I LOVED her previous book, These Silent Woods, so I was expecting an atmospheric mountain adventure full of twists but I didn’t care for the characters or the storyline. Usually when I near the end of a book my eyes are glued to every last detail and I cannot put it down, but with this one the ending was predictable and I just couldn’t make myself finish it…but I pushed myself to read every last chapter.

I liked the past and present timeline that built up the character’s story, but again, I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters.

Without giving out any spoilers on characters, I wanted more of a conclusion but feel like the romance overtook the criminal conclusion that I desperately needed. Maybe I read too many crime thrillers, but I feel like I needed to know what happened with the “bad guys” since the last portion of the book blew up with their secret lives and the girls were going to expose them, but it bothered me that those loose ends were never tied up.

-I loved the suspense and constant questions of "who can we trust?" I enjoy a good guessing game because it keeps me reading
-Kimi's writing style and voice is wonderful, and she has such a way with words and painting an amazing scene.
-This is a book that gets better and better as you read it. People who are quick to DNF would miss out on some great moments in the end.

THOUGHTS:
-The time jumps happened too often for me and were all over the place. They range from Emlyn's childhood, teen years and adult years. Normally this isn't a problem for me, but for some reason it made the present timeline feel less impactful.
-The romance needed to be swapped. I wanted what we got in the end, to happen at the beginning. That last hour of the audio was wonderful, and I WISHED it'd been switched.
-The ending was great but was also resolved too easily and too quickly. wholly underwhelming.

OVERALL:
I liked this book and I'd recommend it to nature lovers who want a dash of mystery.

Reminiscent of recent headlines this is the story of a woman whose friend goes missing. Overcome with memories from the past she is left searching for her friend with the man that she thought she would love forever until he left her abandoned in the woods half frozen to death. They are forced to work together as they trudge through the wilderness uncovering clues and reliving the past as they narrow in on the location of her missing friend.

I had no idea where this story was headed. Just when I thought I knew, it would take a different turn. I enjoyed the tension and uneasiness the story created. The atmosphere was described perfectly as were the challenges that one faces in the wilderness. This was a slow building story with alternating chapters from the past that gave insight to the relationships between the three friends. This is very well written but I had a difficult time relating to the characters or becoming emotionally involved in the story.

3 ⭐️

Thank you to Kimi Cunningham Grant, NetGalley, and Minotaur books for this #gifted book!*

Synopsis: “But, truth is, I always found the most dangerous animal of all—…—that’s got to be the two-legged kind.” Emlyn Anthony packed her things in an airstream and decided to live in the wilderness after her failed relationship with Tyler. She was ready to escape him and move on—or so she thought. When Tyler reenters her life asking for help finding her former best friend Janessa, regret encircles Emlyn’s mind. Memories replay of her past as they trek through the wilderness searching for this missing social media star whose own post betrayed her. Something isn’t right. As the hike progresses and the story pieces together, Emlyn explores the truth about her friends, herself, and The Nature of Disappearing.

Analysis: One thing I love about Grant’s books is how her characters instantly draw me in and keep me turning every page. Emlyn is trekking through a wilderness both physically and metaphorically, and this deep theme continues throughout the book. She has to deal with how she views herself, how she’s let others affect her, and what she’ll do with the future. All of the characters in this book are deeply flawed, but they show the real life story of what happens when you’re involved with the wrong people and things. This book is filled with beautiful imagery of the forest, the complexities of adult friendships, and adventures in the wild. The last bit of the book dives into that page-turning finale that readers long for. If you’re looking for subtle mystery/suspense/thriller, you absolutely have to give this book a try!

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions ťexpressed in this review are my own.

the nature of disappearing by kimi cunningham grant 🥾 thank you minotaur books for the finished copy and box of essentials to explore the wilderness 🍂✨🪵

a wilderness guide must team up with the man who ruined her life years ago when the friend who introduced them goes missing 👀

this story switches between past and present timelines, explaining how this friend group ultimately fell apart. while I liked the adventure of hiking into the unknown mystery within the present storyline, the past felt too slowly revealed as there wasn’t as much going on.

emlyn was a good mc to follow but for as strong-willed of a character as she was, at times she was portrayed as a very *insecure girl* which didn’t make much sense. as characters started showing their true motives & nerves started picking up towards the end, I ultimately wanted more within the final chapters. everything ended SO abruptly, we never truly got answers about what happened in the moment or a few months from now… we were just left to assume.

moral of the story: don't let anyone back in your life who as ever wronged you, even when it’s the most tempting. 3.5 stars ⛰

The author of THESE SILENT WOODS has written another unforgettable story. In this one you will get lost in the wilderness. Go fly fishing in freezing cold rivers. Find a true forever friend. Fall in love. In real love...

When Emlyn wakes in a stranger's cabin she has no idea how her life is going to change. She's been through a lot and it's time for her to face it all. To accept that she is a good and decent person who is worthy of love and being heard. She has been through so much for another. It's time for her to live life for herself now. At least that is what I got out of this story.

A beautiful heartfelt story of a young woman who fell in love. She fell in love with the wrong boy. But no one, not even her best friend, could tell her that. And to be honest her best friend didn't really try that hard. What she experiences for the next five or more years is her story. She tells it all too. You get all the details and meet some pretty awful people. But you also meet the kindest, most caring people too.

This story is about a young woman who is really searching for something. And when she finally finds it it is so beautiful. So honest and loving. When she finally accepts that she is worthy of hope. Of a normal, caring, relationship.

I loved this story. It's filled with a lot of tension. A lot of thrills. A bit of love. It hits on drug addiction. Lies. Maybe a bit of abuse but in a way that is not what you think. It's a story of hope. Hope in it's truest form. Somewhere in Idaho there is a couple living a good life. I believe that now. I'm happy for them.

Thank you #NetGalley, #KimiCunninghamGrant, #StMartinsPress, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Five big stars. It's that good.

This story takes place in the beautiful wilderness of Idaho. As a lover of nature, I enjoyed the sceneries the author so beautifully captured in this book.

Emlyn is a guide and when her ex-boyfriend contacts her about the disappearance of their mutual friend, Emlyn doesn’t hesitate. With her skills, she knows they have a better chance of finding Janessa. 

The two timelines intertwine nicely. The past takes us back to the time when Emlyn became friends with Janessa. Everything is fine between them until Emlyn meets Tyler, Janessa's childhood friend.

The writing was beautiful. The set up was spectacular. But, I just wish I was more engaged in the story. I was waiting for more suspense and thrilling moments in this book. The ending was what I was hoping for. This book will be loved by many readers this season.

Having read and loved These Silent Woods, I was excited to read The Nature of Disappearing. But I was a bit disappointed, expecting a thriller but getting a just a slow story with not much happening. Switching between the different timelines made it feel disjointed as well. The description of the setting was great and the plot wasn't bad, it just wasn't very cohesive and lacked any real suspense. I'd be willing to give the author another try but would recommend These Silent Woods over this one. My thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Oh. My. Gosh. You better cancel your plans before you start this book because you won’t want to put it down. I love “These Silent Woods” and I couldn’t wait to read this. Kimi Cunningham Grant has a talent to make you FEEL as if you were really there. Emlyn is working as a nature guide when her friend goes missing. She teams up with her old boyfriend to find out what happened. This is a twisty tale will keep you guessing until the end.
I can’t wait to see what Grant writes next! Many thanks to the author, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#TheNatureOfDisappearing #KimiCunninggamGrant #NetGalley #Mystery #BooksInNature #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks

A captivating mystery thriller.

Emlyn has come a long way since Tyler ruined her life and she lost her best friend, Janessa, over him. Now she works as a wilderness guide living alone in a trailer in Idaho backcountry. She's cautiously made some friends, including a Forest Service ranger named Varden. Slowly she is trying to come to terms with her situation and to find some peace, but all of that is shattered when Tyler contacts her because Janessa has gone missing. Janessa was documenting her van life on social media with her boyfriend, Bush, and suddenly went silent. Against her better judgement, Emlyn allows herself to be drawn back into Tyler and joins him in his desperate search for their friend.

This was beautifully written and the narrative shifts back and forth in time as we learn Emlyn's history with Tyler and Janessa. The descriptions and details of the vast wilderness that Emlyn inhabits creates an atmosphere and setting that matches Emlyn's inner turmoil. Some twists and turns provide the suspense, and nothing is quite as it seems. Emlyn struggles with her self-perception and experiences some true growth as she faces the truth. I could relate to Emlyn as a main character and the story was very poignant and realistic.

I listened to the audiobook while following along with the e-book ARC (both provided by the publishers) and enjoyed the narrator though there was not much differentiation in her tone and pitch for the various male and female characters.

Definitely this would make a good choice for a book club to discuss the whole nature of finding yourself, starting over, and getting beyond your past.

I was all in with this book at the beginning. I liked the way the author wove information about the past in with the present. It’s a pretty common storytelling method, but it worked well in this case. Unfortunately, the book began to fall apart as we approached the last quarter. The reasoning of the characters did not really make sense, and I felt like something was off between the stakes of the story and the action. I did enjoy the setting and learned a little about tracking along the way.

What a great book about friendship, romance, tragedy, mystery and the people that try to save us all set in the wilderness.

This story is about two women and their friendship that started in college. There are positive and negative sides to any friendship and this one has them too, but they are overlooked for years. There is also a strong friendship between two characters that started as children when their families were neighbors. Both of these friendships form the core of the book. This is a book about trust and how important it is in any relationship and what happened when it is lost.

The author does an amazing job of providing detailed descriptions of wilderness survival, which makes this book stand out. The book is well written and flows between times in the lives of the main characters. There is an amazing love story that weaves its way through the book. The author does a great job of controlling the amount of information the reader is given about the characters. In fact, at first they all seem like great people. But as the story goes on, we get more and more information about what went wrong in the lives of each character.

I really enjoyed the combination of the romance, wilderness, mystery and friendship that made up this story.

I was a huge fan of Kimi Cunningham Grant’s 2021 release These Silent Woods. I loved the mixture of beautiful writing and a complex father/daughter relationship. I was so excited to see what The Nature of Disappearing gave us.

Once again, the debate about what should be considered a ‘Thriller’ has arisen. I love Thrillers, but I think slapping it on every mystery or book with some suspense does these books a disservice. Similar to These Silent Woods this is an atmospheric story in nature with a slow burn mystery plot. There, now you’re ready to read this book with correct expectations. I digress.

There were multiple things I really loved about this book. I was quickly invested into the story, and I think Grant is such a fabulous writer, especially when it comes to depicting nature. It’s not a very long book so it can be read quickly; but at 304 pages it was a slow burn plot wise.


Plotwise, I struggled. It wasn’t as put together as I would have liked, and there were quite a few things that felt forced. While Emlyn is described as a highly skilled/trained wilderness guide and highly intelligent, she makes a ton of dumb decisions, and I just couldn’t seem to connect at all with her. Her ex and current ‘love interest’ both felt like subplots trying to bully their way into relevance and it just didn’t work for me.

The Nature of Disappearing really failed to provide any suspense for me and didn’t feel fully flushed out. There were too many avenues trying to take center stage and closed with an ending that felt rushed and out there. If you’re looking for a well written story and are more interested in the atmosphere then this one is for you; but thriller lovers will be disappointed.

As an avid enjoyer of nature I loved the wooded atmosphere, hiking and fishing detailed in this book. I grew up creek playing and exploring a piece of my grandma’s land that is now an Illinois State Park, and have so many fun happy memories there :) Cunningham-Grant did an excellent job of bringing that setting to life on page. The disappearance and search kept me intrigued - - will they find her and the boyfriend, and if so in what condition. ⚠️Be warned that there is a grisly twist during the search regarding animals. I really disliked that and skimmed over it. I knew putting this motley crew of broken relationships together meant disaster in the end, I just didn’t know how. Well it definitely was a twisty one with my feelings all over the place at the final outcome concerning Janessa and Emlyn’s relationship, Bush and Tyler.. I mean can a leopard really change his spots. And then seeing Emlyn’s happily ever after come to fruition. 4 stars — Pub. 6/18/24

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I loved Kimi Cunningham Grant's 2021 release, These Silent Woods, so I couldn't wait to read The Nature of Disappearing. But while Grant's new novel shares some traits with her previous one -- complex characters, a past and present timeline, rich atmosphere and luminous prose -- I found The Nature of Disappearing to be a much less compelling book overall.

This book centers on Emlyn, who lives a simple and solitary life in the wilds of Idaho, working as a hunting and fishing guide. Three years ago, Emlyn's boyfriend Tyler abandoned her in the wilderness, upending the trajectory she thought her life would take. But when Tyler shows up with the news that Emlyn's former best friend, a rising social media star named Janessa, is missing, Emlyn reluctantly agrees to help Tyler track her through the wilderness. As Emlyn and Tyler follow Janessa's trail, Emlyn can't deny the chemistry that still exists between them, even as she struggles to resist the pull of their complicated past.

Despite an exciting turn of events in the last few chapters, The Nature of Disappearing is not a thriller. What it is, instead, is a melancholy and poignant character study about fraught relationships and complicated personal histories. The book feels modern in its plotting, but timeless in its themes. Grant's writing is nuanced and profound as she unflinchingly explores Emlyn's life experiences. The book has a strong sense of place, too, with vivid and lush descriptions of the Idaho wilderness that made me feel like I was on the trail with Emlyn and Tyler.

What I often struggle with in past and present timelines (and struggled with here) is that I am almost always much more invested in one timeline over the other. In The Nature of Disappearing, the timelines felt unbalanced. I wanted more about Emlyn's present-day life and the people in it; the past unfolded much too slowly, with not a lot of substance. And the thriller-like conclusion of the book felt unearned, and a bit of a let-down.

I think I was just hoping for a reading experience as special as These Silent Woods, and The Nature of Disappearing felt too normal in comparison. Thank you to Minotaur Books for the early reading opportunity.

Overall, I feel I did enjoy the book and the story. It had the nature vibes. I loved learning about the characters and their lives and mystery of it all. That’s what kept me reading. However personally I felt there wasn’t any thriller or suspense aspects. The story picks up at the end as you learn how it all comes together. But a little slower up till then.

Thank you Minotaur Books, Kimi Cunningham Grant for my #gifted copy of The Nature of Disappearing!

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐊𝐢𝐦𝐢 𝐂𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐦 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

I read These Silent Woods and was so excited when I heard Kimi Cunningham Grant had a new book releasing this year. I’m happy to say this book definitely lived up to my expectations. This book was so atmospheric. I felt like I was there with the characters because of how descriptive the authors was and I just loved it. And the suspense! The suspense was so good! I loved the dual timelines and feel like it worked so well with this book and helped to build everything up so well. If you are a fan of slow burns, I think you should give this one a try. The author does such an amazing job of painting such an amazing picture and you will be hooked from the start!

🗻Dual Timeline
🗻Slow Burn
🗻Atmospheric
🗻Wilderness Setting

Posted on Goodreads on June 18, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around June 18, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on June 18, 2024
**-will post on designated date

I don't think it is possible to read one of Grant's books without being a sobbing mess at the end. this one is a literary work of art, truly. Emlyn was the main character, and what made me not be able to put this book down. part thriller, part drama. loved it

A good book, but nothing great. Definitely a slow burn but I liked the build up and had high hopes for the ending. The ending was alright but I guess I expected
more. I felt like nothing too crazy happened and then before I knew it, it was over.

I absolutely adored These Silent Woods, so I couldn’t pass up the chance to read this newest book early!

I love the relationship the author has with nature and the wilderness where her characters thrive. I think that’s a huge part of why I love her writing so much.

This story is full of suspense and intrigue. I really like how Emlyn and Janessa become friends and how part of their relationship is based on “saving” one another. Janessa is a really fun character! I loved reading about her.

I also enjoyed the Tyler/Emlyn backstory and how things went south as well as their wild adventure to find Janessa.

I also really liked Rev and Varden. There are really some great characters within these pages!

This was a fun read, though I felt it wrapped up a little too quickly. I wanted more!