Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Book stats:

Reading Level: Young Adult
eARC: 462 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: May 28, 2013

Series: Pushing The Limits #2

Source: Netgalley for blog tour

Reviewed by: Lili

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

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....

Holy cow. Ho-ly Cow. That's all I have to say. Katie McGarry's debut novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS, is among my favorite books ever. When I found out she was coming out with a sequel, I freaked out but resigned myself to the fact that it probably wouldn't be able to live up to the amazing romantic relationship and journey that surrounded Noah and Echo. Boy, was I wrong. This novel was so amazing that I can't find anything to truly criticize. McGarry is just that good.

The characterization in this novel is so deliciously complex and compelling. It makes the story. Particularly in Ryan's case. The book starts off with him and his best friends in Taco Bell. They're pretty much in a dare battle to see who can walk away with the most phone numbers that night. Upon this realization, I thought that I'd be dealing with a jerk with this story. A guy who lives off dares? Really? But what I quickly learned was that Ryan thrives off the adrenaline dares give him because he loves to win. He loves to win because in life, he sort of loses. When I say that, I mean that he has a lot of hidden demons haunting him at home and the true perfection that was once his life was lost when his elder brother, Mark, dropped a bomb on the family. He takes dares and allows his competitiveness shine through challenges on the baseball field and off of it in order to keep some sort of control over his life. And in this sense we're presented with a really unique main character that is not common in young adult literature these days. This seemingly perfect boy is more complex than he seems. He loves to write to free his mind and has a way with words, though this is a hidden talent in comparison to his major pitching skills. He's compassionate, he cares, he would never willingly hurt a woman and always stands up for the underdog. He loves with his entire self and causes passion to go through the roof. And he fights for what he wants, and in this case, that's Beth. He's not a player, he's not a cheater, he has no flaws in that sense besides the demons that haunt him. And because of this, not only is he swoon-worthy, but he's real.

Beth also grew greatly in this novel. It's no secret that she wasn't the easiest character to like in PUSHING THE LIMITS, but as we learned why she is the way she is, I quickly began to love her. She's a broken soul that throws up ugly and confrontational fronts to hide the fact that she's really broken into a million little pieces that have left her unable to truly trust or love anybody in her life. These two deliciously complicated characters take us on a whirlwind roller coaster that is most unexpected, but greatly welcome. DARE YOU TO serves as the perfect example to highly McGarry's literary genius and her ability to deliver realistic characters that you can relate to, love, and grow alongside. My one qualm is that the back-plot with Isaiah was so important that I almost feel as if the end of his part of the story wasn't neatly tied up. However, I'm sure this is in large part due to the fact that book three, CRASH INTO YOU, will be his story. And I'm craving it because McGarry's writing just keeps getting better and better. 

In the end, I know only one word to describe this book and that word is "beautiful." The writing, the characterization, the messages, the romance, and the journey to self-worth and self-discovery on both ends are beautiful. Everything about it is beautiful. I suppose when you read a truly amazing love story, that's the outlook it gives you, but I always feel as if I come away from reading one of McGarry's stories refreshed with a slightly new outlook on the possibility of love and everything that comes with it. I truly recommend reading this series to anyone who wants to be wowed and moved, but you have to start with book one in order to understand a lot of the little things that add up in book two. Trust me, you won't regret it.

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Here is your chance to win an (1) amazing and unique DARE YOU TO Grand Prize Package full of goodies, including an iPod nano, iTunes Gift Card, Baseball Jersey, Leather Bracelet and a copy of PUSHING THE LIMITS and DARE YOU TO. A secondary prize is copy of either PUSHING THE LIMITS or DARE YOU TO.

To enter the giveaway, obey the Rafflecopter!

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TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, April 29th – Bewitched Bookworms 
Tuesday, April 30th - Harlequin Blog 
Wednesday, May 1sh – The Irish Banana
Thursday, May 2nd – Review - Tyngas Reviews 
Friday, May 3rd –Evie Bookish 
Monday, May 6th - YA – Bibliophile
Tuesday, May 7th – Review - Real of Fiction 
Wednesday, May 8th – Book Swarm
Thursday, May 9th – Review - Book Nook 
Friday, May 10th – Alice Marvels 
Monday, May 13th -Xpresso Reads
Tuesday, May 14th – Review - Chapter by Chapter 
Wednesday, May 15th – Book and A Latte
 Thursday, May 16th – Review - Blog Girl 
Friday, May 17th – Supernatural Snark

About Katie McGarry

Katie 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, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie is the author of the full-length Young Adult novels PUSHING THE LIMITS and DARE YOU TO, and the e-novella CROSSING THE LINE. Her debut novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS, is a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and an RT Book Reviews 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel.

Writing has given Katie an excuse to pursue her passions. Research for her books has provided her with the amazing opportunity to train with baseball players, ride along in a drag car at ninety-six miles per hour and experience boxing and mixed martial arts. The most memorable moments for Katie are when she speaks to groups of teenagers about her research, writing and the truth that no dream is out of reach. Katie would love to hear from her readers.

HarlequinTEEN website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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by Lili at Thursday, May 02, 2013

 giveaway, Harlequin, Katie McGarry, Review, young adult  24 People left their mark

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Pushing The Limits Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Hey, everyone! I'm so excited to have the opportunity to kick-off the PUSHING THE LIMITS blog tour! Both Noah and Echo are easily two of my favorite contemporary characters out there. They captured my heart and will just as easily capture yours. It takes a brilliant writer to write a book as powerful as this one, so I was so excited to learn that we were able to ask Katie McGarry a few questions about her debut novel, the moral of her story, and her journey to getting published.

So, without further ado, I'd love for you all to Meet Katie McGarry!

Pushing the Limitsdeals with themes of traumatic experiences, falling in love and self-discovery.  What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

 

That we are more than just the sum of our past and that, no matter the situation, there is hope.

 

My characters, Echo and Noah, are two teenagers dealing with very traumatic pasts. Each day, they wake up facing the dilemma of whether they’re going to let what has happened to them destroy their future, or whether they’ll permit love to heal their old wounds and scars.  You’ll need to read the book to discover which path they choose.

 

Of all the characters in Pushing the Limits, who do you relate to the most and why?

 

Overall, I’m a strange combination of all of them. If you take Isaiah’s loyalty, Beth’s insecurities, Lila’s devotion to friendship, Echo’s memory loss, and Noah’s unwavering love for the people around him, then you create me.

 

In your bio you describe your teenage years as the “best and worst” years of your life.  Did any of the “bests” and “worsts” inspire scenes and/or situations in Pushing the Limits?

 

Yes!  One of the best moments of my life was when a guy I was totally into refused to take me to a Homecoming Dance. “Devastated” just doesn’t do justice to what I felt.

 

I ended up going to the dance with a group of friends and right when another guy asked me to slow dance, the guy I was infatuated with showed up and told me he was a “jerk” for not taking me. I spent the rest of the dance with him. The roller coaster of emotions I rode that night made its way into the dance scene in Pushing the Limits.

 

As for the worst moments…I drew upon heart-wrenching events I experienced as a teenager to write some of the more emotional scenes in the book. Specifically, I called upon the grief of losing my best friend whenever Echo and Noah talked about their personal losses.

 

Pushing the Limitsis told in alternating chapters from both Echo and Noah; why did you decide to tell the story from two different points of view?

 

Because I wanted to write a love story and there are always at least two sides to a love story. In that moment when our eyes meet that gorgeous guy’s across the room, we wonder if he’s looking at us. I love having the opportunity to answer whether or not he really was.

 

As a debut novelist, what has been the one thing that has surprised you the most about the journey of having your story published/becoming a published author?

 

When I began my journey to become published, I was absolutely terrified of everyone: agents, editors, anyone who worked for a publishing house. The first time I ever pitched my book at a conference, I shook like a leaf in a hurricane. I have been happily surprised at how nice and amazing everyone has been. I’ve also been shocked by the amount of people who work on my book: editorial, marketing, PR, sales…the list is endless.

 

The second most surprising part of the journey is how large and how supportive the writing community is. I had no idea the number of book bloggers there are in the blogosphere and I have been blown away by how friendly and helpful they are.

 

What was the last great book you read?

 

Between Shades of Grayby Ruta Sepetys. This is a definite must-read! I cried several times during the book. Sometimes so much that I had to put the book down so I could properly sob. Ruta does an amazing job of combining grief and fear along with mingling just the right amount of hope.

 

What are you working on now?

 

I am currently working on the revisions for the companion novel to Pushing the Limits. The book is called Dare You To, and it tells the story of Beth, a secondary character in Pushing the Limits. Dare You To will be released in 2013.

 

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Before we keep sharing our amazing surprises, check out what PUSHING THE LIMITS is really about.

"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.

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.

"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.

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Echo and Noah both attend the same high school, but that's where their similarities seem to end. Their paths cross however, when, on the first day of school after winter break they both meet their newly appointed school social worker. Katie McGarry wrote Pushing he Limits in alternating points of view, one chapter by Echo, the next by Noah. Check out the excerpts below, taken from the first chapters of Katie's debut novel. Every stop on the blog tour features new excerpts - the completely tour schedule can be found here.

Excerpt #1

Echo:

“My father is a control freak, I hate my stepmother, my brother is dead and my mother has...well...issues. How do you think I’m doing?”

That’s how I would have loved to respond to Mrs. Collins’s question, but my father placed too much importance on appearance for me to answer honestly. Instead, I blinked three times and said, “Fine.”

Noah:

Fresh paint and the scent of drywall dust made me think of my father, not school. Yet that smell slapped me in the face when I walked into the newly remodeled front office. With books in hand, I sauntered toward the counter. “’Sup, Mrs. Marcos.”

“Noah, why you late again, muchacho?” she said while stapling papers together. The clock on the wall flipped to nine in the morning. “Hell, this is early.”  Mrs. Marcos stepped around her new cherry desk to meet me at the counter. She gave me crap when I came in late, but I still liked her. With her long brown hair, she reminded me of a Hispanic version of my mother.

“You missed your appointment with Mrs. Collins this morning. Not a good way to start the second term,” she whispered as she wrote my tardy slip. She tilted her head toward the three adults huddled together in the far corner of the room. I assumed he middle-aged blond woman whispering to the rich couple was the new guidance counselor.

I shrugged and let the right side of my mouth twitch up. “Oops.”

Please visit Kristen Simmons Blog for the next excerpt from Echo and Noah.

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You can find the rest of the blog tour here to check out the other amazing excerpts!

 

Tuesday, July 31st * Book Bday* - Kristen Simmons Blog

Wednesday, August 1st - Total Bookaholic

Thursday, August 2nd - Sit Here and Read

Friday, August 3rd - Mundie Moms  

Monday, August 6th - Bookhounds YA
Tuesday, August 7th - I Read Banned Books

Wednesday, August 8th - Bethany Griffin

Thursday, August 9th - I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

Friday, August 10th - Kelly Creagh

 

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Harlequin is graciously giving away one (1) copy of PUSHING THE LIMITS and a special blue ribbon to one winner in the US or Canada. This ribbon is extremely significant to the story! To enter, simply fill out the rafflecopter below!

Ends August 10th.

 

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 Also, check out the amazing grand prize giveaway on Katie McGarry's blog here for the chance of winning a Kindle Fire in celebration of this wonderful blog tour! 

 

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by Lili at Monday, July 30, 2012

 giveaway, Interview, Katie McGarry  59 People left their mark

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Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry

Book Stats:
Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary/Romance
ARC: 384 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release date: July 31, 2012

Source: Publisher

Reviewed by: Lili

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

"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.

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.

Have you ever found yourself aching for the characters while you read their story? Literally, fighting back tears for them at times? I rarely find myself in such a position, but this is one of those books that put me in that position.  I went into this book knowing that it would make me feelbecause of how powerful the plot is. I was clueless as to what it would truly make me feel, but I was not expecting to experience such intense emotions for the characters. I ached, I soared, I wallowed right alongside them in this one, and I’ll even admit that McGarry was successful in making me shed a tear or two as I flipped pages at a lightning fast speed. Because of this, you’ll have to excuse me if my review isn’t entirely comprehensible because it’s rare that I’m truly rendered speechless.

This story alternates between both Echo and Noah’s perspectives. This is their story of falling in love while they hunt for lives that they deem normal. Both are going through the toughest times of their lives, both elicit strong emotions in their readers, and both are two of the most honest, vulnerable, and lovable characters I have come across in a long time. Both teens are pushed to their limits because of their personal problems. When they find each other, they find solace in the others embrace, only to realize that they both push each other even further. Their love is both a hope and a hindrance until they begin to truly open up and allow their love to conquer every negative thing the world has thrown at them and more. Their love story is most certainly a powerful one that will leave you breathless. Full of so much passion, this emotional ride of a romance can only be described as raw.

The descriptiveness and focus on emotional detail in this novel is what makes it so unique. You truly connect with Noah and Echo from the very beginning, and you find yourself loving the supporting characters as well, despite those that aren’t meant to be loved. Every face that makes an appearance in this novel will elicit some type of emotion from you, and that is a really important positive aspect of a book in my mind. Among the cast of supporting characters, Mrs. Collins really stuck out to me. I know, I know, their social worker isn’t one of those characters that you think you’ll immediately like, but aside from their love, she was like a ray of sunshine in what Noah and Echo considered to be their bleak world. The color only started to seep through when they accepted that Mrs. Collins was doing everything in her power to help them with their problems, enabling them to further their relationship and be more open with each other. Our world would be a much better place if we had a real Mrs. Collins out here somewhere.

Though I am primarily a paranormal reader, this is one contemporary read that will forever have a place on my favorites shelf. Tackling huge subjects like family trouble, divorce and re-marrying, death, abuse, drugs, sex, violence, love, the future, and letting go of the past, this is truly a bright and shining gem among young adult contemporary literature. I urge anyone of any age level with any type of preferred reading to try to find the time to sit down and read this amazing story for him or herself. You won’t regret it.

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by Lili at Monday, July 30, 2012

 Harlequin, Katie McGarry, Review, young adult  2 People left their mark

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