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.
I’m a huge fan of Katie McGarry, and was excited to hear she had a new series coming out. Nowhere But Here was a fantastic start to a new series, with a new cast of characters you can’t help but love! :)
Despite Nowhere But Here being fairly long, I flew through it. I loved the alternating povs and the varying lengths of the chapters. While some were extremely short, others were much longer, and I never grew bored reading it. Emily, while seeming to be a naive, sheltered girl at the beginning, is a character you can’t help but like. Oz’ drive to do nothing more than be in a motorcycle club was an importance piece of his character and it was interested to read about how that began and eventually developed over the course of the novel. The romance between them was so adorable and I loved how it grew from a mutual dislike of one another to more.
Katie McGarry’s development of the mystery and secrecy surrounding Emily’s past was done amazingly well. I couldn’t figure out exactly how everything had gone down and I liked how Katie chose to not fall into common cliches regarding Emily’s family. Olivia, Emily’s paternal grandmother, was hilarious and reminded me a bit of my own grandmother, who was awesome. The side characters introduced-Chevy, Razor, and Julia-all have me extremely excited to read their stories. Razor’s is next, and although there isn’t too much revealed about him in Nowhere But Here, I’m sure his story will be just as awesome. He’s definitely one of the more unique characters and I’m curious to see what kind of girl will be Razor’s match ;)
One aspect that I didn’t like about Nowhere But Here were certain themes regarding women. If you’re a feminist, I’d definitely recommend staying away from this book. There were certain parts that seemed to suggest women were subservient to men, mainly shown through the members of the motorcycle’s club view of women as almost “property” and not being allowed to know certain things. It didn’t bother me too much, as Oz never seemed to act or think that way around Emily and certain things were just implied, but the fact that it was even a element of the novel was disappointing to me.
If you’re a fan of contemporary romances with an amazing cast of characters, you should definitely check out Nowhere But Here! It’s a solid start to what is sure to be a fast-paced and exciting series. I’d give it 4 out of 5 flowers.
