Book Review: Covet by Tracey Garvis-Graves

About the Book

Title: Covet

Author: Tracey Garvis Graves

Publisher: Dutton Adult

Publication Date: September 17, 2013

Length: 320 Pages

Buy Covet: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | 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.

MY REVIEW

Covet is another fan-freaking-tastic novel from the genius that is Tracey Garvis Graves. In Covet, Tracey takes on another taboo subject, Adultery. The way she handles the delicate subject and manages to tell a beautiful story shows her true talent. The story has a realism to it, but those who are not fans of books about Adultery will still enjoy Covet.

Clair thought she had the perfect marriage until Chris loses his job and pulls away from her and their family. When Chris finally gets a job, the travel required maybe the final crack in the ice that his marriage is currently standing on. Claire soon meets handsome police officer Daniel and form a friendship. After feeling so alone, the friendship makes her feel alive again, but is it the right thing to do?

While a majority of the story comes from Claire’s point of view, we do get a glimpse of both Chris and Dan’s point of view during the story. I like experiencing all sides of the story, because in this difficult situation, it helps to know each character involved and what they are thinking. The way Tracey writes all three characters is what makes you want them to succeed and get what they want. The problem being is that would never work. The way Tracey handles this throughout the story reminded me why I fell in love with her writing in the first place. 

Any contemporary romance fan will love Covet, and for On the Island fans this is a must read. As a huge fan, I cannot wait to see what Tracey Garvis Graves comes up with next. 

**Unabridged Bookshelf received this book from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review** 

Thank you for visiting Unabridged Bookshelf!

Novella Review: Uncharted: An On The Island Novella by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Title: Uncharted: an On The Island Novella

Author: Tracey Garvis-Graves

Series: On The Island #1.5

Publication Date: July 2, 2013

Publisher: Dutton

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

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.

MY REVIEW

Uncharted by Tracey Garvis Graves is a must read for fans of On The Island. Uncharted introduces us to Owen Sparks, and tells his story about living on the island. Uncharted reminds me of everything I loved about On the Island and I could not have put it down if I tried. Tracey Garvis Graves has an amazing talent at write stories that a beautiful and tragic at the same time, and leave the reader craving more. 

Uncharted gives us a glimpse of T.J. and Anna’s life while introducing Owen Sparks. Owen Sparks story about his time on the island. It is not a life and death situation like T.J. and Anna, but it is not without tragedy. As I consumed Uncharted, I loved experiencing the island where T.J. and Anna were stranded through different events and with a different perspective. 

On the Island will remain one of my all-time favorite books, and Uncharted has me craving even more of Anna, T.J. and Owen. I am very excited to see where the story will go from here when Isle of Bones is released, because I know that whatever Tracey has planned will have me completely enthralled from beginning to end. I guess Covet will have to hold me over until Isle of Bones. 

**Unabridged Bookshelf recieved this book from the publisher,in exchange for an honest review**

Have you read On the Island?

How excited are you for Uncharted?

Thank you for stopping by Unabridged Bookshelf!

Teaser Tuesday: Uncharted by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others!

Make sure to share the title and the author so other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their to be read piles.

My teaser this week comes from:

Title: Uncharted: an On The Island Novella

Author: Tracey Garvis-Graves

Series: On The Island #1.5

Publication Date: July 2, 2013

Publisher: Dutton

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

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.

TEASER:

There was no way this girl was going to me at the dock in the morning. But I had a hard time falling asleep because I couldn't stop thinking about how great it would be if she did. 

Kindle Location 752

Uncharted releases TODAY and if you are a fan of On The Island it is a must read!

My Review will be up Thursday!

Have a teaser for me?

Just leave me a link in the comments

Thank you for visiting Unabridged Bookshelf!

Cover Reveal and Excerpt: Uncharted by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Title: Uncharted: an On the Island Novella
Author: Tracey Garvis-Graves
Series: On The Island
Publisher: Penguin
Expected Publication: July 2, 2013

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

EXCERPT

Chapter 1

OWEN

The house is isolated, surrounded by trees and a well-kept lawn. There’s a children’s play set in one corner of the yard, and an abandoned tricycle on the front sidewalk. Spring has only just arrived in the Midwest, but someone has already drawn a hopscotch pattern with pastel-colored chalk. A sign stuck in the landscaping by the front door announces that the home is protected by ADT, and when I ring the doorbell a dog starts barking, followed by the sound of thundering paws.

The woman that answers the door has a baby in her arms and two toddlers clinging to her skirt. The dog, a large golden retriever, snarls and waits for her to let it out. I hope she doesn’t. Her blue eyes narrow as she peers at me behind the safety of a storm door that I’m certain is locked. The glass muffles her voice, but I can still understand her when she says, “Can I help you?” Her guarded tone makes sense, the way it would if you lived out in the country and the world knew your story and had a ballpark idea of your net worth. “Is your husband around?” I ask.

“He’s upstairs. On the phone,” she says.

“I’d like to talk to you both. Mind if I wait?” She doesn’t like this. I can tell by the way she pushes the kids behind her and squares her shoulders, lifting her chin slightly.

Ah, she’s a fighter. This doesn’t surprise me at all.

“You’ll have to come back some other time,” she says, and starts to close the door. But before she can swing it shut all the way a dusty pickup truck pulls into the driveway and the relief washes over her face.

The man driving slams on the brakes and gets out of the truck almost before it stops moving.  He strides up to me with a suspicious expression on his face. Suspicious and pissed off. I’m older than he is, but he looks enough like me that people could mistake us for brothers; we have the same light brown hair and build.

He glances at the woman in the doorway. “Stay inside.” Turning back toward me he says, “Who are you and what do you want?”

“Just wanted to talk to you and your wife.”

“Do we know you?”

“No.” I put my hands in my pockets and remind myself of the reason for my visit. “My name is Owen Sparks.” The man looks at me, brow furrowed as he filters through his memory for the significance of my name. But the woman, the woman knows immediately, and we both turn toward her when she gasps.

“T.J,” the woman says. She opens the door wide so we can really hear her and the dog shoots out like a bullet from a gun, sniffing me aggressively but thankfully deciding that I’m no threat. “The missing person. The man whose trail went cold in the Maldives. Do you remember? His name was Owen Sparks.”

Recognition dawns on his face and they look at me like I’m a ghost. “Are you the guy who built the shack?” he asks. 

“Yes.”

“But you’re not Bones.”

I shake my head. “No.” There’s no need for me to ask them what they mean. To ask them who Bones is.  

Because I know. 

Uncharted: an On the Island novella by Tracey Garvis-Graves will be available on July 2, 2013, wherever e-books are sold.

On The Island is one of my all time favorite books, and I cannot wait to get a little bit more Anna and T.J. I am curious to read Owen's story and watch how it intertwines with Anna and T.J.'s story. I am going to be very impatiently waiting for July! Also, it comes with a sneak peak of Tracey Garvis-Graves new novel, Covet! So Excited for Uncharted!

Thank you for stopping by Unabridged Bookshelf!

Waiting on Wednesday: Covet by Tracey Garvis Graves

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we cannot wait to get our hands on.
I am waiting on:

Title: Covet

Author: Tracey Garvis Graves

Publisher: Dutton

Publication Date: SPRING 2013

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, Chris copes by retreating to a dark place where no one can reach him, not even Claire.
Daniel Rush had it all, until a tragic accident took away everything he cherished. A chance meeting with Claire sets in motion a chain of events that will leave three people questioning their choices and dealing with the aftermath of their decisions.

Why am I waiting?

Let me lay it out for you

• 1. On The Island (Another book by Tracey) is beyond AMAZING! 
• (If you do not know what that is please check out this post)
• 2. Tracey Garvis Graves is just a fantastic person as well as a writer. 
• 3. This sounds like it is going to make cry (not just cry but possibly going all the way to ugly cry while cradling the book) , probably laugh, and most of all just be beautifully complicated. 

Spring 2013 is going to a very very long wait, but I have a feeling Covet is going to be worth it.

Is there a book you are dying to read?

Leave me a link, so I can check it out!

Thank you for stopping by Unabridged Bookshelf!

Blog Tour: Excerpt and Giveaway: On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves

I am really honor to have the chance to help promote this book again! Thank you to AToMR Book Blog Tours for letting me participate! There is a lot of fun events going on, and to keep up with the complete schedule click the banner above or right HERE

ABOUT THE EVENT

Thank you for participating in the ON THE ISLAND Event! This week in addition to reviews and posts, select blogs are hosting a word from the author's favorite quotes in the book as a Scavenger Hunt! There is one quote from Anna and one from T.J. Visit each stop this week to find the hidden words (they will be numbered for order) and after July 22nd, submit your answer to the quotes here! Random winners for books and swag will be chosen and notified by July 29th.

Also, next week July 23-27, there will be even more events and chances to win the book and swag!

• Monday, July 23 at 8:00 pm CST - Chat with the author Tracey Garvis Graves! We will be chatting with the author on Savor Chat: http://www.savorchat.com/chat/on-the-island-chat Come join us! (You can sign in with twitter or facebook)
• Each day look at #ontheisland on twitter for random shout outs to win books and swag! @Tale_of_Reviews
• ON THE ISLAND released in bookstores Tuesday, July 10th! If you see the book in stores or 'in the wild' take a picture. Please tweet it and use hashtag #ontheisland. Or you can post it to facebook! Please submit twitter and facebook links of your post/tweet here!  All entries need to be submitted by July 29th.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: On the Island

Author: Tracey Garvis Graves

Publisher: Plume (Penguin)

Publication Date: July 17, 2012

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day.
T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends.
Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island. Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met 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.

When I first read this book, I knew it was one of those books that stick with you. The kind of book you recommend to everyone you meet, and I could not be happier that it is skyrocketing in popularity. I am excited to see it out in stores everywhere. Tracey deserves every bit of success that On The Island has brought her. If you haven't read On The Island yet, please do yourself a favorite pick up a copy!!

Feel free to read my review!

This time around, I have the pleasure of giving everyone a sneak peak at On The Island with an Excerpt!!