Friday, February 8, 2019

Review: Uncharted

Uncharted
Erin Cashman
Published September 4, 2018
Seventeen-year-old Annabeth prefers the fantasy of her books and paintings to reality—because in reality, her mom is dead, and it was all her fault. When she accompanies her father to the funeral of some family friends who drowned, she’s surprised to find her grief reflected in the face of Griffin Bradford, the son of the couple who died. Griffin is nothing like the carefree boy she once knew. Now he’s irritable, removed, and he’s under police investigation for his parents’ deaths.

One night following the memorial service, Annabeth’s dad goes missing in the woods, and she suspects Griffin knows more about the disappearance than he’s letting on. He refuses to answer her questions, particularly those related to the mysterious “expedition” his parents took to Ireland, where they went missing for seven months.

Annabeth fears her father isn’t lost, but rather a victim of something sinister. She launches her own investigation, tracing clues that whisper of myth and legend and death, until she stumbles upon a secret. One that some would die to protect, others would kill to expose—and which twists Annabeth’s fantasy and reality together in deadly new ways. - from Goodreads
Annabeth and her father are visiting family friend Griffin Bradford, whose parents have recently died, when her father disappears from the Bradford manor.  While searching for him, Annabeth learns that her father and his friends may have been involved in something much more mysterious and fantastical than she could have ever imagined.

I really wanted to love this book - the premise sounds so intriguing, particularly the way myths and legends are involved.  Unfortunately, this one let me down a little.

Some things that didn't work for me:

- The romance.  I really could have done without it.  It's just another example of when the main character can't get over how cute the love interest is while people are being kidnapped or murdered.  And Griffin was the stereotypical YA "hero" - thinking he's always right, not telling Annabeth things under the guise of trying to protect her.
- The pacing.  It took SO LONG for things to start happening, and then it was just a lot of repetitiveness of Annabeth trying to figure out what this mysterious "expedition" entailed.  There were bursts of action and conflict, but I felt like they were resolved too easily.
- Annabeth.  I liked certain things about her (she holds onto a lot of guilt surrounding her mother's death, she had a mental break at one point), but there were just trivial things that annoyed me.  Like, way too many mentions of how much she loves coconut iced coffee and desserts.  It just made her seem shallow.

But, there were some things I enjoyed:

- I think the blurb leaves out a big element of the novel, which is the group called the Magellans, a club started by Annabeth's father and his friends in college in order to explore and research various legends and myths around the world.  The idea behind this group was so cool, and I liked the way it played into the story.  A mysterious island, genetic experiments - I wanted more of it!
- It was a very quick read, even though it's not a short book.

3 stars

29 comments:

  1. Oh no I'm so disappointed to see this was a let-down :( The cover is lovely, and that premise had me intrigued. But repetitiveness is always a bad sign. And the romance sounds problematic.

    Hope your next read is better!

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  2. I had my eye on this one, but ultimately ended up passing on it, because of reviews like this. I am glad you found some things to like, though.

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    1. Yeah, it definitely wasn't a bad read, just a bit disappointing.

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  3. I'm sorry to hear this wasn't a better read for you. I think the pacing issues would have bothered me as well and definitely the way the romance is presented. The Magellans club does sound pretty interesting though.

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    1. I know, I wanted way more of the club and less of Annabeth.

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  4. I knew it!!! As I was reading the summary I was sure the romance was going to get in the way of things. I'm not surprised that Annabeth came off as shallow seeing that she was so focused on the cute guy. lol. Why do we want to know how much she liked coconut iced coffee? Is that even a thing? The club the parents were a part of sounds cool. Not what I was expecting. I was thinking more like they can do magic so I like that it is different to my expectations.

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    1. Yes, I think I was also expecting more magical realism. Ugh, the romance, can we just not?

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  5. Bummer that this was a disappointed! I've been really curious about this one, but I agree the things that didn't work for you are pretty frustrating. I wish more authors decided to just nix romance, or at least make it less prominent. I do like the sound of the Magellans, though!

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    1. I know, there doesn't need to be a romance in every book!

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  6. Too bad about it not living up to the anticipation you had early on. I think those niggles you felt about the main characters probably would have distracted me from fully enjoying the story, too.

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  7. I love that cover. I think the pacing would be a problem for me though. Glad it wound up being a quick read at least!

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  8. Aw, this is disappointing! It's too bad that the romance wasn't great. :/ The pacing definitely would've made me consider giving up, to be honest!

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  9. I almost grabbed this pre-order and not sure why I didn't think I might read this one still. At least it went by fast for you. Sorry it wasn't stellar tho and right now I want my books to grab me because I just don't have enough time with school for them not to.

    Mary

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    1. Yes, your time is precious! I would say read it if you're still interested!

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  10. I really like the cover! I'm sorry there were a few negatives for you. Although, an unnecessary romance is always a turn off for me. Also, if someone kidnaps and/or tries to murder you, there should be no romantic thoughts (I know you said this was happening around them, but still). The Macho Man thing really annoys me, too. Bummer this one wasn't a better fit!

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. Ugh, so macho man. I hate when men decide for you what they think is best and don't even give you a chance!

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  11. the premise does sound good so it's a bit sad that the book fell flat D: that romance though, eak

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    1. For me, it was just so unnecessary, and then it was so problematic, too.

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  12. I'm sorry it was a let down! But yay that it was a quick read and omg the cover is so beautiful and atmospheric!

    Uma@Books.Bags.Burgers.

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  13. The premise does sound intriguing, so I'm sorry it didn't work out. The club sounds like such a cool addition too

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  14. I was really excited for this but then it came out and I got swept away by other books, sadly! And I just wasn't sure, to be honest. The plot point about the Magellans is actually really intriguing to me, so if I do read it will have a lot to do with that- your mention of an island and experiments- yeah that sounds like something I'd like. :)

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  15. Thanks for your thoughts on this one! I had my eye on it at one point but may steer clear of it, for now.

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I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!