3 1/2 stars. My personal thoughts: I wouldn't have written Better at all, leaving Good as a standalone. I would have expanded Good, instead of Cliffhangering it without showing a resolution to Cadence's family situation, I would have finished what I started. I would have added the strife of Mark's past within Good's pages, never would have written a word about Cadence's 'college friends', and I'm not sure what that blip about Gracie was about- neither resolved nor shown again, nor did Cadence learn a damn thing from it, since she spiraled down the rabbit hole. I also didn't buy that plot device, not after one line of coke landed Cadence in juvie for 10 months, led to the destruction of her family and her reputation, and made her doubt her faith. I don't believe her drinking or smoking pot- no way, no how after her 'past' that she professed to have. That is why I felt this book was highly unnecessary. 
 I loved Good. Better started slowly, the middle was a complete mess, and the ending was basically a rewrite of the beginning(emotion wise). I just feel like what wasn't resolved in Good should have just been included, because there wasn't enough substance to hold a 400 page book without adding threads that lent nothing to the progression of the overall storyline. Either a rewrite/re-release of Good or a novella that only dealt with what wasn't tied up in Good. But I'm not the author. As an author, I can't stop the 'what would I do' mentality. So my apologies to the author, because I loved the premise and was tightly gripped while reading. But this is my review, so these are my opinions. 
 Do I recommend this story to YA/NA fans: Hells yeah! 
 Will I continue reading work by this author: I've already queued up the author's entire back list. So, Hells yeah!