This book is a combination of Sons of Anarchy (with a lot less violence and betrayal) and the typical romance and family drama seen in McGarry’s other books, which turns out to be a really fantastic read. I really enjoyed it, like there are not enough good things I can say about this book… but I’ll try to say them all anyway.

When I first began reading I was a bit concerned, the pacing seemed to be slow and I wasn’t sure if it was going to keep my attention, a major issue with reading is story pacing for me. It took so long to really delve into Emily and her life, and her actual personality, that I became concerned her lack of character was going to drive me away. She came across so timid to begin with, possibly even a bit of a wet blanket, that I was scared I might not even like the book with a protagonist who didn’t seem strong enough to keep my attention. Luckily for me, the action began not too far into the book, and that’s when the real story started for me. People came back from the dead, Oz blew onto the scene to rescue her from a rival gang and the story truly began, her venture into another world is when things got interesting. And even better, Emily’s personality was shown, her shyness and timidity to begin with was not her, as she became comfortable in foreign surroundings she relaxed and she became such a fun character to follow.

The story is all about Emily staying with her biological father for the summer and her journey to get to know the side of her family she has essentially ignored for the majority of her life. She meets family she did not even know about, all whilst there is a supposed threat from a rival MC that is hanging over everyone. As Emily began to grow comfortable in her situation and relax and act like a normal person I began to realise she was not the bag of fear and nerves we were first introduced to, instead she is stronger and way more badass than it first seemed.

I adored the whole family dynamic in the book because it was an unusual family. Emily had a father, but then Eli was biologically her father, and she was having a major issue with identifying family to try and avoid hurting people, it wasn’t helped with the mystery her mother shed on her life in Kentucky and with what happened when she got pregnant and ran away. I like families that aren’t the typical two parents and 2.5 kids because I’ve never experienced that family, so to read about confusing families is always interesting. Thankfully McGarry is good about writing complex relationships, because there are so many different things going on with this family you are at risk of being confused.

McGarry knows how to write a confusing story with mystery, a hella good romance, and some people you quickly grow attached to. And the fact I have a soft spot for boys on motorcycles definitely helps with this book. This is a story about family and all the different kinds of family that exist, both biological and those you choose to keep around you. It shows you a very different world where family means a different thing to the typical definition, and you know what, I wanted to be apart of that family. There were some messed up things that happen why you did have to agree with Emily, they were messed up, but so are any other families. And the fact that these people were often choosing to view themselves as family made it all better. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series and to reread this book when it’s released. I recommend it to you all, it’s a fun contemporary read, but it isn’t overbearing in the romance department, something which continually ruins books for me.

I'm a big fan of Katie McGarry and therefore I couldn't wait to read this. It has been on my kindle since March and it's been so hard to not pick it up because the release date was so far away. Anyway, finally I couldn't wait any longer.

I will admit that this book didn't really engaged me right from the offset like her other series. Nowhere But Here took awhile for me to get into and begin to enjoy. I found the start quite slow and not a lot happened. For me, only when things started to develop with Oz did the book pick up and the usual style from this author begin to shine through. By the 50% mark I couldn't stop reading and the ending had me up until 2 a.m. because I needed to know how everything concluded.

There not much I can say about the plot without giving anything away. McGarry has a lot of hidden secrets and lies that remain that way right up until the end and I wouldn't want to spoil anything for anyone. What I will say is that I didn't guess the secrets--in fact I never tried to. There seemed to be so many that even when you feel you're getting close to the truth there's another layer of lies added on top of it so I gave up guessing.

With regard to characters I liked Oz and Olivia the most. Olivia made me smile a few times and I liked her strength. Similarly, I believed in Oz's character and felt for what he went through. Although I didn't like him from the offset, he grew on me. However, I'm still not sure about Emily. There were moments I liked her and then there were moments she annoyed me. I didn't feel there was a gradual growth in her, but I liked her curiosity.

Overall, it hasn't beaten my love of this author's previous series, but it was still a good read. It gets better as the book goes on and more is revealed, and I'd definitely recommend it.

Nowhere But Here is a shining reminder of why I love Katie McGarry's books so much. I've said it before but I'll reiterate - McGarry writes about the lives of people so far removed from my own that it's almost like reading a fantasy novel. I know nothing about motorcycle clubs, I live in a tiny hamlet in England, I am so far away from the world of Thunder Road that it may as well be a different planet. And yet, for all its differences, this is still a book about family, loyalty and love, and in that I can find a common ground and relate. McGarry's characters are so, so alive, that it's impossible not to love each and every one of them, to empathise with them and want to know them.

Emily is one of my favourite McGarry heroines so far - her fears and her strength shine through, and the way she reacted to being thrown into such a foreign world seemed so real and perfect to me. I wasn't won over by Oz at first, but like Emily, once I started to get to know him better I couldn't help but fall this sweet guy who cares so much for his extended family. As always, it's the secondary characters who really make a book extra-special though. Every one of the characters in this book grabbed me and made me want to know them, McGarry has a gift of making her characters seem so very alive and real.

I can't wait to read more from this series and continue my McGarry love-fest!

Emily is happy in her protected life at 17 with her Mum and Dad. She also has a biological father but he is a awkward yearly visit that has to be tolerated. Emily's life changes with an emotional bombshell and she is exposed to her paternal family in an extended stay. Eli, Emily's Dad is in a MC and the family are like nothing she has ever experienced. Oz a young hopeful for the MC is put on babysitting detail. He's infuriating in his attitude, venom and perfect maleness.

This story is written in dual POV and it lends so much to the story to have Emily and Oz's perspective. The characters are wonderful, the family is diverse and some of my favourites were Olivia and Eli. I would have loved to get a bit more of Eli and Emily's relationship but it was a growing, developing connection. The writing was absorbing, fairly fast paced and each scene and relationship was beautifully narrated. I was so impressed with this story and it'll be shelved in my favourites of 2015.

The publisher provided a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Reviewed for Jo&IsaLovesBooks Blog.