Friday, June 5, 2015

Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry ~ Review & GIveaway




Respect the Rules. Respect the Club.
5.     The patch is thicker than blood.

I continue walking so I won’t chew her out for breaking the heart of my best friend and for making her mother and brother feel guilty for welcoming the club’s help. ~ Oz’s Point of View from 

NOWHERE BUT HERE
In the motorcycle club I visited for research, I found a brotherhood of men who took care of each other and each other’s families. If one member was having a tough time, then the club stepped in to help. In Nowhere But Here, Violet, once a good friend of Oz’s, is heartbroken over the loss of her father and she’s lashing out at the club her father belonged to. The club has stepped in and is trying to help Violet’s family emotionally and financially after Violet’s father’s death, but her grief is causing Violet to push away the people she needs most.

Even though Violet isn’t a blood relative, even though she is pushing him away, to Oz, she will always be family. That’s what being part of the club means.

~~~


Source:  I received an ARC from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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.
 


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23492282-nowhere-but-here

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Review...



I'm gonna start with the length on this one.  Several people who found out I was reading this book, commented about how long it was and they were worried about that.  Don't be.  I never felt like it was too long.  It actually reads really fast.  There are short chapters that flip back and forth between Ox and Emily's POV.  And really, I read it fast.  It took me several days but that's because I was at a book convention and didn't have my normal time to read each day.  But I wanted to just read and read.

Why was I stuck in this one?  The characters.  The story.  The writing.

I love these characters.  It's more than Oz and Emily but they were my favorites.  You have to love Olivia and her spunk.  She had me laughing a lot.  I was angry at Emily's mom and that meant my emotions were involved.  I guess I came to understand her, but still.  I loved her adopted father.  He's so caring and real.  I loved Eli and when a certain event happened, I cried out NO.  I fell for all the secondary characters - well maybe not Violet.  Not sure about her yet.  I'm sure we'll see her more in future books in the series.  Maybe I'll like her after I understand her.

The stars of the show are Oz and Emily, though.  Oz is determined to join the motorcycle club.  He sees Emily as someone who is hurting people he cares about.  So he's not interested in getting to know her or even like her.  There is no doubt, though, that he's attracted to her.  And Emily?  She's been raised to fear her biological father and his MC.  She wants nothing to do with any of them even if she thinks Oz is hot.  So here's the part that I really enjoyed.  These two do not even want to like each other.  But as circumstances force them together, a story happens.

And that story is a little different for the YA world.  First, there's the MC.  That's a more common story in the NA or adult book world.  Then the whole resistance between them.  While resistance can happen in a lot of stories, this one felt different to me.  It may have been how much they challenged each other on their belief system.  They were each so different from the other and they weren't quiet about those differences.  It felt real.  More real than most YA books.

The writing was wonderful as always with this author.  There are lots of secrets and they were carefully and artfully handled with writing that had me turning the pages.

Lots of secrets in this one.  So much going on and I was desperate to understand.  And I didn't until almost the end.  Just before we were told, I figured out some of it.  But most of it was just a surprise.  Then there was this point near the end where I just needed someone who I could talk to because all the secrets were blowing up and I was emotional.  A deep breath and more reading had me a happy reader.

If you loved the Pushing The Limits series by this author, then you need to pick this one up too.  If you love reading good YA, then you need to read this one.  If you just like really good books that aren't of the cookie cutter variety, then this one should be your next read.



Book Trailer...





Giveaway...


a Rafflecopter giveaway



Tour schedule
June 3-Reading Teen


About the Author...


Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.
Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON,  BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewer's Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.


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11 comments:

  1. on of the best books in 2015!

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  2. My favorite YA genre to read... that's a tough choice. However, I would say contemporary, because they are fun to read at all times. I could read them on a trip, at the pool, tucked up in my bed, anywhere really. They always put me in a good mood. (:

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  3. Fantasy for sure! I love reading about the vivid worlds created! But when I need a break from it all, I definitely pick up a contemporary book to enjoy~

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  4. I don't have a favorite YA genre, I love them all, but lately I find myself gravitating more towards fantasty.

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  5. I like both the contemporary and fantasy YA genres.

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  6. Fantasy I just love it so much! Thanks so much for the giveaway! :)

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  7. I loved this one too! Olivia was one of my favorite characters! I really liked Eli as well, and couldn't stand Emily's mother and all of her secrets and lies! This books flew fast for me too and my emotions were invested as well. Excellent Review Val :)

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  8. I didn't think that this was a long read either. Once I was in the world, it flowed quickly. Great review!

    Naomi @ Naomi’s Reading Palace

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  9. I want to read this one! Great review, makes me want to read it even more!

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  10. Is a mix between Contemporary and Paranormal. It usually depends on the choices available. Contemporary has a special place in my heart. I just finished Nowhere But Here and I couldn't put it down.

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  11. Romance, romance, romance lol. Whatever genre- contemporary, paranormal, anything :)

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