Released on: January 18, 2014
Unraveled
by Jen Frederick
Book 3 of the Woodlands Series
4.5 stars
Jen Frederick has really become one of my favorite authors today. Her writing style and the stories she tells are precisely the type that I would love to read and reread several times. I like her plots. She writes funny and witty banter really well, and the romantic parts my toes just curl! I read the first book in the series when it was first released and enjoyed it. Haven't read the second one yet, but that will be rectified as soon as possible!
So on with Unraveled. This certainly lived up to my expectations, even more. Gray is just as awesome as Noah and Bo in that they will do everything they can for the women they love. I was so touched by Gray's efforts to make Sam live again, to make her realize that there's still more she has yet to experience. She's only 22, after all. Their dates are some of the best I've read, too. I honestly think a real-life guy wouldn't be able to pull it all off, but since it's Gray, haha, it's very believable.
Sam was literally at the moment of "reawakening" at the beginning of the story. It's about time too! After two years of stagnation and loneliness, it was like she was jolted back to life when she met Gray. I like to think that even if Gray didn't appear when he did, she would still be able to jump-start her life again and do what she wants without worrying about what her dead husband's family would say. She has a quiet, inner strength. I think that's what made her keep up with Gray and allow him in, and I really liked that about her. If she didn't have it in her, she would have been resistant to Gray's advances no matter what.
Gray is also at a point in his life where he has to make a very important decision: pursue a career in the Marines, or explore a new life as a civilian? I liked getting into his head whenever he contemplated his choices because you don't find a lot of books that show how difficult it can be for people in the service to get back into normal civilian life.
Together, Sam and Gray are dynamite. Their chemistry is off-the-charts. It's not just burn-the-sheets-and-launch-fireworks kind of hot (and they do!!! Jen Frederick got pretty creative, I must say *wink2!*).
They just mesh really, really well for me. Sam was at a rut for two years. Greg has experienced so much more than most people twice his age. She is loyal and loving, and he absolutely hates cheating. I really found it funny that at the beginning, each of them described their ideal man/woman and none of those descriptions fit each other! Noah preferred someone tall; Sam is not (compared to him, anyway). She wanted a guy on the leaner side, and Noah is ooohh la la, stacked. And let's not forget that Sam initially vowed not to get attached to another man who's in the service. The pain of losing her husband, Will, had been so hard for her, she didn't want to experience it again.
Unfortunately, losing Gray seemed to be inevitable since he is only at Woodlands for 45 days. :( With that fact looming over their heads, plus Sam's struggle to break free from the shadow of being Will's widow, created speed bumps in their relationship. On the other hand, they only made the ending so much sweeter. :)
Other things I loved about Unraveled:
1. The supporting cast. It was so nice to see Noah, Grace, Bo, AnnMarie (although I have yet to actually meet her, I already liked her!), Finn, Mal and Adam again! Bitsy, Sam's younger sister, is a doll. Dear Jen, is it a stretch to wish a book for her..? and Tucker as well..? =D
2. The humor is still intact. I'd say it has even kicked up a notch. Most of my favorite conversations were among the guys. They have such an awesome camaraderie it made me wish ALL men were like them! They know how to have fun but they were responsible and mature adults. Oh, and I think I'd place Eve and her boyfriend in this category! I giggled over their opinions on men and booty calls!
3. Sam's mom. She can also fall under the funny category because she is so cool and her mouth doesn't have a filter, but I really, really liked her so she's a category on her own. Her brief conversation with Sam at the beginning was funny, heartwarming and enlightening.
4. Gray's stance on cheating. If you've been reading my other posts you'll know how much I dislike it *tsk2*. So glad to know he's on my side! I just hate it when a book hero gets drunk then cheats, whether by choice or not-because-he-is-under-the-influence. Whatever. Things like that really turn me off.
5. The conversations. They are so casual and really believable. I think Jen really nailed these guys because I can totally picture real men speaking the same way the do. Readers will learn so much about each character out of a few lines of banter, too.
6. This book is hot!!! Oh wait, did I already mention that? ;)
What I didn't like about Unraveled... hmm, book characters have a tendency to be too wrapped-up with feeling hurt that they stop communicating at the moment when it is in fact most important to sit down and talk. These two had that moment. I won't elaborate further, zzzzzipp!
I highly recommend not just Unraveled but the entire Woodlands Series! Looks like Jen Frederick isn't going to stop soon, yay for that! These men are some of the most loyal modern book heroes ever. The romance is top-notch, there are lots of funny moments, and the secondary characters are so compelling you'll want to them all to have their own books. Well, that's how it was for me anyway!
Buy links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes | Smashwords | ARE
Synopsis:
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?
Check out the other books in the series too:
Book 1: Undeclared
Buy links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
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.
Book 2: Unspoken
Buy links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
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.
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.
Excerpt:
This here is one of the funniest conversations in Unraveled!
"You do this before?" I asked Bo as we surveyed our work. The mattresses had been laid end-to-end and covered much, but not all, of the drive. The pressure of one end of the mattress on the other was to keep them in place, like a stacked set of blocks. The tarps, which would ordinarily go beneath the tent, were stretched across the top of the mattresses tautly. Bo, Finn, Noah and I had worked in pairs to drive in the stakes to hold down the tarps while Adam and Mal, the other two roommates, made sure that the bouncy house was set up securely down at the base of the hill. "Nope."
Bo flipped the hammer in his hand. "Haul up the hoses." We'd also had to buy to extra hoses to make sure that we could hoist one to the top of the drive. The bill for all the supplies was astronomical but Adam paid without a blink. Bo told me in the car ride back that Adam's dad would think this was the best use of his money ever. I shrugged. Not my dime and it did look fun as hell. We'd also bought a couple of gallons of baby oil. Bo threw one at me. "Time to lube up. I'm sure you're familiar with this."
"Oh I am," I replied. "I always apply lube. It's the only way any chick can take my monster cock."
"Is that the pick-up line you're using now? Because it seems like you'd end up disappointing them when you get home."
"No girl has ever left my bed unsatisfied. That’s probably something you don't know a lot about."
"If you have to use lube, then I'm worried you don't know what you're doing in bed."
"Don't worry about me. I'm using lube because I'm going places no man has gone before."
"You're fucking their earhole?"
"Bo, I thought for sure we'd taught you a few things when you were in the service, but now it seems like you don't know your earhole from your asshole."
"That's not what AnnMarie was saying last night,” he said smugly.
"Actually, AnnMarie told me that she didn't realize dicks were longer than her hand and wondered if mine was bigger than average." I squirted more baby oil on the tarps. "I told her no, that you were just really small. Poor girl. Good thing she isn’t required to do a lot of math.”
Giveaway:
$200 GC to retailer of your choice
Full set of Woodlands print books (5) with dog tags.
About the 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 jen@jenfrederick.com.
Blog tour organized by The Rockstars of Romance.
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