NEW ADULT MONDAYS: Business As Usual (Off the Subject #3)

The New Adult genre - their bad boys and big problems and epic loves make them engrossing tales that are so easy to lose yourself in. What's not to love about that? And, now, thanks to the cool chicks at Bewitched Bookworms, we can show these books the love they deserve in a weekly feature - New Adult Mondays.

Business As Usual (Off the Subject #3), by Denise Grover Swank
Published April 10, 2014
Publisher: Createspace
Format: paperback, provided by the publisher
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating: 3.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Lexi Pendergraft has given up on finding love after a disastrous encounter with her last boyfriend. Instead, she focuses on two things: One, setting up a summer program for underprivileged middle-school aged students. And the second, getting to the bottom of her brother Reed’s recent strange behavior. His secret is destroying his relationship with his fiancée Caroline, and Lexi will do anything to help him save it. Especially after he gave up his dream to give Lexi a chance at a semi-normal college experience, something her parents threatened to steal from her after her rape a year ago.

Ben Masterson is determined to make it through his final semester of his senior year at Southern University. After recently losing his full ride scholarship, he’s suffering from sleep deprivation while trying to keep up with his mechanical engineering courses and working three part time jobs. He thinks he’s lucked out getting a job in the university math lab. The only problem is his boss—Reed Pendergraft.

As part of a role in a community theater play, Lexi wears a black wig and feels a confidence she hasn’t experienced in over a year. When she wears it to a bar close to the theater, she doesn’t think Ben, a bartender there, recognizes her. While Ben’s intrigued about what she’s up to, he’s smart enough to stay far away from his overprotective boss’s sister. Until fate forces him to help her, but why won’t she tell him her real identity?

I'm glad Lexi's story was told. I had been curious about her since she was introduced in the second book in Denise Grover Swank's Off the Subject Series, Redesigned. Although I took issue with a few things in Business As Usual, there were other things that were done perfectly, and for that I was very thankful. 

Lexi is trying to move on from a tragedy that befell her a few years ago. Her residual emotional scars coupled with her overbearing brother's constant smothering are making that nearly impossible, though. Then, she meets Ben and for the first time and begins to think that she has a shot at a normal life and a normal relationship. 

What happened to Lexi is awful. It's awesome that her brother Reed has made it his mission to protect her and see that nothing like that ever happens again. But, honestly, his "protectiveness" grew very tiresome after awhile. And, it's part of the story - I get that. Lexi too is fed up with Reed's smothering nature. At least, she says she is. Her lack of action on the matter was as frustrating as Reed's behavior in the first place. Granted, she's dealing with some serious guilt issues. She feels personally responsible for him not doing what he wants to be doing as far as his career goes. But, honestly, enough is enough. Lexi needed to tell Reed to back off and really mean it. 

Reed's secrets and how it affects his relationship with Caroline was almost as much of the story as Lexi's efforts to overcome her trauma and forge a real relationship with Ben. I was intrigued throughout the entire book as to what Reed was up to and how it was worth him treating Caroline as he did. This didn't seem like the same Reed I grew to love in Redesigned. He wasn't sweet and caring and kind. He was... well, Reed was pretty much an ass. And I knew there had to be a reason why, and I couldn't wait to find out what that was. 

Thing is, when Reed's secret was revealed, it was kind of a letdown. So much of the book was spent leading up to this big moment, and in the end, there really was no big moment. It left me scratching my head a bit. 

Lexi's relationship with Ben was the best part of the book, and thankfully, it really was the main focal point. I loved watching Lexi figure out her triggers and what to do about them. It was great seeing her take control of this horrible situation and using it to make her stronger. And I loved the incredible support and love that Ben gave her back. Their chemistry was sizzling hot and totally believable. 

One other anomaly in Business As Usual was Tina. Tina showed up in the previous book as Caroline's roommate after Scarlett moved out. Tina was your typical overbearing, annoying party girl which contrasted with Caroline's softer nature. The Tina that presented in Business As Usual was an absolute NIGHTMARE. She was mean and vindictive and cruel and self-destructive. She treated Lexi, Ben, Reed and Scarlett like garbage. She encouraged and orchestrated the public humiliation of Lexi, and even went so far as to support her being roofied. I'm not sure what happened to Tina between the last book and this one, but this was definitely not the same person we saw before. 

Admittedly, I preferred After Math and Redesigned better than Business As Usual, but the hallmarks I usually go for - good, tight writing, a quick-moving plot, engaging characters and sweet and steamy love - were all there, as I would expect from Denise Grover Swank. I hope she keeps writing books in this series. I will certainly continue reading them.  

COVER REVEAL AND EXCERPT: Business As Usual (Off the Subject #3)

I'm thrilled to share with you the cover and the prologue for Denise Grover Swank's newest addition to her Off the Subject series - BUSINESS AS USUAL. The first two books in the series - After Math and Redesigned - were fantastic. I can't wait to see what's next for these characters Denise Grover Swank has created!

Business As Usual (Off the Subject #3), by Denise Grover Swank
To Be Published April 10, 2014
Publisher: Createspace
Genre:  new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon

(Synopsis) Lexi Pendergraft has given up on finding love after a disastrous encounter with her last boyfriend. Instead, she focuses on two things: One, setting up a summer program for underprivileged middle-school aged students. And the second, getting to the bottom of her brother Reed’s recent strange behavior. His secret is destroying his relationship with his fiancée Caroline, and Lexi will do anything to help him save it. Especially after he gave up his dream to give Lexi a chance at a semi-normal college experience, something her parents threatened to steal from her after her rape a year ago.

Ben Masterson is determined to make it through his final semester of his senior year at Southern University. After recently losing his full ride scholarship, he’s suffering from sleep deprivation while trying to keep up with his mechanical engineering courses and working three part time jobs. He thinks he’s lucked out getting a job in the university math lab. The only problem is his boss—Reed Pendergraft.

As part of a role in a community theater play, Lexi wears a black wig and feels a confidence she hasn’t experienced in over a year. When she wears it to a bar close to the theater, she doesn’t think Ben, a bartender there, recognizes her. While Ben’s intrigued about what she’s up to, he’s smart enough to stay far away from his overprotective boss’s sister. Until fate forces him to help her, but why won’t she tell him her real identity?

Excerpt

Business as Usual Prologue by Denise Grover Swank

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomadic gypsy, living in five cities, four states and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period.  Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in own her mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.)  Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks.  She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.

 
Learn more about Denise --> Website / Facebook / Twitter

NEW ADULT MONDAYS: Redesigned (Off The Subject #2)

The New Adult genre - their bad boys and big problems and epic loves make them engrossing tales that are so easy to lose yourself in. What's not to love about that? And, now, thanks to the cool chicks at Bewitched Bookworms, we can show these books the love they deserve in a weekly feature - New Adult Mondays.

Redesigned (Off the Subject #2), by Denise Grover Swank
Published June 10, 2013
Publisher:  Createspace
Format: ARC - received at BEA
Genre:  new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating:  4.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) While fashion design major Caroline Hunter may have been born economically unlucky, in college, she’s been lucky in love. Until her senior year at Southern University. She’s gone from a serious long term boyfriend to a string of crappy dates.

Then she meets mathematics grad student Reed Pendergraft.

Reed is everything she’s not looking for. Serious. Headed for a low paying university job. Boring. Caroline spent the first eighteen years of her life wondering where her next meal was coming from. She sure wasn’t getting trapped in that life again with a man living on a professor’s salary.

An encounter with Reed in a club proves she might have pegged him wrong. He brings out a lusty side she never knew she had. But just when she’s about to give in to her hormones, Reed makes a fool out of her.

When she shows up for the first committee meeting for Southern University’s Fall fashion show, a fundraiser for underprivileged kids, Caroline’s horrified to discover the insufferable Reed is the committee chairman. While she refuses to tolerate his totalitarian rule of the committee, she’s not sure she’ll survive the month with her heart—and her pride—intact. Just when she thinks she has everything figured out, she finds that her entire life has been redesigned, thanks to Reed Pendergraft.

So, lightning can strike twice in the same place. Denise Grover Swank has once again written an incredible new adult novel full of angst, emotion and math problems. 

In Redesigned, Caroline Hunter meets Reed Pendergraft at a party, and to say that they don't hit it off is putting things mildly. She tells him that she won't date him because he doesn't make enough money and he tells her she's a shallow gold digger. Not really the basis for a lasting and loving relationship. Yet, something about Reed gets under Caroline's skin - so much so that, even when they are forced to work together on a project and every meeting between them ends in disaster, she still finds herself thinking about him all the time. Finally, things get real and so do they, but things in both their pasts could threaten the shaky foundation on which they're standing.

My favorite romance stories tend to be those where the guy and the girl start out hating each other. There is a fine line between loving and loathing sometimes. Both require some seriously strong emotion, and it's easy to confuse the two. Maybe that's why insta-love stories really irk me. I love seeing couples really work for their HEAs.

And, perhaps this is why I enjoyed Redesigned so much. Reed and Caroline are really horrible to each other for awhile. So much so that, I was feeling really pissed off after each conversation myself. They engage in low blows and mud slinging so much that I was left wondering how they were going to find themselves in a place where they could finally move past all that and find common ground. And, when that moment came, it was SO much sweeter than if they had made mooney eyes at each other at that very first meeting.

Caroline was hard to like for awhile. She really was a pretty shallow person, even if you could understand her motives for being shallow. It didn't negate the fact that her actions reeked of gold-digging desperation, and it's hard to respect a character like that.

Reed, however - that guy could be the poster child for the hot nerd. Yes, he was awful to Caroline, but I could understand why he acted that way based on how she treated him at first. And, yes, he was overprotective of his sister, but I can respect any guy who goes out of his way to protect those he loves.

Redesigned is told from Caroline's POV only, and there were many instances when I found myself wishing so much that this was a dual POV book. Then again, not knowing what Reed was thinking and doing only added to his mysteriousness and made me all that more curious about what he was hiding. So, I guess it's not really a bad thing.

The pacing of the story was perfect. From the first moment when Reed and Caroline meet (which was in the first chapter) until the very end, there was never any lulls in the story or times when I found myself wanting to skim or skip ahead. And, once they get together, I found I couldn't put the book down. The heat factor was off the charts - I loved the sizzling chemistry, and Denise Grover Swank captured that so well.

One of the best parts of Redesigned is that we saw plenty of Scarlett and Tucker from After Math (Off The Subject #1). Scarlett and Caroline are still BFFs, and now we can see that, because of Scarlett's relationship with Tucker, he and Caroline have a really special relationship too. He's taken on a sort of big brother role with her, and it made my love for Tucker grow even more (and I didn't think that was possible).

Denise Grover Swank needs to bring on more Off The Subject books, like NOW. Because I think I have a new addiction.

NEW ADULT MONDAY: After Math (Off the Subject #1)

The New Adult genre - their bad boys and big problems and epic loves make them engrossing tales that are so easy to lose yourself in. What's not to love about that? And, now, thanks to the cool chicks at Bewitched Bookworms, we can show these books the love they deserve in a weekly feature - New Adult Mondays.

After Math (Off the Subject #1), by Denise Grover Swank
Published March 12, 2013
Publisher:  Createspace
Format: e-book - provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Genre:  NA
To Buy:  Amazon * Barnes & Noble

 Rating:  4 STARS

(From Goodreads) 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?

In a lot of ways I could relate to Scarlett, which made After Math a great book for me. Although I wasn't gripped with social anxiety at the same level that she was when I was in school, I can appreciate her stress of social situations and the desire to just want to blend in and not do anything to draw attention to herself. Unfortunately, I didn't know any super hot guys in college who found that particular characteristic sexy. 

Tucker is your proverbial jock. He's a soccer star who really gets around, if you know what I mean. He employs Scarlett's talents as a math whiz to help him pass algebra and keep his scholarship. Scarlett thinks she knows exactly who he is, and she knows that she doesn't want anything to do with him. 

As it turns out, Scarlett had a small pair of brass ones tucked away. Which was such a nice surprise. 

Scarlett is quite possibly the only female on campus who is not willing to take Tucker's crap. She sees through his tough guy facade, and to her surprise, discovers that there's something real underneath it. And, she likes that part of him a lot. Understandably, for someone like her, that scares the crap out of her. 

I didn't find it quite believable that Tucker got over himself as quickly as he did. Most guys - even the innately good ones - don't give up the front that they allow everyone to see just because one girl told him off one time. But, as is usually the case in books like these, there's more than meets the eye with Tucker, as well as with Scarlett. 

After Math was a good read. A quick read. I enjoyed Scarlett and Tucker both. The supporting characters were fun. There was a lot here to love.