My 5 star review of Jake Understood by Penelope Ward

My 5 star review of Jake Understood

Make no mistake, I laid claim to Jake Green back in October of 2013. I thought I loved Christian Grey, and I was sure I loved Travis Maddox, and I was totally head over heels for Nate McKenna- but I was wrong. After my hands were on Jake- just figuratively of course, I only had eyes for him. And while book boyfriends come and go, Jake Green remains. In the first story of Jake- it was Undone. As in, readers didn’t actually get a glimpse into Jake’s mind during the story, and while Nina is an amazing and wonderful character- I really wanted to know what Jake was all about and what he was feeling. And thank Christ; Penelope made Jake Understood, because now I finally know what he was thinking, and more. Because while this is very much a POV change from Jake Undone and a companion novel- it is like a whole new story, a breath of fresh air into the Jake and Nina world, and then some.

In my honest opinion- Penelope Ward can do no wrong. Let me rephrase- SHE CAN DO NO WRONG. She writes eloquently and with such thought put into her concepts, it’s absolutely beautiful. And not only over the last two years has she been a light for me in the book world, she is an amazingly wonderful human being, with whom I am lucky to call a friend. Gemini was my first Penelope book on a whim, because it had been recommended to me, and I read it for a blog. Then came Jake- and everything after has been glorious.

Jake Green is the quintessential alpha male hero that you would expect from a story, but he is, as Donkey from Shrek would say, a parfait. He has layers. So many layers. And so much so, that we don’t even get to see all of them in Jake Undone. He has demons- that are always there haunting him. And he wants to always do the right thing, and sometimes the right thing can hurt. Hurt you, hurt the ones you love. The poignant retelling of his story really moved me in ways I can’t even begin to explain. I felt more emotion in his story because he is one of my very favorite book characters, come to life. And you can claim characters are not really people at all, but I think that is the furthest thing from the truth that there is. In my mind, Jake exists- and everything that he has been through in his life is very real, to me anyway.

The story basically starts with Nina needing space from Jake for reasons unknown- and many secondary characters come to the rescue and to listen to his story of how he won Nina’s love from the beginning. Skylar, Mitch, Allison, Cedric, and of course Seamus are all there to recount past events- to listen and commiserate, to remember their take on the story, and I absolutely LOVED that. One of my favorite parts throughout were the sweet notes Jake left for Nina, and his mental back and forth “What I almost wrote… What I wished I could have written… What I actually wrote…” Those were genius- and every time he said something that was italicized I melted. For Jake, every time. I can’t pinpoint certain quotes, because then I would be typing out the entire novel. Just know- it’s worth the read.

This story was unputdownable, but then again what story from Penelope isn’t? I need her books, I crave her books, and I am always dumbfounded each time by how wonderful the story is. I have found her books to be so supremely stellar that I have read each one multiple times, and I am sure I have a Jake Understood re-read coming my way soon. It’s sexy, it’s emotional, it’s raw, it’s guttural, its everything you thought you knew about Jake and more. It had the little nuances that make Jake who he is, that make Penelope who she is. It’s so highlightable I selected FIVE PAGES in a row! That’s how damn good the story is, the writing is. And my review may not be descriptive or spoilery, but why would you want to do that anyway? Read it for yourself. And take my word for it- it’s going to be high up on MY top reads for 2015 that’s for sure. Read Jake Undone, then read Jake Understood- and you’ll see. But also know- JAKE GREEN IS MINE 

Jake Undone----> http://www.amazon.com/Jake-Undone-Penelope-Ward-ebook/dp/B00G1Y87GS/ref=sr_1_1_ha?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1427917873&sr=1-1&keywords=jake+undone

Jake Understood-----> http://www.amazon.com/Jake-Understood-Penelope-Ward-ebook/dp/B00VDM5CEI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1427917804&sr=1-1&keywords=jake+understood