Monday, April 22, 2013

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits, #2)

Author: Katie McGarry
Release date: June 7th 2013
Publisher: Mira Ink
Format: Paperback, 368 pages
Purchase: The Book Depository  
Add to your library: Goodreads

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.... (via Goodreads)

I've never used a gif for my reviews. But this can't be done without one.

Exactly my reaction when I received my confirmation e-mail!

Yes, I was that surprised and excited! I totally love Katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits. It easily became one of my favorites and even Katie McGarry herself! She has this powerful writing that made me feel so emotional. I was so sure this one wouldn't even let me down.

Basically, there's Beth. She's Noah's sort-of-sister and Isaiah's sort-of-girlfriend. I swear. Beth and Isaiah surely seemed like an item in Pushing the Limits. But I didn't really think they'll end up together. Although I was so sad they didn't, I was so glad they didn't. God, how can I be this bipolar about their relationship? But don't get me wrong, I loved them together. But not in the romantic way. They're so broken. And that, my friends, is the thing that makes them protect each other. That was their common ground. Isaiah thought it was romantic love but Beth knew better. 

Beth wasn't supposed to be with Scott, his uncle. She was supposed to be in Shirley's trailer house. But it all changed because of her Mother. Beth's life wasn't that easy. I can actually blame her Mom for that. If not for her, Beth wouldn't be miserable anyway. Since that incident, Beth was forced to compromise with Scott's rules or else her Mom would go to jail and that's the one thing she doesn't want to happen. I know why Beth was doing that. It was her Mom! Would you actually let your own Mom be in the loose of the bad guys? Of course not! The sacrifices Beth have to made was unbelievable. Instead of her Mom taking care of her, it was the other way around. So Beth was forced to leave Louisville and move to Groveton with Scott and his wife, Allison! Forced into a school full of cruel people except for 4, the one thing Beth least expected was to fall in love.

Ryan is not your average teenage senior. He's a jock, the best in their team. He has a perfect family. So Beth wasn't supposed to be his type, right? But of course, everything about Ryan's life is just a picture. He had his own fair share of family problems. Beth became his edge. And maybe that's why they fell in love. Ryan's a total swoony guy and to think that he's a jock is actually unbelievable. 

Beth and Ryan already had this chemistry at the first part but I didn't bother to think that it was actually insta-love because they made their way to fully realize that they were actually in love with each other. It was just so sweet, you guys! Imagine that I started reading this around 9 or 10 pm then finished it at 4 am. It was that good great. A book wouldn't even make me stay up so late if it wasn't that great. And even though they were the total opposite of each other, I felt the sincerity of their love. I felt how Ryan really loved Beth despite her past. I felt how Beth really loved Ryan despite of how afraid she was to be vulnerable with him. They. Are. So. Good. Together. Oh, that ribbon and rain bottle really made me melt. Seriously, where's Ryan on Earth?

Just like in Pushing the Limits, I love the minor characters here. Especially Lace, Chris and Logan - this guy is so my crush! I wish Logan's story can be a novella. Hmmm. That'd be awesome! Hey, I love how Echo and Noah are here. I missed them! 

Dare You To has its own electric pull to the readers. The severity of its problems isn't so much like Pushing the Limits. It has a different level of emotional ride. It was depressing, sad, lovable and swoony in its own way. It can actually be considered as a stand-alone. If you enjoyed Pushing the Limits then you wouldn't want to miss Beth's story! It's a definitely can read! 

And because I love this so much, I'm going to share three of my favorite lines:

"I keep thinking about Beth. She looked so damn small and lost that I wanted to gather her in my arms and shield her from the world."  
"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." 
"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 someones rips me apart again, I'll never find the strength to pick up the pieces."


(Many thanks to Mira Ink for allowing me to read this through NetGalley.)

P.S. There's a snippet of Isaiah's story at the end! Can't wait to read Crash Into You!

6 comments

Nice Review!!!I was provided with an ARC myself and I admit that I liked it as well!!!!

Your recent follower,

http://sofialovesreading.blogspot.gr/

REPLY

No, I didn't think this was instalove either! I liked Ryan a lot, he was a different MC, but I had some issues with Beth, or rather with HER issues. McGarry is just not a good enough psychologist, in my opinion.
But there's so much to like too, and I agree about the secondary characters. Lacy was amazing.
Lovely review, my friend.

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Yay -- so excited to read this. I agree that Katie McGarry writes awesome secondary characters!

You can find me here: Jen @ YA Romantics

REPLY

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it too. I followed you too. ;)

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I think I just really have a soft spot for such family issues that I felt it too much! Haha. I know right. She gives importance even to the secondary characters. Thank you, Maja!

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I hope you'll enjoy this as well, Jen!

REPLY

Hey, there! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you! I'll reply as soon as I can! ;)

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