Monday 4 April 2016

Review: Undecided by Julianna Keyes

Undecided by Julianna Keyes
Publication Date: April 4th 2016
My rating: 4.5 stars 


Nora Kincaid has one goal for her second year of college: be invisible. Last year’s all-party-no-study strategy resulted in three failed classes and two criminal charges, and if she messes up again she’ll lose her scholarship. But there’s one problem with her plan for invisibility, and his name is Crosbie Lucas: infamous party king, general hellraiser…and her new roommate’s best friend. Crosbie’s reckless reputation and well-known sexcapades aren’t part of Nora’s studious new strategy, but as she’s quickly learning, her new plan is also really boring. When Crosbie’s unexpected gestures of friendship pull her head out of her books long enough to see past his cocky veneer, she’s surprised to find a flawed and funny guy beneath it all. The muscles don’t hurt, either. But as Nora starts to fall for Crosbie, the weight of one of last year’s bad decisions grows even heavier. Because three failing grades and two misdemeanors are nothing compared to the one big secret she’s hiding…

Undecided ended up being one of those delightful reads that I ended up devouring in a few hours. Me and NA books don’t normally go, I can safely say the last year I’ve been largely avoiding them. But after Undecided was recommended to me by Alyssa, who has successfully been recommending books to me, I knew it was a book I had to give a go. I’m hugely grateful that I did as it was a book which avoided those typical NA tropes; troubled characters with shady problems and who became better people by being with each other. Don’t get me wrong Crosbie and Nora have their fair share of problems to deal with, but they’re not characters that mope about them or let them bring them down. Yes Nora had decided to change from the party girl that she was because she was so close to failing last time, and also being arrested and constantly checking in with the dean is not something Nora would like to go through again and I could understand that. And Crosbie comes across as the guy with the reputation (not as bad as his best friends Kellan’s) but still Nora wouldn’t consider giving Crosbie the time of day.

I loved how Crosbie and Nora had these stereotypical perceptions of one another; Nora the nerdy librarian and Crosbie as the ladies man and who doesn’t give a toss about his school work. But through spending time with each other they were able to realise that there was more to each other than they were led to believe, Nora could let her hair down when she wanted to do and have fun and Crosbie honestly don’t get me started on him, Crosbie quickly became one of my all time favourite crushes. Beneath this tough muscular exterior, he was the sweetest guy ever, his intentions and feelings for Nora were super clear, that I’m glad that Nora decided to give him a chance. He was willing to keep their relationship undercover so that Nora wouldn’t get stuck with the reputation of being a “Crosbabe”. He was super sweet in treating her as a proper gentleman would, he’d knew she’d been through her fair share of bad relationships, so wanted to treat her to a good time that she so deserved. Keyes did an incredible job of building up their romance between Crosbie and Nora, the slow burn was done beautifully, with Keyes constantly teasing you for more. And finally when Nora and Crosbie did get together, wow it was super hot!! And don’t worry about the front cover at all Undecided doesn’t feature a love triangle at all!

Despite certain characters omitting things from each other, I was able to overlook this aspect, because I knew that things would come to ahead at one point or the other, but the build up to this was something that I didn’t want to be avoided either, but Keyes was still able to deal with this in an eloquent manner (I know there’s no real right way the issue could have been dealt with friendships and hearts on the line, but it really was best for everyone with the truth coming out).

The relationship between Crosbie and Nora was one of my favourites. But I adored the secondary characters that Keyes threw into the mix too. Kellan, Marcella and Nate were great at livening up a scene, not only were they absolutely hilarious characters, but it was hard not to fall for them with the goofy ways and shenanigans. I for one would totally be up more from these characters with their own stories in the future.

Overall Undecided is a book that was a gem of a read for me this year, its funny bubbly characters and swoony romance is sure to win over many readers. If I could recommend only one book to pick up this year, it would definitely be Undecided without a shadow of a doubt.



15 comments:

Michelle said...

NA and me don't usually go either. I'm glad I read this review because it sounds like this one could actually be one I'd like. Initially I had high hopes for the genre, but when I actually started reading the books, they didn't live up at all. The usual premise of- virgin/inexperienced girl with secrets/painful past and promiscuous, tattooed bad boy with a heart of gold underneath is SO NOT FOR ME. This one sounds like it might be different. I definitely like the sound of Nora's story. I think a lot of people can relate to grades vs. partying in college.

Lekeisha said...

You have definitely sold me on this one. I need this book in my life right now. Great review!

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I am so glad you loved this one, Jasprit. Nick recommended it to me and I have it scheduled soon. I need light, bubbly and fun right now.

Eva @ All Books Considered said...

Awesome review Jasprit! I loved this one, too!! Totally agree re: Crosbie -- I fell for him, he is so adorable!!

Unknown said...

I feel the same way about NA. Your experience with this book reminded me of how much I loved Before We Were Strangers! II really should read this one, too.

Keertana said...

I've been seeing this one around so often and I'm really excited to pick it up! It sounds really good and I love NA when it's done well so this is exactly up my alley. Gorgeous review, Jasprit--I'm so glad this was a hit for you!

brandileigh2003 said...

The secondary characters as well as their relationship sounds good in this one

Carina Olsen said...

Yay for liking this book so much Jasprit :D Lovely review, as always. <3 Yaaay for there being so many amazing characters in this book :) Glad you liked them all. And yay for good romance. You do make this sound like a great book :) I'm curious about it. Thank you for sharing sweetie. <3

Alyssa said...

Eeeep! I am so glad that you enjoyed this book so much, Jasprit! I cannot stop preaching about to everyone. :D Keyes is easily one of my favorite adult romance authors so I'm really excited to see her New Adult debut take off! She says she'll be writing Kellan's story, hopefully in time for December (2016). Ahh! So far away.

Anyway! Fantastic review, Jasprit. :)

Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!

Nick said...

Yay, Jasprit! I'm so pleased to see you enjoyed this one. It was so well-written and I loved that it didn't have the typical NA angst and drama. Nora and Crossbie really did have a lovely relationship! :)
I nearly put this one off because of the cover too! I can't wait to read more books by this author and this series.
Wonderful review, Jasprit!

Nereyda @Nick and Nereydas Infinite Booklist said...

Alyssa made everyone read this :)
I read it last week too and loved it, I hope we get more NA books from this author!

Ksenia said...

This cover is very misleading, it gives the “love-triangle vibe”, and I dismissed this book at first sight. Lately I see a lot of positive reviews from my friends, and realize that there actually isn’t a triangle. I’m glad to hear that this book doesn’t feature broken characters like so many NA titles, and the romance sounds wonderful. While I don’t mind angst when I’m in the right mood, lately I tend to books with less drama filled relationship, where the main characters act like adults. Great review, Jasprit! I definitely would be picking up this book soon.

Ksenia said...

PS. The link to GR leads to a wrong book.

Jenny said...

Oh yay! Nick really loved this one too Jasprit, so I'm definitely going to be giving it a try. I'm so glad you both reviewed it, otherwise I would have passed it right on by based on the implied love triangle on the cover. So happy we don't actually get one in this!

Piecraft Bucharest said...

I'm not big on NA either, but I love the sound of this. Besides, sometimes, I got pleasantly surprised by NA reads (Leah Raeder's Black Iris, for example). Love your review, Jasprit! Will check it out :)

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