Sunday, March 29, 2015

Review: Jake Undone by Penelope Ward

18815123Rating:  ★★★★ 1/2 stars
Date published: October 21st, 2013
Publisher: self published
Synopsis: Nina Kennedy was alive…but not living…until she met him.

Planes, trains, heights…you name it, Nina was afraid of it and led a sheltered life ruled by irrational fears and phobias. When she moves to Brooklyn for nursing school, that life is turned upside down, as she develops an intense but unwanted attraction to her gorgeous roommate, who’s pierced, tattooed and just happens to be the smartest person she’s ever met.

Behind Jake Green’s rough exterior and devilish smile, lies a heart of gold. He makes it his mission to change Nina’s outlook on life. When he agrees to tutor her, they forge a bet and the stakes are high as Jake forces Nina to face her demons. He just wasn’t expecting to fall hard for her in the process.

What Nina doesn’t realize, is that Jake has been living his own private hell. Once he drops a bombshell, will their love survive it?

Told in two parts from both Nina and Jake’s points of view, Jake Undone is a standalone story and a companion to the novel, Gemini.


What I Thought:  

I've owned a signed paperback copy of this book since the end of June 2014.  I didn't read this book until last week.  I need to get better at reading books I already own, especially if  I'm missing out on awesomeness like Jake Undone.  I'd heard all of the connected books were amazing, but I had to read one to find out on my own.  With Jake Understood releasing soon, I knew now was the perfect time to read this book.

I think the best part of this book was the chemistry between Nina and Jake. Nina had this instant attraction to Jake, but it took a while for her to open up to Jake and for him to open to her as well.  I liked how close the two of them were; It was very easy to feel their connection.  I liked Nina.  I felt horrible she was crippled by her fears, and I loved how Jake tried to help her get over them. I could also feel the sadness in Jake and  I felt like whatever he was struggling with was hard.  I liked seeing him leaning on Nina for moral support. Another one of my favorite scenes was the one which gave this book its title.  That scene was slayed me and it made so much sense.  I want to mention more, but I can't without giving away pivotal information about the book.

I also liked how the book was told from dual points of view.  It really helped me understand the problems the couple was facing and their approaches to finding solutions.  This book made me laugh and cry, but I loved it all as I read it.  There were a couple of scenes that felt over the top and stretched my imagination too much, but they made for some great talking points and laughs with my guy friends. For example there's this one phone sex scene that turned me on in the beginning and just as I was getting to the good part, turned me off.  Well it made me laugh and wonder, so it broke my concentration.  Perhaps it's just me.   I also loved getting to meet Skylar and Mitch.  I can't wait to read their story!

I want to thank Penelope Ward for talking about a number of issues in this book that I don't think are talked about enough.  It really made this book more powerful. I loved being in Jake's head.  I'm really looking forward to getting into his head again and seeing what he's up to now as well as what he has to say.  I have no doubt Penelope Ward has done an amazing job.  I don't regret impulsively walking up to her table at Book Bash and buying all of her published books unread.  I can't wait to see what other delights are hiding in the pages of her stories!


Purchase Links:



About the Author

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers. She spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family friendly career.
Penelope lives for reading books in the new adult genre, coffee and hanging out with her friends and family on weekends.
She is the proud mother of a beautiful 10-year-old girl with autism (the inspiration for the character Callie in Gemini) and a 8-year-old boy, both of whom are the lights of her life.
Penelope, her husband and kids reside in Rhode Island.
She is currently working on her fifth novel and loves friend requests from readers!

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page | Twitter

*Thank you to the publicist for a copy in exchange for an honest review.  I also purchased a paperback and ebook copy.  All my opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*

No comments:

Post a Comment

 

Blogger news

About