Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road)

Emily’s always liked her life the way it was. Living in Florida with her parents, going to school, being safe. There were occasional visits from her biological father, a member of a motorcycle club called the Reign of Terror, but he always came to her so she’s never experienced the club way of life. Until a sudden visit to her biological father’s home turns into an extended stay. Oz has always wanted to join the Reign of Terror. He’s been looking forward to the day he can be out on the road with his father and the club. Then Emily shows up and he finds himself assigned to guard her, to keep her safe. And to make sure she doesn’t discover the truth about her parent’s past together. Both Emily and Oz resent each other but they can’t deny the attraction. An attraction that, if acted on, could mean a lot of trouble for them.

I’ve been looking forward to this book since it was first announced. I’ve really loved Katie McGarry’s Pushing the Limits series and the idea of the types of characters she can write within a motorcycle club world had me excited. And after finishing it, I was in no way disappointed.

The book was told in alternating POVs between Emily and Oz. It worked really well to show the contrast between the different perspectives on the motorcycle club. To Emily, it was dangerous and scary and something from television. To Oz, it was family who he could count on and would defend no matter what. It also rounded out the characters. Without Emily’s POV she could have come across as an unappreciative brat but instead we saw her fear and her confusion and the stress of her life being turned upside down. Without Oz’s POV he could have come across as an uncaring brute but we saw his heart and how he cared for his family and how seriously he took his orders from the club. The chemistry was there between them. It was definitely a ‘I hate you but you’re really hot’ feeling until they started to get to know each other. There was always the feeling that, if they let it happen, they could be really good for each other.

The side characters were all also great. Some were better developed than others. Olivia, basically the club’s grandmother, was a force even though she had health issues that made her body weak. Eli, Emily’s biological father, wanted so badly to connect with her and it was painful but also understandable that she was hesitant. There was a lot of time spent with characters around Oz’s age, Chevy, Razor, Violet, and her younger brother Stone. There was an exert from Razor’s story in the back so my guess would be these are likely characters for other books in the series. But I’d really like to see Eli and Emily’s mother, Meg, get their own prequel story even though a lot of it was revealed in this book.

The book was almost 500 pages in length but it never felt long or slow. There was always something going on, even if it wasn’t intense action. There was Emily trying to discover the truth about her parents, learning about club life, characters bonding, Emily and Oz fighting or giving in to their attraction, character development. There was action, definitely some tense, nail-biting action, especially close to the end. There was always the feeling that something bad could happen and that life in the motorcycle club, legit club or not, was dangerous.

Definitely a new series(and lots of new boys) to get excited about.