ARC Review: Nowhere But Here
Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry
Publication Date: May 26th, 2015
Format/Source: ARC from the publisher via an event. Thanks, Harlequin Teen!
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Part of a series? Yes! It's the first in the Thunder Road series.
Goodreads / Purchase: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - The Book Depository
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.
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.
*WARNING: This review contains mild spoilers. Enter at your own risk.*
So my goal is always to put out ARC reviews before the novel hits store, but that didn't happen for Nowhere But Here because I didn't get the ARC until two days before release. But that's okay! I'm just glad I scored an ARC because this was one of my most highly anticipated books of the year. And let me tell you, Katie McGarry did not disappoint. I am a satisfied fan.
I will admit, though, that I was a bit skeptical about the book being about a bike club because while I do find bike clubs really cool, I'd never read a book about them. That ended up being one of my favorite parts of the book though. I loved learning about the club and the world it belongs to as Emily was learning. It was all really interesting to read about, and it upped the excitement factor of the typical McGarry book excitement about 1000 points. Which is saying a lot because Dare You To had me on the edge of my seat.
“This is your family … If you learn to love us then you will forever have our love in return.”
Another one of my favorite things about Nowhere But Here is how important family was to each of the characters. There aren't a lot of families that have stood out to me in YA, but the kinship the Reign of Terror has is going to stick with me because I truly adored it. Everyone has so much genuine love and respect for each other(except for That One Character, but I'm hoping that will be resolved later because I liked her). It was so awesome that they took Emily in, and despite the past and tons of challenges, Eli and his family still loved her and wanted to actively be in her life. (THE TATTOOOOOSSS. I cried a thousand tears.) I loved that Emily is close to her mom and stepdad and that her stepdad wasn't crazy and awful like many stepparents in literature tend to be. It was refreshing.
As much as I loved the way the characters interacting and worked together as a whole, I loved them individually as well. Oz and Emily are two wonderful, yet incredibly stubborn, people, and I loved watching them fall in love and discover things about themselves along the way. Also, Oz *might* be a new addition to my list of book boyfriends. We'll see...Anyway! There were also a couple secondary characters that I cannot wait to get to know better in the rest of the series. (Speaking of, I would like Razor's book now, please.) And, of course, I adored Olivia. Like Oz and Emily, she was stubborn, headstrong and loved so fiercely, and I really admired her throughout my whole reading experience.
And duh, of course I have to talk about Katie McGarry's writing. She has a way of making 500 pages fly by, and I seriously love it so much. I also liked that she's continuing her dual point of view writing in the Thunder Road books because it's awesome. There are so many books that I'm like "OMG, I'd love to get inside the other MC's head!", and McGarry does that so well without it being repetitive.
So basically this book is wonderful, and I could gush about it forever. Instead, I am going to tell you to pick this up because it's full of swoons and angst and cries and awesomeness.
Have you read Nowhere But Here? What did you think? Let me know! You can flail with me in the comments or on Twitter. :)
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