Crash into You Paperback – October 28, 2014

Here's one absolute truth: Katie McGarry writes amazing characters. Beautifully broken characters that I can't help but fall in love with. Both Isaiah and Rachel are damaged, but for different reasons. I want to hug them both and make them realize they are wanted. (Isaiah especially… ) They grew up in two completely different worlds, but they're more alike than they may think at first."Speed. It's what I crave. I can race the emotions away."People abandon Isaiah. No one except his best friend Noah, and Noah's girlfriend Echo, have cared enough to stick around. Now, there's a chance he's going to lose them, too. A foster system kid, the last thing he wants to do is go back into a group home. Isaiah thinks he's filled with darkness, but underneath it all, he's a caring and protective guy. He's not at the top of the food chain on the streets, but he's definitely someone no one messes with."I like cars. I like the feel of them. The sound of them. My mind clears when I'm behind the wheel and there's something about the sound of an engine dropping into gear as I press on the gas that makes me feel… powerful."Rachel is a replacement child. Her sister Colleen died of Leukemia before she was born and her mother has been grooming her to be perfect Colleen since her birth. No one sees the real Rachel. The car-loving girl is hidden underneath a perfectly polished exterior. She speaks at Leukemia fundraisers and does what her mom, dad and overly-protective brothers tell her. She has anxiety and has panic attacks that cause her to vomit blood. Everyone thinks she's fragile and in need of protection, but she's stronger than any of them give her credit for. Driving is her escape. Behind the wheel of a car is the only place she feels in control.Isaiah and Rachel first meet at a shady street race. It was her first time there and she looked so innocent that he had to protect her. Instead of allowing her to race one of the other guys there, which would have likely won him the money he needed to secure his home with Noah, he offers to race her. When things head south pretty quickly at the conclusion of the race, they save each other and make an immediate connection."Because I want to, I keep my hand against her face. Rachel's cheek is warm and smooth. I like touching her and, even more, I like her touching me. This angel has blown away my every idea of what a rich, private school girl should be. No drinking, no boyfriend, likes fast cars – hell, knows fast cars – and is concerned over me.""He's observant. Overly so. I think he could tell me more about my actions than I could. A huge part of me doesn't like it. In order for me to fit in at home, people can't notice me. It's harder to pull off being someone else when you're the center of attention. But I'm not home. I'm miles from there. And here, in this room, I like how Isaiah looks at me as if I'm the only girl in the world. Or like an antelope he's going to pounce on."Rachel is innocent and naive. Isaiah is anything but. The first night they spend together, ends with little more than a kiss. Rachel's first kiss. But what is made more than apparent that night is the strength of the connection they made. Their chemistry is off the charts, but more than that, they just connect in a very real way. It scares both of them."Rachel can't like me because she doesn't know me. The real me. For Rachel, life is still sunshine, rainbows and pink f****ng fuzzy unicorns. I'm nothing but darkness, clouds and rats.""Tell her it's over, a****le. Tell her that you come from different worlds and that it would never work. Tell her that kiss meant more to you than she could ever imagine. Tell her that you'll dream about her and think about her, but that's where it ends."After their first meeting, Isaiah has every intention of giving Rachel up, despite the feelings he has for her. Their connection was immediate and powerful, but he doesn't see any way they can be together. They may both like and know cars, but that's where the similarities end. Or so he thinks. He sees himself as no good and doesn't want to drag her down with him. He says goodbye and tells her he'll call, but he has no intention of doing so. He has to let her go. It's for the best."I'm still no good enough for a girl like her, but she's back in my life and she needs someone to protect her. I'll fill the role and absorb as much of her light as I can before she leaves me behind in the darkness."When Isaiah gets word that creepy Eric from the street race sets his sights on Rachel as a means to recover the money that was stolen from him, he decides to seek her out to protect her. They're in one big mess together. But they have each other, so that has to count for something, right? As time goes on, Isaiah realizes it's impossible for him to hide his feelings for Rachel. She's hurt by the way he disappeared after the first night, but she can't deny the feelings she has for him. They have six weeks to come up with the money they now owe Eric. Oh-so-much happens during those six weeks. I wouldn't even tell you if you asked. You have to experience the roller coaster ride for yourself. They have a lot of obstacles to overcome along the way. Also, along the way, they find themselves falling for each other."Tingles and shock waves and earthquakes and hurricanes. All of it takes place at the same time as our mouths move not nearly fast enough."I absolutely loved Rachel and Isaiah together. There's something about when two broken souls find each other, bring out the best in each other, that just warms my heart. Their chemistry was so immediate, so real. They were stronger together and I loved reading them like that. They grew together. It was easy to see how strongly they felt for each other. And while there were some passionate moments, they were done in that tasteful young adult way that was sheer perfection. These two gave me such warm, fuzzy feelings. <3"You're the first person to ever see me."Once again, I found myself absolutely blown away by a Katie McGarry book. This book hooked me from page one. I fell for the characters immediately. I wanted to protect them and keep them from danger. I wanted to yell at them for making stupid decisions. I cheered and smiled, got angry and cried. Crash Into You was utterly unputdownable. I raced (see what I did there) towards the end of the book, desperate to know how it would all turn out, but never wanting it to end because I liked these characters so much. The writing was beautiful and real, the dialogue absolute perfection. I can't even begin to tell you how many passages I highlighted as I read. I just want to hug this book and never let it go.Crash Into You was a wild ride filled with wonderful, complex characters, angst, action, obstacles and emotion. I couldn't have asked for more.I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review. All quotes come from the review copy and may differ from the final version.

Crash Into You is the third book in the Pushing the Limits companion series, and this time, it's Isaiah's story. I read all three books back-to-back so it was wonderful staying in the story and just jumping from one couple to the next. It helped me to see the characters from so many perspectives. In Pushing the Limits Isaiah is Noah's bro, Echo's surprising source of comfort, and Beth's secret admirer. In Dare You To, it's obvious he yearns to be Echo's savior, but he can't give her everything she needs and she can't give him that either, which is really heartbreaking. Now, being in Isaiah's head in Crash Into You, we see just how much Beth's choice affected Isaiah and how he moves on from there.Isaiah is not really the bad boy you want to think he is. Katie is really good at having the not-that-bad-boy-or-girl because Noah and Beth are totally the same. It's more like they are teens who had a crap-ton of bad circumstances in their lives that have knocked them down over and over again. In Isaiah's case, he doesn't know who his dad is, and he has serious Mommy Issues, although it's not immediately clear why that is. I think it would be so easy for Isaiah to allow himself to fall into the bad habits that surround him, but I really respect that Isaiah has a plan for his future, and he's really hard working for it. And the thing is, it's totally doable. I love that Katie doesn't push the typical college tract for Isaiah, whose talents lie in other places. Instead of having some crazy pipe dreams, Isaiah works for a realistic future doing what he loves. I also love how obvious it is that people respect Isaiah, something particularly noticeable during his interactions with Abby, Zach, and even Eric.I found Rachel fascinating. There's so much going on with her. She's the youngest of five no six no five children. She has four older brothers (well, one is a twin), and she's haunted by the ghost of her older sister–who died before Rachel and two of her brothers were even born. There are a lot of demons lurking in the Young's seemingly perfect family. Rachel is super insecure due to crippling panic that attacks when she is forced to speak in public, but she has to hide it from her family, who treat her with kid gloves. She's got this persona of being shy and weird at school, and, oh yeah, she feels like she's being forced to replace her sister, despite being her own person. It's cool to have a girl who's into a typical guy hobby. I think that adds so much depth to Rachel's character. Here's this amazing talent that proves she can be better than the boys, but she's forced to downplay it around her family, even though it's the one thing that could really heal her. CATCH 22!The minor characters in Crash Into You are just as amazing as those in the previous books. Katie does a wonderful job of balancing favorite familiar faces and some new ones as well. First, Logan. I read Dare You To, and all I could think of was "PLEASE write Logan's story!" (for the record, Katie's thinking about it! Also, I totally nominated Logan for the "Secondary Character Most in Need of His Own Book in EpicReads' Book Shimmy Awards. Noms are open until Dec 1. GO VOTE) I adore Logan. Every time I see him, I want to know more about him. Noah and Echo make their reappearance as well. Like with Isaiah's very reasonable future goals, I love that Katie shows off life after The End. Their book may be over, but their lives aren't. They have Real Life to take care of. This shouldn't really be a surprise to readers who started with Pushing the Limits as Noah has already made some super adult decisions, but it's nice to see that Katie didn't just hand them the perfect life.The first of the newbies is Abby, the street rat/drug dealer who is just about the only person who doesn't ask anything from Isaiah, ever. More than anyone else, she understands the precarious nature of Isaiah's position. In Pushing the Limits it seemed that Isaiah, Beth, and Noah were an inseparable trio (and even Katie thought Beth & Isaiah would end up together), with Isaiah and Beth especially connected with their similar pasts. But I love that Katie has pushed this story and really dug deep to find surprises and new information. Abby actually is kind of bad. I mean, she really does bad things. But once again, Katie found the good in her, or rather, she used Rachel to draw that out. VERY surprising bramance, and I loved it. West and Ethan are the most present of Rachel's brothers, and I have no doubt they'll be big in Take Me On (well, it's kinda West's book so....). There's not a lot to say about the Young boys, but I really enjoy their presence.There's a lot of high-speed action (see what I did there?!) in Crash Into You and a much more dramatic plot than before. I would never dismiss the hardships Noah, Echo, Beth, and Ryan faced in the first two books, but I do feel like Isaiah and Rachel have much more at stake for them. In the first two books, I had faith that things would work out because the characters just seemed to have the abilities and circumstances that made for Happily Ever After. Crash Into You, however, had me on the edge of my seat (well, my bed). I really didn't know things would work out, and that terrified me (because, guys. Guys. Stuff happens, and it's crazypants). I was so emotionally invested in Isaiah and Rachel's story that it felt like everything was happening to me, and I love that in a book. I love being so drawn into a story that I forget who I am a little bit. Katie is a master of that.If you're not into contemporaries, I can't guarantee that you'll love Crash Into You or the rest of the Pushing the Limits series, but I can tell you that they are darn well written and they're engrossing. Katie has created a world full of a full spectrum of amazing characters. I ran the full gamut of emotions while reading the series, and at the end, all I wanted was more. Thankfully, I won't have long to wait, and neither do you. West's story Take Me On is set for a May 2014 release.

Every time I read a new Katie McGarry book I don’t think I’m going to like it as much as the previous. I should have learnt by now really. When I read Dare to You I was sure that Beth’s story couldn’t be as good as Noah & Echo’s, but I was proved wrong, I loved it. And then when I got Crash Into You I was sure that Isaiah & Rachel’s story wouldn’t be as good as Beth and Ryan’s, but again I was proved wrong..We’ve known Isaiah as Noah’s best friend and as a potential love interest to Beth, but in Crash into You we get the chance to really know him. He has grown up in foster care and has no one other then the few friends he has chosen to become his family.Iasiah is a big fat middle finger to stereotypes: he keeps his bad boy reputation to help him survive on the streets, his tattoos are reminders to the happier times in his life and his obsession with all things cars is his way to make something of his life, skills that he has been working at for years. He had a difficult childhood, growing up in the foster system, and therefore developed a tough skin letting no one in. Underneath the tattoos and the slightly rough exterior he is an extremely loyal person who unfortunately just keep getting dealt the wrong hand in life.When I first read from Rachel’s POV I was worried I wasn’t going to like her. I was worried I was going to find her spoilt and her problems very ‘typical rich person’ problems. But I very quickly started to like her and found her a very easy character to read. Rachel has grown up being the replacement daughter for her deceased older sister. It keeps her mum happy, so her father and brothers push her to be the perfect daughter for their mother. A role that forces Rachel to hide her true car loving self as well as other secrets that could ruin the perfect happy family facade.The two meet at a street race, Isiah needs money, Rachel needs an escape. However in true fashion nothing goes right and the two end up forged together to fix a problem that could very well cost them their lives.Although there are initial sparks, the romance between Rachel and Isaiah takes its time to fully manifest. Isaiah in trying to keep Rachel safe, pretends that he has no feelings for her so she cannot be used against him, therefore putting her in danger. Rachel, having never had a boyfriend and with no confidence in herself doubts that Isiah even likes her. But finally the two come together and become a very sweet couple. There are a few bumps, some bigger then others, but their relationship is strong and pushes through the obstacles put in its path.One of my favorite things about this book is that characters from previous books are a big feature of the story. As Isiah lives with Noah, him and Echo appear a lot, and even Beth makes appearance with new boyfriend Ryan. Logan, Ryan’s friend from Dare You To, becomes a part of the main group and a new friend of Isiah’s which I really liked and helped to link Dare You To back to this book and Pushing the Limits.There are also some great new characters in this book: Rachel’s 4 older brothers who can be overprotective and at times seem kinda mean that they are forcing her to be this perfect daughter just to keep their mother happy. But then you can see the reason why they are doing it, and there are times when they really show how much they care about her. The bond Rachel shares with her twin brother Ethan is really cute, and he is not just her brother but her best friend, and they have some really nice moments together.I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down until I had finished it. It manages to be action packed but also feature all the deep and sweet moments whilst Rachel Isaiah struggle through both their individual troubles as well as their joint ones. Katie McGarry has once again created a set of characters who immediately draw you in and don’t let go.

I have enjoyed all of this series and Isaiah has been my favourite character so I was delighted that he got his own story. This novel just smashed its way into my top 5 books. From the very first page I was hooked. Rachel was such a good heroine. There are plenty of sassy, strong and feisty girls in this series and they are all brilliantly written but Rachel is just perfect for Isaiah. She is innocent and pure and naive but the girl is way stronger than she gives herself credit for. He has been surrounded by such darkness and has been unloved for so long and then this bright light that is Rachel just comes into his life and the connection between the two of them is beautiful. My heart ached for both of them and the lives they led but I have to say Isaiah brought a lump to my throat. Brilliant writing by Ms McGarry made me want to fight his corner with him and just stop society looking at him like some second class citizen .Yet, I never pitied his character. Admired, rooted for and absolutely wanted to see him be loved ..totally. I love this author's style of writing. Glad we still get to hear about Noah, Echo and Beth. . And so looking forward to West' s story. Five stars for sure . Read this series in order.

Gah! I loved this book...It's been a while since I read Pushing the Limits and Dare You To...and I must admit I forgot how much I loved Katie McGarry's storytelling and the characters she creates.I fell in love with Isaiah all over again in this one...such a layered character that ultimately just wants to love and be loved. And he certainly stole my heart :) The story and progression with him and Rachel's relationship was sweet and natural and you can't help but to root for them.I really enjoyed the development of the old characters and the introduction of the new ones - I think it meshed really well and has opened the door to more wonderful books in this series.I would have enjoyed some more detail in the last few chapters - but I have a feeling we'll see more of that in the next book...I loved this book overall and continue to enjoy this fabulous series. It's safe to say I shall continue to devour anything written by the wonderful Katie McGarry.

I adored  Pushing the Limits  and loved  Dare You To  even more, so I was very excited about this. But sadly it's turned out to be a disappointment. The story is told alternatively by Isaiah and Rachel, and neither of them have gripped me.McGarry burst onto the scene and I loved the way her characters have dealt with real problems and yet have survived with sass and humour. This one felt flatter to me, with its recourse to insta-love. I don't think Isaiah's voice is right either in his narrative - for such a tough, bad-guy to be thinking of Rachel as his 'angel' practically from the first moment they meet?So I'm really sad to have to give a less than glowing review for this. I'll certainly look out for McGarry's next and hope that it's a return to form. Pushing the LimitsDare You To

I love Katie McGarry's novels. As a 'mid aged' mum I find teen romance can get a little cute, or focus on hormone driven kids trying to get it on. These books are well written, and whilst Isiah, Noah & Beth all have their hang ups, the chemistry between them and Rachel, Echo and Ryan seems real. If i were 20 years younger, my only question would be 'where should I go to find me a bad boy to tame!'