Monday 22 July 2013

Review: Uncharted


When twenty-three-year-old dot-com millionaire Owen Sparks walked away from his charmed life, he had one goal in mind: get as far away as possible from the people who resented his success, or had their hand out for a piece of it. A remote uncharted island halfway around the world seemed like a perfectly logical place to get away from it all.

Calia Reed wasn't part of Owen's plans. The beautiful British girl - on holiday in the Maldives with her brother, James - made Owen wonder if getting away from it all might be a lot more enjoyable with a carefree girl who didn't know anything about the life he left behind.

But Owen had no idea how much his carefully detailed plans would go awry. Nor did he realize that a decision he made would have such a catastrophic effect on two passengers who boarded a plane in Chicago.

And when Owen shows up at Anna and T.J.'s door with an incredible story to tell, everyone involved will learn just how much their lives are intertwined.

Title: Uncharted (On the Island ~ Book 1.5)
Author: Tracey Garvis Graves | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: July 8 2013
Publisher: Penguin
Length: 160 Pages
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Source: Purchased (Kindle Edition)
Cover Love: Simple and fitting
Point of View: Alternating 1st person between Owen, Anna and T.J. - But mostly Owen

My Rating: 5 Stars

I was so very happy to be able to dive right back into the world that Tracey Garvis Graves had created in On the Island.  I knew going into Uncharted that it was a novella, and I attempted to lower my expectations.  It is difficult to get a story told in so few pages.  And although I was sad when it ended, and could easily have seen this turned into a full length novel, Graves was still able captivate me from the beginning to the end.

“When you have nothing, everything feels like something.”

In On the Island, we met Bones, a skeleton that Ann and T.J. came across in a small cave.  We also know that there was a run down shack on the island, along with a variety of other items.  Ever wonder who Bones was, or who built the shack and left those items?  Well wonder no further...

Uncharted takes place shortly after On the Island's epilogue ended.  Owen goes to Anna and T.J. to explain his story and to offer to T.J. a chance to face his demons.

I really liked Owen, I liked the simpleness of what he was trying to accomplish in his life and to see how through his eyes the island took on a whole new persona.  In book one, the island quickly becomes your enemy.  It is what is killing Anna and T.J.  But for Owen it was sought out as a place of refuge and self-discovery.  I also really enjoyed seeing his own love story unfold with Calia.

This is truly Owen's story however, and even though Anna and T.J. are a witness to the telling there is not a lot of character development with them.    Which I am perfectly fine with.  It was brilliant to see them again, even if only for short moments.  Their story has been told with the most beautiful happy ever after, it was time now for us to see if Owen could also get his.

I know some people are put off by novellas, but please read this if you read Uncharted.  Yes, it has a completely different feel to it but it was still wonderful.

“Why are you crying?” he asks.

“Don’t worry, she says.  “They’re happy tears.  There’s nothing I love more than a good happy ending.”

MORE QUOTES FROM UNCHARTED

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