Review of "After Math" by Denise Grover Swank

After Math by Denise Grover Swank
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was actually pleasantly surprised by this particular book. However, as good as the set-up was, I still felt let down near the end.

May contain spoilers. You've been warned.

The story is told from Scarlett's POV. She's grown up in a trailer-park, and finally escaped when she went to college. Scarlett is described as extremely smart, and she has a job as a tutor at the school. When the school's star-athlete Tucker is in danger of losing his scholarship, he asks for her help. At first she's reluctant, but when it's revealed that her help might be the turning point in a new research lab, she agrees.

Over the time we find out that both Tucker and Scarlett has issues.

She's deeply plagued by her past, and lives in fear of turning into her mother or sister. (The former has a bad history with boyfriends, and the latter got pregnant as 16 year's old)

While he's adopted and basically only loved for his soccer talent.

They form a sort of friendship, and I liked that it wasn't insta-love, but at the same time I was much too annoyed at how long they took to finally admit there was anything deeper between them, and then even longer to actually act upon it.

Tucker's history confused me almost as much as Scarlett's. While both of their pasts must have troubled them both deeply, I still believed it was overdone compared to how small scale it was. We only hear about their past, but doesn't really see how they interact with those fragments that torments them.

For example:

Scarlett's issues is rooted in her mother's dysfunctional relationship. I get how that can make any girl wary of guys, but at the same time, Scarlett seemed to change her mind often about whether she was wary or frisky. It might have helped to see her interact with either her sister or mom--or even her nephew/niece--but no such luck.

Likewise, Tucker has his own issues. I liked how the book was set-up in a way that kept the reader guessing what his deal was. However, when we finally found out about the many brothers and sister--and about Tucker's own regret--it seemed to be resolved so quickly, that the suspense almost seemed wasted on me. We didn't see him interact with any of his brothers, but was only briefly told what had happened as Scarlett was briefed on the status.

Despite all that, it was an entertaining read. I loved Scarlett's relationship with her roommate, and how protective they were of each other. The scenes between Tucker and Scarlett was sweet, especially when he ran with her.

A good read if you're up for some sweet romance, and some quirky lines. Would recommend to people who enjoy college-reads.



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