Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Book Review: Unraveled by Jen Frederick




Unraveled by Jen Frederick
Genre: New Adult Romance

Review:
Unraveled is a very interesting book. The third in the Woodlands series, but the first I have read, it works great as a stand-alone, but you can bet on it that I am going back to read more about Noah and Bo who were in the Marines with Gray the main character of this book.

Full of alpha males who joke around, fight sometimes and just generally enjoy each other's company Unraveled wins on that alone.  I live in the middle of two Marine bases, one of them I believe is the largest on the East Coast so I grew up thinking men with short hair and buff bods were hot (of course not all of them are buff in reality, but the majority look pretty good).  However as most parents around here do, they warn you off the Marines, lol!  Of course we were 16-18 at the time, I think if I would have been older they would have been perfectly fine, in fact I have a brother-in-law who is a Marine and I adore him.  Okay my thoughts aside, I also like the way the guys act.  Typically guys in my age group don't act like this (or maybe they do in the service) but I do know the younger guys do.  There is a different camaraderie with guys now, than there was 15-20 years ago.  And I love the camaraderie that is shown between Bo, Noah and Gray.  These guys have been through it all together and have a strong friendship.  But when Gray starts wondering about what Bo and Noah have now in their relationships and Sam enters the picture things get interesting.

Sam is a great main character too.  She is a widowed young woman and I mean young.  Her husband died in service with the Army and when he died she was robbed of her life and plans too.  So she has just been coasting along for two years with her husband's things still scattered around her condo, a job bartending and half the time she sleeps in her childhood room at her parents'.  And even though she is coasting I can feel her silent strength and I like that.  As a crocheter, I like that she knits as well showing that there is a younger generation working in the needlearts.  But the story picks us as Gray enters the picture. At first she feels lust and she doesn't even want to feel that for another man in the service.  But she does, but slowly there is something more and it scares her.  But  not as much as it scares him since he's been hurt in the past and truly believes there are no good relationships when you are in the service.  But of course they learn to trust and that's what makes the story awesome.  And at the center too is the fact that Gray is up for re-enlistment and has 45 days of leave (which is why he's in Sam, Bo and Noah's town) to decide what to do.  And what will he do? Well that you have to read the book for.

But know this, Unraveled is full of great characters, attraction that will scorch your ereader (have your significant other handy, just a warning), romance, a lot of humor, friendship and good fun.  While New Adult at it's core, this is ultimately a feel-good book and not as gritty as some New Adult.  But it's wonderful and has me clamoring for more of Jen Frederick's characters and storylines.  So read it and come back and let me know what you thought (or what you thought if you have already read it).  It's an A+ in my book.

My Rating: 5.0/5.0


Summary
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?


Excerpt
THIS WAS ONLY TEMPORARY, I reminded myself, as Samantha so sweetly kissed me back. I'm only here for a short time I reminded myself but as I felt her tongue stroke the side of my tongue, as she nipped her teeth against my lip, I wanted to just drown in the sensation. Her scent filled my head and the air around us shrank until all I knew was her small body sitting so close to mine. I moved my hand from her shoulder to cup her neck and angled her face for deeper penetration. I licked every inch inside of her mouth until the taste of her was all that I knew on my tongue.
And all that time I stared in to her green eyes and not once did she look like she was anywhere but right here with me. I saw my reflection there. Her heartbeat was made wild by my kisses.
And temporary was the farthest thing from my mind.



Buy Links


Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1kl4Gd9
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1bdZ0yN



Author Biography
Bestselling 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 jensfrederick@gmail.com.



Social Networking Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JensFred

Giveaway:


a Rafflecopter giveaway


***I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Taste Me Deadly by Nikki Duncan

TASTE ME DEADLY is the 5th book in Nikki Duncan's Sensory Ops series, and it releases digitally next Tuesday! To celebrate, we're having a cover reveal blog hop, and Nikki is giving away prizes.

Don't miss the Rafflecopter below. I describe this cover as:  Serious

 

Visit these blogs, make note of the word used to describe the cover, and then enter the RaffleCopter contest. ~ Reading Room Blog ~ Saph's Book Blog ~ Book Liaison Blog ~ Book Sniffers Anonymous Blog ~ Julie's Blog ~ The Revolving Bookcase Blog ~ Live Laugh Romance Blog

Here's the contest!

a Rafflecopter giveaway