Going Under by Georgia Cates
contemporary romance, young adult
published March 10th, 2012 by Georgia Cates
buy on Amazon / view on Goodreads
the book:
Jessie Boone is a self proclaimed bad boy and doesn’t march to the beat of anyone’s drum, but his own. Growing up in less than desirable circumstances has made him no stranger to the hard knock life and his determination to leave it behind is fierce. When he finds himself transferred to East Franklin High School, he sees his opportunity to use his athletic ability to snag a college football scholarship, but Forbes Henderson, the player Jessie means to replace isn’t giving up his spot willingly. In fact, Forbes is willing to go to extreme measures to retain his place as first string quarterback. When Forbes’ malicious plan to injure his replacement fails, Jessie is furious and determined to show him he messed with the wrong person; not only is he going to take the position of first string quarterback, he’s going to take his girl, too.
Claire Deveraux is perfection at it’s best. She is beautiful, intelligent and unaware she just became Jessie Boone’s conquest as revenge against her boyfriend, Forbes Henderson. Like her flawless performance as the perfect daughter and student, Claire’s production of being the perfect girlfriend has everyone fooled, except Jessie Boone, and she fears this tattooed bad boy will see her secret desire to explore his crude threats and promises to rock her perfect world. If she decides to give in to one uninhibited moment with Jessie, will she learn too late that it was all an act of vengeance or will Jessie learn the taste of first love is sweeter than that of revenge?
Jessie Boone is a self proclaimed bad boy and doesn’t march to the beat of anyone’s drum, but his own. Growing up in less than desirable circumstances has made him no stranger to the hard knock life and his determination to leave it behind is fierce. When he finds himself transferred to East Franklin High School, he sees his opportunity to use his athletic ability to snag a college football scholarship, but Forbes Henderson, the player Jessie means to replace isn’t giving up his spot willingly. In fact, Forbes is willing to go to extreme measures to retain his place as first string quarterback. When Forbes’ malicious plan to injure his replacement fails, Jessie is furious and determined to show him he messed with the wrong person; not only is he going to take the position of first string quarterback, he’s going to take his girl, too.
Claire Deveraux is perfection at it’s best. She is beautiful, intelligent and unaware she just became Jessie Boone’s conquest as revenge against her boyfriend, Forbes Henderson. Like her flawless performance as the perfect daughter and student, Claire’s production of being the perfect girlfriend has everyone fooled, except Jessie Boone, and she fears this tattooed bad boy will see her secret desire to explore his crude threats and promises to rock her perfect world. If she decides to give in to one uninhibited moment with Jessie, will she learn too late that it was all an act of vengeance or will Jessie learn the taste of first love is sweeter than that of revenge?
my review:
this book is great! I immediately fell in love with the characters, which were so greatly developed. Also, the romance in this book was terrific. And have you already looked at the cover? I love it!
Immediately after reading the first page, Jessie´s character intigued me. He was this cool boy, that does never show his problems to anyone else. He slightly reminded me of Cassandra Clare´s Jace, my fictional crush, so that´s 100% positive :) Then there was the stereotype perfect all-american girl, Claire Deveraux. She is the girl next door. The one no-one hates, the one that is nice to everybody, and will never hurt anyone. Until she does... The other characters mentioned in this book also were great :)
The story told in this book was funny, simple, and I loved it! The romance really made this book into a page-turner I couldn't put down. It also shows that not everyone is as perfect as they seem, and that perfect on the outside most of the times means completely messed up from the inside. And I like that, since nobody's perfect in my opinion, and it would be horrible if most people were perfect, because that would mean that all non-perfect people were outcasts, and that would just be wrong...
The pace of this story was great, with exactely enough happening at every page :D also, I loved the writing style of Georgia Cates. I occasionally read books which are written very badly, and that annoys me a lot. This one I had no problems with, none at all.This book made me laugh, a lot. But it also made my cry, angry or just crazy. And that's why I loved it so much!!!
A must for every teenage girl that loves romance and tragedy, or just likes to have a quick and fun read.
rating:
5 stars
Now I will move on to the excerpt - fun, right?
We pulled into the parking lot of the school and Payton parked behind the sexy badass’ junked out truck. He was still sitting in his old clunker and I thought I saw a cigarette in his hand, then he confirmed my suspicion when I saw him raise it to his lips for a drag and the tip glowed fiery orange. Gross.
“Why did you have to park behind him?” I huffed as I felt heat rise to my neck and face.
“What’s your deal with him, Claire?” she asked, then looked at me and said, “Your face is beet red. What is wrong with you? Are you blushing?”
Getting out of the car at the same time meant walking into school next to him and that wouldn’t make Forbes happy. Payton didn’t understand the ruckus this would cause because she didn’t have a boyfriend and it didn’t help matters that she couldn’t stand Forbes. She thought I was weak and trying to please him, but the truth was that I just didn’t feel like hearing Forbes whine anymore.
“I want to avoid the need to explain to Forbes why I’m walking into school with the guy he hates. It will just start an unnecessary argument I don’t want to have first thing this morning.”
“With the risk of repeating myself, screw Forbes. I’m not parking in the back of the parking lot and walking an extra mile to spare his insecure feelings and if you have to explain that, then you should dump his ass.”
I knew she was right. I was a poodle jumping through hoops to keep the peace and it was ridiculous in addition to exhausting.
“I’m not arguing how ridiculous it is, but can we at least get ahead of him so I don’t have to explain why we’re walking in together?” I pleaded.
She huffed and said, “This is friggin’ ridiculous, you know that, right? Your life might revolve around what Forbes Henderson wants, but mine doesn’t.”
When Payton didn’t move fast enough to suit me, I scrambled out of her car, leaving her behind. I watched a cigarette butt fly out of the new guy’s driver’s side window and then his door swung open in front of me, preventing my escape. He stepped out of his truck, looked down at me and grinned as he said, “Pardon me, Princess. I didn’t mean to block your way.”
His voice was velvety smooth, but I didn’t mistake its coolness as his tone conveyed his contempt for me. His unmistakable disdain for me immediately raised my hellcat flag because he had nothing to base his aversion on since he didn’t know me.
This was our first time face to face and up close. The other times I saw him was when I stole a few glances during cheerleading practice over the last two weeks when I was certain Forbes wasn’t watching me.
I realized he was so much more handsome than I originally thought now that his face mask wasn’t obstructing my view. His hair was as black as I expected, and spikey, and his pale blue eyes were piercing. The contrast of their paleness against his dark hair was almost shocking and I had to force myself to avoid becoming lost in them.
I was angry with him for making assumptions about me, but I was more furious with myself for finding him so captivating. I tasted my bitter reaction as it formed on my tongue, but couldn’t stop myself from blurting out, “Asshole.”
He placed his hand over the left side of his chest where his heart would be and said, “I felt that straight to my heart.”
I watched him shut his door while he waited for my counterattack and I pushed past him as I said, “Screw you and my name is not Princess. It’s Claire, so if you’re going to insult me, at least have the decency to get my name right.”
“Hmm, I think I’ll stick with Princess. It seems to suit you better,” he said to my back as I walked away.
I couldn’t be certain flames weren’t coming off the heels of my boots as I practically ran away, but Payton managed to catch up with me and said, “I’m totally disgusted by you, Claire.”
“And why would that be?” I almost yelled.
“That was one of the best displays of underthinking I’ve ever seen. He bested you and I know I taught you better than that. You basically rolled over. How can I call you my best friend when you caved so easily? And by the way, you’ve got something on your ass.”
I spun around to look at the back of my dress as I pulled the skirt part around to look and said, “What is it?”
“Hot New Guy’s eyes.” She died out laughing and said, “Sorry, Claire, but you walked right into that one.”
I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips as I said, “Maybe you’re the bigger asshole of the two of you. You should definitely be a couple.”
“That lacked creativity and it’s insulting to me as your slander master. We have to work on your comebacks because you are seriously letting me down,” she said, then added, “I wish you could see your face right now. Whatever he just did to you has you clueless. You can’t decide if you should be pissed off at him or hot for him.”
I turned to look at this crazy person I called a bestie standing next to me. “I’m jealous of whatever you are smoking because it has you completely reality challenged.”
“He got it all wrong when he called you Princess. He should have called you Queen of Denial because you’ll never admit what’s going on here,” she accused.
It was just like Payton to draw a conclusion with no real evidence to support her theory. “I have no idea what kind of nonsense you’re talking about.”
“I hope he got plenty of rest last night because his legs are gonna be real tired after he runs through your mind all day,” she laughed, making me livid.
I noticed myself stomping as I walked toward the school entrance. “You must have taken your sleeping pill this morning instead of last night because you are definitely dreaming.”
“When you look back on this moment months from now, don’t forget the one word I’m about to say to you, Claire Deveraux. Foreplay.”
“Why did you have to park behind him?” I huffed as I felt heat rise to my neck and face.
“What’s your deal with him, Claire?” she asked, then looked at me and said, “Your face is beet red. What is wrong with you? Are you blushing?”
Getting out of the car at the same time meant walking into school next to him and that wouldn’t make Forbes happy. Payton didn’t understand the ruckus this would cause because she didn’t have a boyfriend and it didn’t help matters that she couldn’t stand Forbes. She thought I was weak and trying to please him, but the truth was that I just didn’t feel like hearing Forbes whine anymore.
“I want to avoid the need to explain to Forbes why I’m walking into school with the guy he hates. It will just start an unnecessary argument I don’t want to have first thing this morning.”
“With the risk of repeating myself, screw Forbes. I’m not parking in the back of the parking lot and walking an extra mile to spare his insecure feelings and if you have to explain that, then you should dump his ass.”
I knew she was right. I was a poodle jumping through hoops to keep the peace and it was ridiculous in addition to exhausting.
“I’m not arguing how ridiculous it is, but can we at least get ahead of him so I don’t have to explain why we’re walking in together?” I pleaded.
She huffed and said, “This is friggin’ ridiculous, you know that, right? Your life might revolve around what Forbes Henderson wants, but mine doesn’t.”
When Payton didn’t move fast enough to suit me, I scrambled out of her car, leaving her behind. I watched a cigarette butt fly out of the new guy’s driver’s side window and then his door swung open in front of me, preventing my escape. He stepped out of his truck, looked down at me and grinned as he said, “Pardon me, Princess. I didn’t mean to block your way.”
His voice was velvety smooth, but I didn’t mistake its coolness as his tone conveyed his contempt for me. His unmistakable disdain for me immediately raised my hellcat flag because he had nothing to base his aversion on since he didn’t know me.
This was our first time face to face and up close. The other times I saw him was when I stole a few glances during cheerleading practice over the last two weeks when I was certain Forbes wasn’t watching me.
I realized he was so much more handsome than I originally thought now that his face mask wasn’t obstructing my view. His hair was as black as I expected, and spikey, and his pale blue eyes were piercing. The contrast of their paleness against his dark hair was almost shocking and I had to force myself to avoid becoming lost in them.
I was angry with him for making assumptions about me, but I was more furious with myself for finding him so captivating. I tasted my bitter reaction as it formed on my tongue, but couldn’t stop myself from blurting out, “Asshole.”
He placed his hand over the left side of his chest where his heart would be and said, “I felt that straight to my heart.”
I watched him shut his door while he waited for my counterattack and I pushed past him as I said, “Screw you and my name is not Princess. It’s Claire, so if you’re going to insult me, at least have the decency to get my name right.”
“Hmm, I think I’ll stick with Princess. It seems to suit you better,” he said to my back as I walked away.
I couldn’t be certain flames weren’t coming off the heels of my boots as I practically ran away, but Payton managed to catch up with me and said, “I’m totally disgusted by you, Claire.”
“And why would that be?” I almost yelled.
“That was one of the best displays of underthinking I’ve ever seen. He bested you and I know I taught you better than that. You basically rolled over. How can I call you my best friend when you caved so easily? And by the way, you’ve got something on your ass.”
I spun around to look at the back of my dress as I pulled the skirt part around to look and said, “What is it?”
“Hot New Guy’s eyes.” She died out laughing and said, “Sorry, Claire, but you walked right into that one.”
I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips as I said, “Maybe you’re the bigger asshole of the two of you. You should definitely be a couple.”
“That lacked creativity and it’s insulting to me as your slander master. We have to work on your comebacks because you are seriously letting me down,” she said, then added, “I wish you could see your face right now. Whatever he just did to you has you clueless. You can’t decide if you should be pissed off at him or hot for him.”
I turned to look at this crazy person I called a bestie standing next to me. “I’m jealous of whatever you are smoking because it has you completely reality challenged.”
“He got it all wrong when he called you Princess. He should have called you Queen of Denial because you’ll never admit what’s going on here,” she accused.
It was just like Payton to draw a conclusion with no real evidence to support her theory. “I have no idea what kind of nonsense you’re talking about.”
“I hope he got plenty of rest last night because his legs are gonna be real tired after he runs through your mind all day,” she laughed, making me livid.
I noticed myself stomping as I walked toward the school entrance. “You must have taken your sleeping pill this morning instead of last night because you are definitely dreaming.”
“When you look back on this moment months from now, don’t forget the one word I’m about to say to you, Claire Deveraux. Foreplay.”
now I will post the character profiles - enjoy!
The Main Characters of Going Under by Georgia CatesWhen developing characters, a writer must have a complete sense of who the character is and everything that influences who they are-beginning from birth and ending in the presence. Although I can’t include every detail of a character’s life, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I use Character Profiles to acquaint myself with the personality of my characters and I will be sharing a few of those with you today. Who is Jessie Boone?
Born 1994 in a rural town outside of Franklin, Tennessee to Twyla Boone. His mother won’t be winning the parent of the year award and his father won’t either because he has never been in his life. Jessie seriously doubts his mother really even knew who fathered him.
Jessie is the eldest of 3 children. His two young brothers, Ozzy (5) and Harley (4), are placed in foster care after “The Incident”. Jessie has primarily been the only parental figure in the life of his two little brothers and desperately wants to find a way to get custody of them.
Jessie has little self worth, yet he is strong. He is damaged by his childhood and outwardly puts on a tough exterior to prevent others from hurting him. He acts as though nothing can touch him.How did Jessie come to know Earl, his boss at the garage?Because Jessie’s mother was always drunk or high, he was often left alone to fend for himself. One day after being left alone, he wondered down the street to the garage owned by Earl. He and Earl become “pals” and Jessie begins to do a little work around the place in exchange for money. Over the years, he learns about engines from Earl and begins to work for him at the garage when he is old enough. Jessie loves Earl like a father and considers him family more than his own grandmother.Who is Claire Deveraux?Born in 1993 in Franklin, Tennessee. The youngest of three children-one older brother and one older sister. Her mother is a psych counselor and her father is a physician. She is the complete opposite of Jessie in every way. She grew up in a loving home and is rightly considered overprivileged by Jessie.
She is considered East Franklin’s sweetheart. Everyone loves her and things tend to consistently go her way. Outwardly, she appears to have it all. Inwardly, she feels desperate to escape the persona others have of her. She doesn't want to be the perfect “Goody Goody” everyone believes she is.
Claire is the pretty princess Jessie believes she is, but her character adapts after meeting Jessie. Readers will tend to not like her very much in the beginning of the story, but fall in love with her as she reveals her true self.
author spotlight:
In addition to being an author Georgia is a wife, mother of two daughters and a labor and delivery nurse. She recently added Paranormal Romance Writer to her list of things that keep her busy, but she is ecstatic to release her debut novel, Blood of Anteros, the first book in The Vampire Agápe Series.
Like others that enjoy a great story of paranormal romance, she is easily bored by the tale of an obtainable, ordinary romance and was inspired to create The Vampire Agápe Series. When not tied up with family or delivering babies, she is working feverishly on the second book in The Vampire Agápe Series.
Visit her site at http://georgiacates.com/ and make sure to like her on facebook and follow her on twitter!
I hope you enjoyed this tour stop. I did enjoy creating it, a lot :) Thanks to bewitching book tours and Georgia Cates to make it possible to write it :D
xo Mar
2 comments:
I hope this works. I've had some trouble leaving comments on the blogger blogs.
As usual you post was great. I tweeted it. :-)
Thanks for the awesome tour stop. I feel so welcomed. You have a great blog here. Keep up the fabulous work.
Thank you for the time you invested in reading and reviewing Going Under. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
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