Readers who enjoy emotionally intense reads that break your heart one moment and make you cheer the next will be drawn to Uncharted by Claudia Burgoa. Keep reading to get a glimpse of this third installment in the Unexpected series, along with my impressions of it. Get acquainted with the previous books in the series too and add all of them to your bookshelf as each is on sale for $0.99. In honor of this book release make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win a $25 GC too!
Jacob
As a rule, men don’t grow up believing in a happily ever after. We don’t believe in meeting the love of our lives or the white picket fence, and 2.5 children. Every man thinks that those stupid dreams or fantasies are just nonexistent shit until it happens to them. We should have been forewarned.
I wish I was prepared for someone to appear in my life and change all my priorities. I suddenly wanted that fence and children. The part of meeting the love of my life became very real, but I wasn’t ready for suddenly losing it all, and my life plummeting into this shithole forever.
The heartbreak of losing your soulmate is one of the worst pains you will ever live with. I should campaign and warn the young people. Vaccinate against love because if you lose it, you could lose yourself for the rest of your life. The burden on your back will forever mark you and wither away your soul, darkening your days and the rest of your natural life.
This isn’t false advertisement or a dramatic display of one bitter soul.
Pria
I fought by my mother's side until her last breath, and tried to help my father until his last memories dissipated. My sister is the last one standing, but her life is a miracle that can end at any given moment. All my life I’ve never been alone, but always felt lonely.
Today, my options on how to live my life are endless, yet my heart and my best friend limit them. Stay in Seattle, close to the one person that will never let me inside his world.
The thug, as mom would've called him. A man with a bad boy attitude and a heart bigger than the ocean.
EXCERPT:
JACOB
“Can we order them online?” Matthew whines while waving the booklist in front of me. We could, with a few clicks and a credit card, but I want to have the whole college experience, and that includes the campus bookstore. “Think about the hours of sleep I’ve missed already.”
Not even glancing in his direction, I continue my way to our destination. Moments like these make me wonder if we made the right decision about heading to UW instead of following our sister to UT. AJ would help with babysitting Matthew—and maybe me too. Instead of a dorm, perhaps the parents would’ve leased an apartment for the three of us. She’d clean, I’d help her cook, and we wouldn’t be miles apart.
I won’t ever admit this in front of her, but I miss my sister. We’ve gone months without her because of summer camps or vacations.
However, this situation is different from the others. This time she’s going to be far away for years. Two bachelor’s degrees, a master’s, and whatever else she plans to do with her life. Matthew tried to persuade her not to go to Texas. We even agreed to follow her to any music school that accepted her, but she declined all of them.
As my brother and I discussed our options, Seattle won. Our parents own an apartment they are letting us use, we have access to the recording studios, and our father Chris visits Seattle often. Neither of my parents plan on visiting my sister. Both avoid being seen with us in public. A part of our daily life, living in the shadows because of their fame.
“We’ll go in and out, Matthew James.” I push on the glass door, and as we enter, we both stop in our tracks. The entire place is jam-packed—clearly the first sign we’re in the wrong place and why we should find a way to move in with Princess-bitch. She’s usually the one who keeps us organized. Without her, I have to create my own evil plan. “You get in line, I’ll gather the books.”
“Can we come back at a better time?” He hunches his shoulders, using a dreadful voice.
“No.” I fight the urge to slap him in the back of his head for behaving like a child. “Your job is to stand in line.”
I hurry through the mass of college students, gather the books on the list, and head back to where MJ waits.
“Here, carry your own shit.” I hand him half of the stack and keep the other half. “They’re heavy.”
“Why buy two of each?” That’s a rich question coming from the guy who had issues lending his toys, and sharing his drums, guitar, or any other object he owned.
“For the same reason our parents always bought two or three of each.” He gives me a hooded glare. “You have trouble sharing and making decisions on what you want to do. This is college, not home.”
He shakes his head, rolling his eyes in exasperation. The mane of dreadlocks dangles along with his face. “Dude, I’m not a child anymore. We’ll take one set and save some of that money they gave us.”
I hang my head without uttering a word. He dares to tell me with a straight face that he isn’t a child anymore. The dreadlocks and Jamaican hat imply the opposite. The outfit he wears screams party: “I’m here for the beer, the sex, and whatever else they throw my way.”
“Humor me, MJ. Let’s take both sets.”
I plan on having fun too, because all work and no fun isn’t my game. However, he’s all fun and little work when our parents aren’t around. Just one reason why I’m hauling his ass. The main reason is because I have no fucking idea what I would do without him. This dude and I have never been apart. Never. Ever. And the thought of that happening this soon scares the shit out of me. I’m not ready to face the freaking real world without him. One day we’ll do it, but not yet.
“As long as you do my homework, you can buy as many books as you want, Jacob.” I slam a hand on my forehead. That had been a stupid promise.
He wanted to be an English major, a useless degree that would take him too long and would be a waste of our time, as we both want to pursue our music career. He made the right choice when I explained that the more time we spend in college, the more we have to push the release of our second EP. The band is our life. We started it two years ago, released a few singles and one EP, and toured with a couple of bands. Nothing too far from the West Coast, but we do have a small fan base.
Pushing him toward finishing school with me was easy, as I’d promised to help him study, do his assignments, and be his personal butler for the first month. As far as I’m concerned, in a couple of years we’ll be as famous as our father, Chris, and we’ll hire our own butler. If we can stick to the plan for one entire school year, we’ll earn our freedom.
“No, Mommy.” I hear a soft voice behind me. My ears tingle with the sound and it makes me look that way. “I’m telling the truth.”
A black curtain of curls blocks the view of the female subject that piqued my interest. She holds a bunch of old books, and her eyes remain on the floor, even when I clear my voice trying to grab her attention. That’s when I realize she’s on the phone. I stare at her olive colored legs and the fun, pink Converse sneakers she’s wearing. Time to implement some of those moves I keep in reserve to lure a girl in. College awaits. If only I had done this while we toured—flirt with girls. However, Chris traveled with us and used his hawk-like vision, steering us away from trouble. The two times he was unable to join, he sent his trusted friend and bodyguard, Arthur Bradley. Unlike the other bands, we were escorted straight out of the venue once we had finished playing.
College is the opportunity to expand my horizons, get acquainted with the opposite sex, and have sex. My brother elbows me, giving me a warning glare. Choosing to ignore him is a no-brainer. With a beauty like this, I couldn’t have picked a first college fling better if I’d tried.
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
Life isn't always sunny and fate can be unkind at times. Ms. Burgoa makes that vividly clear in this latest installment in her Unexpected series that puts not only her characters through the emotional wringer, but readers too. From start to finish readers will be caught up in the tumultuous connection between JC and Pria and their rocky road to HEA.
Life was once perfect for JC. In college he was seen as the Golden Boy, women wanted him and men wanted to be him. His future looked bright and everything seemed possible with him being charming and carefree. After a whirlwind romance with Pria that had him never wanting it to end and swearing they'd meet again fate took him on a path of bad decisions, loss, and grief that's changed him. JC's now tarnished and bitter with alcohol his crutch. He'll need Pria more than ever but theirs is a relationship that's rocky, full of poor communication, that continually puts their HEA in doubt. To find his HEA JC will finally have to put his past in the past instead of dwelling on it and letting it define him.
Pria has always put family first as the loyal and good daughter. With a domineering mother and ill sister she's always done what they've needed of her but putting herself first for one week gives her a lifetime of romantic memories courtesy of the sexy and playful JC. Though they swore to see each other again something always kept them apart as the years passed and she had her own pain and loss to deal with. Instead of letting it pull her under she rose above it with strength and bravery and when fate reintroduces her to the broken JC readers are left hoping she can save him too. Pria's an admirable heroine you can't help but like. She's supportive but not afraid to speak her mind and to truly heal that's just what JC needs.
Just like the previous books in this series, this installment takes readers on an emotionally draining journey to HEA full of ups and downs. JC and Pria have a deep connection but couldn't be more different in how they dealt with those ups and downs. For Pria, it just made her stronger and more determined. JC let it pull him under and left him battered and bruised as witnessed through the glimpses we saw throughout the previous books. He's riddled with angst that went on far longer than I'd hoped. Some of it was due to his own machinations which further frustrated me but still left me drawn to him. Their connection crackled from the moment they met and despite their time apart they were still destined to be together. Alongside these two strong protagonists are an equally strong cast of secondary characters that have become like family. Seeing Ainsley, Ten, and Mattie again was like coming home. Seeing their interactions and strong bond was heartwarming and is why these books need to be read in order. Seeing their familial bond that helped them through everything life threw at them adds to the atmospheric feel of this story. Readers who enjoy romances full of substance will be drawn to this story and looking forward to Mattie's story being told.
Life was once perfect for JC. In college he was seen as the Golden Boy, women wanted him and men wanted to be him. His future looked bright and everything seemed possible with him being charming and carefree. After a whirlwind romance with Pria that had him never wanting it to end and swearing they'd meet again fate took him on a path of bad decisions, loss, and grief that's changed him. JC's now tarnished and bitter with alcohol his crutch. He'll need Pria more than ever but theirs is a relationship that's rocky, full of poor communication, that continually puts their HEA in doubt. To find his HEA JC will finally have to put his past in the past instead of dwelling on it and letting it define him.
Pria has always put family first as the loyal and good daughter. With a domineering mother and ill sister she's always done what they've needed of her but putting herself first for one week gives her a lifetime of romantic memories courtesy of the sexy and playful JC. Though they swore to see each other again something always kept them apart as the years passed and she had her own pain and loss to deal with. Instead of letting it pull her under she rose above it with strength and bravery and when fate reintroduces her to the broken JC readers are left hoping she can save him too. Pria's an admirable heroine you can't help but like. She's supportive but not afraid to speak her mind and to truly heal that's just what JC needs.
Just like the previous books in this series, this installment takes readers on an emotionally draining journey to HEA full of ups and downs. JC and Pria have a deep connection but couldn't be more different in how they dealt with those ups and downs. For Pria, it just made her stronger and more determined. JC let it pull him under and left him battered and bruised as witnessed through the glimpses we saw throughout the previous books. He's riddled with angst that went on far longer than I'd hoped. Some of it was due to his own machinations which further frustrated me but still left me drawn to him. Their connection crackled from the moment they met and despite their time apart they were still destined to be together. Alongside these two strong protagonists are an equally strong cast of secondary characters that have become like family. Seeing Ainsley, Ten, and Mattie again was like coming home. Seeing their interactions and strong bond was heartwarming and is why these books need to be read in order. Seeing their familial bond that helped them through everything life threw at them adds to the atmospheric feel of this story. Readers who enjoy romances full of substance will be drawn to this story and looking forward to Mattie's story being told.
My rating for this is a B+
*I got this book from NetGalley for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
GET A GLIMPSE OF THE PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE UNEXPECTED SERIES.....
UNLIKE ANY OTHER (Book 1)
AJ
The name AJ Colthurst may not have any meaning to the public eye, but it should, as I’m the daughter of two famous celebrities. Like any superstar, they crave privacy; so much of it, they built a house in the middle of nowhere for us children. As we grew older, we discovered the lies they built as a fort to protect us from the media, ended up causing emotional damage along the way.
I carry a portion of the guilt on my shoulders; the other part I discovered is the separation of my parents. Their unorthodox ways may have driven me bonkers, but knowing they are no longer together is unacceptable.
That’s why I decided to rattle their cage by reminding at least one of my parents of the past and the reason they belong together. They need to remember why their love is so perfect and why they have to fight to keep it alive. Even if it means I have to dredge up some of my own painful memories along the way.
Gabe
Back in the early eighties, I set myself to succeed in the financial world. The first step had been moving to New York City to become a stockbroker, but things didn’t work out the way I had hoped. Instead, I ended up making movies and by the end of the decade, Gabe Colt had become a famous name. The downside to my career of choice: the paparazzi. In order to protect my family and our privacy, I maintained my family away from the circus. It had been for their own good; a decision we had made before we started our family.
However, those past decisions ended up chasing my entire family away and now I’m trying to put the pieces back together along with my little girl.
UNSURPRISINGLY COMPLICATED (Book 2)
AJ
The lies between my parents and I came to light and now I’m working on a new life for myself. Along the way, I have my trusty superhero, Mason, to lean on when I have a hard time standing or when my crazy ex-boyfriend continues to feel he has a claim on me.
Porter has trouble understanding that there hasn’t been an ‘us’ for more than three years plus all the issues he had brought upon himself. My father was right, drugs do kill. My other confern is the growing feelings I am having regarding Mason. There’s something between us I want to explore but I keep getting mixed signals. Here, I thought that after telling my parents about my lies and having their full support, things wouldn’t be as complicated as they are.
Mason
My parents divorced before I even made my entrance into this world. My father has been obsessed with that love for years while my mother searches for love in all the wrong places. I don’t want a place to call home or a girl I can claim as mine. Except…Ainsley Janine — better known as ‘Nine’ — has some special power that makes me question my preferences. The more I try to stay away from her, the more she pulls me closer.
Exploring the possibilities of having something steady in my life isn’t a problem; it’s the long term that worries me. In addition to that, the scumbag she dated years ago keeps popping up everywhere we go. If I could use my license to kill, maybe I can stop worrying about one thing and concentrate on what to do with the green eyed girl who keeps me awake most nights.
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AUTHOR INFO:
Born on the mystical day of October 30th in the not so mystical lands of Mexico City, Claudia grew up with a childhood that resembled a caffeine-injected soap opera. Seventeen years ago she ventured to the lands of her techie husband—a.k.a. the U.S.—with their offspring to start a new adventure.
She now lives in Colorado working as a CFO for a small IT company, managing her household filled with three confused dogs, said nerd husband, two daughters wrought with fandoms and a son who thinks he’s the boss of the house. To survive she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the last threads of sanity intact.
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WEBSITE: http://www.claudiayburgoa.com/
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Jody, thank you for this amazing review, and for the support you give to the Colthurst-Decker clan :D
ReplyDeleteThank YOU for stopping by and for your comments! I've enjoyed the emotional journey thus far and look forward to the next piece of this family's story! Care to share with everyone what's next?
DeleteThe Scarf Princess