4.5 - Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for the complimentary ALC!

I remember two years ago when I read These Silent Woods, I was immediately immersed into Kimi's writing and the story she created. This one was no exception. I am a little overdued reading this and boy was I kicking myself that I had not read it sooner.

The book is told from the present timeline but also through multiple past timelines. The past timelines showed the start of the relationship between Emlyn and Janessa as well as with Tyler. These played an important with knowing their history and how it correlates to what is happening in the current.

Emlyn learns that an old friend Janessa has not updated her whereabouts to her friend Tyler and Tyler becomes worried that something has happened on her travels. Emlyn and Tyler are not on the best of terms due to what happend years prior but Emlyn wants to help find her former friend to ensure she is okay.

"You're different."
"I sure hope so."

One thing that Kimi is great at between the two books that I've read, is how she describes nature and the environment that the characters are around. It really made me miss hiking! Now their skills were much more advanced than I'll ever be. I love the detail that Kimi put in through Tyler and Emlyn's excursion trying to find Janessa.

The romance reader side of me was rooting for Emlyn and Tyler throughout the book. But I understand why it wouldn't work and I was satisfied in the end in that regards (not spoiling!).

The ending was a little lackluster but overall this was a great read! I was invested the whole time and it kept me guessing most of the time.

I paired my reading with the audio and Emily Pike Stewart did a fabulous job! She is a new to me narrator and I certainly would listen to her again. Between Kimi's writing and her narration, the reading experience was great!

I highly recommend this book if you love an outdoor setting, dual timelines, and looking for something a little suspenseful!

After feeling underwhelmed by Kimi Cunningham Grant's first book, I was hopeful that this novel would be more my cup of tea. While intriguing, I unfortunately found this to be too slow in terms of pacing and I wouldn't describe this as a thriller, more literary fiction with suspenseful elements - just like I described Grant's prior novel. This was by no means a "bad" book. I just have discovered that this author isn't for me - which is okay! I know many fellow readers who would love this and I highly recommend it to them!

I loved the setting of this book. I was fascinated by Emlyn living in an airstream, I don’t think I could do it. It was a little too slow for me, and the end felt a bit rushed. I think the writing was well done as well as the narration. Emily really helped me connect with Emlyn.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my copy of this book.

I’m a little bit in the middle of the road on this book. I found it easy enough to listen to and enjoyed the great descriptions of nature in the west. I thought that was the most successful part of this book. The narrator did a fantastic job of setting the scene for the story. The story itself, however, was very slow and at times I lost interest in it. I also didn’t find any of the characters redeeming, which isn’t required, but left me wanting more from this book. Some of the plot twists had me rolling my eyes as well. I enjoyed that it did move timelines to show Emlyn and Tyler’s past as well as Emlyn and Janessa’s, but I found myself losing focus when it did that. Overall, it was decent, but it will likely be ultimately, unfortunately, forgettable for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

" The Nature of Disappearing" is a gripping blend of suspense and emotional depth that pulls readers into the wild, isolated landscapes where the past and present collide with dangerous consequences. Emlyn, a wilderness guide who’s crafted a quiet, solitary life after surviving a traumatic event, is forced to confront the ghosts of her past when her estranged friend Janessa goes missing. Teaming up with Tyler, the man who shattered her life years ago, Emlyn embarks on a perilous journey into the wilderness, where dark secrets unfold and the chemistry between them reignites. Grant’s evocative prose and tension-filled narrative explore themes of betrayal, healing, and the complexities of moving on, making this a poignant and pulse-pounding read that will keep you on edge until the final page.

Kimi Cunningham Grant’s The Nature of Disappearing is a gripping and emotional suspense novel that blends a tense mystery with deep personal drama. Emlyn, a wilderness guide who’s built a quiet life for herself in Idaho after a traumatic past, is forced to confront her history when her former best friend, Janessa, goes missing. Janessa, now a popular social media star, has disappeared without a trace during one of her #vanlife adventures, and Emlyn reluctantly reunites with Tyler—the man who left her broken three years ago—to search for her.

As Emlyn and Tyler journey through the rugged, untamed wilderness, the tension between them is palpable, but the mystery of Janessa’s disappearance takes precedence. The wild country they traverse seems to hide darker secrets than they initially anticipated, and Emlyn begins to suspect that Janessa’s troubles run deeper than a simple van-life mishap. Grant skillfully weaves themes of survival, both physical and emotional, as Emlyn is forced to confront the demons of her past while trying to uncover the truth about her missing friend.

The novel is beautifully written, with vivid descriptions of the Idaho landscape that almost feel like another character in the story. Emlyn’s internal struggles—her hurt from Tyler’s betrayal, her longing for a different past, and her need to protect Janessa—are all explored with sensitivity and depth, making her a compelling protagonist.

Suspenseful, poignant, and layered with emotional complexity, The Nature of Disappearing is a riveting read that keeps you on edge while also inviting reflection on love, loss, and the difficult road to healing. Grant’s talent for combining atmospheric tension with rich character development makes this novel an unforgettable, slow-burn thriller that lingers long after the last page is turned.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was such a wild read! omg lmao i would love to see this as a tv show!

Emlyn has a past that is nothing to write home about. She doesn’t often speak with Janessa, her best friend, and her ex-boyfriend left her on the side of the road for dead. Thankfully she now has a quiet life that allows her to spend her days in nature, leading fishing and hunting groups that wish to take in the beauty that is the Idaho wilderness. All is as it should be, until Tyler, her ex-boyfriend shows up looking for help to find Janessa who has gone missing. Janessa has turned into a bit of a social media star, living in a van and within the wilderness away from all the chaos that cities bring, but she seems to have gone silent online and can’t be located. Believing that she might be the only one who can find her, Emlyn reluctantly agrees, but Janessa might not be the only one in danger.

I really wanted to like this one, but it was a struggle. The descriptive language used painted a beautiful picture of the wilderness and all that comes with it. It seemed to me that the author has a lot of knowledge about the area (or areas like it) and the type of life lived by the characters. I also liked the idea of the dual timeline, bringing the past and the present together well. That being said the plot was such a slow burn that nothing thrilling happened until the novel was almost over, making it more of a drama and less of a thriller. I also struggled with the characters. While I did not go through exactly what Emlyn did, I did face an event that led me to almost die at the hands of another and I would never put myself in a situation where I was alone with my attacker, let alone even take a phone call. This made it hard to connect with her in any meaningful way as a character. I really just wanted more.

Unfortunately I feel the same way about the audiobook as I do about the book. To me the narrator seemed almost robotic, both in terms of the way it sounded as a whole and in the lack of emotion and inflection. I really didn’t feel like anything was added by listening to the audiobook, but it did not affect my overall opinion about the narrative.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for gifting to me electronic and audio copies of The Nature of Disappearing, given in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

This was such a good book! It had good pacing, excellent description, interesting characters, and fantastic plot points. I had no idea where this story was taking us and it was wonderful. I really enjoyed the flashbacks that took us to the protagonists past and how it juxtaposed with her current self after barely surviving. Phenomenal read, great narration, loved it all!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author Kimi Cunningham Grant, and Macmillan audio for my copy of this audiobook.

Very slow start with all of the thrilling of this thriller happening in the last quarter of the book. When the action does start to happen there are so many twists and turns that you just have to grab the reins and hold on as the plot goes wild. Beautiful setting and interesting concept, I only finished the book because I was listening to it. Otherwise I don't think I would have stayed engaged. Still, will try others by the author in the future.

Audiobook was well narrated.

Thanks so much to MacMillan Audio for the gifted ALC!

I have to say I just didn't love this one. I felt like the storyline was so slow. I found myself not being able to connect to any of the characters. It seemed to pick up towards the very end and by then it had already lost me.

I did enjoy the way the author wrote. The descriptions of the scenery was great imagery. The audio was well produced as well and I enjoyed the narrators voices.

I absolutely loved this author's previous book, These Silent Woods, and so I was extremely excited to read The Nature of Disappearing. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. My main struggle came from the slow pace of the story, lack of likeable characters, and an unbelievable plot and story line.

I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this atmospheric thriller, that takes place in Idaho’s vast wilderness.. When hunting and fishing guide Emlyn gets the news that her best friend is missing, she puts her differences aside with estranged friend Tyler to search for her. I loved the writing style, and felt like every description in nature really came to life. I paired the book with audio and loved the performance.

*many thanks to Minotaur and Macmillan audio/Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

This book is a wild ride that takes you on an unpredictable journey filled with thrilling twists. The shocking revelations kept me hooked, constantly questioning what would happen next, and the suspenseful pacing made it impossible to put down. I was totally here for it, as the author masterfully built tension that left me eagerly turning pages until the very end.

#TheNatureofDisappearing
#NetGalley

It's always hard to not set your expectations high when you start a new book by an author you've previously loved. I do think that sets a precedence that's hard to shake, so you expect the new book to be fantastic like the previous and possibly expect it to be more when you wouldn't necessarily think that otherwise. So, needless to say, I expected a lot from this book and was quite a bit let down. However - I tried to set that aside and I realized I did enjoy this book quite a book, I just didn't LOVE it like the last.

This book is very atmospheric, as expected, but it had more of a love story twisted through it as well. Both between the characters and a love story with nature and becoming one with it to explore and keep safe while doing so. It was beautifully written and definitely an excellent read, but I felt it dragged quite a bit in places. I think for this one, audio is the way to go because you can let yourself get lost in it without having to specifically read every word.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Kimi Cunningham Grant, and Emily Pike Stewart for allowing me to review this wonderful audio book. This is a fun and twisty mystery/thriller that kept me interested the entire time. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing. I also loved the narrator. I highly recommend the audio book. I look forward to reading more from this author and narrator in the future. Thank you again for allowing me to review this fun book.

I loved The Silent Woods by this author and was anxiously awaiting this one. I will say this one was a bit slow for me and not as exciting as her other book. The plot point was the slow part; however, the authors visual depiction of the atmosphere is what kept me reading this one. It was beautiful! The audiobook was very well done and is what also kept me in the story. The narration was great and also amped up the visual of the atmosphere for me.

I really enjoyed the author's previous book, These Silent Woods, so I knew that I was going to be giving her newest book a try. Unfortunately, The Nature of Disappearing didn't wow me like These Silent Woods.

I will say that Kimi Cunningham Grant is a master at atmosphere and wilderness settings. You can visualize the scenes so well from how she writes them. However, the characters and the plot just didn't grab me like I had hoped and mixing that with a bit of a slow burn, I found myself drifting a lot. There is underlying tension that easily comes through with the characters, but they were all so unlikable that I didn't find myself as invested in the tension as I usually would have been.

I will still try her next book to see if she ends up being a must read author, but for now I'm still unsure.

3.5/5 stars

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an advance listener’s copy of The Nature of Disappearing.

Emlyn is a tracker-turned-wilderness guide who lives and works in a remote part of Idaho. She is private, mostly keeping to herself and the people she’s met in those mountains - the ones who brought her back to life after her ex left her to die. However, when Janessa, her semi-estranged social media influencer best friend, goes missing, that ex comes back into her life and she’s forced to work with him to try and find Janessa. The further Emlyn and Tyler venture into the woods & the deeper they dig into Janessa’s social media, the darker the story gets and Emlyn begins to fear that it’s not just Janessa that is in trouble - she may be as well.

This was my first Kimi Cunningham Grant book, despite having a couple on my TBR, and I will say that I am absolutely going to continue reading her backlist. The way that she talks about nature is magical. It didn’t hurt that I listened to this book while driving from Maryland to Tennessee and traveling through the Appalachian Mountains, which I’ve always been a little in love with. Her writing is truly a love letter to the world around us and it’s beautiful to read.

The story is extremely slow burn, and I know that will deter some readers, but I have really been enjoying the slow burn suspense/thriller trend of 2024. There are some side plots, additional info that we maybe didn’t need, but that I think just added to painting the picture of what these woods and those who live & thrive in it are truly like.

The Nature of Disappearing is a character study in human resilience and the depths at which we will push ourselves to overcome our fears, face our traumas, and remain loyal to those we love.

To me, it felt like I was following a true crime case unfolding in real time (think Gabby Petito or Riley Strain). I’m not sure if it was the style of writing, the fact that I listened on audio (which is how I do most of my true crime indulging), or something else, but I felt like I was truly in the middle of unraveling this mystery with Emlyn.

I enjoyed the audio, it was performed in that cautious and foreboding style that I love my thrillers to be told in.

I know I’ve seen some mixed reviews, but I really think this was an enjoyable pick and perfect for anyone who loves the mountains/woods, enjoys books involving social media, or listens to true crime pods.

Warning, slow book alert. If you need fast paced then maybe skip The Nature of Disappearing.
If you are okay with a slower read and love atmospheric writing that will take you into nature then give this one a shot.
As for me I liked this book, but didn't love it. It is a complex store that weaves romance and mystery.
3.5 stars rounded up