Before getting into my review, I have a confession to make: When I signed up to promote this book, I didn't realize that it was a YA (borderline NA) romance. I have nothing against YA/NA in general, and I've read some truly remarkable YA/NA novels over the years (Flat-Out Love
by Jessica Park comes to mind). That said, the truth is that I've moved away from both YA and NA as I've gotten older. I just can't relate to the characters the way I used to, and I find it difficult to empathize with their sometimes immature decisions and what seems to me to be a penchant for needless drama. My point is that I am not the target audience for "Undeniable," and it would be wise to read my review with that in mind.
Overall, "Undeniable" was a sweet, fast-paced read featuring relatively likeable characters, and I think there are plenty of YA/NA fans who will enjoy it. Unfortunately, the book was not a very good match for me. There were too many inconsistencies and things that didn't make sense, though to be fair, I read an ARC and some of these things could have been revised prior to publication.
My biggest issue with the book is the fact that the female lead, Anna, didn't ask more questions about her best friend Spencer's scheme before agreeing to go along with it. It seems pretty obvious to me that Anna should have heard about the "rule" that Spencer's older brother Blake had to be dating someone before Spencer was allowed to date long ago if it actually existed. Besides that, why didn't she ask why it was necessary to trick Blake along with
Spencer's father rather than bringing him in on the scheme?
Aside from that, there were a number of story details that I found confusing. For example, early in the book it was mentioned that Blake lived in the dorms, but for some reason he was always at Spencer's dad's house anyway. Later on, he moves out to live with a friend from work and eventually enrolls in culinary school (after randomly developing an interest in baking 85% of the way through the book). Was Blake ever actually in college or living anywhere besides Spencer's dad's house? Speaking of Spencer's dad's house, why was Anna allowed to randomly hang out there whether Spencer was home or not? They even left Anna there alone when they went grocery shopping at one point. I know they're best friends, but it still seemed weird to me.
Aside from that, there were a number of story details that I found confusing. For example, early in the book it was mentioned that Blake lived in the dorms, but for some reason he was always at Spencer's dad's house anyway. Later on, he moves out to live with a friend from work and eventually enrolls in culinary school (after randomly developing an interest in baking 85% of the way through the book). Was Blake ever actually in college or living anywhere besides Spencer's dad's house? Speaking of Spencer's dad's house, why was Anna allowed to randomly hang out there whether Spencer was home or not? They even left Anna there alone when they went grocery shopping at one point. I know they're best friends, but it still seemed weird to me.
At any rate, even though this book wasn't a great match for me, I'm sure there are plenty of YA/NA fans out there who will enjoy it. I would pick up another one of J.C. Carter's books in the future, provided the characters were a bit closer to my own age. ;-)
*ARC provided by the author via Grey's Promotions. All opinions expressed are my own.
About "Undeniable"
Anna has never paid much attention to Blake. He's always just been there. Her best friend Spencer's big brother.
But when she agrees to fake date him to help Spencer out, she realizes that Blake may just be exactly what she's always wanted.
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