Holy shit. This might be the darkest book I’ve ever read.
I wasn’t exactly prepared for the theme of this book, and now I don’t think I will ever not think about it.
I honestly don’t know if thats good or bad.
Miley is an Olympic athlete working at a camp in the Idaho wilderness. When she goes missing most think a bear got her, just like a girl 4 years ago. Oh y’all. If only.
If you are triggered by most things, this one will get you. It was often times hard to read, but I still found myself unable to put it down. Lots of mixed emotional here. All in all hella disturbing and crazy sad.
Maybe I should have waited for my heart to stop pounding to write this review…
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

I have read all of this authors previous books and loved them. This one is no exception! She is definitely an auto buy author for me.

I didn’t read much of the synopsis going in, just that it was about a camp staffer who gets kidnapped. If you think that sounds terrifying, just wait. The twists and turns this one takes keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Younger me is SO happy to have found this book. I grew up reading a lot of Peg Kehret. She was my favorite author growing up, and this is basically my adult version of those books. Noelle is an amazing writer and storyteller. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and I was not joking. I binged this story in about a day. I highly recommend to anyone into true crime or survival stories. I especially appreciated the authors note at the end. She goes over her inspiration for the story, which was a real biathlon athlete, Kari Swenson, who was kidnapped in the Montana wilderness by a father and son. She talks about how people showed praise and sympathy to the men for being "the last real mountain men." I think it's so important that we show more sympathy and praise to the people who endured that abuse.

I highly recommend this story, but be sure to pay attention to the trigger warnings! I read the ARC for this off of NetGalley, but I will definitely be looking to get a physical copy of this and reading more books by Noelle.

It was like watching a movie in my head and I loved it. This book was thrilling and disturbing. Once I started it I could not put it down #femalebadass #Olympian

Gray after Dark is a suspenseful psychological thriller. Miley is training for an Olympic biathlon on her off time while she’s working at a wilderness resort deep in the mountains. One morning while she’s training alone in the woods she is captured. The rest of the story is about her struggles in captivity and also from the perspective of her best friend and teammate who is risking their lives looking for her after the police give up the search. This was an enjoyable 4 star novel..

Giiiiiiiirl. Something about the way this author writes has my heart just RACING from start to finish.

This is my second read of Noelle’s and I was not disappointed.

Please do yourself the favor of reading this book!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy in exchanged for my opinion!

This book had me on the edge of my seat! Some of it was tough to read but I could not put it down. Nail biting for sure!!

After an accident leaves Miley with constant pain and issues she decides to take a summer job in Frank Church Wilderness. Miley is thinking it would be good to get fresh air and start training again for the Olympics. But she truly doesnt understand the dangers in the Wilderness until one day she runs to a lake and gets in the water. While she is there two men walk out of the road and end of kidnapping her. But little does she know what is about to happen in the true wilderness of Frank Church.

This was a top notch book and one I would recommend to literally everyone! I really liked this book and thought it was thought provoking but also extremely suspenseful. I never really knew what was going to happen and I was yelling at the book a few times for many reasons. It was told in two perspectives but they were so intertwined that it did not ever take away from the story. Noelle Ihli is one of a kind and an author I would recommend again and again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this fast paced, gripping, page turner. I’m still catching my breath 🥵

• Bad Ass Female Main Character
• Kidnapping
• Doomsday Preppers/ Survivalism
• Dual POV

s u m m a r y :

A merciless wilderness. A harrowing attack. A desperate escape.

When a tragic accident sidelines Miley’s dreams of Olympic gold, she takes a summer job at a mountain guest lodge.

The Frank Church Wilderness is remote, but it’s the perfect place to train and recover. Local lore about a staffer who died years ago doesn’t scare her. But it should.

Miley’s plans take a terrifying detour when she’s abducted during a morning run. Held captive in a desolate off-grid cabin, she’ll have to use her athletic prowess, cunning mind, and courage to survive. But as the nightmare at the cabin escalates, Miley is forced to form an unlikely alliance and attempt a risky escape.

Can she outwit her captors and survive the wilderness before it’s too late?

Inspired by true events, Gray After Dark is a pulse-pounding psychological thriller with a finale that will leave you breathless

Thank you @netgalley and Dynamite Books for this ARC
Gray After Dark is out now!

AMAZING!!!! 5 stars! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! I loved it. Wow. Also, the love story with Brent happening on the side was to die for. I felt like I was the main character in this book going through every emotion she was going through. I felt like I was kidnapped, and being held by the two men. I was disgusted, and horrified the entire time. This book was a masterpiece. I also red Run on Red by Noelle and the vibes were the same. A fast paced thriller that keeps you turning the pages to get to the end. One of the best thrillers I have read. I can't wait for more.

Will be posting review on goodreads and insta.

Resilience!!!

Thank you NetGallary for an early review copy of Gray After Dark!

I absolutely Loved this book! Full of hold your breath and edge of your seat moments!

This book is terrifying but oh so good! I could imagine myself in this situation and i am not sure I would have been as brave.

I must admit I didn’t see the twists coming. This was an amazing read that I could not put down.

Miley’s journey is full of suspense. This is a great thriller!

No spoilers with my review.

I am a huge fan of Noelle Ihli! She never disappoints! Overall I give this book 5 golden stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of Gray After Dark!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🏃‍♀️ love to run
🥇 ever competed in the Olympics
📰 enjoy books based on real events
🌲 have ever explored the Frank Church

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

When a tragic accident sidelines Miley's dreams of Olympic gold, she takes a summer job at a mountain guest lodge. The Frank Church Wilderness is remote, but it’s the perfect place to train and recover. Local lore about a staffer who died years ago doesn’t scare her.

But it should.

Miley’s plans take a terrifying detour when she’s abducted during a morning run. Held captive in a desolate off-grid cabin, she’ll have to use her athletic prowess, cunning mind, and courage to survive. But as the nightmare at the cabin escalates, Miley is forced to form an unlikely alliance and attempt a risky escape.

Can she outwit her captors and survive the wilderness before it’s too late?

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

Wow, this one was a page turner right from the start! If you’re looking for a thriller that’ll get your heart pumping, this one is it! I loved that we got both Miley and Brent’s POVs in this story because we could see her captive view point and his free view point as he searched the wilderness for her. The kidnappers were so gritty and downright scary. I wanted to reach through the pages and save her myself. The story unfolds in a really unpredictable way as I didn’t know how it would all end. It had me cheering for Miley the entire time though. I can’t wait to read more from this talented author!

This author knows how to bring the suspense and although this book is not horror, plenty of things happened in it that were worse than what I've read in horror books. This book was inspired by a true event.

I really felt for Miley, the main character. Her mother died in a car accident while Miley was driving, and she blamed herself for her mother's death. She was on her own after that. Miley had won one medal in the Olympics and meant to win another one, but she had also been injured in the wreck.

She had taken a job at a lodge in the Frank Church Wilderness in Ohio, partly because she meant to get back into shape in her spare time, running and hiking. She had been warned by her manager about a young woman who had disappeared from the lodge when she went for a walk in the wilderness. Nothing in civilization could have prepared her for what she encountered on the trail - she was kidnapped by people who intended to add her to their 'family'. Some horrific events happened but I'm glad I read this book. Reading this book also gave me a new appreciation for electricity and grocery stores.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher Dynamite Books via NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

Intense for the entire ride. Whew, I could not put this down and was legit scared when reading at night! So fast moving, the drama and suspense doesn’t let up until the very end! Highly recommend for thriller lovers.

This is the first book by Noelle W. Ihli I’ve read, but it definitely won’t be the last.
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written, it was horrific at times, but there is hope in it too.
There’s definitely some things to check triggers for, but those aren’t described in great detail, which I also appreciated.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dynamite books for this ARC of ‘Gray After Dark’ by Noelle W. Ihli.

Another absolute masterpiece from this author. I’ve read all of her books that have been published as of now and have given all of them 5 stars. Definitely an auto buy author for me. Just read it!

An abduction story that got my heart pumping and sitting on the edge of my seat. There are a few trigger scenes that you want to be mindful of but overall, I thought it wasn't too gory or explicit. It's inspired by true events which made the story even more extraordinary. I enjoyed the quick chapters and alternating views.

Miley is training for the Olympics. It’s her top priority in life until she finds herself deep in the woods fighting to survive.

This book grabbed my attention right away! I couldn’t put this book down, especially near the end! I just had to know how Miley’s story ended. The things in this book, including SA, physical beatings and torture, animal abuse, starvation, and kidnapping were tough to read but made me really root for Miley and her life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the punisher for the ebook to review!

This book was amazing. Seriously! Gray After Dark is the first book I’ve read by Noelle W. Ihli and after reading it I fully intend to jump into the rest of her back catalogue. I only hope they can live up to Gray After Dark. This is a thrilling story of survival that is intense, brutal, and often times quite disturbing. All Miley wants to do is get back in peak condition for the olympics. Her intention is spend the summer working at a resort deep in the Frank Church Wilderness and spending her off time training. Her co-workers warn her about the danger of bears in the out in the woods…if only that was all she has to worry about. And if only she had told people where she was going. While swimming after one of her training sessions a couple of backwoods men come across her…and abduct her, thus beginning her brutal and twisted struggle for survival. There is no question that some people might just find this one hard to stomach, but I thought it was spectacular. Fantastic characters, an excellent story, and relentless pacing made this one of my favorite reads of the year so far. Thanks so much to Dynamite Books and NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read an Arc of Gray After Dark.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gray-after-dark-noelle-west-ihli/1144816187?ean=9798987845578&bvnotificationId=4190da8f-edf0-11ee-84ee-12638630b293&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/275478015

Noelle is such a bankable author. Everything I've read so far of hers has been gripping. This page turner is no different! Based on Miley who is working over the summer as well as training for the next Olympics after a car accident leaves her with injuries that need to heal, she carries on training around the Frank Church forest. Unaware that there are people living off grid who abide by their own rules and are looking for a final member of their family in preparation for the upcoming apocalypse.


This was an edge of your seat ride that I devoured. Can't wait to read the rest of her catalogue. Thanks to the publisher and the author for an advanced copy. This book is sure to fly!