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)

Swoon

What made the experience of listening to Undeclared the most enjoyable?

Dual narration and a great story brought to life by these two amazing performers.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Undeclared?

The set-up: of Noah being on campus and first approaching Grace. The budding reconnection and seeing their relationship evolve.

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

Tough decision, because I thought both did a fantastic job. I really felt like I connected with characters because Connor and Andrew brought them to life...Noah made even more swoon-worthy than when I just read the book the first time. And Grace embracing her gift of photography and giving Noah that chance to explain.

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

Quick wit of Grace, Noah and even Bo had me cracking a smile more often than not. A bit emotional when Noah left Grace for Las Vegas, but overall happy during the story and rooting them towards their HEA.

Any additional comments?

Jen Frederick is a fabulous writer and I've enjoyed all her books.

Just okay...

I could not really connect with the characters in this story, it just seemed kind of drawn out without the real emotions of the characters coming through. The storyline is actually a good one, it just fell short in my opinion. The narration was well done, except I didn't like the female voice very much.

Charming and engaging second chance love story!

This first book in the Woodlands series was charming and engaging. I loved the synopsis of anonymous pen-pals losing touch then finding their way back to each other. It was everything I expected and more. I loved Grace and Noah together. They were well developed, honest and organic. The situations they found themselves in were funny at times and heartbreaking at others. I found the flow and progression of their relationship was well paced and believable. I also really enjoyed Connor Kelly-Eiding, and Andrew Eiden's narration. They were really wonderful at setting the mood and allowing us to experience the fun and emotional angst of college life. I think this is a great start to this series and I am excited to listen to the rest of the books!

All the worst things about college kids

Privileged, entitled, self-obsessed kids whining about...just everything. In whiney voices. What's not to like?

I bought this because of its bargain price and swoony reviews. My mistake.

Boring

This book was boring. Nothing really happens. It is just a story about a boy and a girl, Noah and Grace. Their ages make no sense she was in high school at the start of the book then she was at University so her being 20 does make sense. But he was a marine for five years and he still only 24 it just doesn't add up to be believable. They write letters back-and-forth about nothing of importance. Yet they are madly in love with each other and she saved herself for somebody she's never met. He doesn't come to her right after being out he waits for two years. This also doesn't make sense if he's only 24. He followed her to school and you never really find out why he waited two years to come see here only that he was messed up. In the end that's all that happens the book is boring. I think there was potential to make the story more than what it was but I have to say I don't think I'll be reading any of the other books in the series.

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.

Noah makes my heart beat!

Any additional comments?

I read this book awhile ago, but since it came out on audiobook I had to listen to it again. The narrators on this one were great- Noah's voice was exceptional the female narrator was good but I fell in love with Noah all over again. This was done with Dual narration and the story was brought to life.

This is book 1 of the Woodlands Series- and this is Noah and Grace's story. Noah is a ex Marie- and Grace is a young college student who became pen pals with Noah while in high school- writing to the troops over seas. 4 years the two become 1- the letters that helped Noah get thru his time overseas- even thou Noah was 4 years older than him, he fell in love with Grace as Grace did with him. 2 years ago, Noah decided it was only right to friend zone Grace, she came from a rich family and he did not- he couldn't meet her with knowledge he couldn't properly provide her with a life that she was accustomed to.

After a long heartbreak Grace finally realizes that Noah is attending her college, and she doesn't know why. The two become friends, and he fights for her to become his.

The two had some trust issues- well mainly Grace, and Noah was nothing but a strong leading man in the story. Ex-Marine, up and coming UFC fighter, he fights for what he wants even thou Grace doesn't know it. He takes what he wants, while she's indecisive. He gives her a life that she thinks she doesn't deserve.

Over all this was cute story, any story with a love sick puppy alpha male gets me every time, along with Jen Frederick being one of my favorite writers, Connor Kelly-Eiding and Andrew Eiden did well on portraying the story how it was meant to be.

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.

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.

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.