Book Description:
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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 parents 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 must share his secret with Cadence. And he hopes his revelation won't tear them apart. He hopes it will draw them closer, and make their love better.
Find it on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18401154-better
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Good by S. Walden
Amazon: http://amzn.to/18jbbEU
Paperback: http://amzn.to/18NTMr4
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Teaser
Our Review
**ARC received for honest review**
Reviewed by Donna ~ 3 Stars
“…be quick to forgive and slow to anger.”
I absolutely loved Good, the first book in this series. I adore stories of student/teacher relationships, that forbidden romance and S Walden’s writing certainly captivated me with Good. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Better as we continue the story of Mark and Cadence. As usual S Walden’s writing is beautiful and flawless but I must admit, I did struggle with the first 50% of this book, I found it slow and it just didn’t grab my attention like S Walden usually does, but the last 50% evoked a totally different emotion altogether.
I totally fell in love with Mark in Good and he only gets better in Better (pun intended). He is so thoughtful, caring, considerate, loving and is willing to do anything for Cadence, even sacrificing his own education so that he could put her through college as her parents had disowned her. After the explosive way in which their relationship was revealed in Good, they are left to pick up the pieces in Better. Mark has lost his job at the school and is now out of work and looking for a job so that he can support himself and Cadence, especially now that they are living together. With a new life comes new responsibilities and Cadence certainly has a problem when it comes to adapting. She shows her maturity in some ways and then in others we see the true immature 18 year old that she is.
“And he knelt before her in reverence, his head bent, hands folded in supplication. He said a silent prayer that she would always love him, always open herself to him and trust him completely.”
The second half of this book is where Mark’s secret is revealed, however I had realised what this secret was in Good and was glad when my previous suspicions were confirmed. However, Cadence’s reaction to this was just dumbfounding. She morphed before my very eyes into a very immature, spoilt, selfish, shallow person and this was not the Cadence that I had grown to love. In Good she was wise beyond her years but in this one, she just totally confused me. I could understand why she was upset but to drag this out for 2 months and use it as an excuse to do some of things she did was truly pathetic and incredibly annoying and it was something that had me shouting at my kindle and wanting to throttle her. How Mark stood back and watched this melt down and yet still loved her amazed me and it goes to show how deep and meaningful his love is for Cadence, any other man would have walked away. If I am being incredibly honest, the secret wasn’t even that bad anyways and in all honesty, if he had mentioned it at the start it all could have been avoided, but there you go, you wouldn’t have this story if he did. It makes for some entertaining reading.
“Pride breaks even the strongest people. It wrecks relationships, marriages, friendships. It’s ugly and can warp even the gentlest hearts… it’s happening to you. Your pride – if you cannot check it, if you cannot learn to break it, if you cannot learn to forgive Mark – your pride will be your undoing. It will destroy you and Mark.”
There is also one part of this book that came out of nowhere, it was so far out of left field it was a totally WTH moment, it totally didn’t sit right with Mark’s character and I actually had to re-read to make sure I was reading correctly. There was another similar scene in Good and I actually thought it was a one-off but again, it rears it’s ugly head in Better too. I personally felt that this was merely added for effect as it didn’t suit the character at all, I get all men have their alpha tendencies but this was a bit too much and actually made me feel a bit sick.
“I gave you your space and time because I love and respect you. I let you act like a little bitch for two straight months because I love you. I let you break my heart because I love you. And now? Now, I’m gonna beat your ass.”
I loved Avery and Dylan in this book, they have both changed sooooo much and it was great to see them both tied down in this book, who would have thought!! Also, Cadence’s brother, he was such a sweetheart in this book, his fierce protection of Cadence had me laughing and swooning all at the same time, he is such a cutie and I can see he is going to be a whole heap of trouble when he grows up.
Overall, I liked it, but didn’t love it, but I have loved Mark and Cadence’s story as a whole. I am sorry to see their story come to a close. I loved the epilogue, but would have loved to have read more as I feel there is still so much more to know between the end of the book and the epilogue. I feel that area needed to be explored further.
A fab author though and I cannot wait to see what S Walden delivers next.
Buy Links
Cadence
scanned the lobby for her freshmen orientation group. Dozens of students
loitered about, chatting and laughing. They all seemed to have friends already.
How? How did they make friends so quickly if they were new?
Her face
fell. The panic set in instantly, and she considered turning on her heel and
darting out of the building. Everything was foreign and huge and scary all of a
sudden. She didn’t think she had the guts to go to college.
“You look
a little freaked out,” someone said beside her.
Her face
shot up and saw him grin at her. He pulled on the straps of his book bag to
tighten them, then adjusted the baseball cap on his head.
“I am,”
Cadence replied. No point in lying about it. She knew her face was drained of
color.
“It’s no
big deal,” the boy said. He waved his hand around. “See? Just a building. Those
people over there? Just people. Whatever, right?”
Cadence
cracked a smile. “I’m still scared.”
The boy
took off his hat. “Okay. I never do this for anyone.” He looked at Cadence and
then adjusted the strap on the back of his cap. He placed it on her head.
She
looked at him confused.
“That hat
right there is magic, okay? It’s my lucky cap. I’ve had it for ten years.”
Our Review
**ARC received for honest review**
Reviewed by Donna ~ 3 Stars
“…be quick to forgive and slow to anger.”
I absolutely loved Good, the first book in this series. I adore stories of student/teacher relationships, that forbidden romance and S Walden’s writing certainly captivated me with Good. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Better as we continue the story of Mark and Cadence. As usual S Walden’s writing is beautiful and flawless but I must admit, I did struggle with the first 50% of this book, I found it slow and it just didn’t grab my attention like S Walden usually does, but the last 50% evoked a totally different emotion altogether.
I totally fell in love with Mark in Good and he only gets better in Better (pun intended). He is so thoughtful, caring, considerate, loving and is willing to do anything for Cadence, even sacrificing his own education so that he could put her through college as her parents had disowned her. After the explosive way in which their relationship was revealed in Good, they are left to pick up the pieces in Better. Mark has lost his job at the school and is now out of work and looking for a job so that he can support himself and Cadence, especially now that they are living together. With a new life comes new responsibilities and Cadence certainly has a problem when it comes to adapting. She shows her maturity in some ways and then in others we see the true immature 18 year old that she is.
“And he knelt before her in reverence, his head bent, hands folded in supplication. He said a silent prayer that she would always love him, always open herself to him and trust him completely.”
The second half of this book is where Mark’s secret is revealed, however I had realised what this secret was in Good and was glad when my previous suspicions were confirmed. However, Cadence’s reaction to this was just dumbfounding. She morphed before my very eyes into a very immature, spoilt, selfish, shallow person and this was not the Cadence that I had grown to love. In Good she was wise beyond her years but in this one, she just totally confused me. I could understand why she was upset but to drag this out for 2 months and use it as an excuse to do some of things she did was truly pathetic and incredibly annoying and it was something that had me shouting at my kindle and wanting to throttle her. How Mark stood back and watched this melt down and yet still loved her amazed me and it goes to show how deep and meaningful his love is for Cadence, any other man would have walked away. If I am being incredibly honest, the secret wasn’t even that bad anyways and in all honesty, if he had mentioned it at the start it all could have been avoided, but there you go, you wouldn’t have this story if he did. It makes for some entertaining reading.
“Pride breaks even the strongest people. It wrecks relationships, marriages, friendships. It’s ugly and can warp even the gentlest hearts… it’s happening to you. Your pride – if you cannot check it, if you cannot learn to break it, if you cannot learn to forgive Mark – your pride will be your undoing. It will destroy you and Mark.”
There is also one part of this book that came out of nowhere, it was so far out of left field it was a totally WTH moment, it totally didn’t sit right with Mark’s character and I actually had to re-read to make sure I was reading correctly. There was another similar scene in Good and I actually thought it was a one-off but again, it rears it’s ugly head in Better too. I personally felt that this was merely added for effect as it didn’t suit the character at all, I get all men have their alpha tendencies but this was a bit too much and actually made me feel a bit sick.
“I gave you your space and time because I love and respect you. I let you act like a little bitch for two straight months because I love you. I let you break my heart because I love you. And now? Now, I’m gonna beat your ass.”
I loved Avery and Dylan in this book, they have both changed sooooo much and it was great to see them both tied down in this book, who would have thought!! Also, Cadence’s brother, he was such a sweetheart in this book, his fierce protection of Cadence had me laughing and swooning all at the same time, he is such a cutie and I can see he is going to be a whole heap of trouble when he grows up.
Overall, I liked it, but didn’t love it, but I have loved Mark and Cadence’s story as a whole. I am sorry to see their story come to a close. I loved the epilogue, but would have loved to have read more as I feel there is still so much more to know between the end of the book and the epilogue. I feel that area needed to be explored further.
A fab author though and I cannot wait to see what S Walden delivers next.
Buy Links
PRE-ORDER
B&N: http://bit.ly/179PCae
iBooks: http://bit.ly/1envOIa
Sale
Good will be on sale for only .99¢ to help celebrate the release of Better! Amazon only!
Amazon: http://amzn.to/18jbbEU
About the Author:
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
Tour 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
Hi Donna,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for participating in my blog tour!
xo Summer
Yes very excited I can't wait
ReplyDeleteI can't wait! Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeletecant wait..1st book was awesome
ReplyDeleteI have not started yet.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the first book yet, but I can't wait to read them both!
ReplyDeleteThese books were so good!!
ReplyDeleteI haven't actually read the first book, but even then I've been interested in the story. Hope this series ends with an HEA...!
ReplyDelete