What a whirlwind....I just finished this survival thriller and I am exhausted! It kept me guessing right up to the end. This very disturbing, story is based on true events which makes it even more compelling. A story of resilience in the face of brutality and evil had me wondering if I should keep going but, I just needed to know how it ended. This is my first Noelle Ihli novel and I will definitely check out others. The twists and turns, take you on an adventure along with the main character Miley.

Thank you Net Galley, Noelle Ihli and Dynamite Books for allowing me to preview this novel that is now available. The opinions expressed are my own.

#NetGalley #NoelleIhli #GrayAfterDark #DynamiteBooks #SurvivalThriller #Thriller #Suspense

This author came to my attention recently and I've noticed her name being mentioned a lot more frequently.
So I was thrilled to be asked to read this, her latest novel. And what a read! This is going to stick with me for some time.
Set in a wilderness area in America, Miley is helping out in a camp kitchen for a season after disappointing Olympic failure with her partner Brent. I'd never heard of the Biathlon, skiing and shooting, but it's the perfect background to this story.
When Miley is out on a run, she is abducted, and here the story really ramps up. It's told between alternating chapters of Miley and Brent. Both are equally horrific in completely different ways. I loved Wes and loved and hated Mary at times. The writing is so vivid that I felt the cold and picture the hated orange tent and crinkling foil blanket.
I loved the feeling, the exploration of love and family in various forms and resilience.
There are no holds barred here. It's raw and violent, but not unnecessarily so. When you reach the end, you realise its based on a true story. My heart was pounding, I was racing through the pages, I couldn't read it fast enough. Just brilliant.

Oh, wow. Gray After Dark by Noelle W. Ihli was so good! Atmospheric, chilling, and kept you guessing the whole time. I recommend just reading this blind and be prepared for a thrilling book! Recommend!

This book follows the story of Miley, an Olympic athlete, who goes missing in the wilderness. She is kidnapped by a father/son preppers. It’s hard to rate this as the story was disturbing and hard to read at times because of the situation. However as someone who loves thrillers, this was a fast paced thriller I couldn’t stop reading. I really cared for Miley and her grit and determination. There were times I had to keep reading just to make sure she was ok in the particular situation. I cared for Brent and Wes and liked Brent’s chapters as well. I grew to care for Mary and have hope for her as well. I was in a bit of a reading slump before this book. It took me weeks to read the last book, but I read Grey after dark in just a few days.

This book definitely has some trigger warnings but if you can handle that it is a quick thriller that will keep you reading. I was shocked to find out this was inspired by a true story!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Gray After Dark is a great survival story. I hate books where female characters are weak, silly or girly. Miley is none of those. She was an Olympic athelete and was well trained to control her body and mind. And when she had emotional problems after a car accident, she tried to find ways to cope and keep up her training. But then she was taken by two abductors who were violent and merciless and I felt for Miley when she fought for her life and freedom.
So glad I come to know of Noelle Ihli
here, will be reading her Ask For Andrea next!

4.5⭐️

Wow. Intense. I can’t believe this was inspired by a true story. Gray After Dark is dark, disturbing, eerie, upsetting, and so well written. Miley is almost too relatable, such that you end up feeling everything she’s experiencing right alongside her.
Before you dive in, prepare yourself: you’re not going to want to put this one down.

Thank you Noelle W. Ihli, Dynamite Books, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book kept me up and on th edge of my seat. Miley and Brent are Olympians and close friends. Miley decides she needs time away from Brent who has professed his love. She decides to work at a resort. She keeps up with her training and routinely runs through the forest. She decides to take a swim in the lake when she is spotted by two survivalists living off the grid. Her night has begun as she struggles to survive and escape her nightmare. This was a great read that had me quickly turning the pages.

I have no idea how to review or rate this book.

Miley is a biathlon athlete that is mending an injury.She starts running in the Frank Church Wilderness, which is incredibly huge. People go missing there every year/ But it is a perfect place for her to escape and work on training. One day she is swimming in the lake (alone) and a father/son come upon her and kidnap her. The story then alternates between her ordeal and her BFFs attempts to find her.

This book was very well written. Outstanding. I could picture the entire book. I felt the tension, and felt some of the scenes in the pit of my stomach.

So why I am confused in my review? Because I hated this book. The abuse scenes were so hard to read. I wanted to smack another one of the women. I kept getting The Deliverance vibe - and I have a love/hate relationship with that movie.

Small spoiler .....

This is based on a true story. I am so happy I did not know that ahead of time, because I would have felt even more uncomfortable reading it.

I think it deserves 5 stars for the writing and story telling. But would I recommend this book to friends? No..

I do want to thank the author, the publisher and to #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

I think this may be Noelle's best book yet! It was so good. The storyline kept me hook from the very first page. I can't wait for another one.

Miley is a biathlon athlete that is mending an injury from a few years ago and is determined to train so one day she can be in the Olympics again. With over 2 million acres, the Frank Church Wilderness is a perfect place for her to escape and work on training. One day, while she’s out on a hot summer run, she decides to take a dip in a secluded lake to help the pain in her shoulder. Unfortunately that’s the same time that a father and son find her and kidnap her dragging her deep into the forest. Mikey’s ‘Won’t give up attitude’ might be the only thing that can save her.

The abuse in this story is hard to read. You’ll absolutely hate the characters and root for Miley the entire way through. The description is so detailed you’ll feel like your watching it play out and gripping the seat. It’ll probably make you question ever wandering into the wood alone ever again.

I hadn’t even realized this book was inspired off a true story until the very end which made this story even more shocking.

Noelle W. Ihli is an auto-buy reader for me. I feel like if you love Freida McFadden then you’d love Noelle. If you haven’t tried one of her fast-paced thrillers yet you’re really missing out. Don’t worry about your never-ending tbr. It’ll be worth it.

Thank you Dynamite Books for my ARC of Gray After Dark.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! I was a huge fan of Ask for Andrea and this book was also
Incredible! The fact that it has basis in a true story is honestly mind boggling- what an incredible story of survival. It’s really hard to read, very graphic but also necessary to really get the entire story. Such a good thriller that I’ll be thinking about for a long, long time. Highly recommend.

This book is terrifying and that it is based on true events makes it that much more terrifying. You will think twice your next trip to the mountains.

Miley is an Olympic athlete who is spending the summer in the mountains of Idaho. During one of her runs see is kidnapped by two mountain men.

I could not put this book down. This book is a fast paced thriller. You don’t know what is going to happen but you are rooting for Rayna for the whole entire time.

We get two POVs from Miley and her friend Brent who is looking for her which gives two experiences.

We also watch Miley heal from past trauma and grow as a character.

‼️There is mention of off page rape‼️

Genre: Thriller
APK: Ebook
Pages: 370
Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone

Thank you Dynamite Books for a free copy of Gray After Dark for an honest review

Once I started reading this book I could not put it down! Make sure you don’t start this before bed because you might be up all night finishing this book.

While this book is a work of fiction, actual events were the inspiration for it. I think that makes this book even more thrilling and nail biting. I’m definitely going to think twice before going camping alone after this.

5 stars!

This is hands down my favourite book of the year so far.

WOW. The setting, the plot, the characters - all absolute perfection.

It was also fascinating to learn all about biathlons, I didn't even know there was such a thing!

I also really appreciated that Noelle had a link to a bonus book/chapter "After the Dark" that was an epilogue for Mary/Rayna.

I quickly added all of Noelle's other books to my TBR.

Thank you NetGalley and Dynamite Books for the ARC!

Another great book by this author. And even cooler that it was based on a real life story! I read this in 24 hours and didn’t want to put it down!

The suspense here is amazing! This was my first Noelle W. Ihli and I will absolutely be finding more to read.

Miley is an athlete that took a job at a wildness resort hoping to not only work to make some extra cash, but also to continue training for her upcoming races. The job looks like it’s going to be a lot more work than anticipated but seems doable given the perk of the amazing running trails available in the area. Despite the trails being amazing, there is another runner that is assumed to be attacked by a bear and vanished a few years back, so Miley’s workmate Wes really pushes her to take bear spray with her just incase. What’s in store for Miley will surprise you!

I was given the chance to read Gray After Dark by Noelle W. Ihli and it was everything and more than what I was anticipating! Noelle’s books are always on point and this one is no different! I highly recommend this book along with anything she writes!

@noelleihliauthor did it again with another twisty and insane thriller

“Opening up your heart is messy-and risky. But keeping your heart spotless is risky too.”

★★★★★

[synopsis]
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 statter 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.

Y’all please pick this one up and enjoy the ride. It got me in my feels along with being shocked at everything happening. This book was captivating and intense that brings chills down your spine.

Wow! This book was a nail biting amazing story. 4.25 ⭐️

This is a fictional story inspired by true events that took place in the 80s.

Mileys dreams of being a gold medalist for the Olympics were derailed by a car accident which led her to a summer job at a resort out in the middle of nowhere. Miley was using this time to train and recover from the accident.

Despite the rumors of a girl being fatally attacked in the woods by a bear, Mikey still ventured off alone. One day while out for a run a she encounters 2 men that are living off the grid and ends up getting abducted. Losing hope that anyone will ever be able to find her, Miley tries to figure out a way to outsmart her abductors and survive.

This book was so good. It was intense and so fast paced. These chapters had my heart beating like crazy and flipping so fast wondering what the outcome was going to be. I loved all of the detail and the author did an amazing job painting the picture so I could visualize every scene. It was graphic and but not over the top and so gripping. Highly recommend.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the opportunity to read this early copy.

I was so happy to receive an E-arc of this through Netgalley, after loving Run on Red by this author I was keen to try this book as well.

I've got to say, tonally it is kind of similar to Run on Red, which isn't a bad thing. It was thrilling and fast paced.
This book was a got me out of a reading slump and made me have a nightmare when I fell asleep reading!! No easy feat.

I was floored by the end when I got to the authors note and definitely want to check out the podcasts related to the real life inspiration!

After this one I am for sure going to check out the other past titles by this author.
I heavily recommend this one and I think it's best to start reading, knowing as little as possible about the plot :D