Thank you to Natalie D. Richards, SOURCEBOOKS Fire, and NetGalley for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.
Publishes July 2, 2024.

Katie and Aster have been close cousins for most of their lives. Both have experienced the grief of losing a parent and Katie has additional trauma she is dealing with from her past. Hiking has always been an outlet for the girls to connect and find peace. They find excitement in conquering challenges of a desolate, desert terrain, but nothing can prepare them for what dangers lie ahead. This upcoming trip to the Moab desert was supposed to help them restore, but unfortunately nothing is at it seems and their plans encounter grave circumstances and complications. They turn to help from a young couple they run into and while Riley seems very unassuming and safe, Finn is anything but. I was hooked after the first chapter and found it very difficult to put down. Once you get past the "zero miles" chapters, I found myself putting on my detective hat and trying to figure out exactly what is going on. The reader gets the viewpoint from Katie, Aster, and a mysterious other women who is somewhere along the trail and significantly injured. Overall I found this to be an excellent story of survival, resilience, and not only dealing with trauma, but recovering as well. I enjoyed the red-herrings, twisted plot lines, and the tension that was thick enough to cut with a knife. The ending was satisfying and wrapped the whole story up like a gift. This is an action-packed, tension fueled read and should be on everyone's TBR July 2, 2024.

If you ever wanted to go backpacking, you might want to think again after reading this book! I couldn't put it down!
The book revolves around 2 cousins, Katie & Aster. The two were once close, but after an incident occurred to Katie, the two have drifted apart. This trip is supposed to help them resolve issues. Things appear to go well until they are caught in a rainstorm which damages some of their food reserves. Once they are able to put on drier clothes they keep going. Later on in the evening, they meet a couple, Finn and Riley, that at first seem friendly. That is until the shouting begins and Riley runs to Katie & Aster terrified that Finn will do something to her. Katie gives her their SAT phone to call her help and Katie runs off with their only link to the outside.
However, things are not as they seem when Aster is seriously hurt by a falling boulder on her foot. It is when Katie goes to get help that everything spirals out of control.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When cousins Katie and Astor decide to take a challenging hike in the Utah backcountry, it's not just to celebrate graduation from high school and a return to their childhood vacations, it's a chance to repair their friendship after a brutal trauma Katie survived the year before. Trigger warning: the aftermath of rape, as well as remembered glimpses of the attack itself.

The two girls have hiked together for years, and both look forward to the challenges and the peace of the harsh desert landscape, but the desert has more in store than heat, scorpions, snakes, and dangerous terrain. Nothing in their hiking pasts can prepare them for dangerous humans and bad luck; it's Katie's hyper-awareness and wariness that will save them now.

Very fast-paced and suspenseful, this novel about survival and recovery is deeply rooted in backcountry hiking wisdom. I enjoyed the girls' competence and the way they found a means to use their skills to ultimately rescue themselves. This is a high-energy, edge-of-your-seat headlong-dash of a New Adult novel. Brace yourself and block out an evening to speed through it!

Thanks NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC in exchange for my unfettered opinion.

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the ARC.

I'll be honest. It is a very interesting mystery. I wish I could've been more invested in it but I just didn't fall in love with the story. I think overall amazing. I just couldn't fall in love with the mystery.

Cousins Katie and Aster reunite for a big hike months after an attack and rape of Katie, for which Aster feels responsible. The cousins work through the strained relationship and shared trauma as they attempt the perilous trek through the Utah desert. Aster begins to spot bad omens early on, and a few ominous and dangerous incidents start to add up quickly. A chance meeting with a young couple seems to be a stroke of good luck, they have extra food to share and the girl, Riley, seems friendly. In the night, the couple have a fight and run off into dangerous terrain. Katie and Aster, worried for Riley's safety, cautiously hike on with a potential predator in pursuit.

This was a quick and exciting read, with twists and turns galore. The situations seem a bit improbable (so many chance encounters with danger on the supposedly infrequently traveled trail). The relationship between the cousins is a strong thread throughout. I can see teens picking this up and enjoying it.
3.5

I i reviewed an ebook arc of good book through NetGalley from the author Anna Sourcebooks Fire Team.

I gave this book 4 stars.

This book is about two cousins who decide to go on a 49 mile hike in southern Utah. They are trying to reconnect and understand eachother again after an awful tragedy almost a year ago. While the hike itself is very hard and dangerous at parts, a lot more happens than the 2 girls expect, and they have to make choices that could be life or death.

I do recommend checking trigger warnings if you have some.

I really liked the relationship between Aster and Katie. They grew up together and understood eachother more than anybody. After the tragedy they had a disconnect and hasn’t communicated almost that whole year. I also appreciated their personalities and how they each dealt with different things that came up.

I loved the ending and the pace of the book. I wasn’t sure where it was going but I enjoyed the journey. I do enjoy survivor type outdoor books.

Katie and Aster have been close cousins for most of their lives, especially after each of them lost a parent, and backpacking in Utah has been a huge part of their relationship. All that changes drastically after Katie is raped at a college party and Aster feels responsible because she left the drinking scene and was not there to protect her cousin. A hiking trip is supposed to help restore them to “before,” but nothing about this trip will go as planned. Natalie Richards includes great detail about adventuring with a pack on your back that holds everything you need to set up camp, caching supplies, and navigating lesser marked trails through the desert. For some, this may dissuade them from ever trying this rugged type of hiking and others will be thrilled to think of adventuring this way, even when unexpected hail storms beat down on the girls, supplies run out, and illness and injury further complicate the trip. In addition to these very possible complications to backpacking on challenging trails, Richards introduces some scary characters and scenarios and allows the villain to remain unclear until the very end. Readers will swing from Finn being the bad guy, to thinking maybe it is the solitary trail runner, or maybe the older man selling drugs from a ramshackle tent. And who is the young woman trying to tell her story mixed in with the chapters told from Katie or Aster’s perspective? Is it Rylie, the terrified girl who is camping with Finn or someone else entirely? Great descriptions of the stark beauty that is the Moab desert, twisting plot lines, and insight into what can happen in the minds and hearts of victims of trauma are only part of what makes this a great read for grades 8 and up. Text contains profanity (no F-bombs) and the names of Jesus and God are used several times when not actually talking about them. Katie’s rape is never described in detail, only with her remembrances of certain sounds and the actual bruises, but it’s affects on her are clear. Excellent choice for those looking for action adventure.

A great wilderness/suspense novel. I was constantly on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out the mystery. Very fast paced. Every time I thought I had it figured out, there was another twist I didn't see coming. Natalie Richards captivates the audience with her ability to tell a story. A truly great read.

This is a book you can't put down. From page 1 it is a riveting roller-coaster ride. You just can't stop turning the pages.
The story flips mainly between the two main characters. Usually this causes me trouble keeping everything straight but the story is told sequentially - just with different narrators. And they did a great job ratcheting up the suspense.
I loved all of the descriptions of hiking in the Utah backcountry. There were so many things that I didn't know about that kind of hiking and it gave me a greater appreciation of the beauty and danger of this type of hiking.
I wish I could give this story a 10 star rating. I loved it!
Enjoy!

A travel blogger who's trailer living goes missing and her sister is retracing her path via social media. She ends up traveling with a total stranger and there are so many twists and turns. I enjoyed going across Australia in this entertaining
story

49 Miles Alone by Natalie Richards I know this is a young adult novel. Being an old adult I think I would have enjoyed it more without the rape being a motivator for doing the hike. I believe teen angst would have been enough making it a more enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley.

Just a solid read. Highly recommended! Need a physical copy of this gem asap! I would give this book a 4.5/5!

Aster and Katie are cousins who bonded after each losing a parent. A year ago Katie was the victim of rape at a party, and both girls are learning to deal with the aftermath. They decide to hike 49 miles in Utah desert to try and heal. But on the way they run into disasters, nature and human ones. After running into a couple one night, they see the girl run off and the boy run after her. By morning they are still missing. Aster and Katie have to figure out what happened, get help if necessary, and keep themselves safe in the middle of nowhere. Whoa, this book was intense, but I think teens will really like the action parts of this book. It moves quickly. I like Natalie Richard’s flow, and I never guess the twist. Definitely recommend this for a beach read. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Two young women go for a hike in the aftermath of one of them being sexually assaulted. Understandably, she’s become nervous around men. The situation becomes even worse once they happen into a couple. But is Riley as innocent as she seems?

This was a taut thriller that had really high stakes, which kept me reading late into the night.

SPOILERS
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I really enjoyed reading this book, but I do think it’s problematic that it basically told a woman to ignore her intuition. Of course she was afraid, and rightfully so. Because although it’s true that all men aren’t bad, it’s also true that most women would rather be stuck alone in the woods with a bear instead of an unknown man.

Her instinct told her to stay away from a specific man. It ended up with him not being a problem, but I still believe that women should always follow their instincts. We’re right a lot more often than we’re wrong, after all.

If you're a fan of stories of surviving in the wilderness you will enjoy this one. 49 Miles Alone takes place in the remove desert of Moab. I live in a desert and I'm familiar with how unforgiving and extreme the desert can be. This book did a great job at depicting those extremes and dangers. I could visualize myself out on the trail with the characters.

At times I felt the story was a little slow moving and repetitive, but overall there were some really good twists. I feel at times the story didn't flow smoothly, but it was still a very enjoyable and adventurous read!

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire | Sourcebooks Fire for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I love a good survival story, and this one constantly kept me on my toes. I love the cover, and I would recommend this to a YA audience who likes survival thrillers.

I love this author! She writes mystery very well. I loved the setting for this book and that the characters were hiking/camping. While the trauma that the characters experienced added to the story, I felt like it was a little overshadowing at times. I did suspect the twist before the reveal, but it was still a good twist and the ended wrapped up well.

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me the ARC to this book!!

Following Katie and aster on a 49 mile hike and the crazy ish that follows them definitely kept me on my toes! (And weirdly made me want to go on a hike like that don't ask me why...)

I liked the book however, it just felt like it was missing something for me. The 3rd party chapters felt mildly confusing and while I'm sure it was the point, it just left me feeling disconnected. The author tried to confuse us on who the bad person is until the last like chapter, but I wish maybe we had learned who it was sooner and had more of a dramatic ending.

Overall it was a good book but not the best I've ever read.

At first there were vibes reminiscent of the movie Fall, with a female character working through trauma through engaging with the outdoors alongside a friend (in this case a cousin). Things shift towards humans being the real danger in the outdoors with misleading pieces and a quick wrap up at the end. I do appreciate that Katie’s recovery journey was multifaceted and included sleep clinics, therapy, a chiropractor, and therapist. A solid read with content warnings for sexual assault off page.

Wow, what a gripping book this was told from multiple points of view. Cousins Aster and Katie decide to hike the Utah Desert for four days. All goes well until they meet Riley and Finn. Aster feels something is off about Finn. When they take off, they find Finn outside their tent at night. The girls hear Riley and Finn fighting, and they girls think Riley is in trouble. The next morning Riley and Finn are gone. Katie wants to find Riley, but when they see just Finn they run away from him. The girls see vultures circling. Is that a body on a ledge? When something happens to Aster, Katie goes for help. Where are Riley and Finn?