This is one of the books where I didn't understand what the purpose of the book was. I couldn't understand Miley as a character at all, I'm not blaming the victim, but for someone to go practicing in literal forest, with the possibility of bears even if it's a rumor, without telling anyone where they were going or giving any information about their routine, it's just super dumb and immature.
Leaving aside what actually happened, she could've had any kind of injury or accident and no one would know!! A sprained ankle in the middle of nowhere might be your death ticket!!
Moving on to the plot, it was pretty underwhelming. The author put all the effort in writing the scenes where Miley was suffering and just relied entirely on the shock value of it. It was mostly one scene repeated multiple times.
Brent's POV chapters also didn't add anything to the story, it was just Wes suggesting they return to the camp and Brent refusing to go back without finding Miley. On repeat. Nothing more, nothing less.
The ending did have an edge over the rest of the book which was how unrealistic it was.
Just because 4 years passed since the whole ordeal ended, it doesn't mean life can just go on for them as of nothing happened.
We are talking severely traumatic events, for some characters the abuse went on for years, the fact that they transitioned into a normal life is kind of farfetched to be honest.
It's one of the books that you either love or hate, sadly, I belong to the later group.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Really enjoyed this story of a woman kidnapped by preppers , being tamed to live in the wilderness. Her resilience, and self worTh were tested. Loosely based on a real incident in the 80s.

The first 60 pages were slow and it did not grab my attention, so I struggled with it. Once it picked up pace, it never stopped! The author’s writing is so gripping and created such a vivid picture for me. I was biting my nails, sitting on the edge of my seat, and having heart palpitations! It made me realize that I’ll never go for a run through the woods alone; and that we all need a friend like Brent!
I have mixed feelings about the epilogue. I spent a few, anxiety-filled, hours devouring this book and some of the content is very heavy emotionally, but the epilogue is sweet and filled with a happy ending. While I’m happy for Miley, Brent,and Rayna… I just felt that adding their happy endings created such a stark contrast to all the emotions I felt throughout the book.
I will definitely read more books from this author.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Thank you to Dynamite Books for the copy of GRAY AFTER DARK. This one is out now!

I really loved Noelle W. Ihli's previous book, RUN ON RED, so when I saw this newest one pop up, I had to have it. I went in blind and this book shook me to my core. If you're looking for atmosphere, this one has it. I felt so immersed in this story and I really enjoyed it.

“Gray After Dark” by Noelle W. Ihli is a fast paced thriller based on true events. When an accident destroys Miley’s dream of winning gold at the Olympics, she takes a summer job at a mountain lodge. She plans to work, train, and recover. However, her plans are soon derailed when she is abducted during her run. Now she is trying to survive every minute in her captors’ remote cabin. Will she make it out alive?

I really enjoyed this book. While it was initially slow for me in the beginning learning about her Olympic event, that quickly changed and I was hooked. There was so much going on that it easily kept my attention and I could not believe that this really happened to someone. How terrifying. I loved how this was told from both Miley’s and Brent’s point of view. I think that added to the plot of the book. If you love a high action thriller, this is the book for you!

This was SO dark! The characters were so well written. I couldn't stop reading and had to know what was going to happen.

This book was exactly what I needed . the story was intense it had me out of my seat literally walking and pacing and reading hahahah. 1000 percent recommend . this was also 370 pages the perfect amount of pages for the thrillers i like!

Thank you Netgalley, Noelle W Ihli and Dynamite Books for the eArc of Gray After Dark.

This is my first book Ive read of Noelle's but I have been recommended her books before and had high hopes for this one. I did not get disappointed and couldn't wait to pick this back up if I had to put it down. It's gripping from the start, giving you a scene of someone running away from a dangerous situation from a cabin in the woods. I love books that do this, they give you a scene from near the end of the book and even though you know it's the MC, you want to know if they got out or not!

Our main character Miley is recovering and healing from an accident when she goes up into the mountains to take a summer job. From then on in, Miley finds herself in a nightmare situation when she gets kidnapped and held captive by two preppers, who believe the world is about to descend into chaos and are stocking up, not only on provisions, but maybe the restart of the human race.

The pace and the writing of this narrative was great. It built in creepiness and adrenaline fuelled terror into this mystery.

A solid 5 stars

Wow! This was a great survival story about a young woman abducted by evil mountain men. This book kept you on the edge of my seat. If you loved Ask for Andrea you will love this!!

I am an outlier with this book. Everyone is raving about how action packed and fast paced it was. I thought it was good but honestly sad. There were times when I struggled picking it back up because it was hard to read. If you like books about women being held captive in the woods you will probably love this one.

Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book!

A fast=paced survival thriller novel set in the Idaho wilderness. This book has Ihli's engaging writing style and often felt hard to put down. I think the book would have been better with less of Brent's perspective, which seemed to detract from the main storyline. The ending felt far too convient. Nonetheless, if you're looking for a thriller to keep you up past your bed time, Gray After Dark hits the mark.

This book pulls you instantly. The back and forth timelines helps you connect with Miley and helps you get inside her thought processes.

This book was an amazing read and would recommend to anyone.

This was a quick and fast-paced read. I actually thought this was my first read of this author, but the writing immediately felt familiar. That’s when I realized I read RUN ON RED. I felt that they were super similar in pace and action; if you like that book, you will probably enjoy this one as well. Personally I enjoyed this one a lot more.

I LOVED that it was inspired by a real-life story. It definitely made me enjoy the book more after learning of the inspiration. I probably spent just as much time looking up Kari Swenson as I did reading the book. I felt like the ending did wrap up rather quickly and I would have liked more on the other side of the buildup and climax. Overall though, it was a solid read despite some details feeling kind of off to me.

Thank you NetGally and Dynamite Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a little backlogged with my ARC’s but working diligently to get caught up. I truly enjoyed everything about this book! It had the perfect mixture of thriller, suspense, mystery, and drama! It about a young woman working for the summer at a camp when she goes on a run and mysteriously disappears one day. Everything is not as it seems and what could have been over the top and graphic, was handled by the author is a delicate and caring way. I would highly recommend if you like thrillers and suspenseful mysteries!

This was a great read. No twists or turns but a compelling story that kept me hooked. I read it quickly and enjoyed it thoroughly. Was shocked to see it is loosely based on a true story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Gray After Dark
By: Noelle W. Ihli

I gave this book a 5 stars. I really enjoyed it. I read this for a book club, but I had originally got a copy through NetGalley. I’ve heard great things about this author and for my first book by her, it really delivered.

The beginning was a little slow with a lot of explanation of the Olympics, which had me kind of lost. This had to do with the FMC, Miley training for the Olympics, but didn’t make it. She had also suffered an accident 5 years prior and went to this place in Idaho which was like a retreat, where she took a summer job and decided to train. The setting takes place in like a woodsy, mountain area. There’s a lot of talk of bear attacks. Her coworkers give her a mase can incase she encounters a bear. She also learns of a disappearance of a girl that also used to work at the same place she is now working, but she had been missing before Miley came to town. She was suspected to have been attacked by a bear.

One day Miley goes out for a run and gets kidnapped by a father and son who live isolated from society and there she experiences terrible things that happen to her and while she’s there she realizes the other girl they have living with them, is the girl that everyone at her job thought was attacked by a bear.

This story started off slow, but quickly changed pace. It was a fast paced read, held my attention for the rest of the book. I would definitely recommend checking trigger warning. There are a lot. Also one of the main things that interested me about reading this book was learning that the book was based on actual events.

Scary to the max

I vividly remember the terrible true-life abduction case this fiction story was inspired by: Kari Swenson in Montana in 1986 taken by a father and son.

So we come to this horrific fictional story. It is 2022. Miley Petrowski competes in the biathlon in the Olympics. She has suffered a terrible shoulder injury and is training hard so she can compete interesting 2026 Olympics in Italy. She signs up to work a short season at Hidden Springs Resort, a high end bougie remote resort, because it's near the Frank Church Wilderness area in Idaho where she can train when she's not working.

But...she doesn't let anyone know where she's gone to train. And...she's abducted by a father/son duo and taken to their off-grid wilderness compound.

This story was truly terrifying in so many ways. It is tough to read at times but also inspiring.

I received this Digital Review Copy from Dynamite Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review. This is that review.

I wasn't instantly drawn to the plot of this book but i saw soo many raving about it so i knew i had to read it myself haha
It's definitely to be in my top 10 books of the year! I wish i could rate it higher!

It had a little bit of a slow start, about a quarter way through it really picks up.
It's scary, tense and just straight up creepy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dynamite Books for this ARC.

Another best seller from Noelle W. Ihli. Gray after Dark dives into the life of Miley, an Olympic hopeful training for the next Olympic biathlon while taking some time working on a retreat in the deep forest. Working through old injuries and past relationships takes a back seat when she is kidnapped and help by preppers hellbent on creating a new world. Abuse and resilience weaves through the pages in equal measures. When the real dangers of the forest may not be the bears.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc

A fast paced start kept me hooked from the beginning.

Loosely based on a true story from 1984, this novel is told in 2 POVs, Miley, an Olympic level athlete and Brent, her lifelong friend and sporting partner.
Miley goes remote to help out in a camp kitchen after a devastating failure with Brent. As she recoups and starts to trian, she is abducted by a father and son and held captive.

The pure anxiety this book gave me!
I read it within hours.
Be sure to check the trigger warnings for this book, as its packed with difficult topics.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.