I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
"Uncharted"
in eBook edition on November 5, 2012 and has 34 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads
First in the Bytes of Life short stories series, which is a character-developing companion series to their full-novel Countermeasure series; a prequel to Countermeasure.
Personally, I see it as a way to force their readers to part with more cash. (Yeah, they say it’s free. For now. Once they get you hooked…) The Almeidas claim it’s a way to develop and provide insight into their characters. Yeah, right. Do it in the damn book…!
They also claim this contains EROTIC content. Well, yes, there is a sex scene, but nothing you won’t find in many romance novels. Just sayin’…
My Take
I’d consider this more of a prologue as it introduces you to the suspense of what is coming. It is really well done, which is why it gets the “5”. It still bugs me, though, that they’re forcing their readers [and me!] into buying these shorts… AA have warned that they will be referring to events/characters in these shorts in their main series. Nothing like a little extortion, eh…
I know, I’m almost whining for 29-pages’ worth, so I’ll shut up. For the moment. Thank god for computers so I can edit this out after I’ve vented my spleen!
AA do set the hook and create the suspense beautifully. It starts off delicately, giving the reader just enough to start, to question, and then to realize with a growing horror just what Conor and Maeve intend to do.
The goodbyes were enough to make me cry with such an incredible feel for how a parent would truly feel in a situation like this.
The Story
Some threat hangs over Conor and Maeve. One they can only escape via drastic measures.
The Characters
Conor has a successful company, Brennan Enterprises, and adores his wife Maeve. Trevor is the only child they had; he works somewhere on the East Coast in America
Stephan Connellan has been Conor’s friend and partner for over twelve years.
Captain Simon O’Brian seems to run the marina where the Brennans dock their boat, the Morrígan. Roisin is O’Brian’s wife.
The Cover and Title
The cover is — whoa — busy. There’s a couple embracing — I’ll assume it’s Conor and Maeve. In front of them is the Morrígan on a slant sailing through the water. On top of that is an angled bit of white binary code on a transparent background. Then follow that up with four different fonts. I’m exhausted.
Oh, yeah, it’s an “Uncharted” course all right.
