Blog Tour and Book Review: After Math by Denise Grover Swank

Title: After Math
Author: Denise Grover Swank
Published: March 12, 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary


Book Description:

Scarlett Goodwin’s world is divided into Before and After.

Before she agreed to tutor Tucker price, college junior Scarlett was introvert, struggling with her social anxiety and determined to not end up living in a trailer park like her mother and her younger sister. A mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline.

After junior Tucker Price, Southern University’s star soccer player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis. Tucker’s failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility is at risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him.Tucker’s bad boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone spending several hours a week in close proximity.

But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn’t the person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects hold the reason to his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will Scarlett find the happiness she’s looking for, or will she be caught in Tucker’s aftermath?

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My Thoughts and Review:

I adored Tucker. 

I could probably leave this review with just that simple sentence and the following statement, Tucker is someone you want, no, need, to meet. 

He isn't your typical bad boy, not at all but he has those qualities that most bad boys have. Those qualities that we all fall in love with and just can't help by sigh as we read. He is damaged, a bit cocky, a bit of a womanizer, he gets into fights and yet, the boy has a hidden layer just full of love and sensitivity that makes all the other things melt away and disappear all together as his true self starts to come out and shine.

Scarlett isn't without her own problems. She is almost as damaged as Tucker except where Tucker is the easy going partying trouble maker, Scarlett is the introvert. So afraid of going out and being social she actually has anxiety attacks. 

But Tucker sees something in her no one else ever has. He calms her and he pays attention. In fact, he seems to know Scarlett better than anyone ever has before.

I say this a lot but I will forever love a story about two broken people finding peace with each other. When two very damaged people come together to create a whole so much so that they are so much better together than they ever can be apart. 

The sweet moments between Scarlett and Tucker were so well done. You could really see how much he cared about her. How much the womanizing playboy wasn't who he really was. The pain of his childhood as well as the pressures of his current situation were all there on the surface and they may have controlled his life but they didn't control all of him. That person he wanted to be, that little boy that just wanted to love and be loved, was there. We caught glimpses of him when he was with Scarlett. 

I loved Scarlett's inner monologue as well, her pain was very viable. Her thoughts and emotions brought tears to my eyes. She felt so much and didn't even realize it.

Two people very much just wanting to love and be loved so much that there actions were screaming it but yet, no one saw through them, until they meet each other. 

I loved the character growth that we saw throughout the story. That is always so very important in this type of stories. I was glad that the author let us see them grow, not only together as friends but without each other as well.

My only real complaint is that the ending seemed a little too convenient. It happened too quickly after all the events leading up to it and I wish the author would have fleshed it out just a little more. Maybe even given us Tucker's point of view about what transpired during that time period. 

Obviously I can't say too much because I don't want to give any spoilers but I did at least like that we got an epilogue of sorts to see where Scarlett and Tucker were a few months down the road from when the story ended. It was a nice look into their lives and since this is only the first book of a planned series I am hoping the author will continue with their story and maybe give us some of those missing pieces to their story along the way.

I give this one 4 Stars!