I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

I love a mystery and I love a survival story, and this is a fast-paced combo of both. This book tells the story of a siblings who have been in hiding due to their family's involvement in organized crime. When their safe hiding place is discovered, they end up having to survive both the bad guys that are after them, and the Montana wilderness after a plane crash. Loved the setting and the storyline, but the pacing was a little weird for me in the middle. Overall a great mystery/survival story with good wintery vibes. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

A thrilling tale of siblings doing their best to survive the very worst. I love survival stories and this one had some good twists and turns.

North of Nowhere
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Allison Brennan

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: After five years in hiding from their murderous father, the day Kristen and Ryan McIntyre have been dreading has arrived: Boyd McIntyre, head of a Los Angeles crime family, has at last tracked his kids to a small Montana town and is minutes away from kidnapping them. They barely escape in a small plane, but gunfire hits the fuel line. The pilot, a man who has been raising them as his own, manages to crash land in the middle of the Montana wilderness. The siblings hike deep into the woods, searching desperately for safety—unaware of the severity of the approaching storm. Boyd’s sister Ruby left Los Angeles 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.As the storm builds, Ruby isn’t the only person looking for them. Boyd has hired an expert tracker to find and bring them home. And rancher Nick Lorenzo, who knows these mountains better than anyone and doesn’t understand why the kids are running, is on their trail too. But there is a greater threat to Kristen and Ryan out there. More volatile than the incoming blizzard, more dangerous than the family they ran from or the natural predators they could encounter. Who finds them first could determine if they live or die. . .

My Thoughts: Tony stole Boyd’s kids and hid them for five years to keep them safe from the family, a LA crime family. Tony gets wind that Boyd is close, so he flees to another town, except, when he is in the air, the plane is shot down. Now the kids are on their own knowing how dangerous Boyd is. Except Boyd is not the only person tracking the kids. Ruby, the aunt, Lorenzo, the farm where the kids lived, and some other rather questionable characters are tracking the kids. I could not stop turning the pages, I had to know how this turned out and devoured in a short time. We have a dangerous game of cat and mouse going on and a story of survival.

The story is narrated by various characters, from their respective perspective. Ruby, the aunt, is caring, compassionate, and wants nothing to do with the family but wants the kids to be safe. Lorenzo, the farm owner, has gotten to know the kids over five years and also wants them to be safe. Boyd, the father will do anything he needs to have his kids home again. Francine, the grandmother, is the head of the crime family and as ruthless as possible. The characters were well developed with mystery, secrets, depth, creative, and intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, twisty, suspenseful, and kept me engaged from cover to cover. The author builds the characters in the present and past flashbacks, builds the plot into intense twisty layers, even when you think the last twist has occurred, another one comes out of left field and ends with an unexpected ending. The setting that the author used in Montana was perfect and atmospheric, well detailed that you really felt like you were there with the kids.

This compelling, gripping, captivating, disrupting psychological thriller will keep you guessing until the end. The middle could have been a tad shorter. However, I enjoyed this novel and devoured in a a few short days. I would recommend this to other readers and have read that the audiobook was amazing. Either way, just go pick up!

North of Nowhere is an action packed thriller that combines a crime lord family with the Montana wilderness. Great setting and the plot moves quickly. Those that love suspense and thrillers should give this a go.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

So, WOW! I am not normally a huge fan of action-type survival thrillers but have been lucky enough to have read several good ones here recently, so I gave this one a shot and it was much better than I was hoping for. Two kids have to go on the run into the mountains of Montana to escape their crime family led by their father. They are being chased by numerous people, both good and bad. There is a lot to keep up with and it could get a little melodramatic at times, but overall, this was a heart-pounding action/adventure thriller with fleshed-out characters and a nice twist that I didn't see coming.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Allison Brennan and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for this ARC.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Unfortunately, this was not for me. I was unable to get into the story and did not finish it. I encourage others to give it a try for themselves!

Wow! I was so excited to read this book and it did not disappoint me! North of Nowhere is non-stop action and suspense until the very end (and even at the end I thought there could be more coming at the folks in this story.) I just loved this standalone.

Kristin and Ryan were taken from their family five years ago. Maybe taken isn't quite the word -- they escaped with the help of another in the crime family and have been living in Montana in secrecy for the last five years. They love Tony, the man who liberated them from their nasty grandmother and father.

But when Boyd, their father discovers their location, Tony must try to protect the children as best as he can. Unfortunately, his plan doesn't quite work because someone other than their crime family father and relatives are also after them. When their plane crashes in the Rocky Mountains during an impending storm, things get really crazy as Kristen and Ryan must find their way alone through the storm to escape the people who would imprison them again.

There's some great tension and suspense as the people in the woods combine in different ways as they navigate the mountains, the storm and the criminals with guns. It's all very scary with children in peril, it gets intense, so readers be aware of that.

This was the first book in a very long time that I was tempted to read the ending before I got there and I think that says something about the level of tension and suspense there is in this story. Seriously, it's non-stop, especially knowing that things were about to get worse as they believe they are home-free. I loved that as a reader I had a clue that it wasn't over yet, and it made it even more tense to ride the story to the end.

I loved Ruby and Kristin and Kate. So many terrific female heroes in this story. And Nick Lorenzo and Jason are just wonderful too. I really fell for all of these characters, even felt a little bit for Boyd there at the end as he makes peace with his daughter. There's also one of the nastiest villains in this story, but I won't say more about that so you can experience the terror from a reader's point of view.

I really loved this book. There were times I had to put it down because it was a bit intense. Much of the book takes place during the storm and that did go on and on, and I was happy when that setting changed, but the story does capture being in a Rocky Mountain snowstorm quite well.

North of Nowhere is definitely on my favorites of 2023 list.

This is a story of survival. This is an entertaining and action packed thriller that will keep you reading. If you like thrillers set in the wilderness - and a cat and mouse chase - pick this book up!

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan in my opinion was an amazing book. I love a book that can pull me in from the first couple pages and have me turning the pages for more. This was a fast paced action thriller that you fell in love with some of the characters, and the others you completely detested. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley an the publisher, I am leaving my review voluntarily.

When I say this story was action packed, I mean it was FULL of action. This was a non stop fast paced novel and I was so here for it. I was hooked on the characters and their different pieces of the puzzle and how they all fit together. Each chapter is from a different viewpoint, which in some novels can be confusing but I found the way the author wrote each perspective was done so well and written together so seamlessly that I had no trouble picking up the story when I had to put it down.
This is absolutely a story I could see being on TV or in the movies.
Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received an ARC of this book. Great story! I was pulled into the story from the first page and couldn't put it down until the last. Highly recommend!

This story, a high stakes chase involving some perilous situations in the middle of unforgivable Montana terrain, started off quite promising. It began getting a little muddled around the halfway point, and turned ridiculous by the climax, which by the way, was far longer than it should have been. The author gave her characters too many long, drawn out soliloquies to relay exposition and the whole thing just became too sappy and melodramatic.
Thanks to #netgalley and #minotaurbooks for this #arc of #northofnowhere in exchange for an honest review.

Allison Brennan did an excellent job with writing this thriller about two children who are hiding from their father because he is the head of a criminal family, but there is a plot twist that even I didn't see. I was shocked but it was an excellent story. We follow the teenagers as they hide out in the mountains of Montana to not be found by their father, as numerous parties search to find them to either keep them safe or to kidnap them.
This author and narrator kept my attention through out the whole book. I would definitely recommend this book to others. Hence my rating of 5 stars!

The book starts with siblings Kristen and Ryan having to go on the run--Troy, who helped them escape a crime family, is there to assist them. Someone is on the look out for them, bad people, who want to silence them forever. This is a thriller combined with an action-adventure novel. The pace keeps you turning the pages, wondering what's going to happen next!

I really enjoyed this book! It felt like more of a "man" thriller and it was a great change of pace from what I had been reading. I loved the setting and the character development. I was afraid that about half way through I would lose interest, but it kept me engaged the entire time.

Sixteen-year-old Kristen and her eleven-year-old brother Ryan are living a peaceful life in Montana with Tony, the man who helped them escape from a crime family. Then the day they feared came and they had to head out quickly. Into the woods amidst an oncoming blizzard. Looking for them are friends, family, and bad people from their past, some of whom want to find them and bring them back, and others want to ensure they never return. At the start of this book, I thought it would be formulaic, but nothing could be further from that. Author Allison Brennan writes a plot that takes off, grabs the reader, and doesn't let go. It's too often said that you won't put a book down, but in this case, you will not be able to put this down. Even though a few characters are not well developed or consistent, most of the characters are people I want to know and get attached to over the course of this book. This really was a fun ride. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm so glad I ended up getting this ARC. I haven't read this author before and she didn't disappoint!

Ryan and Kristen are on the run from their mafia father in Montana. This book was packed full of action and I could practically see myself running with them. An atmospheric thriller that can't be missed!

There is a storm coming. Will they make it?

Thanks to netgalley and st martins Minotaur books for this thriller!!

This is a book that had a great set-up, but the execution wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be. The action starts immediately, and I loved the story's first half with Kristen and Ryan trying to escape from their Mafia father. The plane crash and the trials after that really worked for me. But once we started separating everyone and having multiple backstabs and twists... I lost interest. I felt that there were just too many possible bad guys and supporting characters in play. While it wasn't my favorite of Brennan's novels, it was still entertaining. I give this book 3/5 stars.

Tony had no choice but to take the children from their father and now he knows that he can’t protect them any longe. He hoped that he would have more time with them. Kristen & Ryan knew that this day was coming and they have no choice but to run. But will they be able to get away from their father before it is too late? Kristen will do anything to protect her younger deal brother. Is she strong enough to beat her father and to get them safely away?
Ruby knew that this day would come and she has no choice but to save the children from their evil father. She loved her brother but she wouldn’t allow him to take them back to the family home. She knows that will happen to them but will she be able to find them in the middle of nowhere?
A good fast paced read. Great characters. Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the copy. This is my voluntary review.