Nowhere but Here (Thunder Road) Paperback – March 29, 2016

First things first: I adore Katie McGarry. I tend to love everything she writes and she is one of those oh so rare auto-buy authors for me. She manages to create characters who feel completely real, place them in often heartbreaking situations that never fail to make me care, and her story lines are written with such heart and emotion that I am always completely invested. As a fan of her Pushing the Limits series, I was really excited to delve into her new series and meet a whole new cast of characters.Emily has lived a life sheltered from her biological father and his life in Kentucky. The man she calls Dad is the one who married her mom and adopted Emily when she was only 5 years old. She barely knows Eli, the father that visits once a year. Now, at 17, Emily finds herself in Kentucky surrounded by a side of her family she has never known and facing the prospect of spending her summer with these strangers. Her first instinct is to return to everything safe and familiar at home but the chance to finally get answers and learn about a past her mother won't talk about is too tempting to pass up.Emily's new-found family in Kentucky goes beyond just blood relations. Eli's motorcycle club, Reign of Terror, is tighter than any family. But they also have enemies and Emily is in danger. Eli entrusts Oz to stay by Emily's side and keep her safe. At 18, Oz has been raised within the club and his only focus is to be made an official member of the brotherhood. Emily is a distraction and having to look after her is going to postpone his entrance to the club. But as the summer progresses, Emily is less of a nuisance and instead opens Oz's eyes to new possibilities.I'm not sure I can really express my feelings for Nowhere But Here without going all gushy. I loved Emily's transformation from a skittish and anxious girl to a strong young woman willing to demand answers and even go against those she loved. I loved Oz and his fierce loyalty, his maturity, and his willingness to push boundaries when needed. I loved the progression of Oz and Emily's relationship - from wary strangers, to uneasy allies, to friendship and love.Emily and Oz were very different people with vastly different backgrounds and there were many reasons why they should not be together. But as unlikely as it seemed, in each other they found common ground and someone who understood, who cared, who was willing to put everything on the line. The chemistry and the slow-burn romance was sheer perfection.The side characters can hardly be considered secondary because they sprang to life, leapt off the page, and were as integral to the story as Emily and Oz. I felt for Eli from the very beginning, with his awkward attempts to get to know Emily - attempts that were often met with silence or one-word answers. And the more I learned about Eli the more my heart hurt for this man who was so determined to do right by the daughter he loved and cherished. Emily grandmother Olivia was a character that had me on the fence for a long time. Like Emily, I wasn't sure what to make of her and her coarse and sometimes abrasive nature but over time it was impossible to deny her deep and abiding love for her family, blood related or not. Other characters like Cyrus, Chevy, Violet and Razor were just as intriguing and important to the story.Nowhere But Here is told in dual perspective and getting insight from both Emily and Oz as the story and their relationship progressed added so much. Despite the length of the novel (almost 500 pages in hardcover) the story was fast-paced and I finished it in just a few days. It helped that I was so hooked that I could hardly put it down. And when I did I was still thinking about Emily and Oz and what they were dealing with.There's something special about Katie McGarry's writing. I've loved every book and Nowhere But Here is no exception. This story of family (in all its forms), sacrifice, trust, love and forgiveness captured my heart. And whether you've read McGarry's books before or not, I highly recommend picking this one up and experiencing it for yourself.

Well, this was quite the unexpected book. If you didn’t know already, I’m a big fan of Katie McGarry. She’s an excellent writer and has created some of my favorite characters ever. Of course, I was super excited to give her newest book, and series, a try. After all was said and done, the first thing I can tell you is this book wasn’t what I expected. Nowhere But Here has a pretty solid beginning and a pretty touching ending, but that middle was all kinds of messed up and crazy. I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but it’s different, and I can appreciate different.Emily has lived quite the sheltered life, but that still didn’t stop her from having quite a few memorable moments in her past. One particular moment added to her reaction to meeting her grandmother for the first time in such a hilarious way, I could not stop laughing when I read that. I actually liked Emily a lot. After the mess she’s thrown into, I don’t fault her for reacting the way she does. Yes, there were moments she acted childish and rash, but her world is basically turned upside down and no one is telling her anything. I honestly think she acted like a child because those around her, namely her parents (especially her mother) treated her like a child. She’s been raised to believe certain things about her father and those around him and they didn’t really do anything to make it better. To build such respect and loyalty, obviously there’s some good in there, but it took far too long for me, and Emily, to really see it.It took me a minute to really like Oz. Things started off in the usual format, him not liking Emily, not really bothering to know her, but being stuck with her and eventually seeing how amazing she is. He had his way of thinking and never suspected someone like Emily would come into his life and shake things up. It took longer than I would’ve liked for these two to finally let their guards down, for real, and get to know and understand each other. Before all that happened, he had such a negative view of her, I kind of bugged me. But, once things finally got going between them, I loved them. Oz’s view of his life and of his world was so narrow and pre-determined, I loved that Emily forced him to open his eyes and see what else he had to offer the world. Either way, he’s a pretty good guy and I’m always a sucker for those protective types.Let me tell you, some of the characters drove me crazy. Case in point: Emily’s mom, Meg. That woman truly tested my patience and she definitely goes down as one of the most irritating and irrational characters I’ve ever read about. I just did not like her at all. A bit too dramatic for my tastes and I just could not get on board with her and her secrets. Yes, after all was said and done, I understood why she did a lot of things, but I didn’t like it and I thought she could’ve handled things a lot better. One thing I cannot stand in the slightest is lying. Secrets and lies push me over the edge. I understand it’s part and parcel to a book’s plot most of the time, but sometimes it’s pushed past the point of necessity, especially given the nature of the secret with some books. I hate when the build up is so massive that when the truth finally comes out, it’s anticlimactic. And that twist? I totally saw that coming. How could you not?As much as the emphasis was on showing Emily a different side of the motorcycle club than what she thought, I didn’t think there was enough of that to really change her opinion in a believable way for me. She spent most of her time with Oz, and yes, he changed and opened up to her, showed, or rather told her some things, but that was pretty much it. This book built up their relationship, but I was expecting something more. I wanted Emily to spend more time with the other members of the club, especially more family members like her cousin Chevy. Have them show her the strength of their bonds and why all the preconceived notions of them are wrong. Show me, and Emily, how special and committed your group really is. Rough around the edges, I can handle, but it still felt more like they were a rigid, closed-off gang to me despite the fact that they were really “the gang”. I just couldn’t really connect to “the club” idea as a whole.With that said, I loved Olivia. That old lady’s got spunk and if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have believed Emily’s change in views at all. She definitely made an impact on her and I appreciated how much she cared for Emily, despite her reservations. Her presence was significant, setting things in motion and helping to move things along, and I wished there was more of her in the book. Eli isn’t so bad either, once you really got to know him and all his secrets come out.While I didn’t really love this as much as her other books, I still really enjoyed it. There were some things that I didn’t care for on a personal level and at times it felt a little too long for what the story really was, but Katie’s writing is as captivating as always and she has the “write a swoonworthy boy” skill down pat. She has a way of moving me with her words so that even if I don’t particularly love the story, I end up loving the book. I still have high hopes for this series and I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.