Undecided

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Undecided

Undecided

by: Julianna Keyes
My Rating: four-half-stars



Published by: Julianna Keyes on April 4th 2016
Genres: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, College Life, Cliffhanger Free, Coming of Age, HEA

ISBN: 9780995050709

ASIN: B01BXZMCEW
Pages: 325
Disclosure: I was invited by the publisher to read this title in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. I received no monetary compensation, and all comments are subjective and mine alone.
Content Warning: sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence make this title appropriate for readers 18 and over.



Synopsis

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…



Publisher's note: This is not a sweet romance. There is plenty of sex and swearing. Enjoy!






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Undecided is the first book I’ve read by Julianna Keyes. I went into it with a little trepidation, worried there was going to be a love triangle between Nora, Kellan, and Crosbie. But I was pleasantly surprised. There weren’t any shapes remotely resembling a triangle. Which is good, because a good love triangle (is there such a thing as a “good” one?) is really hard to pull off. I mean, it’s not impossible. I’ve read a few books where the author was able to make it work. Mostly, though, they tend to be prickly things.

 

So, plot-wise… I loved Undecided. It had a unique storyline that kept me engaged (and up way too late at night). Kellan and Crosbie are the uber hotties on campus. Nora is the invisible girl in the equation. And I’ll just say, I’m SO freakin’ tired of the “plain” girl falling in love with the sex god and constantly prattling on in her unremarkable head about how she can’t believe a guy like HIM would fall for a plain, ordinary girl like her. It’s been done. And done. And done. And…well, you get the idea.

 

So I was pleasantly surprised a second time when Ms. Keyes was able to pull the storyline off. There wasn’t a lot of the: how can he love me? type of angst. And that was really refreshing. Although, there IS something in the story. A reason Nora is “invisible” to Kellan and Crosbie. And it’s a secret.

 

A big juicy secret!

 

And it causes a lot of trouble, as most juicy secrets do.

 

The characters were well developed. Even the two main secondary characters were reasonably fleshed out. I liked the three main characters. They were flawed, had issues, did stupid things, and all the fun stuff that real-life humans do, which made them not only likable but relatable to some degree.

 

Mechanics were on point. There were a few grammatical errors, like the use of I versus me, and a few punctuation issues. But, I have to say, it didn’t interfere with the story. Mainly because there weren’t very many errors. Pacing was good throughout. I didn’t find my mind wandering to the mile-long pile of laundry I should have been washing. (I was actually hoping laundry fairies would come in while I was reading and do it for me. No such luck.)

 

All in all, Undecided was a really good read. Cliffhanger free, it gives us a nice HEA ending. I recommend it if you are looking for a NA romance that also has a little substance to the story. Because, while Undecided is definitely a romance, it was ultimately, in my opinion, about forgiving yourself, second chances, the importance of the truth (even when it’s hard), and trusting others. I won’t hesitate to pick up another of Ms. Keyes books in the future.

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About Julianna Keyes

Julianna Keyes is a Canadian writer who has lived on both coasts and several places in between. She’s been skydiving, bungee jumping and white water rafting, but nothing thrills – or terrifies – her as much as the blank page. She loves Chinese food, foreign languages, baseball and television, not necessarily in that order, and will go to her grave swearing that “ain’t” is not a word. She has volunteered in Zambia, taught English in China, and dreams of seeing pink dolphins in the Amazon. It’ll happen.

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