Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on the After Math Blog Tour! The tour is being hosted by AToMR Tours; find the complete schedule here. My stop includes a review and giveaway!
Series: Off the Subject #1
Category/Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: 3/12/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 250
Source: Received from author for review
Scarlett Goodwin’s world is divided into Before and After.
Before she agreed to tutor Tucker price, college junior Scarlett was introvert, struggling with her social anxiety and determined to not end up living in a trailer park like her mother and her younger sister. A mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline.
After junior Tucker Price, Southern University’s star soccer player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis. Tucker’s failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility is at risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him.Tucker’s bad boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone spending several hours a week in close proximity.
But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn’t the person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects hold the reason to his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will Scarlett find the happiness she’s looking for, or will she be caught in Tucker’s aftermath?
With a shy and reluctant heroine falling in love with the college bad boy, After Math may seem like the usual New Adult story. But don't let that fool you, this story manages to claim it's own spot.
After Math is a story I wanted to read pretty much as soon as I saw it. I've read another of Denise Grover Swank's books, and really enjoyed it, so I assumed the writing style would again suit me. It did, but I admit to having a bit of a challenge really connecting to the story. It wasn't exactly due to the writing, though, but the character. And in this instance, that's not a bad thing. Confused? Let me explain.
Our heroine Scarlett has a difficult past. I know that's not surprising in itself, but Scarlett was. Scarlett grew up with no emotional connection to anyone in her family. Her mother was not emotionally or physically present in her life. Her dad ran off when she was a child. Her sister is on the same sad road as her mom. Scarlett found a way out of the cycle: Math. Math is logical, safe, and if you follow the rules, you'll always get the same results. Now, math and I, we were never on speaking terms, unless it was me cursing the fact I had to take it year after year. Despite my hatred, I get Scarlett's logic. In a world that didn't make sense, math always stayed the same. My point is, Scarlett goes through life somewhat detached, her only passion is the equations that soothe her. So therefore, the detached tone that's given to her in the story makes perfect sense.
The wild card in After Math is Tucker Price. At first glance, Tucker seems like the usual "I have issues so therefore it is okay for me to treat girls like my own personal objects" bad boy. I assumed that he was going to be a huge pain in my rear, but it didn't take long to see that Tucker's public personal was a very weak façade, and it took almost no time for Scarlett to see through to the boy beneath. Now I'm not saying that he is broken and Scarlett wants to fix him no matter what he'll do or say to her, I'm saying that Tucker wasn't actually that guy at all. For some reason, one which I never truly determined other than fate or chemistry, Tucker drops the act with Scarlett almost from the word go. So those who hate guys like him in books should not avoid After Math for that reason. Tucker was complicated, yes, but he was also sincere and sweet and wanted the best for Scarlett, even if that meant breaking his own heart.
While I was slow to really becoming truly engaged throughout the first half of the story, the second half really had me pulled in. And though the ending seemed a tad rushed, I loved it and felt completely happy with the way it wrapped up. It's safe to say that After Math is more of a character driven story than plot driven. The story doesn't revolve around large events, but more of the growth and development of Scarlett and Tucker from two damaged - I refuse to say broken - halves into a stronger whole. Scarlett's best friend Caroline gets her own story in the next book in the Off the Subject series, Redesigned, and based on the synopsis, it looks to be another good story from Denise Grover Swank.
Favorite Quote:
"Scarlett, open your eyes."
I do as he says, looking up at him with confusion.
His eyes burn bright with desire. "I want you to see me when I come into you. I want you to know I'm here. I want you to know I see you." ~68%
Tucker smiles. "But you need rules to make you feel safe and protected. So I'll give you rules, even though I've always hated them in the past. Then again, maybe that's my problem." He gives me an ornery grin. "First rule. No saying goodbye, never goodbye. Especially with you." He leans over and kisses me, long and slow. "Goodbye is too permanent. Goodbye has the risk of never seeing each other again. But good morning is full of possibilities." ~69%
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About the author
Denise Grover Swank lives in Lee's Summit, Missouri. She’s a gypsy who can’t live in one place too long or stay in one genre. She writes contemporary romance, urban fantasies without vampires and werewolves, young adult science fiction, and romantic comedy mysteries set in the south. Denise has six children, three dogs, and an overactive imagination. She can be found dancing in her kitchen with her children, reading, or writing her next book. You will rarely find her cleaning.
Connect with Denise at:
Website | Facebook | Facebook | Twitter
Denise Grover Swank lives in Lee's Summit, Missouri. She’s a gypsy who can’t live in one place too long or stay in one genre. She writes contemporary romance, urban fantasies without vampires and werewolves, young adult science fiction, and romantic comedy mysteries set in the south. Denise has six children, three dogs, and an overactive imagination. She can be found dancing in her kitchen with her children, reading, or writing her next book. You will rarely find her cleaning.Connect with Denise at:
Website | Facebook | Facebook | Twitter
