Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she’s curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn’t mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both.
Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They’re the good guys. They protect people. They’re…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club’s most respected member—is in town, he’s gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it’s his shot at his dream. What he doesn’t count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.
No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.
Nowhere But Here is the first book in a companion series called Thunder Road, written by Katie McGarry.
I’ve always wanted to read a book that was written by McGarry, but I knew that Nowhere But Here was the first piece of her work that I’d read first.
I genuinely did not know what to expect from Nowhere But Here. I had wanted to read it for quite some time (ever since it came out in 2015!) yet never got around to doing so. I’m glad to have read this book and am even happier to check this book as ‘read’ !
There’re two points of view within this story. The first we read from Emily, who has quite a bit of anxiety. We’re also introduced to Emily’s point of view with quite a shocking introduction. The other point of view we read from is Oz, who has a strong belief in being there and believing in your family. We get a ‘normal’ intro from him. Mostly his faith and belief in the Reign of Terror, is what stands out to me the most about him.
Something that held both of these kiddo’s back is that they both didn’t know the whole story behind what happened with Emily, her mother, and her bio-dad. By the end of the book we find out what really went down.
The character growth in Emily and Oz is something that I couldn’t keep track of until it was right in my face. I didn’t realize just how much they’d grown until about the 3/4 mark of the book.
I didn’t know what to think of this book before reading it. Now that I’ve read Nowhere But Here, I realize just how much of a whirlwind Oz and Emily go on. There’s so much that happens.
All of the characters grew on me. I was disappointed to find out that there wouldn’t be a second book that has both Oz and Emily as the main leads. Finding out that the second book to this trilogy is from Razor (and his eventual Old Lady) makes up for that though.
I give Nowhere But Here, 3 stars.
Have you read Nowhere But Here?
Happy Reading!
— Adele
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