#202 Book Review: Dare You To [ARC]

Dare You To [ARC]
Release Date: 1 June 2013
Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen Australia
Source: Publisher for Review
Format: Paperback
Where to Buy:  Fishpond | Booktopia
More Info: Goodreads

Summary:

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....

Cover:
I love how it matches the Australian cover for Pushing the Limits! While the US cover is pretty awesome as well, I adore the soft sepia effect of the Australian cover for Dare You To.

Story:

I dare you...

For Ryan, it all started with a dare. A dare to get the Skater Girl's phone number and name. But what started out as dare, surprisingly grew into an attraction that Ryan can't deny. Same goes to Beth, the Skater Girl. She's had her problems but she can't help but feel the attraction between her and Ryan. In Katie McGarry's newest novel, Dare You To, a girl and a boy from different worlds collide in a beautiful and heart-breaking story.

Pushing the Limits was one of my favourite reads last year. McGarry's solid and raw writing brought the story of Noah and Echo alive. I have to admit, I never did care so much about Beth's character in Pushing the Limits. But in this book, I learnt a lot about Beth and her story is heart-wrenching but beautifully intense as well. I never thought it was possible but I love and adore Dare You To more than Pushing the Limits. I feel so connected to Ryan and Beth and I couldn't stop reading at all. McGarry's writing deeply captures the story of both Ryan, Beth and the two different worlds they come from. The chemistry between Ryan and Beth is beautiful like fireworks and I absolutely love the dares they give to each other.

Characters:
What makes this book special and so heart-breaking yet beautiful at the same time is the characters. I remember vaguely from Pushing the Limits that whenever Beth's around, Isaiah's always there. This gives an impression that they're together. But they are not. There are scenes in this book between Beth and Isaiah that break my heart but we all know that Isaiah will have his own happy ending and story in the next book, Crash Into You.

In this book, Beth finds her 'root', her 'anchor' to stay in Grovestone in Ryan after having to leave Louisville because of her mother. To Beth, Isaiah is her best friend, nothing more. Beth's life before Groveston is heart-breaking. She feels responsible for her mother who is addicted to drugs and she is physically abused by her mother's boyfriend. I know Beth loves her mother but I really hate how her mother is weak and kept on staying with her abusive boyfriend. This is why Beth puts a strong wall around herself, only allowing a few people to truly know the 'Beth' inside. She acts as though she's the toughest girl out there who can do anything she wants but deep down, she's not. But Ryan slowly breaks through the wall Beth builds and once he reaches inside, what he finds is a girl who still loves ribbons, an abused girl who loves her mother and a girl who likes to run away. Ryan and Beth are such well-written characters. I loved how Ryan, even though he's a jock who plays baseball, has another side to him: a boy who has his way with words, who loves to write, whose life is not as perfect as it seems. I love their relationship so much, from the beginning to its very end.

Overall:
Dare You To is the beautiful, intense and heart-breaking story of Ryan and Beth. Katie McGarry's raw writing brings you a story of the beautiful collision between a boy and a girl from two different worlds with their own story and secrets. I didn't know it was possible but I love Dare You To more than Pushing the Limits. So..I dare you to read this book and fall in love with it.

5 Forget-Me-Not flowers for Dare You To!

Thank you Harlequin Teen Australia for the review copy!

#127 Book Review: Pushing the Limits [ARC]

Pushing the Limits [ARC]
Release Date: August 3rd 2012
Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen Australia
Source: Publisher for Review
Format: Paperback
Where to Buy: Fishpond | Booktopia |
More Info: Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads:

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.

Cover:
I like the cover! I think it represents the characters in the book quite well. I love Echo's red hair and how Noah is also featured in the cover. I prefer the US cover a bit more but the AUS cover is pretty good too!

Story:

How far are you willing to go to push the limits? 

When I first saw Pushing the Limits in Goodreads, I knew I had to read this book. The summary and the cover absolutely convinced me to read it. The last couple of books I've read were all not contemporary so I really hoped I would love Pushing the Limits. And I did!


Pushing the Limits was a heart-breaking story of two different people who never thought they would fall in love with each other. Noah and Echo both had their own problems and troubles, but these problems and troubles brought them together. The book was written from both Noah and Echo's POV. This book reminded me a little of Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles with the concept of two people who have nothing in common falling for each other and their future together which seems impossible. From the very first page, I wanted to know what was going on with Echo and her troubles. The story goes at a steady pace, exploring the troubles of Echo and Noah, how their attraction developed into something more and how their problems were resolved towards the end of the book. This book was written very well and also made me a little teary. I loved McGarry's writing. It's solid, confident and it pulled me into the book completely. The ending wrapped up the whole book beautifully.

Characters:
The characters were very well-written and felt so real to me. Echo was a character I completely connected with. I wanted to know more about her, what caused her pains and what truly happened the night she completely changed. She was pressured with her father's expectations while she was unable to do the thing she loved most, art. I loved her growing relationship with Noah. It was filled with chemistry and I loved how Noah completely understood Echo. Noah was just wow. He was the bad-boy type but deep down, he was something more than that. Echo's father was a bit too strict on Echo but it all worked out in the end. Ashley, Echo's stepmother was okay but I don't think she was a good mother to Echo. I also really liked Isaiah, Noah's bestfriend and Beth. They were great addition to the story and to Noah's life. Apparently, I just found out in Goodreads that there will be a novel about Beth's story and I can't wait to read it!

Overall:
Pushing the Limits is a heart-breaking story of two different people who have nothing in common, brought together because of their troubles and sorrow. The chemistry between Noah and Echo was like an explosion. It was amazing and simply: real. McGarry's writing completely hooked me from the first page until the very last page.

5 Forget-Me-Not flowers for Pushing the Limits!

Thank you Harlequin Teen Australia for the review copy!

Check out the book trailer!