Review: Adriana Anders Uncharted

I'm a big ol' chicken and can't handle too much suspense or my anxiety shoots through the roof. I usually avoid highly suspenseful books. I made an exception for Whiteout and I'm so glad I did.

Like that book, Uncharted puts the reader in the front seat from page one as Leo, our intrepid heroine, flies out into the Alaskan wilderness to find a recluse in possession of a deadly virus before the bad guys can. What she finds instead is Elias, a gorgeous bearded monosyllabic grump, and his dog. The bad guys aren't far behind and our MCs are immediately thrust into a life or death run for their lives.

This one lived up to my expectations. It had the same breathless yet lusty fight for your life vibes of Whiteout and two leads that I rooted for. Elias was a sweet grump who was all in from almost the word go. Leo was a revelation, I expected a intransigent ball buster but the way the author peeled off her layers to show the vulnerable yet strong woman beneath was a fantastic study in character development. The slow burn was steamy enough to keep my interest going although my mind couldn't stop thinking about how they hadn't bathed or brushed their teeth in days and they were sucking face every chance they got 🥴 I also loved the villain in this one. He was no cartoony one-dimensional bad guy and I was so intrigued by him. I'm hoping he gets his own book. 

In the end,  I found that Whiteout is more tightly plotted and better paced. This one lost momentum somewhere around the halfway mark for me and while I loved spending more time with Leo and Elias getting all loved up, I thought the pace was lost. It picks up towards the end and I so wish I could get a look at the characters when they weren't on the run for their lives in the epilogue. But this one sets up the next book which was kind of disappointing.

This was a wild ride and if you like white-knuckling it, I think this author is unmatched in the way she builds up suspense and tension. Highly recommended

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

🔥🔥/5

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy. All opinions are my own