Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟 Audiobook: 🌟🌟🌟💫 Spice: 🌶️

by Kimi Cunningham Grant – Many thanks to @macmillan.audio for the gifted audiobook!

Emlyn once had a best friend (Janessa) and a boyfriend (Tyler), but years ago, everything changed. She has spent years rebuilding a quiet life in her remote town. Then Tyler returns because Janessa has gone missing, and he needs Emlyn’s wilderness expertise to find her. As Tyler and Emlyn hike rugged terrain in search of Janessa and piece together troubling clues that she may be in more danger than they thought, they also unpack the history of what tore them apart years ago. Truths are laid bare, and lives are at stake as Emlyn tries to make peace with her past and survive in the present.

This book started out great. I loved the dual timeline and how the author took us to the beginning of Emlyn’s relationships with both Janessa and Tyler, allowing us to feel truly invested in their complicated history. Emlyn’s habit of matching words to people was an incredibly interesting way to write character development into the book in a unique way. The details about wilderness tracking were also really interesting. However, the story took an unexpected turn toward the end, with a few plot twists that I felt came out of left field. Despite this, the ultimate ending left Emlyn exactly where I hoped she would be.

The audiobook narration was very good and, for me, improved the experience of the story.