Dare You To (A Pushing the Limits Novel) Paperback – 7 Jun 2013

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Before embarking on an 11 hour flight across the world, I knew I needed a Katie McGarry. Everything she writes somehow both soothes and excites me. Pushing the Limits, the first in this series was great, full of crackling chemistry and drama. I would recommend reading this book first as it contains the characters’ history, which isn’t completely essential, but boosts the engagement.This story follows Beth, another girl from the wrong side of town (Check out Red At Night). All she has known since she was a child was to protect her mother from everything.. drugs, a violent boyfriend and prison. Growing up with unsavoury characters, she has learnt to be tough as nails and sharp as a whip in order to survive. Her character jumped out at me with her dialogue ringing out loud and clear. Her vulnerability and strength also felt raw.As problems spiral out of control, Beth is forced to move away with her uncle who makes it his mission to reform her. Scared for her mother, separated from her best friends and attending the local ‘hick’ high school, she experiences her worst nightmare. Despite this, she finds herself drawn to the most stereo-typical guy she should avoid, golden boy jock Ryan. He is your average High School Musical star, but with baseball and a bit more muscle. On track to play pro, the cracks in his perfect life start to inch further into the book; a domineering father, a depressed mother and an estranged brother. What starts off as a dare to ask out scary skater girl, leads to deep attraction and mutual understanding. This romance started off quite slow with a lot of back tracking, which made the book longer than necessary. I was impressed with the shift in Ryan’s character, who started off as an macho airhead.Beth and Ryan have to face a lot of courage to make their relationship a reality. They have to face abilities that have been suppressed or forgotten. For Beth it’s trust, while for Ryan it’s rebellion.Happy to continue my journey through the series..

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.

A sequel to Pushing the Limits or just as a stand alone book, this book features Beth, a friend of Noah's from Pushing the Limits, and her own story with Ryan.“That must be love: when everything else in the world could implode and you wouldn't care as long as you had that one person standing beside you.”Beth is an extremely angry girl at the beginning of this book. In trying to save her mum from going to jail she ends up being taken away from her life and friends to stay with her uncle.Ryan is on the right tracks. He has scouts coming to watch his baseball games, has a great out of friends and refuses to loose a bet. So when his friends bet him to get a random girl at the mall's number he is up for it. Problem is, the girl is Beth, and she is not giving anyone her number.“There are times when you stand on the cusp of moments so huge, you know you'll remember them forever. This is that moment for me and for Ryan.”A story of second chances, starting over and realising how important your life really is to you. At first Beth hates her Uncle's rules, but through the book as she is able to let the weight that she has been carrying for years, from having a drug addict mum with a violent boyfriend, Beth is finally able to just be a teenage girl.Ryan has his own problems, with a seriously broken family. And Beth gives him the strength needed to start to heal his family, whilst learning to let go of the bad parts of her own that are pulling her down.“This overwhelming, encompassing feeling is love. It's not perfect and it's messy as hell. And it's exactly what I need.”Just like in Pushing the Limits Katie McGarry writes a realistic non 'insta love' relationship that is real for the characters she has written. It is a very cute love story and just shows (again like in Pushing the Limits) that you don't need a sex scene for a good romance.