Good

Too Good #1

by S. Walden

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.

Genres: New Adult, Romance, Forbidden Love, Contemporary, High School, Young Adult, Contemporary Romance

372 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2013

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. She is the USA Today bestselling author of Going Under. 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 twitter feed at @swaldenauthor.

Summer Walden

Reviews

[Aestas Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

My casting for Mark & Cadence:



*** FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED ***

Holy taboo!! (4.5 stars)

Good was a well-written, rebellious romance that defied rules and crossed lines. Bold. Daring. Forbidden.

The dedication at the beginning set the tone for the whole story:

To lovers who fought the odds. And won.

To give a little bit of background, Good is a New Adult student/teacher romance but there is nothing sugar-coated about it. I loved that the author wasn't afraid to explore such a controversial, unconventional topic.The taboo screams loud and clear and despite the fact that the relationship was legally acceptable in their state, it's up to every reader to decide if they can morally justify it because the facts are this: the heroine in a 17 year old student and the hero is her 28 year old math teacher. Plain and simple. They were attracted to each other, they fell in love and they acted on their feelings. Now add to the mix the fact that the heroine is a Christian from a church going, Bible thumping family and you have the recipe for a story that will leave no feather unruffled. And.... I loved it!

Here’s the blurb:

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. And most importantly, anonymity. Everyone knows about her mistake, and the kids at school like to remind her with hate notes in her locker, pranks, name-calling—the works.

But there is one bright spot in the hell that’s become her life: 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.

This book had guts. Balls. It pushed every boundary. I won’t lie though – some scenes did make me squirm. The situation was anything but ‘comfortable’ but I couldn’t put it down. It was dangerous and thrilling.

“He’s cute. Very cute. And very smart. And very manly…. And very off-limits.”

“Those are always the best love stories,” Fanny replied.

“Which ones?”

She sipped her tea. “The dangerous ones.”

The prologue starts off with a bang. Right from the start, I was drawn into the severity and scariness of their situation. And, I wanted to know more!

I really love S. Walden’s writing. Her character building is fantastic! Within a few pages, she managed to make me fall for the hero and be drawn right into the heroine’s story.

Cadence was a really interesting character. She was vulnerable on the inside but tried her best to wear a tough exterior. I really liked her. She was sheltered but not stupid. Innocent but not naive. And was fighting an entire life’s worth of doctrines and beliefs while trying to find her own place in the world.

I was outraged on her behalf for the way she was treated at home. Downright furious!!! How could her parents be so close-minded?? Utterly blind! Every time that I wanted to cheer her on for standing up for herself, they found a way to cut her down. It wasn’t outright cruelty, but sometimes you don’t need fists to hurt.

“I worked for an entire month since my release from juvie to get back into my parents’ good graves… The irony was that I didn’t need to show either of them I’d chanced because I hadn’t. I’d always been a good girl, even when I made that mistake. Yes, it was a really terrible mistake… but it didn’t alter who I was. I didn’t suddenly overnight become a drug addict or a career criminal. I made one bad choice that branded me for life, at least in my parent’s eyes.”

I felt terrible for her. I mean, who doesn’t make mistakes when they’re a teen? It’s supposed to be the time of screw ups. Granted, hers were more serious than most and while her parents' initial reaction might have been understandable, at some point, you have to be able to forgive and allow room to rebuild trust, no?

“I was tired of hearing the word “no”. I heard it every day… I couldn’t breathe for the “no’s” piling on top of me, pressing on my heart, smothering my brain, making it impossible to think positive thoughts.”

But because of the way the story was written, it made you initially feel one thing but then the more you thought about the different perspectives, the more multi-layered the story began to get. I mean, even with her parents… I could “get” where they were coming from the more I thought about it even though I hated the stance they took. But I think that’s the point – people are rarely “good” or “evil”. We’re all comprised of multiple sides.

But lets get to the romance…

It was hot, forbidden and thrilling. But I love taboo books because you just never know what you’re “supposed” to feel. Y’know? Should you root for them? *cringes* I really wanted to. Heck, I did. Did it feel wrong? Sure. Absolutely. Did it stop me from feeling that way? Nope. It was like my brain and my heart were at war and it was a constant battle to see which one could come out on top.

I’m not going to lie though – as much as I loved the forbidden romance aspect, I won’t deny that the fact that a 28 year old was actively pursuing a 17 year did at least partially rub me the wrong way. Honestly, there were times when I wasn’t sure… wasn’t what he was doing wrong? Shouldn’t an older person know better? What a fine line there is between the fantasy of love and the reality of it.

He was so direct. No beating around the bush. But at the same time, he never pushed her. He just didn’t hide his feelings from her. Gah!! the conflict! And darn him but he was swoony! I have to give him that. Sweet and swoony. He never once pushed her into anything but, at the same time, he didn’t hold back either.

“I wasn’t a complete idiot. I knew this was all wrong, and I knew I had to confront the possibility that Mr. Connelly was a bad man. A user. An exploiter. So why didn’t I believe any of it?”

There were definitely times though when he crossed the line and was unquestionably wrong. But I guess that made him human. I mean, who is perfect? And the way he apologized for his mistakes gave me a deeper respect for him. It’s hard not to respect someone who fully admits their faults.

Another thing I found interesting was that there was never a time when you got so lost in the story that you forgot Cadence’s age or Mark’s job. The taboo always loud and clear. It felt dangerous and forbidden.

“Do you really think it’s wrong that we’re together?… Or do you think it’s wrong because that’s what you’ve been taught?”

See, it’s a weird thing with student/teacher books because it’s like… Would I want that kind of relationship? No. Would I want it for my daughter? No. But at the same time, sometimes things don’t work out in an ‘ideal’ way and you can’t always help who you fall for. I guess the choice then is whether you act on it or not. But, if you don’t at least try, you might miss out on something incredible. So, it’s hard for me to judge it. And I have to take into consideration how much of my discomfort came from my societal norms and from what I’ve been taught my whole life. In another country, on a different planet, maybe this wouldn’t be taboo. They weren’t hurting anyone, they were both consenting, so… who am I to judge?

Every single thing in this book made sense. Everything was a reaction to something. I loved that there was no fluff and that everything that happened had a purpose and was somehow tied into either the overall plot or a character’s development. It was a well crafted story that made me stop and think.

I loved that this story made me uncomfortable in places, I loved that the questions that it raised, I loved the thrill of the taboo, and I loved the way the whole story came together. It was fast paced, attention grabbing and I honestly didn’t want to put it down.

Good is the first of a 2-part series so everything was not tied up neatly with a bow at the end. There was no relationship cliffhanger but there was an external one. While their relationship wasn’t in doubt, we are left with a lot of unanswered questions and there is a lot to explore in the next book. That being said, it didn’t leave me biting my nails. Sure, ideally, I’d have loved to have the sequel ready to go but I’m okay waiting here. And I will certainly be reading the sequel the day it gets released.

S. Walden really did a fantastic job with this book. It was bold, daring, and dangerous. This is the kind of taboo you want to read.

4.5 stars

*************************

I also want to share this note from the author because it was a part of what made me want to read the book:

Yeah, so I realize I’m taking a chance with this one (as I do with all my books, it seems). I know many of the student/teacher relationship books out there involve professors and college students to make them a little more accepting. Yeah. I really don’t do “accepting.” Plus, the story spoke to me. It wanted to be written. Cadence needed to be written. Not only am I taking a chance with the stark age difference between heroine and hero, but I’m also taking a chance infusing spirituality in this book. It’s not enough that Cadence would embark on a completely inappropriate relationship with her teacher, but I wanted to make sure she was a Christian as well. So there you go. Start ruffling those feathers. She’s a Christian. She’s involved with a 28-year-old while she’s still a minor. She’s impressionable but not disgustingly naïve. It’s very much a love story that explores personal values, societal expectations, and the meaning of true love.


I do have to share this because I thought it was funny. My agent asked me, “Summer, now they don’t do it until she turns eighteen, right?”

“Well, I looked up the age of consent in Georgia. It’s sixteen,” I replied.

Brief pause.

“Summer, they don’t do it until she’s eighteen, right?”

“Oh, Marisa. Don’t you want to wait and find out?”

****************************

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[Kristin (KC) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4 Stars!*

Good:

adjective bet·ter, best.
morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious: a good man.
satisfactory in quality, quantity, or degree: a good teacher;
of high quality; excellent.

But who's to judge?

I've come to expect that certain things will happen when I read a Summer Walden book: My boundaries will be thoroughly pushed and I'll, in turn, question my moral stance on a given topic. This author knows exactly how to tackle the inappropriate HEAD ON, and grants her readers the power and courage to do the same. Her stories are honest, unique, edgy, and never predictable. I can always be certain I'm reading something that's going to make me think, feel, and question. In my opinion, there is nothing better in a book than that!

Cadence has always been a good girl, until one mistake on her part changes everyone's perception of her—leaving her a sad and lonely outcast amongst her family and "friends". When her math teacher takes an unlikely interest in her, she begins to come alive again and starts to question everything, including her strict religious upbringing.

Mark is sort of an enigma; he's sexy and intriguing, with an adorable love of music and is definitely hiding a secret past. He sees something in Cadence that no else bothers to recognize, sparking a flirtatious but slightly hesitant pursuit.

The characters, although well fleshed out, are flawed and will potentially get under your skin at times; Cadence especially. Although she exudes a rough exterior, her naiveté became apparent in many instances, truly highlighting the maturity gap between these two characters. Cadence had a tendency to blurt out whatever crossed her mind, without a mental filter, and some of it felt awkward. That said, she was young and had been allowing her broken past to navigate her future...and I could appreciate her rocky journey to self-discovery.

The forbidden love element in this story is racy and bold, but completely "legal". The religious aspect was woven in delicately, but offered a sense of justifiable controversy. There's plenty of angst; tons of steam, but more importantly—an extraordinary, well-developed plot centered on a thought-provoking theme...

Good is such a subjective term. What's deemed "good" by one may be ridiculed by another. We are all flawed in some form, and I love how this book really drives that message home.

I've often wondered what makes these teacher/student relationship stories more questionable for some readers than many other topics which display major controversy—such as stories centered on kidnap, rape, and abuse. Some of these stories are brutal yet have been romanticized time and again, and many readers seem to eat them up—myself included.

Here we have a very 'age-legal' teacher/student relationship, forbidden for the fact that its taboo, yet I've seen the morality of this story and how it's presented dissected under a microscope. When we take on a forbidden topic, we have to be prepared for a bold outcome; Something uncomfortable; Conditions we don't have to necessarily agree with, but may become captivated by nonetheless. It is precisely what makes these stories forbidden. Of course, not everyone is going to enjoy this book and accept what it represents, but I don't feel this is any more morally "wrong" than many other teacher/student stories out there.

This installation does leave off on a cliffhanger, but one that surrounds the plot, and not the relationship. There are still many secrets to uncover, and I cannot wait for the sequel to this story!


Book Stats:
▪ Genre/Category: Romance/New Adult
▪ Steam Caliber: Extremely steamy!
▪ Romance: Forbidden teacher/student relationship
▪ Characters: Hero 28/Heroine 17
▪ Plot: Bold, edgy, and controversial. Excellent execution.
▪ Writing: Fluid, engaging, and gripping.
▪ POV: 1st Person: Heroine
▪ Cliffhanger: Yes (though not a relationship cliffhanger)
▪ Next Installment: Follow up

*Huge thanks to this generous author for providing both beta and arc copies*

[Natasha is a Book Junkie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will start this review by pointing out that love stories of forbiddenness and passionate affairs between teachers and students are my undoing. I love the illicitness, the hiding around, the inability to stay away from each other even when being together could cost them everything in their lives, so I dove into this story with a receptive frame of mind, expecting it to rock my socks off. But what it did instead is leave me distraught, shaking in a corner, desperate to get some of those images out of my head, wondering how something potentially so great could have turned out to be so very wrong. This was not the story I hoped to read, I only persevered with it because it felt like a car crash I could not take my eyes off, and part of me stayed incredulous until the very end that this was not a satire. This book made me angry, it ignited every maternal bone in my body and the protective lioness in me wanted to draw blood. I will say though that I strongly believe that we do not all connect with books the same way and that reading is a subjective experience, so my objections, as fierce as they may be, are just that – my personal objections. They are based on my personal set of beliefs and moral values and they should be taken as that.

“I knew this was all wrong, and I knew I had to confront the possibility that Mr. Connelly was a bad man. A user. An exploiter.”

This is the story about a very innocent and naïve seventeen-year-old high school girl from a sheltered and stern upbringing, whose one and only mistake cost her her life as she knew it. She lost all her friends, she lost the trust of her parents and the admiration of her close-knit community, leaving her bullied, ostracised, lonely and craving for human attention.

“I was never allowed to make a mistake, and when I finally did, I paid the ultimate price.”

Cadence is convinced that no one loves her, that she is being unfairly punished for her one and only reckless act in life, and hence when she meets Mark Connelly, her handsome math teacher who also happens to be ten years her senior, his attentions easily find fertile ground in this lonely little girl. What starts as an ordinary schoolgirl crush on a teacher, a foolish yet innocent infatuation with the usual hopes of being singled out by him and interpreting every look, every word, every touch as a declaration of love, very quickly changes once he starts actively pursuing her and making his intentions unequivocally clear. Cadence is aware all along that had he not made the first move, hers would have simply remained a secret crush on her teacher and she knows it is wrong to allow him to pursue her, but from the moment Mark makes his intentions known, Cadence is incapable of saying no.

“I was perfectly content to harbor a secret crush on my teacher – one I knew would go absolutely nowhere. It was one thing to fantasize about an inappropriate relationship. It was quite another to actually pursue it. And he was pursuing me.”

There’s an inherent inequality in their dynamic from the get-go. He wields power over her by sexually awakening her young body and then using those emotions to make her doubt her uncomfortableness with their relationship. The easiest thing to do when a person doubts their actions is to convince them that instead of questioning themselves, they should question those who taught them right from wrong. He effectively manipulates her thoughts to serve the purpose of keeping her in his bed.

“What I’m doing is wrong… Being with you. Sneaking around. Lying. Letting you do things to me. It’s wrong, and I feel guilty.”
“Do you really think it’s wrong that we’re together? Or do you think it’s wrong because that’s what you’ve been taught?”

Every interaction between them, every exchange of opinions, ideas, beliefs, shows us how different these two people are, how little they have in common and how unbalanced their relationship is. I did not feel the passion between them at all, all I kept seeing was an impressionable little girl, desperate to be forgiven and feel loved by her parents again, aching for even the smallest bit of attention and acknowledgement from them, failing to redeem herself in their eyes and finding solace in the arms of a man who should have known better than to abuse the control gained from making a girl fall in love for the very first time.

“I’ll be honest with you, though. There is something sexy about the idea of you cutting me off from the few people I know.”

It was impossible for me not to draw a parallel between Cadence’s authoritarian father and her need to please him, make him proud of her, and the way Mark sets the pace in their relationship, fully in control of each milestone of intimacy between them, and that way maintaining control over Cadence. Her parents’ expectations of her might seem high to a disgruntled young girl who has suddenly lost her driving privileges and her social life, but an adult like Mark should see them as what they truly are – a normal reaction by two very scared parents that they daughter might be losing her way. But instead of justifying their valid parenting methods and helping her see their point of view, he distances her emotionally even further from them by calling them “assholes” and validating her childish defiance.

“You don’t like me. You haven’t liked me since I got in trouble. You don’t show me love. You’re not there for me. But someone else was. He was there for me. And kind to me. And he showed me love… I was an easy target. You’re right about that. And whose fault is that?”

At the end of the day, I never stopped perceiving Mark as the predator in this story. I did not feel the passion, the depth of emotion that I expected to feel. I kept seeing a young girl who’s never even seen a naked man before being manipulated and used by a man who did exactly what he wanted, when he wanted it, and how he wanted it. All consequences be damned. There were too many cringe-worthy moments that prevented me from enjoying the storyline or becoming invested in the characters. At no point did I believe that Mark saw her as a woman and everything he ever said to her implied that he cherished her childlike naiveté more than anything else in their bizarre relationship. That made me uneasy and mad at the author for romanticising a relationship of blatant inequality.

“Do that again and I’ll f*ck that eighteen-year-old pussy of yours right here in this room.”

Scenes that were meant to be sexy or romantic were often disrupted by awkward dialogues between the characters, and the frequent use of first names in dialogues broke their flow even further. On top of that, every time he sat her on his lap a little part of me shrivelled away and died. Every time he called her “adorable” or “pretty little thing”, I wanted to punch him. Every time God was brought into the equation, and then Cadence’s religious upbringing used when it suited the storyline but ignored when it didn’t, made me confused. Every time her friends, young or old, shared their endless ‘wisdom’ with her and gave her the worse advice known to human kind, I felt like screaming.

“He’s doing you in the closet and he loves you? Well, Cadence. It’s obvious this guy’s a keeper.”

This book clearly made me feel a whole lot of emotions but I doubt any of them were intended by the author and none of them were at all positive. This was not the story for me, I did not connect with it and I feel so very angry at it, even days after I finished reading it. I felt it failed me as a reader because while focusing on pursuing a taboo storyline and pushing the boundaries of comfort, it missed on creating a believable and relatable story by ultimately crossing the very fine line between deliciously forbidden and deliberately disturbing. I, however, applaud the author for the courage it took to write such a story and for her unquestionable writing skills.

Good is the first in a two-part series and in the sequel we will hear Mark’s voice.

“Nice job, Marcus,” the bouncer said as he looked me over, checked my ID, and looked me over again. “Not even legal.” He held up his fist, and Mark bumped it. “Score.”

[2.5 STARS]



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[Amy | Foxy Blogs · Rating 5 out of 5]

***4.5 Forbidden Stars***

Ms. Walden is the Queen of shock. One thing you are guaranteed when you open one her stories is to be pushed out of your comfort zone. Good does not disappoint in making me squirm. Books that break you out of your norm deserve a try and this book is one of those.

The forbidden love affair between a highschool student / teacher is compelling. Eleven years between them makes their forbidden love even more naughty. Cadence Miller: 17-year-old high school student. Mark Connelly: 28-year-old high school calculus teacher.

One mistake has cost Cadence her 'good' teen status. She's in trouble for an error she made the previous year. Her family and schoolmates won't let her live it down. Mr. Connelly is the new hot math teacher and the one 'good' thing to happen to her.

Avery is a classmate who friends Cadence for an ulterior motive. She devises a plan to benefit both girls.

Fanny is an elderly citizen who Cadence does a church project for and befriends her. Fanny has lots of words of wisdom to share. She says this about Good->

"Those are the best love stories."
"Which ones?"
"The dangerous ones."

FAQ
Is there sex? Yes and it's not until she's of legal age.
Is this a series? Yes. Their story will take place over the course of two books.
Is there a cliffhanger? Yes. A story cliffhanger but not a relationship cliffhanger.
When is the release date? The original date was October. The 'good' news is that it has been changed to August 27th.
What POV is this book? Cadence's POV.
Is there an excerpt from book 2? Better excerpt-Click here.

My pre-review

I woke up this morning to find this book ready for me to Beta read. It officially feels like Christmas!



So, excited about this book!!!

A little about the book:
Heroine and Hero
Cadence Miller: 17-year-old high school senior(she turns 18 in the book, good grief)
Mark Connelly: 28-year-old high school calculus teacher

A funny conversation between the author and her agent.
“Summer, now they don’t do it until she turns eighteen, right?”

“Well, I looked up the age of consent in Georgia. It’s sixteen,” I replied.

Brief pause.

“Summer, they don’t do it until she’s eighteen, right?”

“Oh, Marisa. Don’t you want to wait and find out?”

To read more about what the author has to say about this book:
CLICK HERE

SERIES:

Cliffhanger. A series of 2 books

**Beta read this book in June (6/8/2013). Then read the Arc in August (8/15/2013)** Thank you, Ms. Walden, for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

[La-Lionne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enough with barely legal girls and creepy, perverted teachers love stories already.



The only reason I'm not giving 1 star is because the first 30% of the book was kind of alright, and I liked the old lady that Cadence met. The rest made little to no sense. At the beginning I even got the Gabriel's Inferno vibe, but later, it turned out that it was nothing like it, not even close.

* * *WARNING SPOILERS* * *

We have Cadence, who is 17 year old, doing community work for getting herself into trouble, there were robbery and drugs involved. She bumps into a guy with a flat tire. He's hot, they exchange couple of sentences, the sparks are there, you know the drill.
The next day at school she finds out that he is her new teacher. There are 'those' glances and butterflies. He keeps stealing glances at her and she keeps blushing. It lasts for quite a while.
At first she did seem like a young and naive student, but she got bold pretty quickly. She goes so far as spreading her legs in the middle of the class, to show him her panties. He finally snaps. After class he asks her to stay, and when other students leave he says:

"Come here," he says. I walked over to stand in front of him. "You've been very naughty, you know."
My heart sped up.
"You show me your little pink panties in class when you know I can't do a thing about it."
I can't breathe.
"I think you need a spanking, Cadence. For being such a bad girl."
"Mr. Connelly!"

At this point my hope that this book will turn into a love story is shattered. After that there is a lot of sneaking around and all kinds of inappropriate teacher-studen behavior. He acts like a horny perv, and she a hormonal, misguided young girl.

She meets a girl at school, they become friends and starts covering for each other.

For the life of me I could not understand what he saw in her, besides young flesh. Mark went on saying that he found her interesting, but I didn't buy it. They had absolutely nothing in common.

"You're so interesting and insightful," he said after time.
"And can you believe I'm only seventeen?" I joked.
"That's what I like about you, Cadence. You're definitely seventeen in many ways. You like your little fashion magazines and gossiping and shopping. And I love to hear all of it. But you also have a wisdom and maturity that not many girls your age have. I like that dichotomy."
"I know that word!" I teased.
Mark grinned. That's why you're irresistible. That's why you turn me on."

Let us put emphases on him, 28 old man, love hearing her talk about gossiping and shopping. Did you noticed that he failed to come up with an example of her being mature and having wisdom? I've read the book and there is nothing, absolutely nothing that shows her being mature.

I reached out my hand, letting it hover over his penis. It twitched.
"Oh my God, Mark! It moved!"
"I'll do that, Cadence."
"Oh. Okay."

Here is another quote that shows how "mature" she is. This is on the last page of the book.

And so I sat on Mark's lap late into the morning. Not knowing how to really take care of myself. How I would eat. Where would I sleep. How I would pay for school. All the things teenagers never think about: insurance, taxes, bills (wow there missy, don't you start generalizing there). I didn't think about any of those things. I thought about Mark saying over and over, "I'll take care of you."

Sneaking around, lying to her parents, behaving inappropriately at school, complaining about him looking at some woman's cleavage, these are not signs of maturity.

One day Mark gets pissed and humiliates her in front of a whole class, asking her to come forward and explain the answer, knowing that she didn't know the answer and didn't like to be put on a spot.

"Everyone, pay attention to Cadence, please," Mr. Connelly said. He glanced at me briefly, and I know he could see the panic written all over my face. "All eyes on her."

That happened to me once, when I was in the middle school. I still hate that teacher to this day.

Then there was drama surrounding a pregnancy scare, her brother ratting her out to her parents, her parents pressing charges agains him. There was not end to exaggerations.

What annoyed me the most was the fact that he, Mark, never once thought it was a bad idea to get involved with a student, and that young at that.

"Why did you tell your mom you were already dating someone?" I snapped.
"What do you want me to say, Cadence?" Mark asked.
"You want me to tell my mom I'm dating one of my students who isn't even a legal adult yet?"

So he knows that it's not right, but that's not his biggest concern. His biggest concern is:

"Cadence, I'm not ashamed of you. I'm practical. You knew from the beginning that we had to keep this a secret. At least until we are finished with school.

Yep. Not to get caught.

I thought this book was a mess. It's not a love story. I got why she was crushing on him, I had a crush on my teacher once, too :). But he, he was just a perv in my eyes. By the end of the book he made my skin crawl.

It looks like there will be a sequel, but after "this" I couldn't care less.

[Pavlina Read more sleep less blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 STARS

At the beginning I wasn't sure how to rate this book.I had some problems with the reading of this but still I think that is a good story!!

This is a story about Cadence...
She is a student who had a bad moment in her junior year in hight school and she was in juvenile detention for ten mounths.

Now she is back...but without friends..Her parents do not trust her anymore and they have her limited..She feels sad and alone.

Until the moment she met Mark her 28 years old math teacher!!
From the beginning there is an attraction between them..He tries to approach her and he makes whatever he can,in order to make her feelcomfortable and nice...
He wants her to come back to normal and find herself..

"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 gona take it."

They know that nothing should happened between them..but soon they are together..



Mark is so sweet and cute!You can't read the book and don't like this character!!He cares a lot about Cadence and he showed his feelings from the beginning!



Cadence on the other hand...I din't like her a lot..at the beginning she was funny and smartass but sometimes she just acted weird.


The only thing that I didn't find nice was the reference to the Christianism. I am Christian too but I didn't like to read so many details all the time..

The book ends with cliffhunger ughhhh...I need the next book soon!!I must learn what will happen!!!


*ARC provided by the author in return for an honest review.*

[Melanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 STARS!

"Do you think love is a choice or a feeling?"

Taboo goodness! The rare kind with lots of depth and 'real' characters!

Cadence had always been a 'good' girl; sweet, obedient, pious until she messes up in a big way at the age of 15.

She starts her senior year of high school fresh out of juvie. Despite her debt to the state of Georgia having been paid, her parents haven't forgiven her and neither have her friends. At one of the lowest points of her life, no one shows up for her.

Yes, it was a terrible mistake, but it didn't alter who I was. I didn't suddenly overnight become a drug addict or a career criminal.

Bullied and isolated, the only bright spot in her life is her math teacher, Mr. Connelly, and his kindness.

Immediately you're thinking the math teacher preys on Cadence, right?

Well, you'd only be partially correct, because nothing about this story was straight-forward.

I loved the way the author took the time to construct a very believable premise around characters who were well-developed and complex. She didn't pull any punches, portraying both Cadence and Mr. Connelly (Mark) very realistically. Both were flawed and not always likable . . .

Cadence was an 18-year-old girl and she acted like it.

Mark was a 28-year-old man and he acted like it.

It made for some really uncomfortable moments for me. . . as well as some very tender ones.

Mark's reluctance . . .

"I feel possessive of you." It sounded like it hurt him to say the words.

. . . Cadence's insecurities . . .

I don't know if I was supposed to feel that way or if I was supposed to want independence.

. . . the inherent inequality in their relationship . . .

He liked to blame me for this out-of-control person he'd become.

all came shining through in the writing.

But no matter how fucked-up things became, I never doubted that they loved each other in their own ways.

"Love comes in all kinds of packages. Some are neatly tied up, and some are messy."

And that's what made this story so great....there was NOTHING clear-cut or black and white about it. I couldn't fault either character for their attraction to one another, no matter how painful it was to watch them build and nurture a veritable ticking time bomb.

I did worry when I started that religion would become the villain of the story. (That's so easy, isn't it? To heap all the blame on something like the prison system or the foster care system or in this case the Church?) But that wasn't the case here.

Yes, the author points out major points of hypocrisy, but really the story was more about Cadence growing up and coming to the realization that her parents' beliefs may not be her own. It was all SO WELL DONE.

The only reason I couldn't give this book a full 5 stars was because I felt the author didn't touch on how the year in juvie affected Cadence. For such a huge event, I thought it would have been closer to the forefront of her thoughts. Also, the writing was a tiny bit clunky in the beginning.

So obviously, this book isn't for everyone. But if you're into taboo reads, I insist you get on this!

A huge thank you to JADE for reading, reviewing, and recommending this one! If you'd like to read her fabulous review, it's HERE.

[Glass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review from Way Too Hot Books

I have no idea how to start this review. Was Good what I expected? Did I like it? Hate it? Was I completely turned on after reading steamy scenes? And then disgusted by myself because he is her teacher? Not to mention ten years older? Is this a story about abuse? Could it be considered as darker romance novel? What was the point with all religious aspects of the story? Well, one thing is sure - this is taboo read.

You shall have no sex before you're married. I have to start with a thing that bothered me the most. Too much religion talk. Cadence is seventeen years old girl (almost eighteen) who lives in extremely religious community - everything she does must be approved by her "Church". Like any teenager, Cadence tests boundaries of her world which leads her to some stupid choices and ten months in juvenile detention. Now she is "spawn of Satan" and there is no redemption for her mistakes - her parents, her ex-best friend Grace, her youth group at church and whole damn school are picking on her. It doesn't matter that she was a poster child for good girl before incident that got her in trouble.
With all due respect, I do not like religious ideology and that's why I'm hesitant to pick up books that promote that kind of view point.I probably wouldn't have read Good if I knew. Sad thing is that it would be a bad move because it turned out to be a good novel no matter my initial pouting when I realized what it's about. S. Walden is actually dealing with all the things community like that teach you and points out that life is not that simple and that even there you can find lot of things that "good Christians" shouldn't be doing. Now, this doesn't mean that she rejects her beliefs completely - she just talks about things that should be changed and aren't very logical.

Abuse or romance? Or maybe both? I have to set few things straight. I've noticed that lot of books about student/teacher affairs have one common thing in plot - they meet and hook up before they realize that they shouldn't have. He always thinks that she is older and she always thinks that he is younger or college student. Then you sit and wonder how the hell could he think that? Wasn't it obvious that she is still in high school? I have a question for you? Have you ever teach in high school, especially older kids? I have. I had honor to meet smart and eloquent girls for whom I believe have a really bright future and will make great lawyers, doctors, journalists or even teachers. And they are drop dead gorgeous. Stunning. Beautiful. I am so proud of every single one of them. Now, if I saw them out side of school hallways and classrooms, I would never guess that they are seventeen, eighteen years old. (Unless, of course, you get to talk with them about school.) So, it could happen.
Now, about teachers. Have you ever saw one of your younger teachers on Saturday night? Having fun with his/hers friends, wearing completely different clothes, smiling, drinking? Having fun? Not looking like that gloomy person that talks about responsibility or how all class will fail the next test if they don't start to study soon? We don't tend to think about our teachers as real persons that have a life outside their classrooms. Someone who has 28 years is still young and in some aspects not so different from his or her students. So, it could happen.

Good has a different approach - Cadence and Mark meet before, but they saw each other just for a short time and they exchanged few words. Nothing bad or scandalous. Everything happens slowly and you get to see everything behind sexy scenes and "excitement of forbidden romance" (that is basically what most of the books are about). S. Walden had done good job with describing their interaction - it is believable, because you catch on the age difference between them, how naive Cadence still is no matter her smarts and wit, Marc is older, more experienced and sometimes you get the feeling like he's the "predator" in the whole situation. Everywhere Cadence turns, there he is. But she is not stupid girl and she confronts him several times asking him if he's using her. This is not a story that talks just about forbidden lovers fantasy - it deals with consequences and social aspects (partially). I wouldn't label this book as fluffy romance - at times it was like I was reading a story about mental abuse. Maybe he loves her, but I can not justify a lot of his actions. They just felt wrong.

Is this something you should let your teenage daughter to read? In my opinion, Good by S. Walden is not young adult novel no matter the fact that narrator of the story is high school student. Just like Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma, this book deals with very sensitive subject that needs a more serious reading and not just teen swooning over star crossed lovers. But when you say: "You are forbidden to read/do this!" it's more likely that they would do the exact thing you told them not to, so it's probably more wiser to talk with your kids openly and clear some things out from the beginning. Also, this book can be described as erotic romance - there are a lot of sex scenes and maybe you wouldn't be comfortable with your sixteen year old daughter reading some of them.

How does it make me feel? One of the things that define us as persons is what we do for living. When you are young, you think how you'll never be like grown ups in your life, but that is something that happens and you don't even notice it. You grow up and start to think trough about everything that you do or say. That is why I can't forget my job while I read this novel. If I had read this book ten, eight years ago, I would be all heartbroken and cheering for Cadence and Mark. But that is not the case. I can not ignore my work ethic and say that whole situation is okay because they are in love. I understand circumstances that lead to everything, but I still think that Mark as teacher abused his position. Don't get me wrong - I very much enjoyed reading this book, but I guess that I grow up and I can't simply swoon over forbidden romance without thinking about what is right thing to do.

Will you read it? I know that this was one of my longer posts, that most of you gave up reading it after first half, but I had to clarify few things. So, have you read Good? Did you like it? Are planning to read it? And are okay with teens reading stories like this?

Visit my blog tomorrow... because S. Walden agreed to answer few of my questions, but also she will be giving away 2 e-copies of Good. Also, earlier today we posted cover reveal for Better - you can also get ARC copy of the sequel. On Saturday S. Walden is talking about student/teacher topic in books. Do not miss it!

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★ Good was so...good, amazing, awsome, incredible. Fantastic. I'M A HOT MESS RIGHT NOW!



This book was so unexpectedly good! The heroine Candence was pretty great and awsome. Sometimes she really got on my nerves though, with her insecurity and her immature behaviour. But I guss that is to be expected of a 17/18 year old, Still, sometimes I couldn´t really understand why Markus wanted to take such a big risk with her. And especially her god worship. She felt like a timebomb, to be honest. But the sexual tension between them was INTENSE. It was one of the reasons why I LOVED this book so much. Mr. Connelly gave me butterflies And I loved the fact that he was 10 years older then Cadence. It made it just more forbidden and taboo. He was also so incredible sweet toowards her. The small, but thoughfull things he for her did made my heart melt.

So, this is the story about 17 year old Cadence. She is a good girl. She goes to church, she gets good grades and she never disobey her parents. That was how it used to be at least. Then she got high and decided ro rob a store. And for that, she went to kids jail for almost a year. And that is hpw she meets Mark for the first time. From the side of the road when she is picking up trash. Sparks flies between them immediately. But that is that, and he leaves. One month later, she is out and returns to school. She is now an outcast and shunned by everyone, without a single friend. The only good thing in her life is that her new math teacher turnes out to be the hot guy from the road. The attraction is strong from day one.

This book was easily one of the best I have read this year, and one of the best student/teacher books I have read, ever. It is definitely top 3 on my list, maybe even #1. Anyway, I am so, so happy thet this is a series. I´m simply not ready to give up these fantastic characters yet. Especially Markus Connelly. I can´t end this review without mentioning Cadence´s fake friend/later-real-friend Avery!. OMG, what a hilarious chick. She was one more reason why I loved this book so much. So read it read it read it. No excuses. The author really has done an amazing job with this book. I CAN´T TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS. You are seriously missing out if you decide to skip it.

PREPARE TO BE BLOWN AWAY!

[Patrycja · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not in the mood for full review, so I'm going straight to the point. I can't wrap my head around the fact than nearly first 30% of this book were fantastic. Funny, amusing and sexy with heroine that was strong, kick ass as well as likeable. As for Mark The Teacher I couldn't think about a single flaw in his character, I just fell in love with him. But after they got together things started to get downhill. Candence started acting like the biggest fucking idiot in the world, being a weirdo and suddenly acting like a blushing virgin prude. Next Mark started being an ass and total creep as well as pissing me off so much I wanted to throw my ereader across my room.

So yeah, I can't believe this book disappointed me so much. I loved the other book by Walden and giving Good only 1 star is painful. If I could rate only first 30-40% of this book, it would be 5 stars. What a shame.

Ok, my rant is over. I hope you'll like it better than me.

[Michelle]

I made it to 45% and I can't take it any more. Cadence is not mature enough for me to be involved with a 28 year old man ( her teacher) and it's giving me the creeps. lol I should of read some reviews before I started this one but I like going into books sometimes not knowing anything. lol Big mistake with this book:(

[Sharon ∞❥ is an emotional book junkie ❥∞ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ★'s

The Premise:

Cadence made a huge mistake and is paying dearly for it which basically means, she's totally alone. That is until she meets Mark Connelly, or more importantly, Mr. Connelly, her math teacher.


The Lure:

The forbidden teacher/student affair.


The Characters:

Cadence - at first, I was a bit sympathetic but as time went on, her immaturity just really got to me.

Mark - I really liked him for the most part although it did feel a bit creepy how he went after Cadence. The thing is there's some sort of dark secret going on with Mark and slowly you pick up bits and pieces and have a good idea what happened. I did love the way he dresses, his music and...his dancing!

Avery - what a crazy person! And definitely an enabler for Cadence. But the waxing was pretty hilarious!

Oliver - I liked seeing his relationship with Cadence grow but he's a little oblivious to things.

Fanny - It was nice seeing this relationship develop.

Religion - yes, I'm putting it as a character because a lot of times, it was like the elephant in the room. This reads almost like a Christian romance minus all the sex, drinking and drugs of course.


The Emotions:

It was really hard to hear the cruel things Cadence and Mark would say to each other. I really have a hard time believing that their relationship will work out.




The Steam Factor:

Some steam...not very descriptive but Mark likes to talk...and he likes to talk dirty. ;)


The Problems:

Well, I've already mentioned my two big ones and that was the immaturity shown by the two MC's and the heavy religious element. Also, in regards to the religion - sometimes the characters were in such a cocoon...I just wanted to shake them and tell them about the real world.

I also didn't like how the prologue sets things up. You have to wait the whole book for things to get going!


The Outcome:

Ahhh yes...there is a bit of a cliffhanger and if you're at all like me, you'll want to have the next book ready to go.


The Future:

I had to immediately start the next book and find out what happens. Better is the next and last book of the series.

The Quotes:

♥ “I . . . I think you’re the sweetest thing.”

♥ “Jesus Christ . . .” And I never say “Jesus Christ.”

“No, Cadence. My name is Mark Connelly. And I’m about to give you the most explosive orgasm of your life.”

[ZARIA (Sheldon Cooper lover) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am going to be very quick about this one…..
It just didn't make any sense at all

Mark Connelly stands Synonym to immature pedophile
He makes "love" to her while she is still underage, forgets a condom and then gives her a a very educational biology lesson about pregnancy and abortion....


“But if I were, you’d want me to kill the baby?” I pressed. I felt lightheaded.
“It’s not a baby. It’s a parasite.”
I gasped and watched him shudder.
“A parasite?” I whispered.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” He eyed me carefully. “Cadence? I’m sorry I said that. I didn’t mean to be offensive.”



GREAT!!!!!!


He breaks up with her, after having sex with her of course, because he got scared.

“Cadence, we can’t do this anymore,” Mark said.
“This thing we’re doing. It’s got to stop. I could lose my job. You’re my student. It has to stop.”
“I don’t understand. I thought everything was okay. I’m not pregnant. It’s okay.” My heart pounded.
“It doesn’t really have to do with the pregnancy scare,” Mark said. “Though that’s a part of it.”
“But you said it was fine—”
“It’s not fine, Cadence! You’re eighteen! You’re too young for me, and we’re in different places in our lives. Do you understand that?”




All those references to christianity....it was to much

[Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am changing my rating for this book from 3.5 to 4.25 cause, well, now considering the stories I have read so far, were even more darker and somewhat dubious than this story was, and I have also changed my POV regarding the subject. Not that I have ever found it "too forbidden" it was always somewhat "off" cause of the immaturity of the younger party in the "forbidden" relationship and I could never get into it.

But stating all this I felt I did this story injustice and I hope I redeemed myself by going through with the change.

Although it's a controversial theme to deal with, (in my country, such a relationship in which one's 17 and the other is ten years older is considered, well, somewhat illegal, 'cause the young person is legal by turning 18 and under that everything is pretty risky in the eyes of the law and legal services, child protection services and social sevices) well, let's just say it would be very complicated.

Therefore, I couldn't really relate to the subject without having some serious doubts, and questions asked to myself but the writting is very good, like I alredy said the same for the Going under novel.

I really like the style and dialogues between the charachters.
Looking forward to the next book on my schedule. :)

[Belen (f.k.a. La Mala ✌) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reseña Original: Enero, 2014

Lo leí hace bastante y recién hoy me acorde de esta Guía para predadores sexuales en la secundaria que se hace llamar romance .

Esto es un horror . No solo por lo terriblemente INAPROPIADO (y casi diría, perverso) de las escenas de sexo (y todo lo que envuelve la relación principal) , sino también por las nociones ridículas que la autora obviamente tiene acerca de la adolescencia y las drogas .

Primero lo primero : el profesor (el interés "romántico") es un asco ; un personaje realmente asqueroso , con todas las características que se le pueden atribuir a un pervertido sexual . No solo seduce descaradamente a la menor de edad (consciente de que es su alumna en todo momento , no como otros libros del estilo de SLAMMED y THE LOW NOTES que, a pesar de lo melosos, son preferibles a esta historia); es decir , no solo le coquetea a esta piba de 17 años en pleno salón escolar , sino que ademas lo festeja . MI nivel de indignación llego hasta la nave Enterprise , saludó al capitán Picard y siguió de largo por la frontera final cuando, en una escena , muy irresponsablemente , el PROFE (yo quiero hacerte las cosas mas sucias de forma elegante, cantaría Miranda , sólo que acá la elegancia hizo mutis por el foro) , muy haciéndose el canchero este viejo asqueroso, lleva a la MENOR a un boliche y cuando la presenta a uno de sus amigotes (que en la vida real seria uno de esos giles patéticos de veintipico que no tienen nada mejor que hacer en la vida, que pasar horas en Internet insultando a las adolescentes porque les gusta One Direction...porque la vida de ellos es genial, seguro), el amigote en cuestión se da cuenta de que es , en efecto , 'una MENOR y , saben que hace ? saben que escribe la autora???? LO FELICITA ! Y el PROFE , le CHOCA LOS CINCO!! Ja! Mirennos , somos tan geniales , mirenme , tengo una menor esperándome en la cama , soy tan canchero y esta novela es TAAAAN ROMÁNTICA y nosotros TAAAAN SOÑADOS que nos escriben así , riéndonos como idiotas porque estamos corrompiendo menores ..

(BRAVO . SENCILLAMENTE BRAVO . S. walden ha superado los limites del buen gusto en una novela de romance .)

Hace un tiempo estaba discutiendo con una conocida sobre LOLITA y no se que novela o serie de la tele con un tema parecido . Esta persona me decía que no podía entender como me gustaba tanto LOLITA pero me indignaba viendo una escena "romántica" entre una menor y un tipo grande en otro lado, que no podía entender que diferencia . Le conteste esto: ES una cuestión de contexto y desarrollo . LOLITA es una obra maestra de la Literatura; SI , es sobre un pedofilo y todo lo vivimos a través de su punto de vista, pero NABOKOV es tan genial que da cuenta de todas las atrocidades de esta bestia detalle por detalle sin juzgar; o sea , esta en nosotros descifrar el sentido de la novela entera. Nosotros tenemos que avivar el cerebro y no dejarnos manipular por Humbert Humbert; después vamos a ver que hacer con lo que leímos porque el autor no va a estar a cada rato diciendo ESTO ESTA MAL ESTO ES HORRIBLE . Ahí para mi esta la gran diferencia, la genialidad . El autor se desprende de la historia y deja su lugar a H.H. ; que el personaje haga lo que quiera , que cuente como es, que se haga creer a si mismo que Dolores HAze lo ama y le corresponde. Las palabras hermosas pueden engañar pero, como lectores, no ay que dejar de ver que lo que hace es una atrocidad. Por más que el narrador diga lo que diga , por mas poesía (¡y que poesía!) que le encaje a la violación ,nosotros sabemos cual es la realidad, sabemos quién sufre, dónde esta el daño mayor. Que la pobre Lolita no tenga voz ni voto en la narración no significa que esté consensuando a las atrocidades del desquiciado Humbert.


Toda esta esencia fantástica de unreliable narrator, obviamente, no pasa con GOOD, ni pasa con la telenovela sobre la que hablaba yo aquella vez.

Good trata de convencerte de que esta perversión del fulano abusador es amor; que es "oscuro" y "disfuncional" pero es amor; un amor tan apasionado que va mas allá de la familia y las amistades , mas alla de las leyes (?) y la responsabilidad del adulto ... ESta es la peor manera de excusar la perversión, esto es lo que esta mal, acá esta la GRAN DIFERENCIA entre Nabokov y el resto de los mortales. No son los personajes , no es la ficción quien quiere convencer al lector de que esto es amor. Es la propia autora quien se pone en ese rol, quien juega al abogado del diablo. La autora esta presente en todas las perversiones, alentando y apoyando a los personajes en todos sus errores. Se usa al "amor" y al "romance disfuncional" como excusa para todo lo malo que pasa en la novela .

¿QUe amor??? ¿DE.qué.amor.me.estas.hablando.MAtias?? ¿Qué romance???

ES imposible llamar a esta barbaridad "romance". Es perturbador leer los monólogos de la protagonista: suena como una piba de quince años en un capitulo (la voz de quinceañera se va haciendo cada vez más perturbadora a medida que avanza la trama) y en el siguiente esta siendo manoseada por su profesor como si no fuese nada del otro mundo. ¿En serio esto es romance? Me provocaron más nauseas que suspiros.

En fin, mE fui por las ramas , pero la indignacion me puede a veces .

Lo segundo...

El otro tema que quería mencionar era el tema de las drogas. La protagonista termina en la cárcel por robo a mano armada bajo la influencia de la drogas -no me acuerdo ahora cuales eran, creo que cocaína...?

Es así: la piba era una estudiante-puro-diez y muuuuuy religiosa hasta que un dia, UNA NOCHE en una fiesta se le dio por probar drogas por PRIMERA VEZ en su vida y ¡BAM!!!!! sintió una necesidad imperante de salir a robar . ¿QUE ES ESTO?? ¿Donde vivio esta autora toda su vida? ¿Sabe algo de las drogas y sus efectos? ¿Conoce las diferencias entre unas y otras?

Por mas "drogas" (porque se le da un sentido tan amplio que ni siquiera se sabe de qué drogas se habla .... ) que tomés vas a seguir siendo la misma persona que sos --las drogas no te cambian de una hora a otra; si te fumás un porro, probablemente vas a terminar riendote como una naba hasta de una llave que se cae al piso dos veces seguidas -como mucho si te zarpas , te vas a sentir que estas soñando o vas a estar el triple de lento , no vas a salir a apuntar con un arma a nadie . Vas a ser vos , bueno como seas o malo como seas .

A lo que voy es est: el culpar a las "drogas" por una cagada que se mando alguien no tiene sentido. Uno es como es y por eso la idea de la autora (muy al estilo de GO ASK ALICE ) de que todo es perfecto y dios te ama hasta que un dia ¡CHAN! te fumaste un porro (NOOOOOOO! COUGH COUGH odio a todo el mundo DAME MAS) y saliste a matar porque si ... es una idea patética, típica de ignorante y que me suena a discurso de cura sobre la juventud degenerada y blablaba ...

NO GRACIAS . Ya tengo bastante con los testigos de jehova que me vienen a golpear la puerta a cualquier hora .

Evitenla. No recuerdo que tenga nada rescatable .

Para terminar,

Es también una de esas novelas con el síndrome del padre ausente , aunque en realidad tiene mas del virus de los padres no entienden nada y no saben un carajo del amor así que mas me vale odiarlos, y del trastorno 'todos los padres son malos'. Como de costumbre en las novelas para adolescentes , las figuras paternas y maternas no existen y/o son malévolas ... En este caso, estas figuras son terribles , padres sobreprotectores y golpeadores, así que tiene todos los problemas juntos .

[Pao · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dear author:

Congratulations! Good is by far the WORST student-teacher romance novel I've ever read.





And here are 3 of the reasons:

1.Cadence- or one of the most pathetic/brain damaged female characters I've had the pleasure to read.

"I'll be honest with you, though. There is something sexy about the idea of you cutting me off from the few people I know. Isn't that so wrong to feel that way? That I wouldn't mind being your prisoner? There's soemthing wrong with me, right?"

"I want you to hurt me," I said. "I want you to do whatever you want"

"I placed my hand next to his face for support while the other went to his throat[...]

"You're mine," I said. "Forever". And I rode him slowly, squeezing his throat until he grunted and begged for air"

2.Mark- or a self- centered/sick bastard, poor excuse of knight in shining armour.

"He pushed hard and I cried. I couldn't help it. I knew I would cry. I knew it would hurt. God, it really fucking hurt![...]

"It hurts," I whimpered, trying hard to ignore the burning between my legs. I'd caught on fire, and he wasn't putting out the flames. He was stoking them instead, forcing them higher and brighter. I'd burn alive.

"It won't hurt forever," he replied"

Also...

"I'll kill him," Mark breathed. "I'll kill him." He disappeared to his bedroom, and I followed.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Changing."
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to your house, Cadence. To kill your fucking dad."

3.Avery- the one and only petty/worthless/mistaken so-called friend of Cadence.

"Whatever. Let me give you a tip."
"No."
"Too bad. You've gotta make sure that shit down there is cleaned up. I can't imagine any guy wanting his face in a big old bush."

About that: You're an idiot Avery. That's how body image issues are initiated. I agree that hygiene is very important, but getting yourself waxed because of that depends if you'll get oral-sex or not, nu-uh! That should be a personal decision and not a condition or a decisive factor on a practice in your sex life.

"Ohh. So you made him angry," Avery said.
"I guess," I whispered.
"And if he had that kind of reaction, it means he really likes you and wants to be with you."
"He humiliated me, Avery! How does that show me he likes me?"
"Cadence, men have pride. It's like one of their main characteristics or something. And you hurt his. I'm not saying what he did was right, but at least it shows the amount of power you have over him. That's got to make you feel slightly better, huh?"

Ugh! Oh my God, I just wanted everyone to shut up. I was reading stupidity after stupidity.

This can't be called romance because the thing between Cadence and Mark was not love. It's plain infatuation.

This wasn't funny, so I have no idea why it's tagged as Humour. It portrays an abusive relationship.

There is not a single salvageable character. Everyone is horrible.

Oh, and there's a humongous cliffhanger at the end of the book to try to hook you to read the second book. But I'm so done after this one.

Goodbye, S. Walden.

[Jessica's Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

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Good by S. Walden is not good, it’s flippin’ AMAZING! Yes, Amazing! I DEVOURED this book in one long giant sitting and this is not a short book. I could not put it down; I was completely captivated by the story and characters. Good was a book I stopped existing for just so I could read it. Who cares about dinner or laundry or feeding my husband when I had Good on my kindle to read? It is one of my favorite books I have read all summer.

Casting:




When I found out Good was a student/teacher romance novel I was sold right then & there. I absolutely love forbidden romances; they’re my weakness! I did not expect to fall in love with the characters and for the story to have so much depth to it.



Good is told in the point of view of 17 year-old high school senior Cadence Miller. Cadence comes from a strict Christian home, goes to church on Sundays, doesn’t have sex with her boyfriend, cuss or say the lords name in vain. She is your average student and has a goody-to-shoes best friend. A year ago, the hot, popular boy invited Cadence to a party and that is where her life changed forever. She made a mistake, no scratch that… she made a GIAGANTIC mistake that makes everyone look at her differently including her parents. She paid for her sins and spent 10 months in kid jail (as she calls it). Now that she is out she is deemed the demon child at school, lost her friends and is grounded for a lifetime by her parents. Life as Cadence knew is now over.

Upon coming back to high school Cadence begins a relationship with her teacher Mark Connelly. How come I did not have an H-O-T 28 year-old teacher when I was in high school? I may have actually paid attention in class. They start off flirtatious; they never had your typical student-teacher relationship. There was always something there between the two of them. Their relationship was a long build-up and even when it was PG, well as PG as you can get between a student and teacher I still found it incredibly sexy but also real. Their relationship was not based on sex, it was about Mark/Mr. Connelly understanding where Cadence was coming from and feeling protective over her.

By the time their relationship went to another level I found myself cheering for Mark & Cadence. I wanted them together. I did not feel Mark was taking advantage of Cadence, they just fell in love. I loved the protectiveness Mark has for Cadence, he wanted to take care of her, and he wanted to love her. Their relationship is complicated but what relationship isn’t? It was not about sex for him and I respected him for that and when their relationship did move on to sex it was sweet & tender.

My favorite thing about the book was the real emotions/problems Cadence & Mark faced due to their relationship. It wasn’t hearts and flowers all the time. Cadence had major guilt and was choosing this life with Mark of lying & having sex over her Christian upbringing. Mark had guilt for putting Cadence in this position. Mark really put Cadence first even if it met hurting her. The two struggled with their relationship which made it so real. The author did an amazing job of making the reader feel that guilt as well. I was blown away with how I felt towards the characters while reading. I felt like I understood them all and where they were coming from, even understanding their relationship.



I also LOVE the character of Avery. She is just a hoot and made me laugh. We all had that friend, the friend who in front of parents and teachers was the perfect child but behind their back they were the ones having sex, drinking, and cussing like a sailor. Well that is Avery. She went from a fun character to really being there for Cadence at the end. I am glad they had each other; they needed each other.

I do wish we were able to get to know Mark a little better. He was hiding something about his past and that was obvious while reading. He was always dodging questions and putting answering off. I am hoping in book two we get to know Mark better and find out who he is and what is from his past he has yet to tell Cadence.

Good was a great surprise. I loved being surprised by books especially when I was expecting just a hot, fun story and getting so much more out of it. Good does end on a bit a cliff hanger. When I mean cliff hanger all the drama starts and the book ends. Almost like the story just got cut off and you are left crying in a fetal position asking when the next book comes out… okay so maybe that’s just me but I did SCREAM when I saw I was at the end. I need book two NOW!

Well done S. Walden! I want more Cadence and Mark!! I need more Cadence and Mark!




I give Good (Too Good #1) 4.5 Stars


ARC provided by the author in return for an honest review.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

LIVE on Amazon riiiighhhhttt NOW. Go one-click!

* 5 forbidden stars *



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."

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..

"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!

*Reviewing for The Hopeless Romantics Book Blog as part of the 'Good' blog tour.*

[Penny Well Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoed the book quite a bit, however it is somewhat childish. More than a novel, it seems like a sort of guide for teens on how to date your teacher.

[JoJo - JJJ (Jo Anna) Janesko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Love Loved it!! I couldn't put it down. This story kept me engaged! A huge 5 stars and would recommend it if you are looking for an excellent forbidden romance.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really know how I want to rate this one...between 3.5-4 messy stars. Also I think I want to see where the second book takes me...



I have to contemplate this for a bit..I was pushed out of my comfort zone - which I love. This author is great at pushing limits and always leaves me questioning myself. What is right or wrong - and what is it that determines how to rate our actions on that scale. I am still not sure how I feel...I will reevaluate in a few days :)

He’s cute. Very cute. And very smart. And very manly…. And very off-limits.”

“Those are always the best love stories,” Fanny replied.

“Which ones?”

She sipped her tea. “The dangerous ones.”

[Angie **loves angst**]

DNF at 24%

I always tell my Kindergarteners "Be sure to finish whatever you start. You can do it." But in this case I just couldn't do it. If I could use one word to describe this book it would be "weird." It left me feeling very uncomfortable. Since I didn't read all of it I won't rate it.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews

I knew that Good was going to be an iffy, controversial book. It's about a student-teacher relationship, and that's a tough thing to pull off successfully. In order for me to go along with it, I'd have to totally and completely get involved and invested in the relationship; they'd have to convince me that it's something truly worth having. Unfortunately I don't think I was totally convinced.

I understand how some people could fall for the relationship in Good, I just wasn't able to click with it. I never really fell for Mark. It's not so much that I thought their relationship was wrong (although there were a few moments that were iffy), it's just that I never personally fell for him. I wasn't attracted to him as a reader, and that kind of messed with my whole enjoyment of the book, since the entire thing is built on the romance.

And on top of that, towards the end of the book there is a lot of arguing. Cadence becomes a ridiculously needy, jealous girlfriend. This made me have more problems with the relationship, because it actually made Cadence appear more like an immature, whiny 18-year-old, rather than a more mature one. Cadence would accuse Mark of liking another woman if he so much as looked at one.

"Do you like her?"
Mr. Connelly looked at me flatly. "Don't be ridiculous."
"Well, you seem to like her ass," I said.
"Huh?"
"I watched you look at her ass when she walked out of here."
Jealousy. Such an unattractive quality. I was bleeding it, and I knew i looked ugly.

At least she knew how ridiculous she was being... And there were several instances of this. It slowly drove me a bit crazy!

Good was one of the most awkward books I've ever read. Think like Losing It by Cora Carmack—tons of weird, embarrassing, and/or awkward moments.. but intensified. The reason was because Cadence is really, really naïve (mostly sexually). That prompted many... weird scenes. Some of them were hilariously awkward, to the point where I was giggling and sharing them all with my boyfriend so we could have a laugh together. But some were just plain strange.

"Okay. I'm going to take off your underwear and then probably just look at you for a little while because I've never seen a dick in real life. As you know. [..] And I'm not going to try to act like I know what I'm doing, all right? I don't know how to touch it. I have a rudimentary understanding of what it does and how it works, but I'm sure I have a lot more to learn. [..] And I don't know how I feel about putting my mouth on it quite yet, but that's mostly because I don't know how to blow a guy, so I'm just going to see how I feel after I take your underwear off."
"I understand."
"And I don't want you to scare me with it. Like, forcing my face on it or rubbing me all over my body with it. I don't think that's gonna do it for me.
Mark massaged his forehead. "I won't rub my dick all over you, Cadence."
I took a deep breath. "Okay. Are you ready?"
"Umm... I'm gonna be honest with you right now."
"Okay."
"This conversation we just had? Yeah... not really sexually stimulating. So, um, now I'm kind of flaccid."

Probably one of the most hilarious, awkward, and weird scenes I've EVER read. I'm not even sure what to make of it...

I reached out my hand, letting it hover over his penis. It twitched.
"Oh my God, Mark! It moved!"

Additionally, there are a lot of religious undertones in Good. I'm just not a big fan of reading about religion and although this wasn't the most annoying thing about the book, it was still there. There were tons of comments about "Living in sin" and stuff like that. But it was actually the inconsistencies that bugged me. Check out this quote from after she finds out Mark is not a Christian (but Cadence is):

I thought I should leave. Everything I learned in youth group taught me never to date a nonbeliever. It was a top rule as a Christian. I didn't remember a rule against having an affair with a teacher, but the non-Christian thing was a definite no-no.

What isn't apparent in this quote is that Cadence is perfectly fine with having sex with Mark. Premarital sex. And yet, she suddenly considers leaving him because he's not a Christian? She'll have premarital sex with a Christian, but not with a non-Christian? That just makes zero sense to me...

Now all that being said, there were some parts of the book that I enjoyed. I thought Avery was an awesome character. I actually wish she was in the book more often, because she pretty much rocked! She's the kind of girl with no filter; she just says whatever is on her mind, no matter how vulgar or weird it is.

Ultimately, I think Good can be a good book if the romance pulls you in and convinces you that it's awesome. Unfortunately I just never liked Mark that much. I didn't hate him, I just felt like he was a little... off. I never particularly liked him. Later on, we get to know another guy (in high school) named Jacob, and I actually liked him a lot more!

Although Good had a couple weird and awkward moments, I don't necessarily think it was a bad book, it just didn't quite work for me!

[Lady Vigilante (Feifei)]

DNF at 81%

It really pains me to not finish this one because I have loved EVERY.SINGLE.BOOK. of Ms. Walden's. If you haven't read Going Under yet, you need to jump on it immediately. Honeysuckle Love is my next favorite and I highly recommend you read it as well! Not your typical YA romance, that's for sure.

When it comes down to controversial and dark romance reads, Ms. Walden's name is always one of the firsts to pop up in my mind. Her ability to craft an intriguing, edgy story without being too over-the-top or exaggerated constantly amazes me, and her books are always a re-read for me. Good, however, had the opposite effect on me.

I'm a sucker for student-teacher romances because of that "forbidden" feel, the exhilaration and thrill from the sneaking around, the idea that two people who are never supposed to be together, are. This story rubbed me the wrong way for several reasons:

1. Mark. For some reason, I cannot stop imagining him as a predator. He goes out of his way to not taking it too far with Cadence, and the minute he gets angry with her, he fucks in her the classroom/closet <-- don't remember because I was skimming. I couldn't connect with his character.

2. Cadence. She is why I do not like to read YA. I understand she made a huge mistake that landed her in juvie, but she is one of the whiniest female heroines I have ever read. She gets irrationally jealous and screams her way out of arguments.

3. I would've continued reading, but the culmination of such lines below made me drop the book.

"Do that again and I'll fuck that 18- year old pussy in front of you." <-- here I feel like he was using his sexual power over her to his advantage

"Sorry. He made love to you in his closet. At school. Big risk. That's total love." <-- first I want to say he totally FUCKED her in the closet. Not made love. This is coming from Cadence's "best friend" so I'm not surprised that this is coming from her mouth, but still. It reiterates what I'm saying about why YA is a turnoff these days.

"Nice job, Marcus,” the bouncer said as he looked me over, checked my ID, and looked me over again. “Not even legal.” He held up his fist, and Mark bumped it. “Score.” <-- EW EW EW!! I didn't feel the romance at all. Instead of romanticizing their moments, I felt degraded on Cadence's behalf by Mark's actions and words.

Everyone has a different interpreation of words and different reading experiences so please don't let this one lady's view stop you from reading this book. I will always be interested in Ms. Walden's books so this book doesn't affect my fanship and support for her!

[Lise *friends don't flag* · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5-3.0 huh... well... stars...



GOOD....sort of

I absolutely adored S. Walden’s book, . It was really well done and I felt so many emotions and totally connected to the characters and storyline. So… when I had the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Good, I was all over it.
I am a sucker for a ‘good’ forbidden romance between a teacher and student and have thoroughly enjoyed several in this genre such as:

, and ….

Unfortunately, this one did not fall into the same Oooo-I-likey category of forbidden love between student and teacher.

For me, the heroine was too immature (yes, I realize she is 17 and a high school senior) So-why (how) does this hot worldly 28 year-old fall for her? Good question.

“All right. You’re almost eighteen, but you act older. I assume that means you think older.” “I can be really immature sometimes”

I liked the slow cautious build of the relationship between Cadence and Mark and their secret rendezvous’ and then after she turns 18- Whoa- some steamy stuff. It was intense and Cadence fell head, feet, and heart first as did Mark, I thought.

And then things come to an odd but perhaps not unexpected stop-

“This,” he said, pointing back and forth between the two of us. “This thing we’re doing. It’s got to stop. I could lose my job. You’re my student. It has to stop”

This gives Cadence a bit of time to mature and figure things out, as much as a sheltered 18 year old can.

So… what happens now? You’ll have to check this out for yourself and please do not let my lack of love for this book dissuade you from reading it. If you like angst, forbidden love, coming of age, and some sweet tender and hot loving…. Give this book a read.

Thank you to the author, S. Walden for providing an ARC in turn for an honest review. I appreciate it and will continue to read your work.

[Jo ❤ · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Love comes in all kinds of packages. Some are neatly tied up, and some are messy. It doesn't mean that the messy ones aren't every bit as good"

I wish that were the case for me with this book but unfortunately, it's not. This was a hot mess and no it wasn't every bit as good.



This is a forbidden love story between a teacher and a student. I love teacher-student stories because they tend to be exciting and full of angst, not to mention, really hot. But sadly, this one missed the mark.

There was a lack of connection between Cadence and Mark. I just didn't feel anything for them. They didn't grow on me. It just felt like I was reading a narrative about these two people without really caring or understanding their story. Their story is typical of a teacher-student relationship. They meet each other outside of school. They feel some sort of attraction towards each other. Both are shocked to see the other in school. They start a secret relationship. Complications arise. Yada yada yada. But there was something off with Mark. He didn't seem genuine or passionate or innocent in his "love" for Cadence.

So when they both go down and dirty, it just felt so wrong and so gross to me.

His hands crept lower until they rested on my ass.
"We're in public!"
"We're in a dark room surrounded by people who don't give a shit about us," Mark replied. "Now be quiet and let me enjoy your ass."



“Now, I’m gonna make you uncomfortable for just a second,” he said. “You cool with that?”
"I guess," I replied, feeling my heartbeat increase. I didn't know what he planned to say. Or do.
“I would never do something you didn’t want me to, but I hope in the future, you let me go down on you,” he said.
“Because I really really wanna eat you out”. He shrugged and grinned. “Eventually.”



"Your bra is pretty," he said.
"Thank you," I replied.
"I wanna take it off you," Mark said.



Now don't get me wrong. I'm not prude regarding this subject. I have read Unteachable by Leah Raeder, which wasn't prude AT ALL, and I LOVED IT. There is just something lacking in this book and it just did not work for me. Mark especially, did not sit right with me. Something is wrong with him, I'm pretty sure. (It might be tackled on book 2, I don't know.)

The writing was okay. It wasn't terrible and it wasn't amazing either. It lacked a lot of depth, for sure, and it left me feeling weird about the whole thing.

Overall.. I wouldn't really go out recommending this, but if you're up for it and you got a lot of time to lose, then by all means, see the book for yourself.

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 so good stars

Good was pretty much all that I'd hoped it would be and more. It had the uber taboo cliche of a student/teacher relationship... and I freaking loved it.

Cadence is your typical high school senior.



She's a good girl who got caught up in something bad and had to pay the price. What I loved so much about her is that she was 17/18 years old and acted that way. She wasn't portrayed as a femme fatale out to trap her handsome, older teacher. She said and did things that 17 year girls do. She wasn't made to feel like she was wise beyond her years, because she wasn't. She was impulsive and zany and a total dork and it totally worked.

And oh man did I love me some Mark Connelly.



He was a hot, 28 year old math teacher. Need I say more? Of course he's lust inducing. How come I didn't have a teacher like him when I was in high school? He's obviously the 'adult' in the realtionship. And its not a relationship that is entered into lightly. There's build up and then secrecy. And I never felt like he was wielded any power over Cadence. There were definitely some uncomfortable situtations, and he was very straight forward almost to the point of harsh. But I just wanted to hug him up. He's definitely got secrets, and I felt like I didn't get a real sense of him as a person out side of Mark and Cadence land.

I can see where this could be a controversial topic to read about, but I actually love this type of book. The forbidden factor was so there. But I really felt the love they had for each other. I just don't know where this is going to go in the second story. There's a cliffhanger, but not a relationship cliffhanger thank goodness.

So thank you S. Walden for writing such a badass book (and including the song "Who Booty" because it made my day).

[Cristina · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a horrible heroine. I swear I don't know what to say about her. She is so stupid and immature she kept getting on my nerves. I kept reading because I thought she would change as the book progressed. But she didn't. And made things worse when she slept with some other guy only two days Mark and her had broken up. Oh yeah, and she loved him? Please. That's not love. God, she made me hate this book. And this is on,y Part 1 or so says at the end of the book. I didn't get to finish it after she sleeps with someone else. That's a deal breaker for me. Anyway, I know at the end of this book, she stays with Mark and blah blah. I couldn't care less and wished that Mark would not have taken her back.
Good luck if you like reading about whores who sleep around because she's feeling VUNERABLE.
What a waste of money and time.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Love comes in all kinds of packages. Some are neatly tied up, and some are messy. It doesn't mean that the messy ones aren't every bit as good."

Let me first off say, there is always something intriguing about forbidden love. Who are we to say and judge who we can be with and not. So let me first warn you this book was not only about forbidden love but it deals with a controversial topic/ taboo about a relationship between student and teacher.

Good (Too Good, #1) was hard for me to review because it left me feeling mixed emotions, distraught and wanting to protect and shake some sense into a young naive girl. The book was well written and it was one of those books you had to finish and see what was to become of the ending. Forewarning, there is a cliff hanger ending.

I don't approve or disapprove of a student/teacher relationship as long as the student is of legal age when entering the sexual aspect of their relationship. I do want the student to aware of the situation that one's getting his or herself into and be mature for their age. The teacher/adult should also be aware morally of his or her action.Both parties should have something in common like interests, goals, hobbies, and etc besides sexual attraction.

In regards to this book, this is not your typical teacher/student book. Teacher and student have nothing in common. All they have in common is that they just need each other to fill each others void. The student, Cadence is young,innocent very naive, and sheltered. When Cadence finds herself being ostracized from her parents and community,she finds herself seeking love and affection from her teacher, Mr. Mark Connelly.

Cadence Miller is a 17 year old high school senior who spent most of her junior year in juvenile detention for being an accomplice to a robbery while being super high on drugs. She was caught and this leads to a major lock-down on Cadence's freedom during her senior year. Her parents are understandably upset for her actions. Cadence loses her driving privileges and freedom which I can understand because she lost the trust of her parents and she must earn that trust back. As she begins her senior year, Cadence is treated so badly and bullied by her fellow classmates and has become the school's outcast.

Mark Connelly was first introduced in the book when he sees Cadence doing her juvenile service community work of picking up trash on the side of the road. Mark is an attractive, 28 year old math teacher at Cadence's school. Mark actively pursues Cadence in doing little things by taking care, buying her lunches and just being nice to her. Cadence seeks the attention she was getting from Mark because she wasn't getting it at home, her friends and her community.

At first, I was receptive to their relationship since Mark came off nice and was always there to lift Cadence's spirits in her times of need. But as I read further into the book I was disturbed by their relationship. Mark just repulsed me out. He felt more like a predator and taking advantage of a young and very naive girl. The way he refers to Cadence as his "little" and the way he enjoys having her sit on his lap.It just grossed me out.

Mark loved being in control of Cadence and fully took advantage of it by having her naked and having his way with her. Their relationship felt more creepy than loving because they had nothing in common except the fact Mark likes taking care and control of her and she like being taken care of by Mark. He totally manipulates her.He enjoys the power he can exert on her and it was clearly demonstrated in the scene where he humiliated her in the classroom and where he forced himself on her in the back closet of the classroom.

As for Cadence, she was just super innocent and naive. She blurts and says things that really showcases how little she knows about being in adult relationship and her knowledge of sex.


Everything about their relationship felt disturbing. When they interacted, they had nothing in common. They didn't share the same opinions and beliefs. Cadence was struggling being a good Christian girl whereas Mark didn't share the same beliefs as her. It felt as though he was trying to convince her and change her beliefs to benefit his needs. Throughout this book i kept seeing an impressionable young girl, desperate to be forgiven and loved by her parents again, yearning for even the slightest amount of attention and acknowledgement from them and wanting some sort of friendship from her peers. When she couldn't achieve that, she falls victim in finding solace and comfort from Mark, a grown adult who should have known better than to abuse power and control he has on a naive teenager. He manipulates her and makes her fall in love with him.

“Do you really think it’s wrong that we’re together? Or do you think it’s wrong because that’s what you’ve been taught?”

I would rate this book a 3.5~4. I will read the next book because I'm curious how their relationship will end up and I want to know more about Mark's past. I'm curious if he really does say and mean it when he constantly tells Cadence that he loves her or if I'm right to assume that he is indeed just a predator who manipulates a young impressionable naive girl.

As for their relationship, this is how i feel about.

[Ellelou · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

I'm still confused about rating this book. I didn't read any reviews prior to starting so I didn't know what to expect. Yes I knew it was a taboo story, teacher/student relationship but somehow I couldn't help feeling uncomfortable throughout the book. It was very difficult for me to fall for Mr Connelly "call me Marc", I just couldn't shake this bad vibe and I only saw him as a predator. Yes, I said it! He abused his position as a teacher and used her vulnerability and her weak state of mind.

I don't care that he said he loved her, I don't care that he was direct with her, he was the adult in this relationship. He kept saying that she was mature for her age but to me Candace was sheltered, innocent, vulnerable, impressionable and eager to have someone she could trust and she was desperate to be accepted and prove that she was a good girl.

So in a roundabout way I think he did pressure her to start this relationship. I don't care that we were told that he truly loved her, that didn't come across... As I mentioned I felt uncomfortable as their relationship progressed.

And then about 79% “So you want me to get an abortion?” I asked, panicked.
“We don’t even know if you’re pregnant yet.”
“But if I were, you’d want me to kill the baby?” I pressed. I felt lightheaded.
“It’s not a baby. It’s a parasite.”
I gasped and watched him shudder.
“A parasite?” I whispered.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” He eyed me carefully. “Cadence? I’m sorry I said that. I didn’t mean to be offensive.”


I'm sorry but I couldn't stomach that! He was 28 years old, I don't care what has happend to him in the past not that we learned much about his previous life, that was a horrible thing to say. If you're really in love you don't have secrets, you talk about everything, you try to learn about each other and Candace knew nothing about him.

“Don’t insinuate I’m some fucking asshole. You don’t know my past,” he said.”
-----------------

“What happened in your past?” I demanded.
“It’s not your business, Cadence.”
“The hell it’s not! I’m your girlfriend!”
“I’m not discussing it with you.”
“Stop talking down to me like I’m a child!”
“I’m not.”

So yes as you can tell I wasn't impressed.

Have I mentioned that I hate cliffhanger? Well, I'm saying it again, I do, I really do. I suspect we will learn more about Mark's past in the next book and maybe that will explain some of his behaviour but I'm not convinced.

I couldn't understand how some of his friends were ok with him having an interest on a 17 year old and what's worst one of his students. Remember the record guy and then Angel, the bouncer? That was weird, on both occasions.

Another instance that raised alarm bells for me was when they were discussing their inappropriate relationship and it looked like he knew about the laws in Georgia.

“Could you go to jail?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I mean, it’s a little tougher to put away teachers here in Georgia because of the way the laws are written.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s complicated and not worth talking about. But I need you to understand that this isn’t me using you. I’d never take a risk like that knowing all I could lose if I didn’t genuinely care about you.”


I mean why would he know about the laws in Georgia, why did he look at them in the first place. I might be wrong but that didn't feel right to me.

Cadence did question his motives on various occasion, in fact she did ask him if he was taking advantage of her because she was vulnerable and in a bad place. Were her instincts right? She decided that she was wrong but I'm not convinced.

“Well, maybe he liked the girl-next-door types. Or maybe he sensed my emotional vulnerability, my loneliness. Maybe he thought he could take advantage of that. I wasn’t a complete idiot. I knew this was all wrong, and I knew I had to confront the possibility that Mr. Connelly was a bad man. A user. An exploiter. So why didn’t I believe any of it? Why did I think he was genuinely nice and kind instead? That he had fallen for me apart from any insidious motive? Was it just my naiveté?”


He gave her alcohol. He said that she didn't have to do things but why did I get the impression that somehow he was pushing her to do things, knowing that she wanted to prove herself that she was mature enough and good enough for him. I mean she was scared of kissing him at first!


Oh, well I'm definitely going to read the next book and hopefully will get all my answers and they better be satisfactory because as it is Mark is an antihero for me and I can't see a single redeeming quality in him.