Title: Going Long (Waiting on the Sidelines #2)
Author: Ginger Scott
Genre: Mature YA/Coming of Age
Release Date: October 1, 2013
Synopsis:
Can first loves really be forever?
Nolan Lennox was strong, a survivor. She’d stood up to those who tore her down and found her purpose in life when she was at her lowest, her heart broken. And she was rewarded with the fairytale ending she’d always dreamed of. She spent four years loving Reed Johnson, the popular quarterback at her small town high
school, earning his friendship first and, eventually, his heart. But fairytales are fiction, and life…well, real life is messy. Can Reed and Nolan’s love survive the growing pains that come along with truly growing up?
Reed and Nolan’s story continues in Going Long, the sequel to Waiting on the Sidelines.
Nolan Lennox was strong, a survivor. She’d stood up to those who tore her down and found her purpose in life when she was at her lowest, her heart broken. And she was rewarded with the fairytale ending she’d always dreamed of. She spent four years loving Reed Johnson, the popular quarterback at her small town high
school, earning his friendship first and, eventually, his heart. But fairytales are fiction, and life…well, real life is messy. Can Reed and Nolan’s love survive the growing pains that come along with truly growing up?
Reed and Nolan’s story continues in Going Long, the sequel to Waiting on the Sidelines.
**I absolutely LOVED the first book, Waiting on the Sidelines. Read my FIVE star review of Book One HERE! xo Bianca**
Review of Going Long
I
was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Reed Johnson. Be still my
beating heart. If I could give this book more than five stars, I would! This is
the perfect follow up and conclusion to Reed and Nolan’s story. They will
forever be in my heart as my favorite characters.
Going Long is the continuation
of Reed and Nolan as they go through college. It fast forwards a little after 2
years. I enjoyed this as we were able to see them mature as people and in their
relationship. This book contains
everything I love about Reed and Nolan as the first book and even more. Their
undeniable connection deepens as so does their love.
Reed and Nolan attend
colleges hours apart. They make sure to see each other when time permits.
However, with Reed in football, time together is not always possible. The love
between Reed and Nolan is put to the ultimate test with a series of events.
Jealousy, insecurity, and trust become an issue for these high school
sweethearts as they begin to spend less and less time together. This part of
the book was really hard for me. The series of events that occur were
complicated. Now Reed and Nolan are grown up dealing with some deep and hurtful
things in their relationship. Their love is tested and challenged in
unimaginable ways. I think the
author executed these issues in the best way possible. As mature as these
issues were, it felt real and genuine.
I love that we were given
both POV of Reed and Nolan in this book. It gives the reader a chance to see
their journey from both sides. Despite the issues between Reed and Nolan, they
fight and push through for love. For love is patient and kind. Love does not
falter. Love always persists. You do not give up on love Reed and Nolan is the epitome of this.
I’m not sure any review
can do this book justice. It is definitely a favorite of mine forever. Any fan
of YA, Coming of Age, or even NA needs to read this book. The writing is
amazing and you become easily attached and connected to these characters. I am
so glad that Reed and Nolan got a second book. Their story was far from over
and this was the perfect conclusion to their story. Words cannot express how
much I enjoyed this book, so I hope this review gives some insight of why I
loved it so much. If you are a fan of true, deep-rooted love, this is a MUST read. The epilogue was
just amazing! It tied up the story perfectly!
Again thank you to Ginger
for giving me the opportunity to read and review both of your books. I am a fan
of yours forever.
Excerpt
Reed
The first time I thought about marrying Nolan Lennox, she had just saved my father’s life. The thought was fleeting, and it scared the hell out of me. I was only 17.
Nolan and my dad were the only two people to have ever seen me cry. I mean snot-dripping-from-your-nose, gasping-for-breath, body-shaking cry. And I was a child when I cried in front of my dad—not so much a child when I let it all out in Nolan’s arms while my dad lay under some surgeon’s knife, his heart cut open and failing.
It was something about the way Nolan knew what to do, the way she took care of my dad when he had a heart attack—the way she took care of me. The moments were brief, bit-flashes of time, but they also filled my mind with visions of forever. I recognized it right away, but chose to ignore it for a while. It happened again when I thought some asshole had raped her, and all I wanted to do was go to jail for having beat the shit out of him. And it happened the first time I kissed her, I mean really kissed her.
I stopped ignoring it, though, when I drove through the desert from Tucson to her dorm room at ASU, 110 miles away. The sun was setting, and I had just read her name in the newspaper story about the accident that broke us apart our senior year in high school—her words so sad, full of regret and guilt. I let her go because I didn’t think I was good for her, didn’t want her to give up her dreams for mine. I didn’t want to carry that weight on my shoulders, I guess. But she blamed herself anyway. And I just had to fix it, had to hold her. And when it hit me that I never wanted to stop holding her, I hit the gas hard and made it to her building just as dusk was setting in.
The guy working the front desk of her building recognized me and let me in, but not before ribbing me about playing for the wrong school and letting me know that ASU’s line was going to flatten my ass more than a few times. I let him heckle me for a bit, before he reached for my hand and shook it—almost like he was star struck, and I was his bro. I was going to have to get used to this kind of attention.
He gave me Nolan’s room number, and I charged up the steps three stairs at a time. When I got to her door, I pounded on it manically. The hallways were quiet, her neighbors gone, and most of the doors were closed and dark underneath. A short, mousy girl opened a door down the hall, and I walked over slowly, smiling so she wouldn’t freak out. She told me everyone had gone to some dance on campus. I just thanked her and told her I’d wait so she didn’t wonder why I was hanging out in the hall.
I must have dozed off after a few hours, my head buried in the music pumping in my ears, my hat shielding my eyes from the florescent lights of her hallway. I jumped when she kicked my feet apart, but when I saw her face, I remembered why I’d come all this way.
Being in her room felt so right, everything so familiar, even though it wasn’t a place I’d ever been. It was full of her. When I saw the pictures of her and me on her wall, my pulse sped up a bit. And when I saw that damn hat I’d given her—my lame attempt to let her know I still loved her—I knew I still had a shot.
I’ve never been more careful choosing my words than I was for that brief conversation I had with Nolan that night. And I probably should have led with begging for forgiveness from the start, but instead I wanted to make sure she knew that everything was because of me, not her. I wanted the blame, all of it.
And with that one small word from her breath, yes, I knew I was done. The sensation of her lips on mine was an addiction. The miles on my Jeep read 93,728, and all but 3,000 of those miles were treaded by my many drives from Tucson up to Phoenix, just to see the girl who rules my world. I knew she was worried when I first came to surprise her at her dorm room two years ago and begged her to give me one more chance. But I made a promise to her then, and I had every intention of keeping it.
The first time I thought about marrying Nolan Lennox, she had just saved my father’s life. The thought was fleeting, and it scared the hell out of me. I was only 17.
Nolan and my dad were the only two people to have ever seen me cry. I mean snot-dripping-from-your-nose, gasping-for-breath, body-shaking cry. And I was a child when I cried in front of my dad—not so much a child when I let it all out in Nolan’s arms while my dad lay under some surgeon’s knife, his heart cut open and failing.
It was something about the way Nolan knew what to do, the way she took care of my dad when he had a heart attack—the way she took care of me. The moments were brief, bit-flashes of time, but they also filled my mind with visions of forever. I recognized it right away, but chose to ignore it for a while. It happened again when I thought some asshole had raped her, and all I wanted to do was go to jail for having beat the shit out of him. And it happened the first time I kissed her, I mean really kissed her.
I stopped ignoring it, though, when I drove through the desert from Tucson to her dorm room at ASU, 110 miles away. The sun was setting, and I had just read her name in the newspaper story about the accident that broke us apart our senior year in high school—her words so sad, full of regret and guilt. I let her go because I didn’t think I was good for her, didn’t want her to give up her dreams for mine. I didn’t want to carry that weight on my shoulders, I guess. But she blamed herself anyway. And I just had to fix it, had to hold her. And when it hit me that I never wanted to stop holding her, I hit the gas hard and made it to her building just as dusk was setting in.
The guy working the front desk of her building recognized me and let me in, but not before ribbing me about playing for the wrong school and letting me know that ASU’s line was going to flatten my ass more than a few times. I let him heckle me for a bit, before he reached for my hand and shook it—almost like he was star struck, and I was his bro. I was going to have to get used to this kind of attention.
He gave me Nolan’s room number, and I charged up the steps three stairs at a time. When I got to her door, I pounded on it manically. The hallways were quiet, her neighbors gone, and most of the doors were closed and dark underneath. A short, mousy girl opened a door down the hall, and I walked over slowly, smiling so she wouldn’t freak out. She told me everyone had gone to some dance on campus. I just thanked her and told her I’d wait so she didn’t wonder why I was hanging out in the hall.
I must have dozed off after a few hours, my head buried in the music pumping in my ears, my hat shielding my eyes from the florescent lights of her hallway. I jumped when she kicked my feet apart, but when I saw her face, I remembered why I’d come all this way.
Being in her room felt so right, everything so familiar, even though it wasn’t a place I’d ever been. It was full of her. When I saw the pictures of her and me on her wall, my pulse sped up a bit. And when I saw that damn hat I’d given her—my lame attempt to let her know I still loved her—I knew I still had a shot.
I’ve never been more careful choosing my words than I was for that brief conversation I had with Nolan that night. And I probably should have led with begging for forgiveness from the start, but instead I wanted to make sure she knew that everything was because of me, not her. I wanted the blame, all of it.
And with that one small word from her breath, yes, I knew I was done. The sensation of her lips on mine was an addiction. The miles on my Jeep read 93,728, and all but 3,000 of those miles were treaded by my many drives from Tucson up to Phoenix, just to see the girl who rules my world. I knew she was worried when I first came to surprise her at her dorm room two years ago and begged her to give me one more chance. But I made a promise to her then, and I had every intention of keeping it.
Purchase Going Long, Now!
About the Author
Ginger Scott is the author of the coming-of-age romance series 'Waiting on the Sidelines' and 'Going Long.' Scott has been a breaking news reporter, magazine editor and multimedia producer for 15 years. She currently teaches multimedia journalism at her alma-mater, Arizona State University. Even though the UofA Wildcats are her sworn enemy, she has managed to make room for one special quarterback in her heart--Reed Johnson, star of 'Waiting' and 'Going Long.' She is currently working on a new story, a new-adult romance full of heartbreak, suspense, and lots and lots of swoon. She also loves hearing from readers--so please drop her a line. She does a happy dance every time!
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