I *heart* Ryan GOING UNDER Blog Tour ~ Playlist, Review & Giveaway

Posted May 17, 2013 by Karen in Giveaways, Music / 16 Comments

  1. Mama – This song represents an overarching theme in the novel: possession.
  2. R.I.P – The moment Brooke discovers her “purpose” or plan for revenge.
  3. Angry Johnny – Brooke gets to work. It’s time to seduce Cal and destroy him!
  4. Nasty Boy – Cal. Tim. Parker. ‘Nuf said.
  5. Hearts – Brooke and Ryan kiss. It’s a little awkward.
  6. New York Girls – Brooke and Gretchen hang out and watch Sex and the City. Brooke gets a little drunk.
  7. Video Games – Yeah . . . I think this one is well understood. 🙂
  8. Crawling – Brooke’s emotional and psychological breakdown.
  9. What’s My Name – Brooke and Ryan. In a bed. Doing fun things. Brooke’s POV.
  10. Fast Car – Brooke and Ryan. Still in bed. Doing fun things. Ryan’s POV.
  11. Island in the Sun – Brooke and Ryan skateboarding.
  12. Possession – Brooke’s rape from Cal’s POV.
  13. It’s Too Late to Apologize – Brooke finds out Ryan’s secret. Refuses to forgive.
  14. Retrace – Brooke heals, forgives, and decides to reconnect with Ryan.
  15. Stand Inside Your Love – Nuclear. Orgasm.

We asked Summer if there was one song that sort of embodied the entire novel.  Here’s what she said.

R.I.P. by Rita Ora (second track).   If I ever had a book trailer made, I think this would be the perfect song for it. It really represents Brooke shedding that girl from the past, putting on this new persona–this “tough” girl act of revenge and anger. She tries to make herself a seductress and lure Cal into a trap that would finally see justice done to him and forgiveness happen for her. We know she thinks she’s stronger than what she actually is, and she discovers too late the ramifications of sacrificing herself. She thinks she’s in control–just as the song suggests–but she discovers that she never really had any control.

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Going Under CoverTitle:  Going Under
Author:  S. Walden
Publication date: March 19, 2013, by Penny Press
Genre: NA Contemporary
Guest Reviewer:  Yesi
Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars (mind-blowing, shattering, etc…)

  Synopsis

Brooke Wright has only two goals her senior year at Charity Run High School: stay out of trouble and learn to forgive herself for the past. Forgiveness proves elusive, and trouble finds her anyway when she discovers a secret club at school connected to the death of her best friend. She learns that swim team members participate in a “Fantasy Slut League,” scoring points for their sexual acts with unsuspecting girls.

Brooke, wracked with guilt over her friend’s death, decides to infiltrate the league by becoming one of the “unsuspecting girls,” and exact revenge on the boys who stole away her best friend. An unexpected romance complicates her plans, and her dogged pursuit of justice turns her reckless as she underestimates just how far the boys will go to keep their sex club a secret.

(This is a New Adult fiction book with mature themes. It contains graphic sex and language and a description of sexual violence.)

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Purchase Links:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Kobo | Paperback

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  Review 

I don’t even know where to begin. I love, love, love to read. I find myself getting lost in the story, being mesmerized by the words, and feeling all sorts of emotions over fictional characters. I am always left with something special in my heart when I finish. Some books leave a lasting impression and some really don’t. To say that this one left a lasting impression would be an understatement. Sure, I have cried and laughed with books before, but for some reason, this particular book made my heart ache, my mind swell with overflowing emotion, and in the span from beginning to end, left me with a healing heart. I say healing because even though I was completely satisfied with how everything turned out, the events leading up to it are still fresh in my mind leaving hurt in my heart. To me, a book that does that is special in a way others are not.

“You think you have it all planned out. But something in you always surprises you and its buzzing undercurrent that keeps you silently guessing…”

Brooke is a fun-loving 18-year- old girl who made some bad choices that affected her relationship with her best friend Beth. We meet her as she getting ready to attend Beth’s funeral.  We see her struggle with living with the choices she’s made without ever making amends with her best friend.  She knows her friend’s death isn’t because of her betrayal; she knew Beth’s secret, yet she carries the guilt of that betrayal with her.  We get a flashback of what it is she did, and for that moment I questioned whether Brooke was a character I would like.  The author does a great job in making us see past that betrayal and really paints a picture of a girl who made a mistake but cannot forgive herself.  At the funeral she meets a handsome boy, who she later refers to as funeral guy, and finds herself in instant lust.  The feeling becomes mutual to this reader because Ryan (we do learn his name eventually) is pretty darn awesome.

This is where the story really begins.  Brooke decides to attend Beth’s high school, and because she does know her best friend’s secret, she concocts a plan to take down the boy who she is sure is responsible for her friend’s death.  As it states in the blurb, Brooke figures out that there is more to the story. This boy and other boys on the swim team have a Fantasy Slut League (FSL) and earn points by “scoring” with girls.  As she learns more about this, she devises a plan that is downright scary and dangerous.  She is bound and determined to take these boys down no matter the cost, even if it means sacrificing herself.  Here is the curve ball though–remember hot, funeral boy?  Yeah, he goes to the same high school and is a bit of a social outcast.  It does not stop her attraction to him, and she wants to know all about him as well as the mystery that surrounds him.  As a reader, I too wanted to know more.  He was sweet, quiet, insanely handsome, mysterious, and little does Brooke know at that time, just how important he’ll become in her life.

“He looked at me with those ocean blue eyes, his brow furrowed in thought, and I decided in that moment I didn’t want to hang out. I wanted to make out. Hard.”

Now Brooke has to decide what to do, continue her Veronica Mars sleuthing and take down the boys who run the FSL with whatever it takes or let this amazing boy into her life and forgive herself enough to be happy again.

The journey that the author takes us on is filled with so much emotion, and it is done perfectly.  The tone of the book could have been depressing all the way through, but on the contrary, Ms. Walden makes the reader fall in love with the right characters and feel hate towards the ones who are despicable and deserve the worst.  She does that with lightheartedness in the right places, funny even sweet, and lets us heal right along with Brooke. The author also brings on the full feeling of hatred, loathing, and pure sadness too.  There is a particular scene towards the end that was so hard for me to read that I had to step away, but it was written so well that I felt that it was a necessary part of the story.  In my opinion, that is a hard task to accomplish.

“I’m talking about the kind of indignity that changes you as a person, makes you withdraw, hide from the world because suddenly it’s turned into something frightening—full of dark corners and monsters.”

This book is emotionally captivating, beautifully written, absolutely riveting, and I am so glad that I took this journey.  Definitely a must read!

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SWalden

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. Her dreams include raising chickens and owning and operating a beachside inn on the Gulf Coast (chickens included). 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 blog at http://swaldenauthor.blogspot.com where you can get up-to-date information on her current projects.

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I *heart* Ryan Giveaway

1. signed paperback copy of Going Under
2. $20 Game Stop gift card
3. Lana Del Rey’s single “Video Games”
4. Playstation 4 decals
5. Skateboard stickers
6. “Gamers Embrace” T-shirt
7. Ryan’s love letter to Brooke
Giveaway Time

16 responses to “I *heart* Ryan GOING UNDER Blog Tour ~ Playlist, Review & Giveaway

  1. maria maltais

    had mix feeling about reading this book but your review made me change my mind- if you like it i`ll probably like it too!!

  2. Hobbitgirl

    Going Under, is a thought provoking book; and despite the age of the characters, this book deals with several difficult subjects, the most prevalent being sexual violence against woman. The actually statistic of how many young adult woman that are violated each year is staggering. Most assaults like in those in the book go unreported, because victims blame themselves. I am a richer reader for having read this book. I highly recommend this read.

  3. Alicia Clark

    I absolutely loved Going Under! It’s one of my top books for 2013! I think the author wrote beautifully about such a delicate, gritty subject. I can’t wait to read more from her!

  4. Michelle Lovell

    I already read this book and it was sooo amazing. I loved it. I was worried about how I would feel about it and actually held off for a bit before I read it. But, I am so glad I read it. Thanks for the giveaway!!! I would love to win the signed copy of Going Under.
    Thanks again!
    Michelle/Mimi
    miminbennett(at)hotmail(dot)com

  5. Jenny Dauksa Schaber

    This souns like such a different type of story line that I very much want to read it. Thanks for being a part of the tour. I look forward to following it.

  6. Cindy M.

    I already read this book and it totally blew me away!! It dealt with such a hard issue, and it was raw and real. It was very well written & I would definitely recommend it to other readers out there. Definitely looking forward to reading more from this author. Thanks so much for the giveaway!

  7. Hey Yesi,

    Thanks so much for being a part of the I *heart* Ryan tour! I can’t thank you enough for the promotion you’ve done for my book. It means the world! Cannot wait to get this “Ryan” prize to one lucky winner. I think the love letter is the best part 🙂

    xo Summer

    • Yesi

      Hi Summer,

      You are most welcome! I’ve been meaning to message you about our book club discussion. Everyone loved it! Our discussion was pretty intense and the overall consensus was that your writing and portrayal of these characters was phenomenal. Thank you! We’d still love to meet up some time. 🙂

      Yesi 🙂

  8. jessiel62

    Going Under is already on my TBRs. I’m enjoying reading the posts & reviews for this book. Thanks for the giveaway!

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