Tag Archives: Katie McGarry

Early Review: Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

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Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

Crash into You Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 26th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher (Harlequin Teen) in exchange for an honest review

From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane.

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that’s who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers…and she’s just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can’t get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they’ll go to save each other.

OH GOD. OH GOD. Excuse me while I compose myself after reading THE MOST AMAZING BOOK EVER!!! AAHHH!!! I love you, Katie McGarry. Like, SO. MUCH. And I can’t even begin to explain how much I love this series. It’s probably my all-time favorite contemporary YA series. Ever! Basically, I’m obsessed with the series. I just can’t get enough of it. I always want more! I totally squealed when I received an advanced copy of Crash into You. Because I’ve been dying to read this book. It absolutely did not disappoint. And I was so happy when I found out there are going to be more books in the series after Crash into You! AH!

Okay, okay, calm down Lacey! *takes a deep breath* Wow. There are no words to describe how I’m feeling after reading Crash into You. Maybe insanely happy? Maybe just insane? Because I went crazy over this book. Crash into You is a beautifully written YA contemporary romance. It’s young adult at its finest. The characters are real, they pop out of the pages and make you feel for them. You experience all their emotions alongside them, and I bow down to Katie McGarry for being able to make me feel this way.

Crash into You is Isaiah’s story, the third and last person of the trio that includes him, Noah, and Beth. Oh man, this boy. This boy just gets to me. I had been waiting for the day he’d get his story ever since Pushing the Limits came out. And after reading Dare You To? I just could not wait. Because I knew with absolute certainty that I would love Isaiah and fall in love with his story too. And oh my goodness, I did!

Rachel and Isaiah meet at an illegal drag race. Exciting right? Well, it gets even better later on in the book. I absolutely loved reading about the drag racing aspect of the story. it’s just so illicit, so exciting, so exhilarating to read! If drag racing is a part of a book, I’m SO there. And Isaiah? Plus drag racing? *fans self* Too. sexy.

Rachel was a frustrating character to read. Well, it was more like her family situation was frustrating. I felt sorry for Rachel, because her entire family never took the time to know her. When they look at her, they see Colleen, the daughter and sister who died of cancer. They never see Rachel. I was angry and frustrated at her family for being so unfair, for putting so much pressure on her to be who she’s not. And Rachel has severe panic attacks. She can’t handle too much attention, but I never saw her as being weak. She’s strong in a different way, in that she puts those she loves first.

With his love of cars, I knew Isaiah had to fall in love with a girl who knows her cars. And yes! Rachel is as much a car fanatic as Isaiah is. I adored Rachel and Isaiah. I thought they were perfect together. Rachel is the rich, good girl who is pressured by her family to be who she isn’t, and Isaiah is the tough bad boy with the tattoos and earrings who only wants to get out of foster care. They are complete opposites, except for their love of cars, but they work. They balance each other out, and maybe I’m a sucker for the good girl-bad boy love story, but who cares? It was SO good. Their story made me smile, made me laugh, made me giggle, made me swoon, made me gasp, made my heart pound, and made me fall in love all over again with all of Katie McGarry’s characters. Yes, Noah and Echo, Beth and Ryan, and everyone else is in this book!

We also get introduced to Rachel’s older brothers. Four older brothers, to be exact. They’re all jerks, but lovable jerks. And they’ve got the older brother protectiveness in spades. Ethan is Rachel’s twin brother, West is less than a year older than them, and the oldest brothers are Jack and Gavin. I’m SO excited to read West’s book, Take Me On! I was really hoping the next book would be about Logan, the adrenaline junkie, but it doesn’t even matter because I’ll read anything Katie McGarry writes. I highly, highly recommend this series. The romance is perfect, the characters are incredibly written, and the boys are just so damn swoon-worthy!

5 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Pushing the Limits series

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry Crossing the Line by Katie McGarry Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry
Dare You To by Katie McGarry Crash Into You by Katie McGarry Take Me On by Katie McGarry

#1 ~ Pushing the Limits: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#1.1 ~ Crossing the Line: Ebook • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Breaking the Rules: My Review • Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Dare You To: My Review • Shirley’s Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Crash into You: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Take Me On: Ebook • Hardcover • Goodreads

Top Ten Tuesday {10}: Books On My Fall 2013 TBR List

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It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! This week’s theme is …

Top Ten Books On My Fall 2013 TBR List

Finders Keepers by Nicole Williams

1. Finders Keepers (Lost and Found #3) by Nicole Williams – I am absolutely dying to read this right now. I have in on my kindle just waiting for me, and I’ll get to it when I have time to read. Even though I desperately want to read it, I know this book will just make me TOO distracted to do anything else LOL. But GARTH!! ❤

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

2. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – It’s Rainbow Rowell!! I just adored Eleanor & Park, so I’m SO excited for another book by her. And it’s about a fangirl! I can totally relate.

United We Spy by Ally Carter

3. United We Spy (Gallagher Girls #6) by Ally Carter – It’s the last book in the Gallagher Girls series! *sniffs* But I know Ally Carter won’t disappoint me. I just can’t believe this series is coming to its end so SOON!

Bold Tricks by Karina Halle

4. Bold Tricks (The Artists Trilogy #3) by Karina Halle – Can’t wait for this book because even though I was MEH about the second book, I still loved the first, so I’m excited to see how the trilogy ends, and where Ellie, Camden and Javier end up.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

5. Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth – ANOTHER final book in a series! And this one is one of my all time favorite series, so I might end up tearing up. We get Four’s POV in this too!! AHHH!!! <4

Trust in Me by J. Lynn

6. Trust in Me (Wait for You #1.5) by J. Lynn – OOHH it’s Cam’s POV of Wait for You! I just loved Cam, he was such a perfect book boyfriend, and now that we get his side of the story… YAY!

Sentinel by Jennifer L. Armentrout

7. Sentinel (Covenant #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout – Wow, I didn’t realize there were SO MANY final books on this list. (I think there might be some more after this too…) But yep, Sentinel concludes the Covenant series and Alex and the gang’s story. I’m super excited for what will happen, because I know that something is gonna go down in this book. And of course there’s Aiden!

Champion by Marie Lu

8. Champion (Legend #3) by Marie Lu – Yep, another final book. I am so freaking unbelievably crazy for this to come out, because that ending in Prodigy? NOT COOL. And I want more June and Day! (BTW isn’t that such a gorgeous cover?)

World After by Susan Ee

9. World After (Penryn and the End of Days #2) by Susan Ee – Oh gosh, oh gosh, I don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this book, but I thank the stars that this book even EXISTS. Because I was dying at the cliffhanger of Angelfall. I’m praying for Raffe and Penryn to have a HEA… but I’m pretty sure Susan Ee likes to torture her readers.

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

10. Crash into You (Pushing the Limits #3) by Katie McGarry – And this is… NOT another final book, because guess what? There’s going to be MORE Pushing the Limits!! *fangirls* I’m SO excited for Isaiah’s story!! And I TOTALLY knew that the girl he would fall in love with would be a girl who was a car fanatic like him. And even better, she’s a good girl, which is perfect for bad boy Isaiah!

So what books are on your fall 2013 TBR list?

lacey

Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

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Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Dare You To by Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: May 28th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. “Dance with me, Beth.”

“No.” I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again….

“I dare you…”

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….

Guys. HOLY FREAKING CRAP. I LOVED THIS BOOK SO SO MUCH OMG I LOVE RYAN WITH ALL OF MY HEART WHY CAN’T I BE IN HIS GROUP OF FRIENDS T_T AND THE BOTTLE OF RAIN OMG.

At the beginning I wanted Isaiah and Beth to go out because COME ON. After reading Pushing the Limits, how could they not be your OTP!? BUT I WAS WRONG. BECAUSE RYAN AND BETH ARE SERIOUSLY SO SO PERFECT TOGETHER YOU DO NOT EVEN UNDERSTAND.

Beth totally came off as a really tough and “do not mess with me” type of girl in the beginning of this book as well as in Pushing the Limits, but she’s seriously so sweet and has the best intentions for everyone and HER ATTITUDE IS SO BADASS I LOVE IT.

Anyways, I feel like I really enjoyed this book because it had the typical sporty jock guy, and the other girl, and I JUST LOVE BOOKS LIKE THAT. So I feel like that’s why I loved this one slightly more (actually just kidding, I don’t even know if I like it more than Pushing the Limits.) It was just… It felt like my type of contemporary book. But in a way, it’s also so much more than that because of both of Beth and Ryan’s family problems. I STILL LOVE ISAIAH THOUGH DON’T GET ME WRONG. I just like Beth with Ryan together more hehe. And I love that we see a different side of Beth than we did before!

OBVI.

5 hearts
shirley

Reading Order: Pushing the Limits series

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry Crossing the Line by Katie McGarry Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry
Dare You To by Katie McGarry Crash Into You by Katie McGarry Take Me On by Katie McGarry

#1 ~ Pushing the Limits: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#1.1 ~ Crossing the Line: Ebook • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Breaking the Rules: Lacey’s Review • Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Dare You To: Lacey’s Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Crash into You: Lacey’s Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Take Me On: Ebook • Hardcover • Goodreads

Waiting on Wednesday {2}

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Waiting on WednesdayWaiting on Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine, is a weekly meme where we showcase upcoming new releases we’re excited to get our hands on!

Lacey’s pick:
Crash Into You by Katie McGarryCrash Into You (Pushing the Limits #3) by Katie McGarry
Publication Date: November 26th 2013

From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane.

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that’s who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers…and she’s just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can’t get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they’ll go to save each other.

Cathy’s pick:
House of Hades by Rick RiordanThe House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #4) by Rick Riordan
Publication Date: October 8th 2013

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

Shirley’s pick:
Untold by Sarah Rees BrennanUntold (Lynburn Legacy #2) by Sarah Rees Brennan
Publication Date: August 29th 2013

Free from bonds, but not each other

It’s time to choose sides… On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?

Top Ten Tuesday {7}: Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels

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It’s Top Ten Tuesday again, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! This week’s theme is …

Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels

eleanor & park

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell: Even though I loved this book with all my heart, I would have given my left arm to have a sequel, or at least more at the end. If you’ve read this book, then you probably know what I mean. Eleanor & Park ends with an open ending (it’s kind of open and yet not-not sure how to explain it), but one that I though was fitting for the story. Still, I definitely wouldn’t mind a sequel.

Easy by Tammara Webber

Easy by Tammara Webber: I absolutely adored Easy. I loved Jacqueline and Lucas’s story, and when I got to the ending, I so wasn’t ready to leave them. A sequel would be perfect, but don’t despair folks! Lucas’s POV of Easy is in the works! *cue squealing*

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry: Yes, I know, there’s a sequel to this book, but technically, it’s more of a companion book. The sequel doesn’t go back to Noah and Echo (but I still loved it!). Still, I would have loved to read more about Noah and Echo, maybe about their road trip or even them in college. I just can’t get enough of them (especially Noah)!

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater: My heart was just pounding at the end, because-horses!! Or mythological creatures that look like horses. The ending was sort of bittersweet, and I so wish that we could have known what would happen for Puck, Sean, and his horse, and especially whether Sean could go back to racing.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Stiefvater: Another book by Maggie Stiefvater… I think I’m seeing a pattern here. But anyways, this ending was so open, and I totally get that the author wanted the readers to come up with their own conclusions, but still! A more concrete ending and I would have loved this book. Not that I didn’t enjoy the book, but I just wasn’t expecting such an ambiguous ending for a final book.

Requiem

Requiem (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver: This is also another final book of a series with an open ending. Even though I had no problem with the open ending (a lot of people did though), I wouldn’t have minded more. Like whether their world ended up okay, what happens with Lena’s relationship with Alex, or something like that.

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick: I loved this book. I fell head over heels in love with the story, Samantha, and the Garretts (JASE <3). The ending though, was a bit abrupt, and I think it didn’t resolve everything that happened with the accident. So a sequel? Yes please! I want more of Jase! I’d love to see his and Samantha’s relationship growing during the school year and maybe even beyond high school.

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta: This book is just beautiful. The words just stick to your heart. So I absolutely wouldn’t mind another book with more gorgeous writing. Melina Marchetta, I bow down to you. I don’t know how you do it, but I don’t really care to as long as you keep on writing incredible books. And with Jellicoe Road, I want more of Taylor and Jonah. They don’t get much of a chance to be together before Jonah has to leave, so a sequel would make me very happy.

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta: This book was fantastic as well. Melina Marchetta is seriously one of my absolute favorite authors, and if there’s another book by her, I will read it. So a sequel for Saving Francesca? I’m there. The Piper’s Son is sort of a sequel, but it’s more of a companion book. We see tiny glimpses of Francesca and WIll in that, but I would love love love another book for them, to see how they’re handling their long distance relationship.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling by Kristin Cashore: Po! Po! Po! I just can’t get enough of him! I love him to bits 🙂 Even though we see a bit of him and Katsa in the companion books, I would love a sequel that’s dedicated to just them again. They’re one of my favorite couples ever, and I want more of them being together. I also miss the world; it’s been a while since Bitterblue was last released.

lacey