REVIEW: Take Me On by Katie McGarry

Take Me On by Katie McGarry (Pushing the Limits #4)
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: May 27, 2014
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 5/5 stars
Get it: Amazon | B&N

Acclaimed author Katie McGarry returns with the knockout new story of two high school seniors who are about to learn what winning really means.

Champion kickboxer Haley swore she'd never set foot in the ring again after one tragic night. But then the guy she can't stop thinking about accepts a mixed martial arts fight in her honor. Suddenly, Haley has to train West Young. All attitude, West is everything Haley promised herself she'd stay away from. Yet he won't last five seconds in the ring without her help.

West is keeping a big secret from Haley. About who he really is. But helping her-fighting for her-is a shot at redemption. Especially since it's his fault his family is falling apart. He can't change the past, but maybe he can change Haley's future.

Hayley and West have agreed to keep their relationship strictly in the ring. But as an unexpected bond forms between them and attraction mocks their best intentions, they'll face their darkest fears and discover love is worth fighting for.

My Review

Take Me On has come extremely close to topping Pushing the Limits for me. There was just something powerful and heart wrenching when it came to Haley and West’s story that nearly gave me as much emotion that I got from Noah and Echo. Katie McGarry just continues to dominate with her fantastic stories!

The Characters


West was impulsive, prideful, and had a temper that needed to be reined in. He had a strained relationship with his father and felt immense guilt for Rachel’s accident. Haley was strong, fierce, and self-sacrificing. She too felt extreme guilt for her family and bottled up many problems and emotions that she needed help with.What I loved about these two were how opposite they were of each other on the outside, but so alike in the inside. Haley wasn’t as privileged as West was, but both seem to carry the weight of the world, both love their families to death, and both would do anything to protect them. I ached for Haley because of all the things her family lost, her living arrangement, the horror she went through and the fear that continued to haunt her. I loved West for being so protective, for wanting to help Haley, for realizing how lucky he was and how much he needed to change and be a man.

The Romance


This book really does deal with the touch stuff and personal issues. It wasn’t always happy go lucky times between West and Haley. They had to keep working at it. What I loved about what McGarry did with their relationship was allowed them to do stuff not for the other person, but for themselves alone. There was give and take and there wasn’t a clear set happy ending. The future was still unknown and I liked that for Haley and West because their journey to each other wasn’t easy at all. I also really enjoyed the training that went with West and Haley’s story. I liked how fighting became their symbol, but in a good way. Fighting was what kind of broke them individually, but it also fixed them and led them to one another. It was nice to see how the training and the kickboxing played a significant role in their relationship. 

The Plot, Conflict and Setting


The book takes place in a “not so good” neighborhood. There’s drugs, drug dealers, drug users, people getting jumped, fighting, etc. It wasn’t picture perfect and it suited how difficult it was for Haley and West to be together. The book mostly centered on fighting, especially between Haley’s family and of her ex boyfriend’s family and gym. It also focused on using the sport of fighting for the good versus the bad. There was definitely some heavy stuff well worth mentioning such as homelessness, verbal abuse, physical abuse, and dysfunctional families. But opposite that, McGarry celebrated familial love and the depth in which such bonds reach and also the love felt between West and Haley. There were also plenty of surprises and revelations that should rock the boat and keep readers totally mind boggled.

All in all, I thought Take Me On was wonderfully written. McGarry really brought forth the intensity and whirlwind moments full of heartbreak of different varieties. She left a message to never give up and to push through the demons bringing you down. She displayed the importance of family and the ability to discover what makes you truly happy.


*Thanks to Harlequin Teen for sending a copy in exchange for an honest review

REVIEW: Crash into You by Katie McGarry

Crash into You by Katie McGarry (Pushing the Limits #3)
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: November 26, 2013
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Get it: Amazon | B&N

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 Review

Oh Crash into You, I have been waiting for you the moment Isaiah showed up in Pushing the Limits and even more so when he was so torn up in Dare You To. And while I can’t say you were my most favorite of the bunch, you surely did not disappoint in being absolutely fabulous. Katie McGarry continued to amaze me with her incredible characters and soul touching story lines.

It’s only fair to start with Isaiah.


I knew I would love this boy that very first encounter and now, I’m head over heels completely crazy gaga in love with him. He was mister tough guy with tattoos and piercings and someone you don’t mess with, but deep inside he’s this super loyal and dependable guy. I was so heart broken for him in the previous book, I was glad he had his own story now. There was just so much more to him than what meets the eye. Though he thought he didn’t deserve love or that he couldn’t possibly be good enough for love, he was. He wasn’t lacking in kindness, tenderness, concern and devotion for every single person he cared about. 

Sweet sweet Rachel.

I liked Rachel, I really did. It sucked that she struggled with panic attacks and how she was overlooked by her family. I understood her need to make her mother and her whole family happy. She was strong because she held up for so long, but weak because she didn’t speak up when she should have. However, Rachel was super cool because she was down to earth, loved cars just as much as Isaiah, and she was also loyal as hell. When she finally broke out of that shell of hers, I was damn impressed.

Isaiah and Rachel sitting in a tree...

I think the reason why this book was not my favorite of the three so far was because of how easily Isaiah and Rachel got together. It felt sudden to me, but it got better along the way because they were both starting to get under each other’s skin and starting to feel things. They were trying to overcome a bunch of obstacles that were attempting to keep them apart. And I loved that Isaiah learned to let Rachel in and to let go of the control he needed and Rachel was able to be herself around him and allow her to realize that she was indeed strong and brave. While they were not my favorite in the beginning, they were just lovely by the end.

Cars, drag racing, fundraisers, and threats!

I loooooved that this book was all about cars, which brought Isaiah and Rachel together in first place, even though I know jack about cars. Can’t say I wasn’t confused by the terminology and gadgets and gizmos, but it was pretty awesome. I even loved all the drag racing and I appreciated the danger that became the conflict of the novel. And I adore McGarry for bringing the gang together in order to help Isaiah and Rachel in need. That’s one the main reasons I love her books because they have a family aspect in them between people who are not blood related, but close enough to become the real deal. As of her previous books, there’s a good amount of laughs, tension, make out sessions and family drama to keep you hooked.

REVIEW: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Dare You To by Katie McGarry (Pushing the Limits #2)
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: May 28, 2013
Source: Netgalley*
Rating: 5/5 stars
Get it: Amazon | B&N

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 Review

Katie McGarry gave me another amazing hit with Dare You To. I’m banging my head against the fall for taking so long to pick up and read this book because it blew me away. There was more humor, darkness and sexiness and I love how different yet familiar this book was to me.

Like PTL, Dare You To has dual perspectives split between two main characters, Ryan and Beth. I got a glimpse of Beth in the previous book, but I didn’t fully understand or begin to like her until I got to know her. Beth was described in the book as rough around the edges and I completely agree. Beth showed this front of being tough, didn't care what you think type of bad attitude. But deep down, she was broken and missing the girl who she once was. She showed this vulnerability and softness I failed to see in PTL. Ryan was new altogether and he had me from the moment he described his love for baseball. On the outside his family seemed picture perfect, but they were falling a part from within. Ryan struggled with this, a family secret he still harbored, and his own independence from his father on his own life. Ryan had this endearing arrogance, hated to lose and loved dares, but what I loved most about him was his respect for people and for women. 

I say that Dare You To was darker because of Beth’s past and the life she continued to live and her inability to break free from a mother who obviously did not care about her. I loved the topics covered here because Beth dealt with real life issues: abuse, drugs, trust, moving, love and so much more. I appreciated McGarry giving Beth a new start even though she had a hard time accepting it. Beth really showed her fears of trust and love when it came to family, friends and romance and it really broke my heart to see how much she tried to deal with it all. I loved seeing someone from her past come back and finally take care and love her the way she deserved. Their relationship and how much he impacted her life touched my heart. Their interactions were my favorite because it was rough, it was tender, but it was also humorous. 

Ryan’s part of the story was just as prominent as Beth. He definitely changed and grew throughout the book. He had realizations about his future with baseball and he even found something he loved and excelled in besides the sport. With the help of a teacher and Beth, but mostly Ryan’s way of not backing down from a competition, he ended up standing up for himself and making his own decisions no matter what his parents or other people thought. Ryan was a great character because he had the best of intentions, he was always as respectful as can be, and he saw through Beth and gave her the benefit of the doubt despite her past. 

Beth and Ryan’s relationship was rough in the beginning because of the trust issues and the dares, but it blossomed beautifully. There was attraction which both characters tried to fight off, but their dare lead up to something more. To see both of their walls slowly crumbly down does wonders for their romantic development because I got to see and feel how they were affected by the each other. I loved how hard it was for them to open up, but once they did they still had to keep trying to work things out. It wasn’t perfect or easy. When one wanted to give up, the other kept on going and this helped make their relationship stronger, the trust to build up more solidly and easier for them to finally show how they truly felt. Together, Ryan and Beth were better.



Overall, Katie McGarry allowed me to fall for Beth and Ryan just as strongly as I did for Echo and Noah in PTL. Dare You To does not fail to evoke emotion and keep you engaged. 

*Copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review