Thank you @netgalley for the advance copy of this novel. The Nature of Disappearing begins with Emlyn, our main character finding out her former best friend, a social media influencer is missing in the Idaho wilderness. Emilyns ex boyfriend Tyler, shows up to beg Emily’s to help him track their mutual friend down. The premise of this story intrigued me. I love a survival story and a thriller and this seemed to be both. All I could think when I finished it though was that I wanted more. I wanted more of the characters back stories. I wanted more of Varden and Emlyns history and interactions. And I wanted more plot and action. I absolutely adored Kimi Cunningham Grants last novel, These Silent Woods and was so excited to get an advanced readers copy of this new novel. It just didn’t meet my expectations. I also think that the author’s original title “Wilderness” would have been a much better and more relevant title to this work. I will be reviewing this book on my podcast, Southern Girls Guide to Books

Emlyn’s estranged friend, Janessa, has gone missing. Janessa is a social media influencer (#vanlife) and hasn’t posted in several days and failed to check in at the next wilderness check point. Maybe she just wants to take a break from publicly posting her life. Or maybe she is injured, lost, or worse.

I felt this was very well written. I liked the way the present and past intertwined throughout the whole book. The suspense and mystery were great! The only thing I felt fell short was the reveals and action scenes. They seemed dull compared to the suspense building parts.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kimi Cunningham Grant, and St. Martins Press-Minotaur Books for providing this ARC. This review is being shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date 18 Jun 2024

I really enjoyed the author's style of writing. Her characters are really captivating. I wanted to read more about Rev and Varden. The big reveal was very underwhelming.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I love when a book is atmospheric, and this was definitely it. It caught my attention right away and held on until the end. I try not to guess endings of books, and this one I definitely did not see coming. Thank you for letting me review! I will be recommending this to everyone!

Emlyn is a wilderness tour guide living in her Airstream in Idaho. She ended up there after her boyfriend left her for dead on the side of the road in the wilderness. Emlyn has worked hard to build friendships and a new life while recovering. Life is good until Tyler, the man who left her on the side of the road, finds her and asks her to help him locate their mutual friend who seems to be missing. Her feelings for Tyler are still there even after everything that happened and she reluctantly agrees to help him locate their friend Janessa. All is not as it seems though and Emlyn soon realizes that she and Janessa are in danger from the man Janessa is traveling with and possibly Tyler himself.

I really enjoy survival tales and this was a good one! I'm looking forward to her next book!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant!

3.5 stars. Thank to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Pub 6/18

The Nature of Disappearing follows wilderness guide Emlyn as she joins her ex to search the Idaho wilderness for her missing estranged friend, Janessa. Janessa has become a social media star, documenting her #vanlife along with her boyfriend. While the plot seems familiarl it takes a number of unexpected turns, some of which seemed a bit out there.

I was a big fan of Grant's previous book, These Silent Woods, and like that novel, I found this one to be beautifully written and engaging. The flasbacks were useful in fulling creating the characters and their motivations. Ultimately, however, the plot, particularly the ending fell a bit flat for me.

<b><I>But, truth is, I always found the most dangerous animal of all - that’s gotta be the two-legged kind. </b></I>

The Nature of Disappearing follows Emlyn and as she teams up with her ex-boyfriend Tyler (who abandoned her in the woods years earlier, almost freezing to death) as they search for their friend, Janessa. Janessa is a #vanlife influencer who they believe is in the woods in danger.

I absolutely adored Kimi Cunningham Grants last book These Silent Woods so this one had huge shoes to fill - and it filled them! I ate this book up and couldn’t go to sleep without finishing it.

The way Kimi Cunningham Grant sucks you into the wilderness setting is unmatched. You feel like you’re on the journey with the main characters observing from above. Her writing is so beautiful and immersive.

My one slight criticism would be that the ending wrapped up too quickly and left me wanting a little more (which was also the case for me in These Silent Woods).

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

I absolutely adored These Silent Woods and was so excited to get this novel. While I t huh ink it’s a good book it just didn’t hit the same way as her previous book. Three characters, while interesting, didn’t feel fleshed out enough for me and I never quite felt bought in on each of their stories. The mystery parts felt a bit convoluted and strained. I really really wish I liked this more but I still will read whatever this writer puts out next.
3.5 stars

Emlyn is at her best in the wild—she has rarely been as much at peace with people than she is out in the wilderness. Her friend Janessa was an exception, but that relationship is over; her boyfriend Tyler was another exception, but that too is over. At least—those relationships were over until Tyler reaches out, asking for help. Janessa is missing...and Emlyn is his best bet to find her again.

This is something of a slow burn of a book, sliding between the here-and-now of Emlyn and Tyler's hunt for Janessa and the years beforehand—before Janessa took Emlyn under her wing, before Emlyn and Tyler found each other, before it all fell apart. Parts of the mystery are hinted at for the reader to guess before Emlyn does, but there are a lot of ways the story could turn out, which is satisfying; I guessed at some of it, especially as the story went on, but several other outcomes would have been realistic too.

The characters are satisfying, and there's something about Janessa and Emlyn's friendship that I think will resonate with a lot of readers—loving each other fiercely but Emlyn feeling that she's always in Janessa's shadow. (Their relationship is *way* more interesting than Emlyn's more predictable route with Tyler.) In places I'd have liked more from Janessa, who pretty much does everything with a bang but whom we of course only understand from Emlyn's perspective.

I'll leave it there because the details of the relationships are best unfolded with the pages of the book—but this was a satisfying read.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

I finished this book in a day. I literally couldn't put it down. I felt like the story flowed so easily between past and present so that the reader could understand what happened in the past that fueled present situations. Such an easy thriller read!

Emlyn and Janessa meet in college and strike up a friendship, Janessa the domineering outgoing one and Emlyn the quieter one. Emlyn starts dating Tyler, Janessa's best friend from childhood but it doesn't sit well with Janessa. After months of dating Tyler does something horrible to Emlyn. Finally getting over him and moving on he stumbles back into her life to ask Emlyn to help find Janessa who has disappeared. However, Emlyn starts to realize things aren't quite as they seem.

This story was written so well with great character development. While Janessa was a little overbearing she ended up being someone that Emlyn truly could depend on. Varden should Emlyn how it should feel to be cared for and Rev accepted Emlyn wholeheartedly. Emlyn triumphed in the end and it was a great read!

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press Minotaur books and Kimi Cunningham Grant for allowing me to review this ARC!

Overall I really enjoyed this read and it kept me engaged and wanting to learn more about each character.

My only complaint is my small disappointment in the ending; I hoped it would have been a little more thrilling and less rushed.

Overall, I enjoy the author’s writing both here and in These Silent Woods, I will continue reading more!

I stated January of 2023 reading These Silent Woods and fell in love with Kimi Grants writing. Was so excited for an ARC of The Nature of Disappearing and starting it January 2024, and I was not let down one bit. I loved every moment and thought of Emlyn. Emlyn’s word? Strength. Highly recommend this read!

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Reminded me of the Gabi Petino (spelling) case in the beginning and I was hesitant however it definitely created its own way and storyline. Two girls find their way to eachother and become best friends. However as with any friendship there’s usually an imbalance. It’s watching this imbalance play out that gives us the storyline. Definitely was action packed towards the end with some twists I didn’t see coming. Would highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Couldn't get into this one as much as I hoped it would be impressive. I think it had all the makings of a book I'd love, but for some reason, it wasn't the outcome. The cover is gorgeous though! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I couldn't wait to read this as I loved the author's previous novel. Initially, I'll admit I was a bit disappointed as I felt like this was going to be a rip-off of the true crime Gabby Petito story - but stick with it if you're distracted by the initial similarities in your mind. Trust me. This one has a slow build that gradually reveals bits and pieces of the characters' pasts, leading you to a satisfying conclusion. A few twists along the way, some that are predictable and some that completely surprised me. Overall, highly recommend to fans of thrillers and/or the author's previous book.

Three estranged friends. Emlyn, Janessa and Tyler.
Now with one missing in the wilderness, the other two need to put their differences aside to find their friend before it’s too late.

I was hoping for a five-star. I tried to will it into being. But no matter how much I wanted to love this book I just couldn’t get there. When I pick up a book I want to feel a part of it…not just read the pages.

I need a connection to the characters and /or the storyline. Both were lacking for me. A complete disconnect… as though I was standing on the outside looking in. I didn’t feel any of the tension or suspense the author was trying to convey.

I absolutely loved her previous book, These Silent Woods so I’m not giving up. I’ll definitely be trying another from this author in the future.

There are plenty of positive five-star reviews for this book, so be sure to take a look at those! I’m very much an outlier!🏝️

A buddy read with Susanne

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press

Kimi has a way of writing enticing characters and stories with a background against nature. I loved In These Silent Woods and this book was just as enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced ecopy of The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant.

After Grant's These Silent Woods (which I loved), I was eagerly anticipating her next book. The Nature of Disappearing did not disappoint! Another slow-burn nature suspense hit the spot. Compelling characters, great storyline, and enough twists to keep you guessing.

It is no secret that I admire Kimi Cunningham Grant's ability to draw her readers into her stories and hold us, enthralled, to the very last page. <u>The Nature of Disappearing</u> held me equally captive.

I grew to care about brave, multi-faceted Emlyn Anthony: her sense of abandonment and lack of self-worth, her love of nature and her self-reliance, and her courage to start over - again and again - each time happiness evaded her yearning grasp. This passage says so much about Emlyn:

"When I was eleven, my dad got me a dictionary, and then, a few months later, he left.... For a long time, I read it..... And I do this thing. I choose a word for people.... one word that can really summarize a person."

These lines made me sigh deeply. Emlyn was trying to make sense of her world, attempting to label the people in her life. Some of those labels would prove to be woefully false, as she would learn to her cost.

Kimi Cunningham Grant catapulted herself onto my "top ten favourite writers of all time" list with her novel, <u>These Silent Woods.</u> Her descriptions of wild woodlands and mountainous terrain are mesmerizing. You lose all sense of time and place as you fall into the slow cadence of her storytelling.

I didn't want this story to end - I never do with any of her books! She builds atmosphere and and draws you right into the wilderness with her carefully chosen words. I love losing all sense of myself while I am reading her books, and this book was no exception.

Emlyn's life changed when she met her BFF - the effervescent, irrepressible Janessa, in college.

"<i>Friend.</i> ... In fact "friend" was almost too flimsy a word. They'd been more. Confidantes, allies, sisters.
And then they'd been less."

As always with Gran'ts novels, there is a mystery to be solved and the characters are plunged into dire straits that seem impossible to overcome. I was on the edge of my seat right up until the end.

I don't want to give too much of this story away, so I will just say that this was yet another spellbinding read from Kimi Cunningham Grant. Highly, highly recommended! 5 out of 5 well written stars!

My thanks to Kimi Cunningham Grant, her publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this equally heartrending and heartwarming novel. Loved every page of it!

Most perfect book to start the New Year off! Available 6/18/24 and you will not regret preordering!!

This book had it all, romance, danger and set in Idaho! Kimi has a way of making you love her characters, flaws and all.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this much anticipated book.