Undeclared

The Woodlands, Book 1

By: Jen Frederick

Narrated by: Connor Kelly-Eiding, Andrew Eiden

Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2013 Pear Tree LLC (P)2014 Pear Tree LLC

Critic reviews

" Undeclared was genuinely a lovely debut book. I was craving something comforting when I started reading it, and what I got was a big fluffy pillow of a sweet love story..." (Nocturnal Book Reviews)

"Noah Jackson was perfect in every way! He was compassionate, considerate, and sexy as hell! His old school values mixed with his slight debauchery made him a perfect alpha male..." (Craves the Angst)

"I loved this book and can't wait to read the next installment in the Woodlands series, the characters, storyline, and gushing romance were all wonderfully written..." (Obsession with Books)

Innocence,

Would you consider the audio edition of Undeclared to be better than the print version?

Yes, the narrators gave me a mental picture of the Grace and Noah.

What other book might you compare Undeclared to and why?

Down Dublin Street. Braden's and Noah's tenacity to get the woman of their dreams.

What about Connor Kelly-Eiding and Andrew Eiden ’s performance did you like?

Everything. their narration drew me in and held my interest until the end.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Noah did not take advantage of Grace when she was drunk, and when he made his friend leave also. To protect her cousin Lana.

Any additional comments?

Jen Frederick's novel was great. She caught my interest on page one with the letters. I enjoyed all the angst of both main characters. I'm just sorry the second book is not in audio. Whenever I find another novel written by Ms. Frederick that is on audio, I will buy it.

A bit of nostalgic fun

It's been a long time since I was a college student but I enjoyed this straightforward tale of first love and self discovery. Not too angsty or taxing, and a good break from my finance textbook.

5 Stars for a Sexy Marine

Would you listen to Undeclared again? Why?

Yes.

Four years of writing to sexy Marine Noah Jackson made Grace fall in love with someone she's never even met. But when he sends her a letter asking for them to just be friends, she's heartbroken and vows to never let herself feel like that again. Fast forward a year and to her disbelief, Noah shows up in her college, asking for another chance. Is a Grace really ready to open herself to losing her heart again?

“I’m not getting married. I plan to live a life of bachelorette-hood. I’ll be eccentric, have nine cats, and wear blue eye shadow and fur in the summer."

Noah goes to Central College, hoping to have a shot at getting Grace back. For four years, Grace had been the light that got him thru the dark times of war and having been stupid enough to let her go once, he wasn't about to mess up again. He needed another chance to gain her trust and become the man that she deserves.

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

An MMA fighter now, he's using his skills to get him thru college. Seriously, the fact that he was a fighter only increased his hotness level. And those kisses, oh my, panty melting. Not to mention the very sexy love scenes.

"Do you prefer the religious exclamations like 'oh God,' or do you have a bedroom nickname?" she sassed.
"I think you'll be too incoherent to form full words," I taunted


"Do you think magnetic polarity can be reversed?"
"Magnets can be reversed. But, for some, their attraction is so strong that they can't be kept apart."

What did you like best about this story?

The entire book switches POV from Noah to Grace and Jen Frederick does a really good job of giving us both sides of the story. This works especially well in the audiobook, since we get two actors playing the roles. That sexy twang of the lead male Andrew *fans self* oh my my.

Have you listened to any of Connor Kelly-Eiding and Andrew Eiden ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Filled with laugh out loud moments, I loved the book and the audio and can't wait for more. I'm anxiously awaiting Bo's story.

Loved it!!!

I'm a big sucker for this kind of love story. Loved Noah. Sweet story.
I hope Audible gets going and releases the next chapter as soon as possible!

Another great story by Jen

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This was my first foray into listening to a book. I had already read the book and loved it, being a fan of Jen's writing. I was totally drawn in by the characters of Noah and Grace and I wanted to know what happened with them. I loved the way Jen interspersed their letters back and forth to each other throughout the book.

I enjoyed the 2 people reading the book, but sometimes it seemed hard to get "into the heads of the other characters" from the book, so I think I would prefer to re-read this to get all the different nuances of Lana, Finn, Josh and the rest of the cast of characters we met. I loved this story and I am looking forward to the next installment in the series, to get Bo's story and I hope we get to see more of the other characters as well. I would definitely recommend this book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Grace and Noah

Have you listened to any of Connor Kelly-Eiding and Andrew Eiden ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this was my first audible book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but due to the length of the book, I had to break it up into a couple of different pieces.

Simple & Sweet

I think this book got to me because it was just a sweet story of finding love & happiness ina an impossible situation.

The story moved along nicely and is a good listen if you want to feel all emotional and sigh each time things work out. It follows the usual cliche: The hero and heroine were friends first. She wanted more, he ran scared and broke her heart. She never healed and held on to the past. He walks back in her life ready to commit but now she is not so sure. They dance about their feeling, argue, make-up and finally the stars align and they find that happy place.

It was a light listen with ok narration. Great purchase if it is on sale but really not worth a credit.

Awesome Storyline!

I loved the story and the character development. I loved the the female voice reading Grace's perspective but I did not enjoy Noah's voice as much. Even with this said I recommend this audio book and more than anything this author. I can't wait to read more of this series!

UNDECLARED: LOVE

If you could sum up Undeclared in three words, what would they be?

If i could sum up UNDECLARED in three words, they would be LOVE, TOUCHING, and BEAUTIFUL.

Which character – as performed by Connor Kelly-Eiding and Andrew Eiden – was your favorite?

they were both good!!

Any additional comments?

Read the book and loved it... and just listening the audio book reminds me why I love this book. Makes me miss the characters Noah and Grace.

Female author alert

It's a great story, but the female narrator is too bitchy. Her voice is pissed off throughout the book and I almost stopped the book after only a few chapters. I did keep reading because I liked the storyline, but I was unhappy the entire time she spoke.

Entertaining but could go deeper

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Although I found the story interesting, it was frustrating to not have a deeper understanding of the characters.

Would you be willing to try another book from Jen Frederick? Why or why not?

Yes, her writing style was interesting.

What three words best describe Connor Kelly-Eiding and Andrew Eiden ’s voice?

smooth, character-like, pleasant

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

probably not