First of all, I realized, I don't blog quite as often as I feel I should. So I'm making a late New Year's Resolution to blog at least once a week. Anyway, now that that's out of the way, I have so many TBR books on my iPad, that sometimes I look at my library and say, "Wait what book is that again?" Unspoken by Jen Frederick is one of those books. To be perfectly honest, I couldn't remember buying it. So of course that meant I had to read it right?
I have never gone gaga for blue eyed blondes. In books like in real life my taste runs pretty much the same. I love guys with dark hair and green eyes. The first dirty blonde book boyfriend I discovered was Beau Vincent and even though he was dirty blonde, his eyes were hazel. So imagine my surprise when I was panting over Bo Randolph. Could it be the name? Do I have a thing for all southern boys named Bo? Could it be the southern drawl? It doesn't matter, because about three chapters in, I was in love. Hell I couldn't believe AM didn't jump him before she did. The girl had some amazing restraint.
AM or AnnMarie West is a sophomore at Central College. She is also a victim of horrible rumors spread by the lacrosse team at Central. AM has made her way onto a burn list of sorts and has been branded, well for lack of a better word the campus slut. One drunken freshman indiscretion and our girl was ruined. She hides off campus from then on and has very few friends. Her bestie Ellie and her apartment neighbors complete her very small circle. Is she happy this way? Nope, but unfortunately she has kind of a strange family situation and the girl does what she has to do to survive. One more thing. AM's being blackmailed from some jackass she knows from her home town. Something she has not shared with anyone. Not even Ellie. The things boys do when girls aren't interested in them.
Beauregard Randolph has the opposite problem. Every girl wants him. Every guy wants to be his friend. He's back in school after a four year tour with the marines in Afghanistan. Bo Randolph is the picture of perfection, but he's got his own demons to deal with. Bo is a fighter. He fights in underground no holds barred fights. It helps him deal with his past.
When Bo walks into the biology class that he and AM are taking, he recognizes AnnMarie from a class they had together the previous semester and takes a seat right next to her. She cringes with embarrassment. Ellie was supposed to take this class with her and bailed at the last minute. As soon as he sits down at their lab table, Bo is smitten. He wants to find out more about his mysterious lab partner, even though he knows he won't be good for her. Up until now, his life has been about one thing with girls, but AM makes him want more for the first time in his life.
As their friendship grows, so does their attraction. I have to give props to AM. I would have never been able to hold out for as long as she did. I wouldn't have been able to control myself around Bo Randolph. But well that's just me.
They spend a lot of time trying to do the friend thing. Their attraction is undeniable. Bo feels like he could ruin AM if they were together. He's never done a relationship and I told you, the boy is hiding his own secret. He wants her though, and as much as she doesn't want to admit it, she wants him too.
I love their friendship. I love how they learn to trust each other. And when they finally give in to their attraction, damn. Their first time scene is uber steamy. Bo is the stuff all amazing book boyfriends are made of.
Of course there is the bump. I kept wanting to read ahead, to make sure everything would work at. Which is probably why I finished reading so fast. But, the bump just made you realize how much they care for each other and need to be together.
There is also the matter of AMs unwillingness to confront the rumor that threatens to ruin the rest of her time in college. I have to say, when AM finally takes care of that business, I had to cheer for the girl. What she does is brave and brilliant.
Together Bo and AM made each other stronger. They loved each other in spite of their flaws, in spite of the rumors, and in spite of the fear they could ruin each other.
I think the book also addressed the social problems of rumors and bullying. Clearly, it doesn't end in high school. AM was dealing with a horrible form of bullying. I hope other girls reading this book take a page from AM's story and know that they can be strong and stand up for themselves. Given what she dealt with, AM was a brave character females can look up to. Kudos to Jen Frederick.
I loved the story. I definitely thought AM was a kick ass girl, but more importantly, Bo Randolph makes an incredible first book boyfriend of 2014.
And one last thing......Karma is a bitch....isn't it lax boys?
Also, I should mention, this is the second book in a series. I did not know this until I was halfway through. My book partner in crime told me. The first book is about Bo's best friend Noah. So yes, I will be reading that next.
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