Another hit out of the park for Miss Grant! Edge of your seat suspense. An automatic buy now author for me, never disappoints. Narration was on point!

Anticipated pub: June 18!
Thank you to my besties at Macmillan Audio for the early copy to read and review!

I enjoyed this one quite a bit! I loved the wilderness scenery descriptions and the flawed characters. The relationships with Emlyn's new friends seem so genuine, like all they want is to support her and lift her up. I also liked the dual timeline aspect (I usually do like this style). We get flashbacks to the time Emlyn and Tyler were together to see what led Emlyn to ending up where she is, as well as more details about their relationship AND each of their relationships with Janessa.

This is beautifully written, I love the descriptiveness of the setting and the characters thoughts (like, Emlyn doesn't think she's that strong but she really is).

If I have one gripe it was the big reveal. Maybe I'm burnt out on mystery/ thrillers but this one felt a little flat, like it didn't feel all that grand. Still not enough to detract from my overall enjoyment and love for this story!

I thought the narrator did a wonderful job with this one.

I just have one question and maybe I completely missed it, tell me in the comments if I did. But, what was up with Emlyn's left ring finger always being sore in the cold? It said an old injury but I thought it would have a bigger reveal since it was mentioned 800 times. (And again, maybe I just missed it?)

I enjoyed this story a lot. It was very interesting to go back in time and find out what happened between the main characters and how they ended up where they are now. I liked where the story went and how it got us there. I wasn't certain who to trust along the way.

Parts of this book are a little slow moving. The characters are hiking for a while and there are descriptions of the activities they need to do to progress through the wild. This didn't bother me, as I found it interesting to follow along with them. The only flaw I had with the book was that there is sort of a love triangle. It's not the main focus of the book and it was handled well, but it is one of my least favorite tropes. In this instance I can see why it was included, so I was able to go along with it.

I was fortunate enough to receive both an ebook and an audiobook of this one. I went back and forth between the two depending on my needs at the time and enjoyed both. I can't say that I would recommend one over the other, but the audio was narrated by Emily Pike Stewart and was very well done. So, if you are audiobook lover, it is worth a listen.

Once again, I am excited to see what Kimi Cunningham Grant will come out with next.

The Nature of Disappearing- Kimi Cunningham Grant
Rating: 3.5/5
Media: Audio

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely devoured this book! The narrator, the plot, the storyline were all very well done. The story centers around the main character Emlyn and her history with her estranged best friend, Janessa, and the love of her life, Tyler, who left her for dead in the middle of the woods years ago. Emlyn has moved on since and works as a fishing and hunting guide. One day, Tyler reappears into her life stating that Janessa has disappeared and he can't get ahold of her. Tyler convinces Emlyn to join him on a search for Janessa through the woods. During this search, she starts finding out that there may be more secrets than Tyler or Janessa are leading on and she may have led herself straight into the path of danger.

I enjoyed the short chapters, the captivating storyline, and the well done writing! The only thing is, I wasn't shocked by the reveal and it seemed very predictable especially with the suspense leading up. Regardless, I would recommend this as a great read!

Look out for this one hitting shelves June 18, 2024!

I got to listen to this book as a part of the Macmillan Audio Influencer Program. Thank you so much to @macmillan.audio for this ALC copy! This cover is absolutely gorgeous and I was drawn to this book because I have seen the authors previous work, These Silent Woods, everywhere on bookstagram (though I am embarrassed to admit I have not read it yet).

After cutting out everyone from her past, Emlyn is living alone in a trailer in the Idaho wilderness, working as a guide. She has a few great friends and a job that she both loves and is good at. One day, Emlyn finds out that her ex best friend, Janessa, has gone missing while in the midst of her #vanlife journey of living off the grid. Emlyn has to team up with her ex boyfriend, Tyler, in order to find Janessa.

This book had a very, very slow burn and I felt like not much happened until I was at least 70% in. I don’t mind a slow burn at all, and often times enjoy them, but in this book I felt like not only did we not get to any drama until nearly the end of the book, but I also had so many unanswered questions throughout. There were plenty of flashback chapters throughout, but I felt like they were giving me breadcrumbs and making me more confused about Emlyn’s past and who all of these people were in the story and how they were connected. Finding out how Emlyn knew Red and Varden was something I was wondering throughout the whole book and when I finally found out I almost treated it as a twist because I was so glad to finally know.

Emlyn and Janessa are best friends and complete opposites. Emlyn carries this inferiority complex that Janessa is basically better than her in every way. Janessa is prettier and richer, and it is mentioned more than once that she is the one who the boys flock to- not Emlyn. And while I can sympathize with Emlyn and her insecurities, this made me like her less as a main character. I mean, here she is, this rockstar of a wilderness guide: amazing at tracking and fly fishing, and survived a night of almost freezing to death in the woods- and she’s still feeling less than as compared to Janessa. This definitely made me feel a negative way about Emlyn as a character and about their friendship in general.

This book felt like if Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham and The Hike by Lucy Clarke had a baby. I definitely recommend this for fans of either book. We went back and forth between focusing on flashbacks of Emlyn and Janessa’s friendship and Emlyn and Tyler in the woods tracking Janessa.

Emily Pike Stewart did a wonderful job at keeping me entertained and focused throughout the book. Her tone really brought out Emlyn’s personality and made it easy for me to picture the story in my head. This was the first book that I’ve listened to that was narrated by her, and I would love to listen to more. Audio production quality was perfect- no complaints there!

I absolutely loved this book! The mystery of what happened to Janessa, along with the slow bit-by-bit reveal of how Tyler came to abandon Emlyn in the woods years ago, made for a tension-packed 'I don't know who to trust' mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

I love Kimi Cunningham Grant's writing. The beautiful description of the wilderness and the dual timeline building the background of Tyler, Emlyn, and Janessa's relationship swept me into the story completely. I especially loved the friendship between Janessa and Emlyn, and was rooting for them to have a chance to heal their differences. The ending was unexpected, but perfect.

I listened to the audio version of the novel, and Emily Pike Stewart's narration was the perfect voice for Emlyn. The book lends itself to audio, and this one kept me going on longer, more frequent walks because I enjoyed it so much.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC and audio ARC of The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant. The opinions in this review are my own.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an audio copy to listen to and review voluntarily! While I didn't love this one as much as KCG's previous suspense novel, this one is great!

It's a beautiful, emotional story of grief, loneliness, addiction, heartbreak, isolation, and an ode to the beautiful outdoors. I love how she writes technical information in her books--I canNOT get enough! I loved the birds of the previous book and the fishing in this one.

The drama is intense, and I'm thankful that it never crosses into anything gnarly or violent. This one does contain major themes and scenes featuring addiction and loss.

I can't wait to read what she writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an early audiobook edition of “The Nature of Disappearing” by Kimi Cunningham Grant, narrated by Emily Pike Stewart for an honest review of the book. First, I have to say, the narrator did a nice job.

This is the story Emlyn, who three years ago, found herself in an unexpected place at the right time. This is when Emlyn started anew away from her old friends, including her boyfriend Tyler and her college best friend Janessa. Over the last three years, Emlyn has become an exceptional nature tour guide, tracker, hunter, and fisherperson.

After returning from an excursion, Emlyn finds that Janessa is missing. When Tylor shows up asking for Emlyn’s help to locate Janessa, she cannot refuse him, even though her gut says she should. She must find Janessa and if the only way she can do that is by teaming up with Tylor that is what she will do. Into the woods they go to find her. The search for Janessa has decent twists and turns and the conclusion of the story is satisfying.

The beginning of the story is a little slow, with too much of Emlyn thinking about the past and saying “Oh Woe Is Me – how stupid could I be”, but after about 2/3rds of the way through it gets better. There is also a little bit of a love story (which I never love), but it is subtle enough not to impede the story.

4.5 Stars rounded up to 5 stars

The Nature of Disappearing, by Kimi Cunningham Grant, is beautifully written, painting a picture of the Idaho wildness, making you feel like you are there with the characters.
Emyln lives a simple life as a wilderness guide in Idaho. She tries not to dwell on her past including why she barely speaks to her old best friend Janessa, and how Tyler, the love of her life, left her for dead in the middle of nowhere 3 years ago.
But when Jenessa goes missing, now a social media star documenting her adventures traveling the country in her van with her boyfriend, Tyler turns up asking Emyln to help him find her old best friend. As Emyln and Tyler track Janessa, Emyln beings to realize Janessa is not the only one who may be in danger.
This story is different from the previous book by this author (These Silent Woods) but has similar vibes. It is told through a dual timeline. I would describe this story as a slow burn mystery/thriller. But I was still hooked from beginning to end. I listened to the audiobook and found myself sitting in my car longer than I should have when I got to my destination because I didn’t want to stop listening. The narrator, Emily Pike Stewart, did an excellent job. I was able to easily listen to this story on a 1.75x speed.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I really liked this book. I had not previously read anything by this author so I didn’t know what to expect, but the summary sounded interesting. I loved the setting in Idaho with wonderful descriptions of the wilderness—the woods, the rivers and lakes where they fish, and the dangerous elements of this environment. I found the characters to be an interesting mix, and felt their tangled and often torturous relationships to be pretty believable. What I most appreciated was the contrast that was set up between man and nature. There are numerous mentions of wild animals and the occasionally perilous conditions that exist when venturing into the wild. However, Emlyn’s friend Rev offers an astute statement at one point about being aware of the dangers of humans as well. I found that the interactions between the characters and the settings in which they were presented made for a good pairing. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The audio version is beautifully narrated and made me want to keep listening.

Kimi Cunningham Grant takes up deep into the wilderness of Idaho in The Nature of Disappearing.

"Emilyn is happy to be an outdoor guide and leave her old life behind. When the former love-of-her-life shows up and asks for her help tracking down her former best friend who's disappeared, she agrees. They set out to track her down. Emilyn begins to wonder though - who's really tracking who?"

I really liked this new book from Grant - even more than her previous buzzy book. I'm not really an outdoorsy, camping, fishing person so the idea of sleeping in the wilderness on the ground and trying to avoid the bears and mountain lions is pretty terrifying.
Emilyn is one of those characters that struggles to make the best choices, even ignoring the advice of her best friend. The consequences of that almost kill her. I did guess one twist (it was just a guess but I was right) There are two timelines. The past timeline is just the backstory of the main characters. The ending is wild and I liked the end of Emilyn's story.

The narrator, Emily Pike Stewart, does a great job capturing the atmosphere that Grant has written about the wilderness - and the emotion and personality of the characters, especially Emilyn.

Great story from Grant.

The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant follows Emlyn, a college student that meets her best friend Janessa at a diner one night. They soon are as close as sisters until Emlyn goes behind Janessa"s back and wishes to date Tyler. This forever changes them both in different ways. Its been 3 years since that tragic day that Emlyn has seen Tyler and now he has found her and needs a favor to help find Janessa. With Emlyn's skills at tracking they set off to figure out what had happened to Janessa and her boyfriend. This book mixes both the past and present in such a way that you can't help to fall in love with the characters. This is an action packed book with a hint of mystery when you find out what Tyler did to Emlyn and if she can set aside her differences with him in order to save Janessa. The ending was a twist that I never expected. Thank you to both NetGalley and Macmillan Aduio for letting me have an advance copy of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and #MacMillanAudio for the book #TheNatureOfDisappearing by #KimiCunninghamGrant. I thoroughly enjoyed this book about a girl, Emlyn, who has started her life over as a hunting and fishing guide. Her ex, Tyler shows up one day to ask for help looking for Janessa, who was Emlyns best friend (or used to be). Tyler and Emlyn sets out to find Janessa but end up finding out much more. This is a wonderful book and I highly suggest reading it!

Unfortunately, I am unable to give this 5 stars like I did the author's previous book, These Silent Woods. This title almost felt like it was written by a completely different person. It was missing the intensity, suspense and tension, which made TSW truly wonderful. I desperately wanted to love this book and kept listening hoping that the next chapter would be the spark that ignited deep interest in where the story was going, but unfortunately that never happened.

I really loved the setting of this book and Emlyn's occupation and the found family she had in the community where she lived (the strongest parts of the book), but it kind of dissolved as soon as the book got going. It starts slow (not a deal breaker), but what quickly became apparent for me was I just didn't care about these characters. The expression "show me don't tell me" kept coming to mind. So must was repeated over and over, but I never was able to emotionally connect to the characters and what they were going through. I also didn't care for the part of the story told in the past. It broke me out of any suspense or mystery the book was working towards and kind of weakened the case for Emlyn being this in charge, focused, excellent tracker. It's hard to explain, but I felt that part of the book worked against present timeline.

The last thing I'll say is that the ending was kind of a letdown. I don't want to say more because I don't want to write any spoilers, but I'd be interested to see if other reviewers agree.

I'm trying to disconnect my feelings about the previous book and go with what this book provided and I'd say it was good, but not something I will remember for very long.

The audiobook was good - no complaints there. I think the narrator (this is the first time I've listened to her) did a great job with the text. I was able to listen a little faster than normal (2.4x) because she had a slower reading speed.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook and Minotaur Books for the gifted egalley in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: 06/18/2024
Review Date: 06/12/2024

"The Nature of Disappearing" by Kimi Cunningham Grant is a beautifully written and evocative novel. The protagonist's journey is deeply moving, and the story unfolds with a delicate balance of tension and introspection. The ending was a bit odd to me and I didn't find it quite as captivating as "These Silent Woods." Nonetheless, it remains a powerful and thought-provoking book that I would recommend to fans of literary fiction.

Emlyn lives a solitary life in the Idaho wilderness. She is a fishing guide and keeps to herself. She's been burned by too many people in the past. Then, suddenly, she sees her former best friend's face on CNN. She is missing. Then, her exboyfriend shows up asking for her to help find Janessa. She reluctantly teams up with Tyler to track Janessa. But things are off from the beginning. She rushes to find Janessa, but is also worried about her own safety.

This was just an okay read for me. Maybe because you don't know much until close to the end. Keeping things secretive for suspense is fine, but I feel like there wasn't enough information given to feel intrigued. Or, maybe, the information given was just not exciting to me.

Emily Pike Stewart narrates the audiobook. I wasn't sure about it at first, but once I sped it up to 1.75 and listened for a bit, it was fine.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Emlyn now lives a very simple life in an Airstream trailer and is a fishing and hunting guide with the people who found her since her boyfriend Tyler left her for dead in the woods (he was a drug addict). Now Tyler is clean and has come back because Emlyn’s estranged best friend Janessa has gone missing and he needs her woodsy skills to find her. Janessa has become half of a social media couple living the vanlife out in the woods and has fallen off the grid and Tyler and Emlyn are concerned that something serious has happened to her. However the further into the woods they get the more they worry about their own lives as well.

I jumped into this one totally blind and really enjoyed it. I mainly listened to it and while sometimes it takes a bit to get into an audio, this one engaged me immediately. The backstory was told through flashbacks and it was not confusing at all. I hadn’t read anything else by the author and I have heard her other book is great and will definitely try to read it this summer. The twists were there, the story was compelling and it just held me the whole time, while not quite a thriller, it’s a great read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC to review

I received a gifted audiobook copy of THE NATURE OF DISAPPEARING by Kimi Cunningham Grant from Macmillan Audio!

THE NATURE OF DISAPPEARING follows Emlyn, a young woman who lives a fairly isolated life. Her best friend Janessa is a somewhat distant point of contact in her life. Her ex Tyler broke her heart when he lost himself to addiction and left her stranded and on the brink of death.

When Tyler comes to Emlyn, seemingly a sober and much improved man, he tells her that Janessa has gone missing. Emlyn is sucked back into his world, trying to track down Janessa and her boyfriend / #vanlife social media partner. They venture out into the wilderness into dangerous physical and emotional terrain.

This was a fun and compelling read! I really liked Emlyn as our central character. At first she felt a tad bit off-putting with her tendency toward isolation and keeping even those who care about her at arm's length, but I think the author did well at showing the reasons behind this way of life and I really felt for her in the end.

The subject of addiction and the harm that causes both to oneself but also to those around them is a big subject in the book, so do go in aware if that might be triggering. I thought that the portrayal was well done. As Emlyn must consider how much Tyler has changed and how much she's willing to risk being back in his orbit, I definitely felt for her dilemma.

This is a fairly slow burn story, but the twists were well executed and I had a fantastic time with this book!

Kind of anti-climactic after all of the really good build up.

I was a huge fan of These Silent Woods, the writing was strong and the mystery was evocative. This one had potential, but it didn't pan out as well in the end.

It starts with the feel of the Gabby Petito/Brian Laundrie story.

Emlyn is working as a wilderness guide, trying to move on from her past. She and her best friend Janessa's relationship had a falling out a few years previously, but they have been making inroads into friendship again. Emlyn gets a very cryptic call from Janessa which drops, and when she tries to return it later, she can't reach her. Emlyn's ex Tyler contacts her, another person she hadn't heard from after a fateful day three years ago when their relationship imploded. Tyler says that Janessa has been working as a travel influencer, traveling with her boyfriend and working for Tyler. Tyler is worried, Janessa has gone silent and he needs Emlyn to help him track her down and find her. Can Emlyn overcome the past and help Tyler?

The story moves between the past and the present, laying the groundwork of the relationships and how everything fell apart. While I liked the adventure and the mystery in the present storyline, the past felt too slowly revealed and not a huge amount of substance to make up for the slowness. There were characters introduced in Emlyn's current life that weren't developed at all although they were supposedly very significant to her life. We got more irrelevant minutiae from the past than present day exposition, and the book was uneven because of it.

I never really understood why Emlyn was so insecure, she was strong and had overcome so much, but she just quivered in the presence of Janessa and Tyler throughout the entire novel. And the ending was incredibly anti-climactic. It was both unbelievable and then we find out about what really happened later, not even in the moment, which was so much telling and no showing for the time investment in the exciting hunt for what happened to Janessa.

I loved the remote Idaho setting, that part of the tale reminded me a lot of the movie Shoot To Kill from the 80s and I was all in for that. I listened to the audiobook and Emily Pike Stewart's narration was superb and kept me interested even when things were moving much too slowly for my liking.

Overall this isn't a bad book, but it was definitely not as strong and engaging as Grant's first novel.

Will post on 6/12/24 to Instagram. Already posted on Goodreads.
In this gripping novel of suspense, the wilderness guide, Emlyn finds herself drawn back into the life of the man who once shattered her world. When their mutual friend, Janeesa, disappears in the wilderness they once explored together, they're forced to confront their shared past and unravel the tangled web of secrets that binds them. This is what kept me listening from start to finish in one day.
I was rooting for the FMC Emlyn because she had been through so much with her family and had a hard time trusting anyone.
The chemistry is still there between Tyler and Emlyn after everything they have been through, and I was wondering if they were going to end up back together. I wanted to believe he changed his ways, but the twists and turns kept me guessing.
This was unpredictable and I was a bit surprised at the ending.