Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road #1) by Katie McGarry

An unforgettable new series from acclaimed author Katie McGarry about taking risks, opening your heart and ending up in a place you never imagined possible.

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.
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First line:
Top three awful moments of my life:  
Meeting my biological father at ten 
Breaking my arm in three spots at nine 
Falling into a hole and being trapped there with a dead body at eight 
Other than that, I love my life.
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Source:
ebook
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Rating:
3 motorcycles out of 5
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I want to love this book so much. It's an amazing story about finding family and learning to look past the exterior to see what's inside (that sounded really corny.....). Emily is content to live in her safe bubble in Florida. She has plans to go to the local college and room with her best friend. She never does anything to upset her step-father, who has loved her as his own child. She hates the fact that she is being forced to attend the funeral of her paternal grandmother, whom she's never met. When she does, she meets Oz, and the typical bad boy meets good girl story line ensues. The only deviation from that line is that the two never actually have sex. Which was really nice and refreshing, because a lot of times, the sex just detracts and distracts from the story. Once Emily warms up to Oz and the MC, she is super protective of everybody and it's so sweet. Oz, too, is protective of Emily and I loved just watching their interactions.

However, Katie McGarry didn't develop supporting characters very well. While you get to know Olivia, all the others just seem to pass through. Eli, Emily's father, flits in and out of the story with no time to properly introduce us to him. Same with Emily's mother and step-father. They pop up in the beginning and he pops up at the end and no more is seen of him. I would have loved to see more of these characters, because there was so much potential in them.

Nowhere But Here is a good book for those who love a good bad boy, as long as you can handle little to no supporting character development. Here's to hoping the sequels are better in that general aspect.


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