Series: Thunder Road #1
Author: Katie McGarry
Published: May 26, 2015 - Harlequin Teen
Format: Egalley
Pages: 496 pages
Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both.
Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member—is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.
No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.
This is my first book by Katie McGarry, which I don't understand because I own several. The nuisance of time, I suppose. It is definitely not my last. As I start this review, I'm at 64% through the book. But I wanted to get my post started and get some stuff in before I forget. I am easily falling for this story and this group of people. Yeah, it's YA, but to me it feels more NA. Oz and Emily could easily each pass for 19 or 20 rather than 17 and 18.
So like the blurb says, "...reluctant visit turns into an extended summer vacation..." and that's right. Emily is thrown in with family she doesn't know, and didn't really even knew they existed, aside from her father. She's learning that things she's believe to be true her entire life may not be true, and yet no one is exactly telling her the blunt truth either. It's frustrating as hell for her, but for me, it's a bit of a mystery that's really grabbing me. I'm wondering what the answers are, what hasn't her mother told her, and what has been an outright lie? As for Emily, herself, she's stubborn and strong willed. She's intelligent and observant. There is one thing that's bothering me though - something happened in her childhood that's given her a phobia. It's come up a couple times at this point, but if I get through the book and there is no reason why, I may be miffed. Because right now? It kind of feels like it was just thrown in there for the sake of it, and it is quite peculiar and unusual.
"Trust me to protect you."
Ok, let's take a music break while I finish the book........
Now I've finished. I can honestly say I loved this book!! I love that close-knit stance of the club and it's family. I love the tension between Emily and Oz. I loved every aspect... but the thing I mentioned earlier? An event from Emily's childhood that seemed out of place? Yeah, it stayed that way and was my only complaint with this story.
A bright shining star in this book is Olivia, Emily's grandmother. She is full of spark and orchestrating so many behind the scenes things, while giving Emily a needed family connection that she didn't even know she needed. She just really felt like a proper matriarch, knowing so much more than she let's on because she knows that people sometimes need to figure things out on their own.
If you like motorcycle romances, I think you will like this book. I've read other mc romances that involve the "children" in the club and this ranks right up there with them. I'm really looking forward to the rest of this series, and I'm excited for the next book which is about Razor. He seems to have a dark history, and I can't wait to see that get unraveled!
KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.
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