After Math (Off the Subject #1) by Denis Grover Swank

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?

I absolutely loved this book!  The plot has been done before BUT…it’s written in such a way that makes you feel as though you are reading something uniquely different.  The writing is quite flawless and I enjoyed the journey of Scarlett and Tucker immensely.

“You make me want to be a better person.  This is me being a better person.”

One of the many things I loved about this story is the progression of the friendship between Scarlett and Tucker.  It gradually blossomed from friendship into romance but the connection between the two was palpable keeping me interested the entire time.  Sometimes the most beautiful love stories start with a simple friendship.

“It’s as though a veil has been thrown over my heart, and no one has ever been able to tear it down.  Until this boy.  This unattainable, untouchable, unreliable boy.”

Scarlett is a math genius who is ambitious and wants more for herself than what her mother or sister had.  She’s not meek but shy and never lacks a voice with strength and I love a feisty heroine.  And Tucker is your polar opposite.  He’s the rock star soccer player who struggles academically and is also deeply flawed but he’s not obnoxious or arrogant.

 “But I shut myself off from everyone and everything to survive.  I’m hidden somewhere deep inside and sometimes I wonder if I’ll stay buried forever.  If I’ll ever find my way out.”

This is a short and sweet review because the blurb of the book is on the post.  All I will tell you is how much I loved this book and how it made me feel.  I fell in love with everything that is Scarlett and Tucker.  Their journey was at times painful but so many moments made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

“Everything just feels so right when I’m with you, Scarlett.  I can be me.  But it’s more than that.  You give me something I haven’t had in a long time, if ever.  You give me peace.  It’s like the jumbled mess in my head can settle down, and I can be still with you.  Like none of the other stuff matters.”

If you are struggling with what to read next, look no further because this is the book you want to purchase and you’ll love it!