He's Come UndoneAuthor: Theresa Weir
Published by: Belfry Press
Publication Date: February 27, 2014
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Penniless and behind on rent, college student and once famous child actress Ellie Barlow takes on the role of a lifetime when she's hired by a group of young women to break the heart of the campus player who cruelly dumped them.
Transformed from slob slacker to jaw-dropping beauty, Ellie is dressed, styled, bleached and waxed, her chunky glasses exchanged for violet contacts. Along with physical prepping, she's coached on Julian's obsessions, which include long-distance running, Doctor Who, and J.D. Salinger.
In no time, Julian is in pursuit of his custom-made next victim, but when Ellie goes off script and begins to fall for her target the newest broken heart in this risky game could be her own.
When I read what He’s Come Undone was about, the movie John Tucker Must Die immediately came to mind. Not going to lie, I’ll stop and watch the movie if I come across it on TV. So yes, I like the premise and thought I’d get something simple and a little corny (I like corny sometimes). He’s Come Undone turned out to be different than I expected, which I ended up really liking. It was fun, but it was also more serious.
Ellie is a former child star who is down on her luck and needs to make some money quick so she can get back into college, so she answers an ad in Craigslist. No, not that kind of ad, pervs. It’s an acting job with a twist. A group of girls want to hire her to get revenge on Julian, a guy who slept with them and left them. What a jerk, right? Well, hold your horses, because there is more to it than just their take on it. Anyway, they want Ellie to become Julian’s ideal woman and then break his heart. Nothing can go wrong with that plan, right? Right?
What made this book even better was the fact that it was told form both Ellie and Julian’s point of view, but mostly Ellie. When we first get into the story, it’s easy to assume things when we only know one side. Once we get to see situations from Julian’s side, it puts things more in perspective and gives a lot more understanding to what was going on. I don’t want to say specifically what was going on when it came to his side of things, but I think the author handled it really well. Julian isn’t some mysterious bad boy that has angst coming out his pores. No, he actually has a great personality. I mean, c’mon, the guy runs cross country, loves Doctor Who and J.D. Salinger.
Ellie and Julian are cute together. Even though she is set-up in situations that may not fully be the real her to catch his interest, her true personality eventually comes out with him. That is when things get really complicated, because the feelings that develop are very much real. This leads them into dicey territory that could have a bigger impact than Ellie could ever imagine.
I did have an issue with one aspect. I didn’t understand why he needed to run the marathon so badly when he was in the midst of cross country season. I understand how running made him feel, but he didn’t give a reason exactly why the marathon was so important, and I think what happened at the race was a bit overdone.
Overall, though, I enjoyed He’s Come Undone. It’s a quick read that left me with a smile.
Love John Tucker Must Die..lol. This does sound like fun.
I love that stupid movie. lol
I totally thought about John Tucker too when I saw this book. I am actually reading it soon and I am excited. I am surprised it got so serious though.
Yeah, it has a serious drama side to it. As soon as you get the first of his POV you’ll see where it’s heading.
Alright I am starting to get jealous of all these fab reads you are reading lately, especially because I know most of them, if not all of them are waiting for me in my TBR pile.
I think I need another month dedicated to just my TBR pile again.
Well this one is good, but make sure Tangled is above all of them. 😉
Ali, I’m checking to see if my comment reply notifications are working … let me know if you get this reply.
I see them just fine!! 🙂
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Sure did!
Seriously^^^ Just added yet ANOTHER book to my wishlist b/c despite an arbitrary need to run a marathon, this still sounds like a lot of fun. Great review!
It’s fun with a dish of drama. 😉
I’ve not seen John Tucker, so I’m a little lost on the fascination. 🙂 This sounds enjoyable enough but I’ve passed on stories (there are too many of them) along this plot line.
Great review, C. 🙂
Joy … you’ve never watched John Tucker? That’s unfortunate. It’s one of those cult movies that is irresistible. lol.
Two points of view! I’m starting to really enjoy this. The few books I’ve listened with 2 points of view I have really enjoyed. I need to keep my eyes on this one.
Thanks Christy 🙂
I’ve never listened to an audio with two different POVs. Does the narrator do both?
Yes, each do both, When they are good is great! But if easy to miss this kind of narration because it can feel very choppy if one of the narrators does horrible female/male voices. The perfect example for a great execution of two points of view is The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay. I lOVE that one 🙂
Sorry, no, they have a male and a female narrator in most cases.
Check .. did you get this reply?
Sea of Tranquility is on my must-read list. Maybe I’ll try the audio, or listen to a sample first.
Dude can I buy you a zombie book or two? This does sound lighter and fun, I could handle this one and the dude sounds awesome. I can totally like a guy who loves J.D. Salinger!
Depends. Are the zombies in love?
I can’t tell you how many times I have put John Tucker Must Die I have put it on tv even when I was watching something else. I love that movie. I am putting this book on my TBR just based on that alone! I also really like the dual narrative. This is quickly becoming one my favorite setups.
Great review. Thanks for sharing this book with me Christy.
Michelle @ Book Briefs
lol! It’s one of those movies you can’t NOT watch. The dual narrative definitely makes it better.
A cross-country-running, Doctor-Who-loving J.D. Salinger fan? Well now I’m curious. 😀 You’re not the only one who will stop and watch John Tucker Must Die. I have a strange weakness for that movie. Normally, I don’t like that stuff in my books though, but I think this sounds like something worth stepping out of the comfort zone for. Thanks for sharing, Christy! And lovely review. 🙂
I know, right? lol.
Oh that sounds like fun. (and yeah with ya I totally stop whenever I see that movie!) glad this one has some serious with it too though 🙂
This does sound good, and I think I would like Ellie and Julian. I hear Weir is a must-read author. I have a few of her novellas. Thanks for the review!
This is the first book I’ve read by her, but I’d read another based on this experience. 🙂
This does sound like John Tucker Must Die! I’m glad it was a bit more than that though. And ooh a boy that likes Doctor Who? Nice!
Heh – Any boy who loves DW is good in my eyes. 😀
Mhm… didn’t see John Tucker Must Die. I know, iFail moment, lol.
I’d like to give this a try, I mean you said the magic word “drama”, lol. No romance is good romance unless people suffer miserably at some point during the story. I’m an evil reader, lol, I know 😀 But unless they suffer, it doesn’t seem authentic to me. A shrink would have a field day with that last statement right there, right?
Loved the review, and I so just realized it’s been AGES since I trolled around your blog! iSuck, but I’m on the right track now 😀
Livia! Long time no see. 🙂 Oh, you have to watch John Tucker. It’s not like it’s an Oscar winner or anything, but it’s one you can’t NOT watch. Exactly, there needs to be some drama to make it interesting. 😉
I have this on my kindle, just waiting to get in the mood for NA but I liked the author’s Cool Cats series. I’m not a big NA reader but I’ll give this a shot because of the author. Nowadays I’ll only read NA if I liked the author before or have been recommended by reviewers I trust. I’m glad you enjoyed this one Christy! Makes me excited to read it 🙂 I liked John Tucker Must Die too hehe
I haven’t read anything else by this author yet, but this experience was good enough to have me wanting to read more. 😉
it sounds ok. I don’t think I ever read a book about this topic so it could be interesting to do so. I’m glad you enjoyed it despite some little things but it’s almost nothing. Thanks for the nice review, I didn’t know this one.
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Any book that can make me smile is a worthwhile read in my opinion. I’m on a bit of a light & fun kick lately, after struggling through THE KING last week, so I’ll definitely be adding this one to the list. Thanks for the review!
lol – Tangled by Emma Chase would be perfect for you right now if you haven’t read it already.
Sounds like a good read to me. Loved John Tucker Must Die, probably because I used to fawn over Jesse Metcalf on Desperate Housewives. lol…
Lol – I never watched Desperate Housewives, but I did see clips of him on the show.
Do we get reasons for why he slept with all these girls originally? He’s not high on my list of favorite people after reading that, but then it wouldn’t be much of a story if there was something redeemable about him for Ellie to fall in love with, so I guess I just need to read and fine out:) Thanks for the lovely review Christy!
Yes, and it’s actually a very interesting, the author did a really good job with his issues. He’s a really good guy. And he saw the situations differently as the girls did, so he didn’t even know they were so pissed. But there’s more to it.
I avoid anything corny, but this sounds fun, I’ll check it out :). The only thing I remember from that movie is that hot actor ;D
Not gunna lie i’m a fan of John Tucker Must Due, too and whenever it’s on TV i will go and watch it LOL so i like the premise of this one. Although i’m having a hard time believing that a formal child actress isn’t all hot from the get go! I mena C’MON! She was on sets all the time, why didn’t she know about makeup and hair and stuff?
Either way i’m probably adding this too my kindle!
Lily @ Lilysbookblog
Great Review Christy! This sounds like such a good story! I love the fact that this story turned out different then you were expecting! Its always fun when a story surprises me. It’s great when you can get the dual perspectives of both main characters, and especially in this type of story, I would be curious about Julian’s viewpoint! Thanks so much for sharing Christy 🙂
Hehe!! This sounds like fun too Christy!! What are you doing to me and my TBR!! I love how the girls are getting revenge on Julian, only for them to fall for each other… and my mind was in the gutter about the ad too!!
Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace
I love books with a premise like this. You should read Girls Love Travis Walker, it’s really good
I love that movie, it was so much fun! Sounds like a cute read, Christy, lad you enjoyed it! 🙂
interesting, was curious about this one. Glad to hear it wasn’t something you expected. Will have to check it out.
The marathon thing sounds odd.
That movie!!!! I watch it Every. Single. Time. This is going on my reading list right now.
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