The story started off strong. Good solid plot and interesting characters but, for me, about halfway through, I began to lose interest. There are so many characters that it begins to feel chaotic. Unfortunately, I did not finish it. Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This one definitely wasn't for me, but nonetheless, I'm stoked and thankful to have received an advance digital copy and audiobook access to this fast-paced thriller about a murderous parental figure, which I just so happened to read on Father's Day, irony??? North of Nowhere is set to hit shelves on August 8, 2023, and I'm so thankful to Allison Brennan, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley.

I really liked the setting and the storyline. Set in the wilderness of Montana, “North of Nowhere”, a man and two children are being pursued by members of a crime syndicate. It was full of action and intrigue. What I didn’t like was that there were so many characters, and I was having a hard time keeping straight who each one was and their connection to the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

📚Book Review 📚
North of Nowhere
by Allison Brennan
Pub Date 8/8/23

Kristen and her brother Ryan have been hiding from their father Boyd, the head of a Los Angeles crime family. After five years he’s finally tracked them down. They’re with one of his ex best friend, Tony, a former employee, and he cheated with his wife.

Tony, Kristen, and Ryan are escaping in his employers plane but someone shoots at it and they’re forced to land in the wilderness of Montana with a bad winter storm coming in.

Kristen and Ryan follow Tony’s instructions hiking into the woods underestimating the dangers of the storm. Boyd and his people, Ruby, Boyd’s estranged sister, local rancher and tracker, Nick an LAPD officer and the local Sheriff are all trying to find them. It’s a race against the weather and who will find them first.

There’s a lot of character view points and some of it is repetitive slowing down the momentum of the story. I liked the family and friend dynamic.

Thank you @netgalley @abwrites and @stmartinspress for an electronic book ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook and reader copy of North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan in exchange for an honest review. This was a really good action book that took place in the wilds of Montana. It kept me interested the whole way through.

Slow moving and repetitive. It never got me invested in the characters. Of course I wanted the good guys to prevail, but it just couldn’t make me care for how it came about. First book from this author in which I was disappointed.

The setting: After five years in hiding, Kristen [16] and Ryan [10] McIntyre have to flee Montana where they've been living with Tony Reed, a former family friend. Boyd McIntyre, their father, head of a Los Angeles crime family [or is the head really their grandmother, Frankie?!], has at last tracked his kids to a small Montana town. Tony "borrows" a plane from his friend, Nick Lorenzo, a rancher, to try to escape pursuit. "Boyd’s sister Ruby left Los Angeles for the Army years ago, cutting off contact in order to help keep her niece and nephew safe and free from the horrors of the McIntyre clan. So when she gets an emergency call that the plane has gone down with the kids inside, she drops everything to try save them." These are but a few of the MANY characters who help set the plot in motion. An incoming storm plays another big role.

I was engaged at the start as I thought I was in for reading a promising thriller. BUT. it soon cycled downward and lost steam as I became bored with the cat and mouse game. My interest waned and never picked up again. I found it quite repetitive and no longer cared. I was never engaged. Although I liked the two children--and was rooting for them, I felt stuck in the muck of this story.

I couldn't wait to finish the book [plodded through it], so I could move on.

In the distinct minority. 2.5 and not rounding up because to me that means read. There are so many other better thrillers out there!

This is not beautifully or poetically written. It’s a plot-driven novel that doesn’t actually move quickly because we see it from different characters’ perspectives, but a lot of those perspectives repeat information we already know. We’re told many times that no person and no family is all evil, except the grandmother Frankie, who is all evil. I didn’t care about any of the characters and thought the dialogue was weak. I found every part of this novel to be painfully remedial. It was a slog.
NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES AUGUST 8, 2023.

Ahhhh this was just such a great book. I just was entranced by this story and these characters. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Family. It all starts with and ends with family. This story is multi-faceted with a slew of characters, but the overarching thread is family, the good and bad. Kristen and Ryan are so strong and precious facing situations and decisions that no one, let alone children should face. Ruby (great name) is another fierce female character who faces a lot of obstacles to save the kids and deal with her baggage. Along with some great strong female characters, Nick and Jason are a father/son pair that were instrumental to the story and outcome. The story moves quick and has a lot of danger and angst in it. The ending is sweet, and fitting, though partially sad as the characters look to the future. Everyone and everything was well developed and the characters personalities vividly shown through the pages. Another great story by AB!

Brennan delivers a truly suspenseful thriller of a read with North of Nowhere. Young Kristin and Ryan McIntyre have been in hiding from their notorious family for the past five years and they have no intention of ever going back. When their father discovers that they are in Montana, he comes after them, forcing them to flee with the man who has loved them like a father. As they are all leaving in a small plane, bullets fly, and the plane is badly damaged. After crashing in the middle of the Montana wilderness, the children soon find themselves trying to make it on their own. As if things weren't bad enough, there's a major winter storm coming on, and their father isn't the only one trying to find them. With multiple foes, and multiple friends looking for them, it's a race against time to see if they can survive the wilderness, the storm, and who finds them first.

Brennan writes with a sure hand and applaudable skills as she ratchets up the tension and makes readers feel the cold and the terror as if they are experiencing it themselves. Rich and complex characters add to the enjoyment. A wonderful read, I highly recommend it!

My thanks to Minotaur Books for allowing me to access a DRC of this novel via NetGalley. The book is scheduled for release 8/8/23. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

This was a heck of a story and I honestly never really knew where it was going. I knew where we would end up, but the ride to get there was wild.

I received both an ebook and audiobook copy through NetGalley and I definitely enjoyed it. The narrator for the audiobook was fantastic and I was invested from the start. I absolutely had to know where we were going and how we’d get there. I listened to this nonstop and finished in a day. It was great.

Wow. I must be the only person left who hadn’t read a book by Allison Brennan and I’m kicking myself for it! Her writing style is great and the book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! I’m a huge wilderness thriller fan and wasn’t sure what to expect with all the subplot in this, but I’m so glad I just jumped in because it was a thrill ride! Overall, a great action packed thriller that I’d recommend to anyone. I’m a new fan of Allison Brennan’s, that’s for sure!

This was a solid thriller. Kristen and Ryan are kids on the run, trying to escape their family, who they've been hiding from for years. This is part adventure tale, as a whole crew of characters are lost in a Montana forest as a blizzard sweeps in. Every character has to confront past mistakes and tragedies.

There's a lot of blood spilled in this book. The characters' personal nuances are sometimes repeatedly brought up (like, I get it, Frankie is cold and quiet and cruel). I liked the characters and wanted to make sure that the good ones were okay.

This took me a little bit to get into. I was skeptical. Thought it would be all over the top action and no real character development. Which is sometimes ok but not what I was in the mood for.

But I was pleasantly surprised. The action was enjoyable. Lots of characters, never really sure whose working with whom, but it never became too much.

And despite all the tension and things happening, there was still room for the character stuff. I think it came together nicely.

“North of Nowhere” is a thriller by Allison Brennan. This is a pretty action packed thriller with interesting characters. I liked that different characters were able to give their points of view during the story. While this story started off strong, my interest started waning toward the half-way point due to additional characters being introduced and the writing not being as strong. I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did as it started off so strongly. I’d probably give this author another chance - as she has a number of other books - but as this was touted as a stand-alone, it didn’t feel like a complete stand-alone (or maybe would have if there was a tighter ending).

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Publish date: August 8, 2023

First of all I love Allison Brennan’s books. They are FULL of suspense and action and definitely build my anxiety as I read them. North of Nowhere was no exception!

Kristin and Ryan are fleeing from their crime boss father when their plane goes down. Their aunt leaves the army to come try to find them in the middle of the wilderness - but she isn’t the only one. There is more than one danger waiting for them in the woods. Which will find them first?

We read this book from multiple POVs, which I love because we get a peak into multiple characters’ minds and get more character development. It gave Brennan the opportunity to leave cliffhangers with each character which made me not want to put this book down!

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan is a fast paced thriller which takes us on chase through Montana mountains during an incoming snowstorm. This is the first book I have read by this author and look forward to reading more! There’s crime family, friendship, love, murder etc in this book. The characters are realistic and complex. I felt like I was trekking through the snow storm also. I recommend this one. Thank you NetGallery and publisher Minotaur for letting me review this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book grabbed my attention on the first page and didn’t let go! It was fast-paced and easy to lose myself in. There did seem to be a lot of characters but for the most part I could keep them straight. The author wrote in a lot of tense moments, cliff-hangers from chapter to chapter by having different characters for narrators. The weather conditions they experienced were well described and added to the tension in the book. If you’re a mystery/thriller lover I think you’ll like this book. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book. This did not influence my review of this book.

I loved this book. So many twists and turns I had to stay up to finish it.

One thing you knew through out the book that somehow the grandmother was going to be involved.

I highly enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it to my friends.