BLOG TOUR: CRASH INTO YOU by KATIE MCGARRY

 

 

Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on the Crash Into You Blog Tour!

This tour is being hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. My stop includes a review and giveaway. Follow all the tour stops at the home page.

Series: Pushing the Limits #3

Category/Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: 11/26/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 474
Source: Received from publisher for review
Rating: 3.5 stars

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.

 

Like so many readers, I loved Pushing the Limits and Dare You To. Noah, Beth, and Isaiah are three of the most heart-wrenching characters I've read, and I want them to have happy, safe endings. We got there with Noah Hutchins (always my favorite), and Beth. But after the way he was left at the end of Dare You To, I really needed this for Isaiah; for him to be better than surviving. Happy.

To that point, before I go further in my review, with what I may have liked, loved, or felt "meh" about, I have to say one thing. Katie McGarry can write. She owns her words and uses each one to create stories that make readers fall in love with her characters. From my own experience, I can say that I have hurt -badly- for Noah, Beth and Isaiah. I become fully invested in their lives, and want their happy ending. So for that, I cannot say enough good things about McGarry's writing.

Overall, I liked Crash Into You - quite a lot - but that's not to say I didn't have a couple issues. In the first two books in the series, Isaiah was portrayed as a darker character. He smokes pot and drinks, is a very tough guy who's pretty much closed off to everyone but Isaiah and Beth. In Crash Into You, I didn't really see that darkness. It seems that Isaiah isn't quite who he's portrayed himself to be, it's a cover for protection. I guess I can see that, but still, I felt a bit thrown. It's not that I don't think it's possible for Isaiah to have put up that façade for Noah, but since they are brothers by bond, I don't see why. Other than that, I liked the characterization of Isaiah, and was very invested in his story, particularly his bonds with Noah and Beth. But I also enjoyed seeing this tough and closed-off boy fall in love.

Rachel, she was a bit of a challenge for me. I did like that she was a car freak. I had a friend who was so into cars in school, she even drove an old Mustang (until we wrecked it).  I know my friend would have been thrilled to find a girl like Rachel in books as a teen. I also liked that Rachel was non-judgmental about Isaiah's background and tough looks. That she accepted Isaiah just as he was. What kept me from being completely Team Rachel was mostly her family. What a self-absorbed, enabling group of people they were. I'm still a bit boggled at one family that wrapped up in the past like that. And this is not to say that I don't understand why they may have been so self-absorbed and way too protective of Rachel. I do get it. I just don't get it, and that's where I struggled, because it was a bit much for me to take. I don't want to judge the story based on the dysfunctional Young family, but maybe if I didn't have to understand their motivations, Rachel's motivation to please them to the point of illness, and her constant panic attacks, it would have been a bit easier. The bright side to this dilemma? Character growth. Rachel grew immensely as a character, and I do truly appreciate that.

Crash Into You may not have been quite the story I expected, but I did enjoy it quite a lot. I loved the racing, the bond between Noah, Beth, and Isaiah, and the joy of seeing Isaiah experience true happiness. I didn't love everything about it, but I did feel so much, and at the end, that counts for a lot.


Favorite Quote:


  Maybe this is what happens when you fall in love. On the outside a lighter is nothing amazing, but it holds all the ingredients that can create something wonderful. With a few pushes in the right direction, you can inspire something so brilliant that it pushes back the darkness.  ~eARC, 68%


  "This is who I am, Rachel. Accept it or not. The tattoos won't wash off. The earrings will never change. I am who I am and nothing more. I'm loyal to a chosen few, I always keep my word and I'll protect you with my life. I scare the hell out of most people, but you will never have anything to fear from me. Choose. Love me or don't. But tell me now."   ~eARC, 74%

Pushing the Limits Series

 

      

 

(click on cover for GoodReads page)

 

 

 

Purchase Crash Into You

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository  |  Kobo  |  Audible

 

***GIVEAWAY***

10 finished copies of Crash Into You (US and Canada only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

 

 

About the author:

KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie would love to hear from her readers. Contact her via her website, follow her on Twitter , or become a fan on Facebook and Goodreads.

 

 

TEASER TUESDAY ~ CRASH INTO YOU

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

·Grab your current read
·Open to a random page
·Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
·Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.



Series: Pushing the Limits #3

Category/Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: 11/26/13

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.

 

My Teaser ~

  "Rachel," he says with a long drawl. I glance over at him when he says nothing else. His eyes flicker between me and the road. "I'm Isaiah, and I swear I'll take care of you and your car."   ~eARC, 11%

What do you think? Be sure to check out my stop on the blog tour, coming next week! 

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY ~ CRASH INTO YOU

  Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...

Series: Pushing the Limits #2

Category/Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance/Realistic Fiction

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: 11/26/13

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.

 

Why I'm Waiting ~  ISAIAH. Y'all, I have been dying for this guy to get his own story, and happy ending. I will be devouring Crash Into You the moment I get it.

On a side note: I hate feet, especially guy feet. I tell my husband every day how much I don't like his feet and that I married him in spite of them. But, I gotta say, Isaiah's feet are kind of nice. Thank goodness.

MY THOUGHTS ON: PUSHING THE LIMITS, CROSSING THE LINE, and VEER

Series: Pushing the Limits #1
Category/Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: 8/31/12
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 392
Source: Bought

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

 

 

Good lord, why hasn't somebody slapped some sense into me by now. How the heck did I go nearly ten months without reading this book? I OWN IT. I pre-ordered Pushing the Limits before it even released... and yet it set on my shelf. Unread. I'm an idiot.

Look, almost everyone I know has read Pushing the Limits by now, and I'm sure that I have nothing new to add to the discussion. So why am I even writing this? Just to state that I loved Pushing the Limits more than words. That Echo Emerson, with her bravery and heart, is a girl that I will always remember. That Noah Hutchins will go down, in my opinion, as one of my all-time favorite book guys. It's not the fact that he was hot or a bad boy that won me. It was his devotion to his brothers, to his friends, and his unconditional, unselfish, and overwhelming love for Echo that won my heart.

Katie McGarry wrote the hell out of this book and is now an auto-buy author.



 

Series: Pushing the Limits #1.5
Category/Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: 4/1/13
Format: Kindle
Pages: 67
Source: Bought

Katie McGarry captivated readers with her “riveting, emotional”* Young Adult debut, Pushing the Limits. In this gripping novella, she tells the story of Lila and Lincoln, who discover that sometimes it’s worth crossing the line for love…

Lila McCormick, Echo's best friend from Pushing the Limits, first met Lincoln Turner when tragedy struck both their lives. But she never expected their surprise encounter would lead to two years of exchanging letters—or that she’d fall for the boy she’s only seen once. Their relationship is a secret, but Lila feels closer to Lincoln than anyone else. Until she finds out that he lied to her about the one thing she depended on him for the most.

Hurting Lila is the last thing Lincoln wanted. For two years, her letters have been the only thing getting him through the day. Admitting his feelings would cross a line he’s never dared breach before. But Lincoln will do whatever it takes to fix his mistakes, earn Lila’s forgiveness—and finally win a chance to be with the girl he loves.

My goodness. I believe that it is simply not possible for Katie McGarry to write a story that I won't love. She packed so much emotion into this novella and I came away from it with such a full heart. I honestly went into Crossing the Line not knowing what to expect, except brilliant writing. Always brilliant writing where McGarry's concerned.

Crossing the Line went beyond my high, but completely open expectations. I love the story of how Lila and Lincoln connected, though it was extremely sad. I loved the chance to know Lila better. I already adored her for her loyalty to Echo. I could identify with Lila, a lot. As someone who has never, ever lived on my own, I could sympathize with her fear of moving away. Lincoln was another great guy from McGarry. I felt so sorry for Lincoln and what he's going through. I loved that he let himself fall for Lila and took a risk to win her trust and her heart.

Crossing the Line was a beautiful novella. I loved everything about it, but I will go ahead and say what everyone else has likely said. It should be longer. Novel length. But I say that only because I can never get enough of this author's words.



Series: Clayton Falls #2
Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Alyssa Rose Ivy
Publication Date:
Format: Kindle
Pages: 286
Source: Bought

Only when you let go can you learn to live.

Between the death of her mother and pushing through law school without her best friend, it's been a tough year for Becca. Needing a break from Boston, she moves to a tiny coastal North Carolina town for a relaxing summer. After bumping heads repeatedly with a local cop, she realizes her summer will be anything but quiet.

Three years after a career ending injury ruins his chance to play Major League Baseball, Gavin has a distrust of northerners and lately girls in general. He wants nothing to do with a girl who is only in town for the summer.

When the two give in to their impossible attraction, they realize that they may just have found the key to freeing themselves from the ghosts of their pasts.

 

 

I'm a fan of Alyssa Rose Ivy and her books. I love her clean, concise writing style, and the characters she creates. I also like how her stories have enough drama to keep me hook, but not so much angst that I feel like I'm going to have a nervous breakdown. I read the first book in the series, Derailed, last winter and was excited to revisit Clayton Falls.

 

I will go ahead and admit, I was worried about Gavin having his own book. I wasn't a fan of his in Derailed. He was too cocky, too pushy. But in Veer, we get to see the other side of Gavin, the man who was dumped for getting injured, the man who's just sort of drifting along.

 

I was very happy that the heroine of Veer was going to be Becca. She didn't play a big part in Derailed, but she was a great friend, and I loved getting to know her better. Strong-willed and with a quick wit and spirited temper, she was an excellent fit for Gavin. The push and pull between the two personalities was fun.

 

As with Derailed, my favorite character was Jake Matthews! This guy is a riot, a button-pusher, and I am itching to get my hands on his upcoming book, Wrecked.

TEASER TUESDAY ~ DARE YOU TO by KATIE McGARRY

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

·Grab your current read

·Open to a random page

·Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

·Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

Series: Pushing the Limits #2

Category/Genre: Mature Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date:5/28/13

Format: ARC

Pages: 462

Source: Received from publicist for review

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....

 

My Teaser~

   Noah--his hair hiding his eyes, keeping the world from seeing his soul.
  Isaiah--a sleeve of beautiful tattoos that frightens the normal and entices the free.
  Me--the poet in my mind when I'm high.
  I came to this house for safety. They came because the foster care system ran out of homes. We stayed because we were stray pieces of other puzzles, tired of never fitting.  ~pg. 20

Fabulous writing, yeah? Dare You To releases today! You can see my review  here.

Pushing the Limits Series

(click on cover for GoodReads page)

Purchase Dare You To at:

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository 

REVIEW: DARE YOU TO (PUSHING THE LIMITS #2) by KATIE McGARRY

Series: Pushing the Limits #2
Category/Genre: Mature Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date:5/28/13
Format: ARC
Pages: 462
Source: Received from publicist for review

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....

 

A connection that begins with a careless dare but becomes so much more, Dare You To is a story of taking risks, learning to trust, the transformative power of love, and letting go of the chains that hold you down.

I want so badly to compare Dare You To to Pushing the Limits. To compare Beth to Echo, and Noah to Ryan.  It's inevitable, but truly not necessary, and doesn't give both books their justice. The characters in each story will forever be connected, but just like Beth, I need to let go of that story (for now) and focus on this one.

Beth Risk is a challenging character, one that will probably drive some readers crazy with her harsh words, attitude, extreme stubbornness and inability to see that she must leave her old life if she ever wants to survive. She's frustrating, yes. But I think that if Beth had simply gone along with the people who wanted her to change her life and didn't fight until it nearly broke her, that would not have given her character true authenticity. It wouldn't have given justice to how truly messed up Beth's life was.

I'll admit, I really wanted Beth with Isaiah, I thought they were perfect for each other because they were so alike. But, it's that very reason that Beth and Isaiah need to let go of one another. To break away, and make better lives. To each find someone to see them for the person they can and should be, instead of the person the are right now. This realization was heartbreaking for Beth, and impossible to grasp for Isaiah. I would say for me, that seeing Beth slowly let go of Noah and Isaiah was the hardest part of Dare You To. I trust that McGarry will take good care of Isaiah in Crash Into You.

Ryan Stone is the boy who met Beth on a dare. A boy who leads a charmed life, but on the inside, he has some serious struggles of his own. His seemingly perfect family has imploded. His father's control, his mother's need for a perfect façade, and a brother's secret has driven the Stones apart. Ryan is destined to be a professional baseball player, but also has the heart of a writer. He lives his life to please others until he meets Beth Risk. And as much as Ryan challenges her, she gives it right back, pushing him to live the life he wants, with the people he wants in it. I wondered if I could love Ryan as much as Noah Hutchins because Noah goes through so many horrible things in his life, and is such a remarkable character (so much for not comparing). But the thing is, just because one person's issues in life aren't as "terrible" as another's, doesn't make them any less valid to that person.

What truly made me love Ryan was his love for Beth. He could have only taken Beth at her harsh exterior, but pushed her to open up, to trust, love, and see that she could have a better life. She does the same for him in many respects. A lot of times, books and characters are unfairly (in my opinion) criticized for the "love saves" story. That everyone, girls in particular, should be able to save themselves and "why does a guy always have to swoop in and save the day?". And that could be true for a character who is raised with a strong sense of self and a healthy upbringing. But not all characters -or people- have that advantage. The love and faith of another person may not necessarily save you, but can cause you to begin to see yourself as they do, as someone worthy of love and happiness. And that's why I love stories like Dare You To: they show the beautifully transformative power of love. *cue Celine Dion*

Dare You To is an amazing story. I was completely taken over by the story and characters, barely eating and forgoing sleep until the very last page. I was blown away by the characters, their stories and emotions. Katie McGarry is an incredibly talented and thoughtful author, and I will eagerly read anything she writes. I cannot recommend the Pushing the Limits Series highly enough.

Favorite Quotes:


   "Trust me."
  "I can't," I whisper. I trusted Scott, my mother, and my father. I trusted Luke, my aunt, and Isaiah. All people who left me. All people who faded into darkness. My heart has been ripped multiple times and each time I repaired it on my own. I know my limits and if someone rips me apart again, I'll never find the strength to pick up the pieces.
  An intensity warms his brown eyes and he gently hugs my body to his. "You can."
  I suck in a breath. Ryan's doing it. He's giving me the same look Chris gives Lacy. The same look Noah gives Echo. Maybe I can. My heart thunders as I reach up and grab the hair curling near the base of Ryan's neck. "Don't drop me."  ~ARC, pg. 339


  "It's our rain, Beth."
  Her head barely shakes to show her confusion while I rub the back of my neck and search for my courage. "I told you I loved you in this rain and when you doubt my words, I want you to look at this bottle."  ~ARC, pg. 348


    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. I'm not seducing him. He's not seducing me. Instead, we're choosing to be together.  ~ARC, pg. 376

 

Pushing the Limits Series

 

(click on cover for GoodReads page)

 

Purchase Dare You To at:

 

 

 

 

About the author:

KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie would love to hear from her readers. Contact her via her website, follow her on Twitter , or become a fan on Facebook and Goodreads.

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...

 

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked. "An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!"-Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series So wrong for each other...and yet so right. No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible. Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again. ~ From GoodReads

Why I'm Waiting ~ I thing the synopsis pretty much says it all. :-)


Expected publication: July 31st 2012 by Harlequin Teen

You can pre-order PUSHING THE LIMITS at:

Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository  |  Amazon