UNCHARTED BY ERIN CASHMAN
Genre: YA, Mystery, Paranormal
Publication Date: September 4 2018
Source: Page Street Publishing in return for an honest review
Synopsis:
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.
*I would like to thank Page Street for the chance to read and review this book in return for my honest opinion!*
This story was a unique blend of Irish myth, mystery and family/friendships. It came as a complete surprise to me as I had not heard much about it before I was sent the ARC. I was drawn in from the very beginning with the mystery that was set into motion and has you guessing the entire story of what is actually happening. I thought I had it figured out multiple times, but was shocked with the twists and turns. There is such a dreamy element to this story and it is enhanced by the layer of Irish myth that is woven throughout the story. I thought Cashman did a fantastic job with the development of the myth and loved the fantastical elements that were dreamed up to build this story.
Other than the mythology and fantastical elements that helped to drive forward the story and the mystery, there was secret societies, family, friendship, and romance. I loved that Cashman was able to incorporate so many different elements into the book and I thought it made for such a unique and rich novel! Annabeth and Griffin were such interesting characters. The family ties and the characters background together were really intriguing and were played out so well. It was those ties that were important to the storyline and were an aspect so well crafted by Cashman. Although I did enjoy the characters and their development through the story my favorite part was the background story.
Overall Uncharted had captivated me from the very beginning and did not let me go until the very end. The mystery and secrets pull you into the story of Annabeth, Griffin and their families and it is the ongoing mystery of solving the issues that arise and the fantastical elements that provide a dream like vision that have you transported into the story. I highly recommend this book and think it is a must read of 2018!
