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Undeclared The Woodlands Book 1 eBook Jen Frederick

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Undeclared The Woodlands Book 1 eBook Jen Frederick

I'm pretty disappointed this book took an interesting idea and killed it with poor character development and weak dialogue. I was really very ho-hum about the characters and romance throughout the book, often putting the kindle down in exchange for watching tv or anything else that would grab my attention. Really, I probably should have tossed it in the DNF pile, but there were flashes of good, so I kept reading. Unfortunately, the first time we see depth and development to the characters, particularly Grace, is during the final 30 pages. Had I seen this emotion and introspection from her early on, I would have been more invested. Instead she came off exactly how she feared she, and it made her whiney and boring. The only thing keeping this from a 1 star are those flashes of interesting insights. I liked the way Odysseus was woven into their story. Though the author took a BIG creative license with deployments, many of Noah's concerns, experiences, self-doubts, and comments held true. As a military spouse of someone who has deployed very often, I always have a bit of trepidation with books involving military details. So I was pleased that, for the most part, these aspects worked. What I didn't understand was the characters and background had all the makings of a wonderful book, but it was flat, a little cliche, and fairly boring. I can't see picking up anymore from this series, and I doubt I'll be in a hurry to read anything else by the author.


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Undeclared The Woodlands Book 1 eBook Jen Frederick Reviews

I have all of the Woodlands books, and I have to admit on second reading, this one isn’t my favorite of the series. I have all of Jen Frederick’s books, and enjoy each to a varying degree (e.g., I love book two of this series), but Grace really rubs me the wrong way. I’m not sure if it’s the clueless self-indulgence, the whiny listlessness, or the fact she’s spoiled and self-absorbed. I know this is supposed to be a new adult/college-age story, but Grace is so immature it’s hard to fathom why Noah would be so taken with her. We see a lot of what Noah writes to Grace over those four years of his deployment, but we don’t see much of Grace’s responses and this lack makes it hard to fathom his infatuation.

Some of the reviewers maintain that the letters woven throughout the book are supposed to reveal the build-up of Noah and Grace’s love story, but I disagree. Noah is the primary writer and is revealing pieces of his soul to Grace in each letter---the parts he reveals relate to something in that chapter. As I mentioned before, it would have been nice to see some of her letters so we have more insight into Grace’s mind during that time (as opposed to her whiny behavior later on). Of course, it’s a hard thing for an author to balance too many letters would have been really tedious.

Another issue I have is one of the secondary characters. There is some really bad advice given in this book, from a pseudo-intellectual cousin who spouts pop psychology like she's channeling Dr. Phil. It’s not a major deal-breaker, but combined with an irritating female lead, it’s another mark in the negative column.

Which brings me to Noah. I like that he's a Marine. I like that he's a good guy, is not a walking cliché (the good-looking manwhore), and is caring and considerate of people around him. Except for when he has his head wedged up his derriere. His motivations immediately after returning home are enough, what's with the insecurity too? I just thought that the story would have been better to keep it to a Marine returning from combat to the real word and not focus on the "boy from the wrong side of the tracks falls in love with a rich girl" BS.

The writing is pretty good, with an error here and there but not frequent to cause a problem. Although not my favorite, the story is decent for a non-angsty, young adult romance, despite the limp rag posing as a heroine. Solid 3 stars.
Jen Frederick's books have been around for a while, but it's really only been in the past couple of months that I have discovered them. I've loved everything I've read by her so far, so I'm slowly trying to make it through her backlist. Being a fan of college and military romances, I decided the Woodland series would be my next Frederick adventure.

Undeclared is based on a cute concept. Grace met Noah when she began writing him letters in high school. She was a student, and he was deployed with the Marines. They forged a strong connection through their letters. Grace was sure they were falling in love until it was time for Noah to return to civilian life. Noah broke Grace's heart and stopped all communication. Two years later, Noah shows up on Grace's college campus to win back the girl he stupidly let go.

Undeclared was written in first person dual point of view and included some of the correspondence they had while Noah was deployed. Having both their perspectives and their letters gave their love connection while Noah was deployed validity. It also helped make their current situation understandable. I don't know that I would have believed they had both been pining for each other if I didn't get to read both of their thoughts and see how their friends reacted to their actions.

Grace was a really immature character. She was in this holding pattern and kept putting off decisions. Grace was so wishy washy that I never truly connected with her. It felt like she was just waiting for the moment Noah returned to her. I wanted to find fault with this, but then I thought back to being in college. I was guilty of doing some of the same stuff Grace was doing back then. It's embarrassing to admit, but I empathized with her more than I wanted to. Still, that didn't make me fall in love with her character. Grace was a little too whiny and I wished her character had been stronger.

Noah left me conflicted. On one hand, I adored him and his persistence when it came to Grace. He knew he had made a mistake, and he was willing to do whatever it took to prove himself to her. He was an alpha male, but a sweetie when it came to her. On the other hand, I wasn't really a fan of his MMA stuff. I couldn't figure out what his goal really was. Did he want to get his degree and run a chain of yogurt shops or did he want to be an MMA fighter? I know those two things aren't exclusive of each other, but it felt like an odd combination in this story.

Grace and Noah's relationship was full of dramatic ups and down. Sometimes the drama was a little overboard, but for the most part it was very entertaining. I do have to admit that I was shocked at how quickly their story wrapped up. One minute things weren't looking so good. The next they had everything figured out and then, bam, epilogue.

Overall, I enjoyed Undeclared. It was a fun college second chance romance. I loved the theme of the story and the group of friends it introduced me to. I'm going to continue to read this series and get to know their stories.
I'm pretty disappointed this book took an interesting idea and killed it with poor character development and weak dialogue. I was really very ho-hum about the characters and romance throughout the book, often putting the kindle down in exchange for watching tv or anything else that would grab my attention. Really, I probably should have tossed it in the DNF pile, but there were flashes of good, so I kept reading. Unfortunately, the first time we see depth and development to the characters, particularly Grace, is during the final 30 pages. Had I seen this emotion and introspection from her early on, I would have been more invested. Instead she came off exactly how she feared she, and it made her whiney and boring. The only thing keeping this from a 1 star are those flashes of interesting insights. I liked the way Odysseus was woven into their story. Though the author took a BIG creative license with deployments, many of Noah's concerns, experiences, self-doubts, and comments held true. As a military spouse of someone who has deployed very often, I always have a bit of trepidation with books involving military details. So I was pleased that, for the most part, these aspects worked. What I didn't understand was the characters and background had all the makings of a wonderful book, but it was flat, a little cliche, and fairly boring. I can't see picking up anymore from this series, and I doubt I'll be in a hurry to read anything else by the author.