Coffee Pot Reviews: Uncharted by Tracey Garvis-Graves & Until Fountain Bridge by Samantha Young

 
Welcome to Coffee Pot Reviews! These are short and sweet reviews done in the length of time it takes my coffee pot to brew! I have two novellas to share with you today both from authors I love. Adult books contain mature content and are not intended for readers under 18 years of age. Grab a cup of coffee and a slice of coffee cake! 

Uncharted: An "On the Island" Novella 
by Tracey Garvis-Graves
Series: On the Island #1.5
Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: July 2, 2013
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Source: Publisher in exchange for unbiased review
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon
*purchases through buy links help support this blog
My review of : On An Island

Tracey Garvis Graves - and Anna and T.J. - return in this companion novella to the New York Times bestseller On the Island. 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. Uncharted includes an early look at Covet, coming September 2013.

I was completely taken by surprise with how much I enjoyed On An Island as it embraced a subject I wasn't sure I could accept. I loved it, adored it and shared it with everyone. I even bought copies for family members at Christmas!  So when the publisher informed me there was a novella that tells the story about some of the mysteries on the island I about flipped at the chance to review it. I devoured Uncharted in one sitting and found Owen's story to be touching, captivating and intense. I loved the growth we see in Owen and enjoyed the tale he shared with us. A lot of the unanswered question I had from Anna and T.J.'s time on the island are answered. Of course it was also delightful to see Anna and T.J. again. Tracey Garvis-Graves has so impressed me with her ability to give you a glimpse into others lives and to share in their experiences. She makes you rethink taboo subjects and the people involved  in them. There is a sneak-peak of her Covet, her next novel due out in September 2013. 

Three and half cups of mocha coffee out of five

Until Fountain Bridge
by Samantha Young
Series: On Dublin Street #1.6
Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: June 18, 2013
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon
*purchases made through buy links support this blog
My review: On Dublin Street (book #1)
My review: Down London Road (book #2)

Ellie Carmichael had a crush on Adam Sutherland, her brother, Braden’s, best friend, for years, and although Adam treated her with proprietary concern he made it clear he thought of her only as a little sister. Over the years, as Ellie’s crush develops into love, her romantic idealism makes it difficult for her to move on. To make matters worse, as she’s gotten older, Adam’s attitude has changed toward her. His affection for her is now joined by attraction, but his loyalty to Braden, and his fear of losing the only family he has, stops him from claiming Ellie the way she wishes he would.  But one night his attraction is put to the test, and as much as Adam would like things to remain the same everything changes between them in a simple brush of the lips. Soon lust, love, jealousy and heartbreak combine to force change upon their relationship… and Adam discovers the hard way that life is too damn short to spend it on regret.

So far I have read and loved On Dublin Street and Down London Road and while Ellie and Adam were present in both books, we never really got their back story. Until Fountain Bridge delivers just that through some flashbacks using Ellie's diaries as a guide. It was sweet, tender and adorable giving us a glimpse at Ellie and her crush on Adam through the years. I enjoyed reading about their interactions. Fans of the series will enjoy this short and sweet novella. I read this in under an hour and laughed, giggled and sighed. 

Three and half cups of coffee out of five

Waiting on Wednesday #33

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme

 hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine

Sweet Peril
by Wendy Higgins
Series: The Sweet Trilogy #2
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication date: April 30, 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository

Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things.  Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind. When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

I am looking forward to seeing how this tale further develops, while I am team Kaidan I look forward to Higgins trying to change my mind..LOL

Covet
by Tracey Garvis-Graves
Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: September 3, 2013
Genre: Woman's fiction
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository

From the author of the New York Times bestseller On the Island.  What if the life you wanted, and the woman you fell in love with, belonged to someone else?  Chris and Claire Canton’s marriage is on life support. Downsized during the recession and out of work for a year, Chris copes by retreating to a dark place where no one can reach him, not even Claire. When he’s offered a position that will keep him away from home four nights a week, he dismisses Claire’s concern that time apart could be the one thing their fragile union can’t weather. Their suburban life may look idyllic on the outside, but Claire has never felt so disconnected from Chris, or so lonely. Local police officer Daniel Rush used to have it all, but now he goes home to an empty house every night. He pulls Claire over during a routine traffic stop, and they run into each other again at the 4th of July parade. When Claire is hired to do some graphic design work for the police department, her friendship with Daniel grows, and soon they’re spending hours together. Claire loves the way Daniel makes her feel, and the way his face lights up when she walks into the room. Daniel knows that Claire’s marital status means their relationship will never be anything other than platonic. But it doesn’t take long before Claire and Daniel are in way over their heads, and skating close to the line that Claire has sworn she’ll never cross.

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed On an Island (see my review) and impressed with how the author addressed this taboo subject, so when I saw Covet I knew that despite my distaste for the subject matter that I had to see how the author presents it.

What book(s) are you waiting on??

On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

On the Island
by Tracey Garvis Graves
Standalone
Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: July 17, 2012
Genre: Adult Romance/Chick-Lit
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository

Two people stranded on an island struggle to survive—and slowly fall in love—in the runaway New York Times bestseller, now available with a reading group guide and a letter from the author

Anna Emerson is a thirty-year-old English teacher desperately in need of adventure. Worn down by the cold Chicago winters and a relationship that’s going nowhere, she jumps at the chance to spend the summer on a tropical island tutoring sixteen-year-old T.J.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to go anywhere. His cancer is in remission and he wants to get back to his normal life. But his parents are insisting he spend the summer in the Maldives catching up on all the school he missed last year.

Anna and T.J. board a private plane headed to the Callahan’s summer home, and as they fly over the Maldives’ twelve hundred islands, the unthinkable happens. Their plane crashes in shark-infested waters. They make it to shore, but soon discover that they’re stranded on an uninhabited island.

At first, their only thought is survival. But as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.’s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

I was approached by the publisher to review On the Island and did not really know much about it, but the synopsis intrigued me. I can definitely understand why this made the New York Times bestseller’s list. Tracey Garvis-Graves delivers a powerful, taboo romance that will have you rethinking age old opinions. I was completely captivated from page one and consumed this in a single evening.

Anna Emerson is at a crossroads in her life. She wants children and marriage, but the man she has been in a relationship with for eight years doesn’t want to commit.  At thirty-one her biological clock is screaming and she decides to accept a summer job tutoring T.J. a sixteen year old boy who’s recently recovered from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. She will be spending the summer on a tropical island with them far from her life at home. She plans to use the time to reflect and make decisions regarding the relationship. T.J and Anna travel from Chicago to the islands. On the final leg of their trip, they fly in a private charter over the Maldives  islands. It is here that the unthinkable happens. The plan crashes and they find themselves on a desert island. The tale that unfolds is fascinating, beautiful, sad, scary, and wonderfully touching.

The characters were fully developed and I had a strong sense of who they were. I connected with Anna and really liked her. T.J. was sweet and brave. He seemed to accept the way things were, and rather than dwelling on how bad their situation was he worked to improve them. The tale is told in alternating POV’s and this really helped me connect with them. The romance that develops is sweet. What? Wait aren’t they sixteen and thirty..eww! That was my first thought too, but this is not insta-love and it took years to develop and it felt so genuine, believable and right. For those who are still freaking out, I will tell you nothing happen until T.J. was nineteen. They are normal, functional people who found strength, friendship and compassion from each other. It was beautiful and I loved their story.

The world building and Graves writing style were smashing. I became completely swept up in the first few pages, and didn’t surface until the last page. Questions raced through my mind as I read; Would they be saved? Would their love survive if they left the island? It’s the kind of tale that is so surreal and makes you think about their circumstances. Could I survive on a desert island, let alone a day without soap? Could I even make a fire? The tale itself spans several years and I was intrigued by island life and how they survived. Some scenes I found awkward, maybe because they were awkward for the characters. Overall, they added to the believability. It’s wonderful when an author makes you fully invested in two characters and their romance.

I highly recommend On an Island to fans of contemporary romances, survival tales and chick-lit. I will definitely be reading more of Graves work. Her next book Covet will be released in the summer of 2013 and will deal with adultery. Adultery in novels is a real turn off for me so I am anxious to see if she can take me out of my comfort zone again. 

I want to thank Plume/Penguin for sending me this finished copy in exchange for my unbiased review. *Purchases made through the buy links on this site earn a small commission and help fund giveaways.

I gave this novel 4.5 coffee cups out of 5.