Blog Tour and Giveaway: Undeclared: Jen Frederick
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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
One of Noah's letters to Grace:
Dear Grace:
I don't think you'll ever see me on YouTube, but there is shit-all to do around here, so guys will memorize songs and videotape each other. I have zero twerking ability. I guess if there's ever some music video involving marching, I could participate in that.
I think the higher-ups like these videos because they make A'stan look fun, which it isn't. But it's good PR.
Some guys from MMA were here to entertain the troops. I talked to one of the managers, who said that a guy could earn six figures a year for beating someone else up in the ring. It's not really boxing skills that matter, either, because a lot of the skills are kicking and hand-to-hand combat, which is something that we are taught here.
It's kind of a cool idea. Yeah, there are worries about concussions, but I think the pros outweigh the cons. Bo isn't interested, but he doesn't need to be either. He's got plenty of family money. He told me that we both should go to college after we get out and that I could use the GI Bill to pay for everything.
What college did you say you were going to? Central? Mail me something about it the next time you send a care package. I think I should check it out.
Yours,
Noah
She was what had brought me out of the war, took me away from my past. My future was with her, if she still had me.I found the storyline for Undeclared refreshing and sweet. Grace and Noah initially connect as pen pals when she is in High School doing a class project and he is deployed in the Marines. Over the years their letters continue and they share their fears and innermost thoughts. But a misunderstanding and fear caused a communication disruption, disappointment, and heartbreak.
A couple of years later Grace is surprised to find Noah and his friend Bo at her college and trying to make amends. They are now out of the Marines, underground fighters, and college students. But will she be willing to open up her heart to him and risk being hurt all over again?
She was what had brought me out of the war, took me away from my past. My future was with her, if she still had me.I found the storyline for Undeclared refreshing and sweet. Grace and Noah initially connect as pen pals when she is in High School doing a class project and he is deployed in the Marines. Over the years their letters continue and they share their fears and innermost thoughts. But a misunderstanding and fear caused a communication disruption, disappointment, and heartbreak.A couple of years later Grace is surprised to find Noah and his friend Bo at her college and trying to make amends. They are now out of the Marines, underground fighters, and college students. But will she be willing to open up her heart to him and risk being hurt all over again?
I really liked Noah. Even though he made some big mistakes, he knew what he wanted and did his best to make things right and move on. You could tell he truly loved and cared for Grace even when she was unsure and fearful. He was loving, protective, strong, and determined. Grace really was lost and lacked direction on what to do with her life to the point her major is even undeclared. She had been obsessed with Noah since high school and was shattered by him. So he had quite a fight on his hands to try to win her back.
After reading The Odyssey, I had convinced my self that Grace was Penelope and would wait for me until I had finished my battles and returned home victorious. Why else would she send me that book?
It could be that Grace was just setting up a series of tests for me to pass, like the Trials of Hercules. That was fine. I'd complete each challenge, and then we could be done with it.
They have obstacles and insecurities that get in their way. They are from different worlds and circumstances. They both feel like they are lacking or not good enough at times. But they have a strong connection, deep feelings, good rapport, and great chemistry. They both have tragedies and family issues that shaped their views on relationships. I loved them together and was rooting for them the whole way.
I'm not sure how being around Grace has managed to f*** up my decision-making process so much. I felt like I was pushing the shoot button on my Xbox controller every time I wanted to jump, resulting in stupid, self-inflicted casualties.
The supporting characters were funny, feisty, and supportive. They add quite a bit of comic relief and help smack our lead characters in the head when needed. His Marine buddy and best friend Bo, their room mates Finn, Mal, Adam, and her room mate Lana would all make good stories in upcoming books.
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and flowed despite being told in present tense and through their letters from the past 4 years. It was told in both of their points of view past and present. The story has a mix of Marine Life, College Life, and underground fighting. It really was about a journey of discovery for both of them both in learning about themselves and each other. I look forward to more books in this Woodlands series especially Bo (Unspoken...coming in September) and Lana.
Thanks to Jen Frederick for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Jen Frederick
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 an email.
Tour Hosted by Book Crush
Grand Prize Giveaway –US ONLY Jen Frederick is amazing and is offering up an iPad mini as a grand prize for the blog tour!! Wow! Click on link.
International Only Grand Prize Giveaway – ebook copy of Undeclared, swag and $25 Gift certificate (Amazon or B&N). Click on link.
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1 comments
Thank you for hosting me! Jen
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