Unraveled - Review

Unraveled (Woodland, # 3)

By: Jen Frederick

Published: January 18th 2014 by Pear Tree LLC

280 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Author/Publisher (Thank you!!)

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Goodreads description--Twenty-five-year-old Sgt. Gray Phillips is at a crossroads in his life: stay in the Marine Corps or get out and learn to be a civilian? He’s got forty-five days of leave to make up his mind but the people in his life aren’t making the decision any easier. His dad wants him to get out; his grandfather wants him to stay in. And his growing feelings for Sam Anderson are wreaking havoc with his heart…and his mind. He believes relationships get ruined when a Marine goes on deployment. So now he’s got an even harder decision to make: take a chance on Sam or leave love behind and give his all to the Marines.

Twenty-two year old Samantha Anderson lost her husband to an IED in Afghanistan just two months after their vows. Two years later, Sam is full of regrets—that she didn’t move with her husband to Alaska; that she allowed her friends to drift away; that she hasn’t taken many chances in life. Now, she’s met Gray and taking a risk on this Marine could be her one opportunity to feel alive and in love again. But how can she risk her heart on another military man who could share the same tragic fate as her husband?

Excerpt

THIS WAS ONLY TEMPORARY, I reminded myself, as Samantha so sweetly kissed me back. I'm only here for a short time I reminded myself but as I felt her tongue stroke the side of my tongue, as she nipped her teeth against my lip, I wanted to just drown in the sensation. Her scent filled my head and the air around us shrank until all I knew was her small body sitting so close to mine. I moved my hand from her shoulder to cup her neck and angled her face for deeper penetration. I licked every inch inside of her mouth until the taste of her was all that I knew on my tongue.

And all that time I stared in to her green eyes and not once did she look like she was anywhere but right here with me. I saw my reflection there. Her heartbeat was made wild by my kisses.

And temporary was the farthest thing from my mind.

Buy Links

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Author Biography

Bestselling author Jen Frederick lives with her husband, child, and one rambunctious dog. She's been reading stories all her life but never imagined writing one of her own. Jen loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at jensfrederick@gmail.com.

Social Networking Links

Website: http://jenfrederick.com
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My Review

I’ve enjoyed the Woodlands series so far, but I have to say that neither Unspoken nor Unraveled have lived up to Undeclared for me. I just loved and respected Noah as a character so much.

We met Gray in Unspoken when Bo makes a trip back to California to visit his Marine buddies. And in Unraveled we learn that the time is coming for Gray to either re-enlist or re-enter civilian life. Gray is being pulled in both directions. He’s got his grandfather, a career Marine veteran, telling him to stay in, and his father, also a career Marine veteran, telling him that there are other possibilities out in the world for him. Gray isn’t sure what to do. On the one hand, he loves the Marines and the men he serves with, on the other hand, he’s been given more responsibility that scares him with its weight and importance. So he’s given 45 days of leave to get his mind straight and to make some decisions. He decides to go visit Noah and Bo, and thus meets Sam who further complicates his decision making process.

Sam married her high school sweetheart young. He decided to join the Army before they married, but it didn’t seem like that was enough for him. Will was always pushing the edge of danger and he decided to take on one of the most dangerous jobs the Army has to offer. Will dies in Afghanistan leaving Sam a very young widow. The description made Sam seem like she’d decided to never fall in love with another military man, but I just really didn’t get that vibe from her. I mean in some ways she did resent Will for joining the military and she half-heartedly tried to use Gray being in the military as an excuse not to feel something for him, but that argument didn’t hold up for long.

Gray might not have exactly been the cookie cutter new adult male character, but he had a couple of traits that left me keeping some distance between myself and him. Sam was the same way. Gray and Sam both are afraid of putting themselves out there and getting hurt again. Sam’s husband, of course, died as was mentioned before, and Gray’s ex-girlfriend cheated on him. I can understand where the issues come from for both of these characters. While Will “left” in a permanent way, he didn’t exactly choose to die even if he chose to put himself into dangerous situations. Gray’s ex-girlfriend didn’t die, but she chose to hurt him by being unfaithful. Death feels like a more weighty thing to overcome, yet being hurt by the willful disregard for one’s feelings is a hard thing to overcome as well. In the end, Sam does a better job opening herself up to Gray, yet she also jumps ship a little too prematurely when the waters get the slightest bit stormy.

I’m over drunken mistakes in books. It’s like the new adult male character. This being used as a plot point and the major form of conflict/catalyst for the story is so overused that I want to beat my head against the wall. I personally don’t drink so I guess I find these drunken mistakes to be an easy out for writers. But I get so sick of characters turning to alcohol, whether it be to “fix their problems”—which is never does—or just to escape them—which also never happens. I was telling Husband after reading this one that I understand books have to have conflict because otherwise what’s the point in reading them other than seeing the characters overcome said conflict, but is it too much to ask that these characters who claim to have some kind of epic love for one another put a little faith and trust in each other? For instance, if character A must end up drunk and make a stupid comment that character DB decides to act on, can’t character C ever say “You know, I just don’t believe A would have done this to me. This must be a misunderstanding,” and then wait to find out what character A’s explanation is before jumping into “I never want to see you again,” freak out mode?

I still find myself getting hooked into these stories by Jen Frederick, but I have to say that I’ve felt less and less connected with the story and with the characters with each passing book. I know that Finn’s story is coming next, Unrequited, and I have hopes on who his leading female character might be. I just really hope that I can connect more emotionally and the characters perhaps connect a little less physically with each other. As I said initially, Noah and Grace still remain my favorite characters and my favorite story of this series. Even throughout Unraveled, the parts that involved Noah reaffirmed my affection for his character and the sound head he has screwed onto his shoulders.

Unraveled gets 3 Stars from me. It was a quick read, but I was feeling less connected and more frustrated with these characters and this story than any of the others in this series so far. Have you read Unraveled? What did you think? Let me know!

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Unspoken - Review

Unspoken (Woodland, # 2)

By: Jen Frederick

Published: September 13th 2013 by Pear Tree LLC

278 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Author/Publisher (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Whore. Slut. Typhoid Mary.

I've been called all these at Central College. One drunken night, one act of irresponsible behavior, and my reputation was ruined. Guys labeled me as easy and girls shied away. To cope, I stayed away from Central social life and away from Central men, so why is it that my new biology lab partner is so irresistible to me?

He's everything I shouldn't want. A former Marine involved in illegal fighting with a quick trigger temper and an easy smile for all the women. His fists aren't the danger to me, though, it's his charm. He's sliding his way into my heart and I'm afraid that he's going to be the one to break me.

Impulsive. Unthinking. Hot tempered.

I allow instinct to rule my behavior. If it feels good, do it, has been my motto because if I spend too much time thinking, I'll begin to remember exactly where I came from. At Central College, I've got fighting and I've got women and I thought I was satisfied until I met her.

She's everything I didn't realize I wanted and the more time I spend with her, the more I want her. But she's been hurt too much in the past and I don't want to be the one to break her. I know I should walk away, but I just can't.

I enjoyed Undeclared so much. It followed up a book that I was particularly frustrated and disappointed in, and coupled with that was the personal connection I have to a relationship developing through writing back and forth. We meet Bo in Undeclared because he’s Noah’s best friend. They went to war together, and they’ve been best friends since the 7th Grade. Where I loved the fact that Noah was all about Grace and any woman not Grace wasn’t really worth a second’s consideration, Bo is the typical new adult leading male that I get so tired of reading about. Luckily we didn’t really have to experience any of Bo’s exploits once he set his eyes on AM, but my point is just that this was a slight letdown from how excited I was about Undeclared.

We meet AM for the first time in Unspoken. I was wondering if Bo would hook up with any of the female characters we met in Undeclared, but he didn’t. And this little fact was a bonus. AM’s the girl who rumors have gotten out of control with and 99% of the rumors out there about her aren’t true. I think we’ve all probably been subjected to untrue rumors going around about us, or if not us then someone we know, so it was easy to relate to AM about this. And because of the rumor mill and Bo’s hook-up history, AM is hesitant to allow herself the opportunity to try a relationship with Bo.

Unspoken revolved a lot around stereotypes, contrasts, and perception. What you see (or hear) isn’t always what you get. Men and women are different, behave differently, and are viewed differently.

I will say that about 50% through the book, this couple decided to push their issues preventing their relationship aside and try out this relationship thing they’d been nosing around. But after that, the remaining 50% of the book revolved around their physical relationship. A LOT. Pretty much every 3rd page type of thing. I know the romance genre isn’t known for its realism, but COME ON!!! On top of that, the climax, resolution, and ending of the book just didn’t feel paced correctly to me. I was expecting the major conflict to come later than it did, so when I was at 80% and everything seemed to be wrapped up in a nice, pretty bow, I wondered what else was to come. And the remaining 20% was just wrap up and filler type stuff.

Along with that, but kind of a separate thing, are you guys getting a little tired of the “three years later” epilogues? I find that I am. Maybe it’s because a book I read not too long ago and this one just had too many of these. It’s like “one year later” and you read a couple of pages, and then “three years later” and then “eighteen years later.” These epilogues that jump down the road into the future multiple times have gotten to be too frequent, especially when there are multiple jumps in one book. It’s enough for me when the book has a HEA (happily ever after), I don’t need every detail spelled out to me. Sometimes leaving a little something to the reader’s imagination is better than spelling everything out.

My favorite quotes:

“AM, Thor here. I’m coming over and bringing my hammer.”

“You know we’ve got it bad when a naked and gyrating Channing Tatum can’t solve our problems.”

I did a few deep knee bends, tried to lift the car, and then rested my head against the roof, battling back all sorts of images in my head.

I have another quote I wanted to add, but it’s too much a key to the whole shebang. So I’ll let you experience that one on your own. Also, I will say that I’m looking forward to Finn’s book (book 4, Unrequited).

All in all, Unspoken was a quick read. I liked Bo and AM’s story, but I found that the book kind of dragged on a little longer than I would have liked with multiple jumped into the future. Unspoken gets 3.5 Stars from me. Have you read Unspoken? What did you think? Let me know!

P.S. - A bit of a side note but...Can I just say that it is becoming a pet peeve to hear about characters who all of a sudden realize they are crying or screaming or whatever? It is getting to be in every book I've read recently. Annoying. Plus I've never experienced that. I always know when I'm crying or screaming or making various other random noises.

Undeclared - Review

Undeclared (Woodland, # 1)

By: Jen Frederick

Published: April 28th 2013 by Jen Frederic

260 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher/Author (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--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.

First off, I absolutely love the part of Grace and Noah writing each other for four years while Noah was deployed in the Marines. My own husband and I started our friendship off through writing back and forth and of course that eventually led to more. Anytime a book carries an aspect that is so familiar to my own experience, I just love that.

I loved Noah. When he was getting close to finishing his time in the Marines, he realizes that he’s a bit of a broken man. He suffers from PTSD and he’s basically got no direction in life after coming back to civilian life. So he friend-zones Grace. He send her a letter basically telling her that he doesn’t want to meet her. He does this so that he can spend time in therapy overcoming his PTSD, going to community college for 2 years saving up so that he can get accepted into the same college Grace attends. He basically has to get himself ready to be with her. I mean I’m not saying he couldn’t have told her the truth about his plan, but I fully respect his desire to get himself to the right place to be able to pursue a relationship with Grace the right way. And he does whatever he has to do to prove to Grace that he’s a safe bet for her. I loved how Noah doesn’t fit the mold of typical new adult male. He isn’t interested in any girl besides Grace, and there’s never a time when I had to worry about him making some stupid mistake and slipping up with another female. He came to Central on a mission, and that mission was to win Grace back.

I could relate to Grace. After having her heart set on meeting Noah and being with him after his deployment was over, it broke her heart to receive his letter about just being friends. She looks for him in every dark haired boy she meets. And so when he shows up at Central without a word she’s beyond surprised. Why would a boy who doesn’t want a relationship with her travel across the country to go to the same school as her? Yet she can’t really trust him or trust herself with him. He broke her heart once. Isn’t it possible that he will break it again?

The story pacing felt just right. I liked the backstory that felt like Jen Frederick had explored enough to know all the intimate details, but yet didn’t shove backstory or too many flashbacks in my face. I felt invested in the side characters, specifically Lana and Bo. I’m so glad that book 2 is about Bo. It’s hard to tell from the description of Unspoken who the main characters are. And I can’t wait to see if there are any other characters she delves into deeper in future books.

Undeclared felt like the perfect book for me at just the right time. Coming off of a book that I was extremely disappointed with, Undeclared exceeded just about every expectation I had for it. I was highlighting and making notes left and right. But the good kind of notes. I’m so glad I took a chance on Jen Frederick and checked out this series. I was really impressed with how well she knew her characters and how each character behaved in a way that felt genuine and separate from each other.

Favorite quotes:

The Marines may have made me a man, but Grace made me human.

You never date a guy who can wear skinnier jeans than you.

"Trust me to know my own feelings. Don't assume you know what's best for me."

"I have a boyfriend," I heard her say. ..."I had tacos for lunch," he replied. "What?" ..."I thought we were talking about random things of no importance."

"You have to give yourself room to fail, Grace.”

“I’ve just been waiting for you to come around instead of forcing myself on you.”

I’d learned so much from trying and failing. It’s something I wouldn’t fear again. Funny how facing down your greatest fears actually made you stronger.

And of course there are others I want to share, but they’re just a little bit spoilery. I highly recommend Undeclared by Jen Frederick, and I can’t wait to check out the others in this series. Undeclared gets 4 stars. Have you read Undeclared? What did you think? Let me know!