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A book blog dedicated to young adult and new adult novels

Blog Tour: Unspoken by Jen Frederick {Review+Giveaway}

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Welcome to my stop on the Unspoken tour hosted by AToMR tours!
To see other stops on the tour for reviews, guest posts, and excerpts click here.
 


Unspoken (Woodlands #2)
   by: Jen Frederick

Publication Date: Sept. 12, 2013
Publisher: Pear Tree LLC
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC received from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 260 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars


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.
 

My Review:

Another book boyfriend to add to my list? Say it ain't so! Bo caught my eye in Jen's first book Undeclared, but he definitely captured my heart in Unspoken. I am so glad Jen gave him his own book! I loved getting to know him, the real him, by learning about his past and why he is so dependent on fighting and womanizing. Our female lead, AM (AnnMarie) also won me over fairly quickly. I had some trouble connecting with Grace (the female MC) at first in Undeclared, but I liked AM from the beginning. I hated what she went through in this book- no one should be verbally terrorized or shamed like she was. What I hated even more was that she let it dictate her life. She wasn't able to enjoy the college scene because of the constant rumors floating around and the chance she would run into some of the guys who started this whole mess. She kept away, her head down, and only came to campus for class. I feel Jen did a really great job developing her characters and I like that while these two were attracted to one another, their relationship developed naturally. There was no dreaded insta-love here!

We also get a cast of great side characters. Noah and Grace are back, as well as Noah and Bo's roommates, Finn and Mal. (The third book in the series is actually Finn's and we do get a bit of an idea of what he is going to be dealing with.) I also really liked AM's best friend and roomie Ellie. She was such a great, loyal friend to AM. She reminds me of my own best friend, always willing to step in if someone tried to start something with me. I love strong girl best friends because I feel NA is really lacking them these days. Ellie is loyal to the point where she would sacrifice her own happiness with a guy to stand by her friend. I respect the hell out of that girl.

As I stated earlier, AM is really having a rough time at school due mainly to rumors that have been spread around about her. She made one decision that fueled the fire for a reputation she didn't deserve. And what's worse is that even fellow girls didn't bother to rally around her. They let her be the pariah and shame on them for letting her be those guys' scapegoat. She lets them walk all over her and treat her like shit and she doesn't do anything but keep her head down and let them attack her with their words.

AM is also dealing with a bit of a family situation. Her mother is the other woman in a relationship with her 'father' and she is afraid that things will fall apart and her mother will be left with nothing. Which explains why AM is so reluctant to trust and fall in love. However, Bo saunters in with his charm and even though she's always found herself attracted to him, there's no way she could ever go there with him. He has a reputation for being a ladies man and she's sworn off boys from Central College.

Bo isn't looking for a relationship. He stumbles across AM in class and finds himself pairing up with her for lab. He does some digging and finds out about her reputation and after hearing about the incident involving her in the commons area with the lax players, he is even more determined to get close to her. Bo comes with some baggage though. He grew up not having the best home life and is therefore afraid of turning into his father. He has only done hook ups and one night stands and he is torn about what he wants with AM. He knows she's not that kind of girl and he needs to be sure of what he wants before he jumps into something with her.

When Bo does finally realize he wants to be with her and he breaks down her walls, holy chemistry! These two have some seriously hot scenes together. However, while Bo may have realized he wants to be with her, his past demons have not gone away. His father was the kind of man to raise his fists in anger at his wife and Bo knows he has a lot of anger built up. Fighting has become his primary outlet and after getting angry over the fact that AM doesn't stand up for herself, he pulls away from her, afraid he will follow in his father's footsteps.

Watching both AM and Bo confront their fears was one of my favorite things about this book. They empower one another and make each other stronger and I loved that. They are different in so many ways, but they really work together. When the other person builds you up, believes in you, strengthens you as an individual, chases the demons away, and loves you unconditionally- you know you've found your match. And AM found her match in Bo and vice versa.

Most swoonworthy quote:

"Now whenever you feel alone, know that I've got your back. No matter who's against you, know that a thousand others wait to avenge you."
"But I'm not a Marine," I whispered back, my voice catching on the tears threatening to spill out.
"You're a fighter, Sunshine. Plus you belong to this Marine."


About the Author:

Jen Frederick lives with her husband, child, and on 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.

Facebook  Twitter  Goodreads

Other books in the Woodlands series:

 

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.



 
 
Giveaway: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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18 comments

  1. Ha I love that first line! There will always be more book boyfriends to add to the list and I am okay with that. I think we will survive lol. This sounds like such a great and emit all read. Not to mention it also has a purdy cover. Great review.

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    1. Hahaha! We will survive! But I love this book so much! You definitely need this one Teresa!

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  2. Awesome review! I really liked this book too. I am furiously trying to get ahead so I can read Undeclared soon. I loved AM and Bo together and the chemistry was definitely hot from the beginning. Bo is definitely a new book boyfriend. I also really liked the side characters as well :-)

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    1. Thanks Chelsea! I'm so glad you liked it too! I enjoyed Undeclared but I LOVED this one. :) And side characters are such a big part for me! I love it!

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  3. Oh my lordy. I think I need to start this series. I think I need to meet these swoony men ;) Great review! I am so adding these books to my TBR list!

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    1. You so need to start this series girl! :D You need to meet Bo! Whew! My blood is boiling just thinking about him!

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  4. Yay! We're review twins today. I absolutely loved this book, maybe more than Undeclared. Bo and AM were amazing, and the quote you included? My very favorite!
    Great review, sweetie!

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    1. YAY! Go us! :D I did love this book so much! I liked Noah and Grace, but Bo and AM really captured my heart!!!

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  5. Thank you for having me Jessica. Your review was wonderful.

    @TeresaMaryRose The cover was done by another fantastic author by the name of Meljean Brook.

    @Chelsea Cochra - I hope you enjoy your journey to come with Noah and Grace.

    @Magen Corrie - our to be read lists can never be too full

    @Andrea - ;) Hey, girl.

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    1. Thanks so much Jen for the opportunity to completely fall head over heels with this book!

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  6. I loved this one so much. I need to read book one soon! Glad you loved this one too. Bo and AM were awesome! Can't wait to read the next books in the series :)

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    1. Yay! I'm so glad you loved this one too girl!! I am so excited for Finn's story next!

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  7. I love the sound of AM's story. Sounds emotional but so unfair! I'll keep an eye our for this series and I'll make a note that you've staked a claim on Bo!

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    1. Hahaha! Oh yes, Bo is allllll MINE! :) AM might not like that, but she'll live. Haha.

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  8. Awesome review. I want to read these books so bad now!

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    1. Thanks CeCe! I definitely recommend Jen! She's great!

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