Nowhere but Here (Thunder Road)

I would like to preface my review by saying that I love Katie McGarry’s books. I just didn’t enjoy this one. I’ve read three books in her Pushing the Limits series and gave all three books five stars each. Trust me, I was fangirling all over the place. So what went wrong with this book?For starters, I really, REALLY didn’t like Emily. I have no tolerance whatsoever with weak and whiny characters that have to be treated with kid gloves. An entire motorcycle club tiptoes around her so as not to scare the girl who is afraid of her own shadow? Yeah...no. I wasn’t sold on that. Emily has bucketloads of fears. She’s afraid of this and she’s afraid of that, even though she’s been living a sheltered life. Guess who gets the blame for all her fears? Her parents. How freaking last year. Actually, the only people I did like in this book are Emily’s parents (especially her father who adopted her), and her biological father.Yet, throughout the entire story the reader is told again and again how strong and brave Emily is. Really???? Because all I heard was how she has this fear or that fear, how she trembles and shakes, how she fainted three times, and how she was constantly being picked up in someone’s arms and being carried to the closest bed. I won’t even mention what a Mary Sue she is, and OF COURSE she’s a virgin (how else would it be for someone who can be compared to a shivering rabbit?). All these fears just because she fell into a hole where there was a dead body – which, so by the way, is never properly explained. Did she go for therapy after it happened to help her with her fears? Who knows, because the author didn’t deem it necessary to explain. She needed it as a crutch for Emily, so let’s leave the reader in the dark (oh, look what I did there).*deep breath*Anyway, Oz wasn’t much better. For a tough motorcycle dude he continually turned into gushing mush when he was in Emily’s presence – which was ALL THE TIME!!The thing that got to me most? Olivia – the club matriarch. It is so OBVIOUS Katie McGarry modeled her on Gemma Teller of Sons of Anarchy. Olivia was TRYING SO HARD to resemble bad-ass-but-loves-her-family-to-death Gemma. Come on! How did Ms McGarry think that a hardcore SoA fan wouldn’t notice this? I couldn’t stand Olivia. Not just for trying to be a Gemma Teller, but for being so cold, aggressive, and just plain rude. That’s all she was. Still the reader is made to believe that at the end Emily loved Olivia fiercely, though I never picked up on that turn-around point between the two of them from being stand-offish towards each other to becoming loving family members. Since when did dying from cancer become a redeeming quality?Overall, I think this was a good effort, but it failed nonetheless. I can’t tell you how immensely disappointed I am that I didn’t love this book nearly as much as I did the others. I’ll still be reading more of her books though, but probably not the rest of this series. Please, Ms McGarry, tell me you didn’t run out of good characters.

Finally made it through this chunky little baby! It was definitely a little slow in places, and I can't wait for (hopefully) more information on Chevy and Violet. Emily got on my nerves more than I usually tolerate, and there were some weird personality morphs it seemed like, but I'll have to ponder it more.Update (added 3 days later):Upon reflection, what really stands out to me about this book is how sexualized it was. It seemed like every two sentences one character or the other was thinking about various physical characteristics of the other person, and not in a 'hey, he/she is pretty' way. A 'I want that person naked' way. It got tiresome quickly, and it didn't stop. Although it was by no means insta-love, it almost seemed like they got carried away by their physical wants and then decided to be in love after the fact. I know McGarry always writes romance, but this one was definitely the most romance-dependent- which is saying a lot. For a 500 page book, I thought there would be a lot more substance, especially as it was so hyped. I was really hoping for more of a blowout with the rival motorcycle gang, etc. On another note, the language was atrocious. I know most people don't mind, and yeah, they're a motorcycle gang, but Oz said it himself 'We aren't thugs.' Anyhow, it was seriously chock full of f-bombs, which made more of an impression than a lot of the other parts of the book.When you get right down to it, the underlying plot was really interesting- the secrets about Emily's past and how everyone seems to have their own agenda really was what kept me going. But the romance was pretty off to me, maybe because I didn't really like Emily or Oz all that much. I'll still read Walk the Edge, because McGarry usually makes me happy, but this one was more of a miss than a hit for me.WHAT TO WATCHI think I would rate this one for older teens and up, although I won't be recommending it for more reasons than one. As mentioned, there was a lot of foul language, a lot of not-so-innuendos, and all this hot and heavy hate-love-hate-love stuff that got pretty tiring after 500 pages. Maybe it's just been too long since I read a McGarry book, but this one seemed more adult than the others. But obviously these are my opinions, and it's all up to you.Overall, I only give this one 3 stars. It wasn't a strong start to the series for me, but my loyalty to the author (as well as my intense interest in a few select characters) will keep me reading.

Have you ever just looked at a book and known that you were going to love it? Without even reading the synopsis, you knew that the book was for you? Nowhere But Here was definitely one of those books for me. I didn't know anything about, but I just had a feeling that it was going to be perfect and that I was going to fall crazing in love with it. And I did.The first in the Thunder Road series is a little rough, a little gritty, a little sensual and little sexy. There's confusion and pain but also certainty and pleasure. This book is all around amazing and I couldn't stop reading once I started. It was one of those books, for me, that I thought about whenever I couldn't read. Since I began reading it before Thanksgiving, it unfortunately got put on the back burner over the holidays. We did a lot of travelling and as much as I wanted to, I was unable to read it at all until everything settled down. I couldn't wait to get back to it and I finished the book as soon I as got the chance.The characters are amazing and they have a depth to them that isn't always easy to master. I enjoyed how their lives twisted and turned but ultimately linked them back together and pulled them closer together. It was interesting to see how all of the things that tore everyone apart in the past managed to sew them back together in the present. Emily was relateable and easy to understand, Oz was sexy and delicious, Olivia was sassy and heartbreaking and made me want to curl up with her.This book was reminescent of Sons of Anarchy but a little tamer (but no less boring or delicious). I absolutely loved it and couldn't get enough. I'm a little sad that book two isn't about Emiy and Oz but I'm curious about Razor and I can't wait to read his story.Rating: 5 Stars.Favorite Character: Oz.