward. I'm not gonna lie. There were parts where I had to close my Kindle, laugh and just prepare myself for more awkwardness but I find that it's all part of the book's charm. Cadence is a virgin and I think it's only natural for her to say something really awkward when things are getting quite intimate. In fact, it made their relationship more believable! I absolutely fell in love with the pair and I couldn't wait to find out what happens to them in the sequel.

Yes, there is indeed a sequel. So be prepared to go on a very intense yet highly enjoyable ride when you read Good. Cadence and Mark's story doesn't end yet so you can expect A LOT to happen here. The story's pacing was really good because there's enough background and light moments without slowing the story down to an unbearable pace. I like the way the religious theme was incorporated into the story. It was a big part of the story but it didn't really dominate it. And I think it served its purpose molding the characters and the plot. I love the build up to the conflict and how the climax was written. I knew what was going to happen because it's inevitable but somehow I still felt so stressed over it. And that's a good thing! That is how well written this book is.

Good is more than good. It's incredible. S.Walden gives readers a story that has always been told but not always appreciated or heard. It's the right mix of everything that makes a story worth reading and addicting. Good is a great start to a series that's only bound to get better.

My Rating

EXCERPT

thank-you note

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 the author

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. 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.

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Read my reviews here:

Honeysuckle Love

Going Under