20 September 2013

Review: Undeclared By: Jen Fredrick

Title: Undeclared (Woodlands #1)
Author: Jen Frederick
Publisher: 260 Pages (April 28th, 2013)
From: the Author
Format: eARC & Paperback
Add to: Goodreads
Order a copy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK

NOTE: This is a "New Adult" novel. Due to mature content this title is recommended for ages 17+
Synopsis: For four years, Grace Sullivan wrote to a Marine she never met, and fell in love. But when his deployment ended, so did the letters. Ever since that day, Grace has been coasting, academically and emotionally. The one thing she’s decided? No way is Noah Jackson — or any man — ever going to break her heart again.

Noah has always known exactly what he wants out of life. Success. Stability. Control. That’s why he joined the Marines and that’s why he’s fighting his way — literally — through college. Now that he’s got the rest of his life on track, he has one last conquest: Grace Sullivan. But since he was the one who stopped writing, he knows that winning her back will be his biggest battle yet.

This is a mature New Adult book. I see that it is classified as YA - not sure how to change that - but I wanted to be clear that it has explicit love scenes in the story.

Review: 4 Stars - Undeclared is the first title in the Woodlands series by author Jen Fredrick and being her debut title she jumps in with both feet to make a big splash in the “New Adult” category.

Grace and Noah have history. When he was stationed overseas they had an old fashioned friendship via letters sent back and forth. That is until his deployment ended and he simply vanished from her life after she took a risk and asked about meeting. They might have only had a relationship in the letters back and forth to each other but the emotions were a lot stronger than either would or could have ever imagined.

Noah needs to have the stability and control in his life that the Marines gave him. He needed to find it once he left the service. He has goals and plans and wants to complete certain things before going to reconnect with Grace. He know he did wrong by her and this story is about him taking a chance and making things right again. It’s about Grace growing and questioning if she’s willing to put her heart on the line again for someone she was so hurt by.

I felt for and swooned over Noah from the beginning. My heart broke for Grace yet I understood his reasons for the things that he did. I just wished for both of them there would have been better communication between the two because it would have saved them both so much hurt.

While I loved the story and the characters, the secondary characters were also interesting and not only held my attention but also helped the story move along, helped the characters through troubles and were a key aspect to the overall story. I found myself highly enjoying any and all interaction with all the characters and was also pleasantly surprised by just how much I loved everyone in the story. I mean, I might not have agreed with everything that was said or done, but that’s the part of the characters that make them different, unique, flawed and often realistic.

When I finished reading I wished the book had been a bit longer. This is why the 4 star review instead of a 5. Ever read a book and you wish there was just a bit more background or understanding behind certain parts of the story or a character? And if you had these things it would make the book polished to a high shine? That’s what I felt here. While there’s so much to love, I felt Fredrick could have taken the fantastic book she had and made this beyond epic! At the end, I was happy with where the characters were at. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next installment and get to know some of those secondary characters up close and personal. While I liked where the story ended I could totally see Fredrick revisiting Grace and Noah further down the line in a continuation of their story. *hint, hint Jen!*

All in all, this is wonderful from the story to the characters and from beginning to end. I loved it! Full of characters, main and secondary to make you swoon and then some, I highly recommend this title! Fans of “New Adult” shouldn't pass this one OR this author by. I can’t wait for more and I know other readers will feel the same.


Find the Author

Follow me on Twitter     /     Be friends with me on Goodreads
Subscribe to my RSS Feed

1 comment:

  1. Great review! I read and reviewed this and the second novel in the series, Unspoken, last week. I enjoyed them both a lot. I'm with you, I could definitely use more Noah and Grace in my life.

    ReplyDelete

Comment and let me know your thoughts on this post.

Twitter Goodreads Email

Recently Read


Blog Archive

Search the Blog!

Learn more about RAK

Book Soulmates
Xpresso Book Tours

Total Pageviews

Copyright

FTC Disclaimer:

In accordance with FTC Guidelines, I have not received any monetary gain for any information posted within the pages of this website/blog. Any and all information has been provided by the publisher, author and or publicist for free. Content is also based on purchases made by myself or of my guest reviewer(s). Any and all opinions expressed within the pages of this website/blog are solely my own or those of the authors of any and all guest reviewers(s) or guest bloggers.



Related Posts with Thumbnails

About Me

Hi, I’m Lisa and I'm a proud bibliophile.

I enjoy reading and reviewing a variety of different books within the Young Adult, "New Adult" & Adult genres/categories. If you have any questions or if you are an author or publisher and would be interested in promoting a book, please feel free email. You can find my email under the "mail" button or under the contact link at the top of the page.

I look forward to hearing from you!


Authors, Publishers & Publicists

Have a book you'd like me to review or Promote? How about doing an Author Interview? Or maybe a Guest Post? Great! I'd love to! For more information about having your book reviewed here, please follow this link for more information:

Reviews, Interviews, Guest Posts and Contest.

Guest Reviewer Jenny

Guest Reviewer Jenny
Click for info & links to her reviews!

My Ratings

When I review I rate from 1 to 5 stars, 5 being the highest rating. I review based on many different things from the writing, to the story - to the characters and how I can relate to them or how they are developed. I also review based on if an author has worked their magic and was able to draw me into a story so deeply that I don't want to put the book down. If you would like me to review a book, please contact me or view my Contact Information and Review Policy for further details.

5 Stars - I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!
4 Stars - I Really liked/Loved it.
3 Stars - I liked it/Was pretty good.
2 Stars - It was, eh okay.
1 Star - It just wasn't for me.

Followers

Follow the Blog

Follow on Bloglovin

Follow By Email

Enter your email address:

Grab Me!

Blogs I Love