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.

Emily is a sheltered child lives with her mom and stepdad (who's really like her dad) he adopted her when she was little. Emily loves the four walls she lives in, in Florida. She has her life planned out for her. She wants to graduate and go to college. Then her dad gets an e-mail that Eli's (her biological father) mom has died. So Emily goes to Kentucky to see Eli and pay her respects. While at the funeral home she meets Oz. Oz is a charming eighteen year old who wants to be apart of Eli's motorcycle club- the Reign Of Terror- not everyone gets to be apart of this group,only the ones who become prospects or are part of the family up until they are eighteen when they choose whether they want to be apart of the club. Eli gets to spend more time with his daughter. Oz also gets to spend time with Emily also, he's put as her guard dog to make sure no one harms her. As they spend more time together, they shift from more than friends.

I really loved this book as I do all of Katie's books. I also loved how it was a dual perspective. I would give it a million stars if I could. I've read Nowhere but Here 4 times now. Every time I do I pick on more of the story and fall in love with it all over again. I felt every emotion possible while reading this. I cried, laughed, and got angry. The relationship Oz and Emily have is so adorable. The way they figure out their lives together makes my heart sing. I would recommend this to everyone because they need to read and experience this novel for themselves.

I'm terrible at deciding which books on my (massive) TBR pile need the most love. I also tend to fail at picking up books from my TBR when I have so many early review copies to choose from. I've taken steps towards changing that this year and I've been really happy to discover some real gems. Earlier this month, I asked for my readers to pick my TBR book for June from a list of three. Even though I wanted to read Nowhere But Here, it probably wasn't my first choice from the list, if I'm being honest. I am glad, however, I put it up to a vote. I ended up really enjoying this book.

I look at the hardcover version of this book and get a little twitchy because of the size of it. (I mean, nearly 500 pages, y'all.) It's been a long time since I read a book this long. That was one of the biggest reasons I'd not picked this one off my shelf sooner. I'm not a slow reader by any stretch of the imagination, but I still find myself intimidated by books this long. The other thing that kept me from jumping into this book sooner was the motorcycle club thing. Now, I'm used to Kristen Ashley's *very adult* MC romance. It was tough for me to imagine how in the world a YA book could possibly work. I'm happy to say I was just flat out dead wrong about that. It worked... really well.

This book did start out a little slow for me. I'm not gonna lie about that. But it wasn't a bad thing. I never felt like giving up on the book, even though it did take me an entire week to read. (But that wasn't all the fault of the book. It was a crazy week.) I loved reading along as Emily learning about this whole new part of her background. It was easy to put myself in her shoes and experience everything right along with her. How do you handle finding out a major part of your life has been a lie? Do you open yourself up to these new people who have entered your life? Do you hide your head and try to keep things the way they always were? Do you seek answers? I don't envy Emily for having to make those choices, but I was pretty happy overall with how she handled everything.

Oz was just wonderful. If it didn't feel a little creepy calling a kid his age a "book boyfriend" I would say he's a new one of mine. He was dealing with his own issues in this book and the very last thing he wanted – at first anyhow – was to be responsible for the "princess" Emily in any way. He was waiting to get patched into Reign of Terror, something he'd wanted his whole life. He was planning his future with the club and in general and Emily was probably the one thing that could get in the way.

I loved how Emily and Oz's relationship progressed. From disdain to understanding to friendship to love, we witnessed it all. It happened naturally and it felt real. This wasn't instalove or anything close. Because of Oz's charge to watch over her, they learned about each other and feelings changed. I loved that it wasn't rushed. They played off each other so well. Their feelings for each other were obvious and they were definitely responsible in some way for the other's growth during this book. It wasn't all sunshine and roses, however, but I'm not going to get into all that. Some things are better left experienced for yourself.

There was a lot going on in this book, but it flowed together really well. Emily's journey of self-discovery meshed well with Oz's. Emily was learning about herself and her family at the same time. She was letting knew people into her world and realizing she was part of a bigger community that was unlike any she ever knew before. Then of course, you had all the situations dealing directly with the MC. I knew the members of Reign of Terror were keeping secrets and, despite trying to figure out what was going on for myself, I didn't get it until it basically slapped me in the face. I like being surprised. It doesn't happen all that often.

I really enjoyed Nowhere But Here. There was an interesting cast of characters introduced and I'm excited to see more from them as I continue on with the series. This book was the total package. I got sweet romance and age group appropriate relations, a hint of action and suspense and more than a few feels. I couldn't ask for more!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.