![Downed by Jen Frederick](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ph%2Bu7LICL.jpg)
And I must admit that Ms. Frederick had me rather mystified at the beginning as well. DOWNED seemed to me at first so surreal, that I was wondering if Bryant was a faerie or some sort of paranormal creature, but no. Bryant’s whole “bad boy whispering” feels strange until, as the story progresses, I understood what she was doing and why she was doing it. Not that this surreal feeling was unpleasant, it was odd, but still fun. I presume that DOWNED is classified as a sports romance, and I must say Ms. Frederick’s knowledge of football is impressive, and while there is quite a bit of football talk, a reader who knows – or cares - nothing about the game, will enjoy the book just as well, because it is about the characters.
From the quirkiness of the beginning, the story moves quickly to a very atypical bad boy-good girl trope. Bryant is a very good girl, and Ace is more of a bad boy serious about changing his ways; he is well-intentioned, but his teammates ignore him, and he is actually willing to improve himself. The characters are very well drawn, from the principals to bit players: Coach Johnson is fabulous; Bryant is intriguing and splendidly southern; Ace is just wonderfully complex, and I loved how his interactions with his new teammates were handled.
I must say I was very pleasantly surprised with DOWNED. It is extremely well written – and superbly edited - the narrative flows smoothly, and the dialogues are excellent. I really got the feeling that the characters were young, but not clueless, as they often feel in New Adult novels, the dialogues also suited every character, there was a difference in the voices. A very serious issue is tackled when it comes to Bryant’s family, and I suppose this would be a trigger for some people, so beware, but it happened in the past and there is nothing graphic, but it touched a few people deeply, as it should have. I thought that issue was handled with a lot of care and compassion by the author and the characters. DOWNED feels to me exactly what I have always looked for in a New Adult novel. I loved how the characters naturally evolved, nothing felt manufactured. DOWNED is a fabulous, fabulous book: fun, surprisingly deep, with great character development! Ms. Frederick was a new author to me, and what an introduction!
View all my reviews
About the author
![Jen Frederick](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51U83qfg8LL._UX250_.jpg)
Jen Frederick: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
About the reviewer
Monique Daoust: Facebooks - Twitter - Goodreads
Find Deanna around SOCIAL MEDIA:
![blogger](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQARG502JwG9b2XSRWY4MHTR3yRlUrW03mCKyvBBPFTDAbp59hZuqYyflxDmYn1Hsa5Phb7pcz1N_Cc_nwLyAkbtpG8Alw-wZe-i3jWco6VrJnpUIFTi1j06VK4h2UlHhEFZ0Ec8tkr4WR/s1600/Blogger+icon.jpg)
![blogger](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQARG502JwG9b2XSRWY4MHTR3yRlUrW03mCKyvBBPFTDAbp59hZuqYyflxDmYn1Hsa5Phb7pcz1N_Cc_nwLyAkbtpG8Alw-wZe-i3jWco6VrJnpUIFTi1j06VK4h2UlHhEFZ0Ec8tkr4WR/s1600/Blogger+icon.jpg)
![rss](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDi16jcU8MG_-FplM3JKO5UO-2JUpQ1OmSXgkPi3Bi0GqOCPDs0cu2iZURVIeKlL76Y-5vtMyzAmRJMfT5M_uP0ARs362Oil_h6TgUE4iCxC5-0lMTgvv-iS8PKwW8V36KpXZK3YtK5THd/s1600/RSS+icon.jpg)
![facebook](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6w1ThLqeGCAwjC9fb-q-vedKX8mlOYTmm9PjzrWm2nnZprXjHj-8T7uvGS9Ih_mjuOCty11VaLyGFOET2PJ1FcTxIiKka3YgvG3E1whdYcRBb-aPuUHvLoqzedbWKAm23TAbWRSZ5xktu/s1600/Facebook+icon.jpg)
![twitter](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVe_Y0X4e5GBkt9ByvYL6_Mj6dKpTNv4iBQfkhdBGJV9ee2rM6dAhmDE86YgC5yDwnjb3zDp9dJgJsq-gF_-rqTI80G4Hkp0D-lJaCOJw91ZCyGgizrpzl5dM-pbx24LHXTgSbGjD3NFp/s1600/Twitter+icon.jpg)
![instagram](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCVeHrzsK540GTfyh_-dX4_cegf3IcR2ZiBccuS0cfssnq3gvQQ85XSVp7WCEzEubB5QNcb6iAdFaWiTjpaqF24Zix5cCGSPUC0nkvVvSjR6ha8vmIPAkXucdqXyIhqvB3Ayi7m3p4RdE/s1600/Instagram+icon.jpg)
![email](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGPvu9TjANYhp1NWOumdMzKQiFjDv7-rqFKxU18DauwB1qKavqChm6CIT_TehvlDmSQXZnWxaPnX3dilJkbaXUXB_0x03vNB7SLif2f6iAFNbPclgmTob1CusQnVpVJj3r8ToBao1oukL/s1600/Email+icon.jpg)
![youtube](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JgRoSbzkR2TyFT3p1w5YckqGzVsicvk_YP7dah95zHcsrNBCDeeNRDFcnl7sQZfsYFvur0uIgqv3YmPJMiOZ_1i23v28xXycYQ9L3_IqLkntfpAm9xyqYyqToSZtyx-i2AH1YuSIxPI9/s1600/YouTube+icon.jpg)
![pinterest](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofncbFxA86CNbHQE8NOt5ekkYtMTu1GPdE6LdWg_iS_shMiLvsgSkSbeEoX52pbRhz43gby92AsrIxdFkcUnLhO3FIsO98USs7T9wIMzBoz65cexLXWA34TxH11RmuKAJvshiGB5gHEii/s1600/Pinterest+icon.jpg)
![google+](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAfEn2YJgEjWhVMo24XChYyupIqRdrUDVjG2xd-3VNCoLFHIxsIkBv4d7SCUbrd7Tk5sYcWLitgh22nAEJM2hrUbtNZhztLdGVMFzuSLogeBBFJwmy6UsAiqHoAOrLJYOJF7zLwFJaNqS2/s1600/Google+Plus+icon.jpg)
![goodreads](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUGRAz1FXyZorxOKWG1BS3yV_zhBj7AyIf1bc4cdtYe35WGzOdwlZfHeXXF4T_Pq9I8WAjWf1z7Xx329szHcCFNXmSfRuBdFJmBXrHXJWLpgxW3hSs5lXYSCCqLkaqrByuE__TNti3Zyq/s1600/Goodreads+icon.jpg)
Great review Monique I really enjoy a good sports story I need to add this one to the never ending list :)
ReplyDeleteHave Fun
Helen
I love a good sports story too. This one is going on my never-ending list.
Delete