GIVEAWAY - BREAKING THE RULES by KATIE MCGARRY - PUSHING THE LIMITS # 1.5 - YA CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE - HARLEQUIN TEEN - RELEASE DAY BLITZ

 

We are so excited to bring you the Release Day launch for Katie McGarry's BREAKING THE RULES!

BREAKING THE RULES is a Young Adult contemporary romance published by Harlequin Teen, and is the follow-up book to Katie's PUSHING THE LIMITS. 

You do not want to miss Noah and Echo's story! Grab it today!

 

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** Books-A-Million ** Kobo ** iBooks ** Google Play

BREAKING THE RULES Synopsis: 

A summer road trip changes everything in this unforgettable new tale from acclaimed author Katie McGarry.

For new high school graduate Echo Emerson, a summer road trip out west with her boyfriend means getting away and forgetting what makes her so . . . different. It means seeing cool sights while selling her art at galleries along the way. And most of all, it means almost three months alone with Noah Hutchins, the hot, smart, soul-battered guy who's never judged her. Echo and Noah share everything--except the one thing Echo's just not ready for.

But when the source of Echo's constant nightmares comes back into her life, she has to make some tough decisions about what she really wants--even as foster kid Noah's search for his last remaining relatives forces them both to confront some serious truths about life, love, and themselves.

Now, with one week left before college orientation, jobs and real life, Echo must decide if Noah's more than the bad-boy fling everyone warned her he'd be. And the last leg of an amazing road trip will turn . . . seriously epic.

 

And don’t forget to read the first books in the Pushing the Limits Series…

PUSHING THE LIMITS

CROSSING THE LINE

DARE YOU TO

CRASH INTO YOU

TAKE ME ON

   

EXCERPT

From Noah’s POV

“Did you fall into some paint, Echo?” Isaiah asks, changing the subject.

Echo’s shoulder slumps as she pivots toward the mirror. She groans as she touches her cheek and forehead that are more red and pink than skin. “Dang it. Why am I such a mess?”

“I think it’s sexy as hell,” I say.

“I think I’m going to barf,” Beth mocks my tone.

Death radiates from the look I send her way. Enough that it should melt her. “Ever sleep in a tent, Beth?”

Beth focuses on the screen while raising her middle finger in my direction.

“Screw it.” Echo turns away from the mirror. “I need a shower.”

I smile, Echo blushes, then I laugh. Damn me for inviting Isaiah and Beth to share our room.

“Anyhow.” An excited glint strikes Echo’s eyes. “Are you ready? I hope you like it. It’s sort of…for you. But it’s not done, okay? I mean, something like this would actually take a while to perfect, so I guess I’m saying—”

“Echo.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s all good.”

“Okay.” Her fingers drum nervously over the top of the canvas before she repeats, “Okay.”

“I’m assuming that’s not the constellation Aires?”

“No. I’ll have to start on that tomorrow.” With a deep inhale, Echo pulls out a chair from the table and rests the painting on the arms and leans it against the back so it will stay upright.

Air rushes out of my body, and I sink onto our bed. It’s the same damned shock as when she drew my parents this past spring. There’s awe and joy and this ache that hits deep in my gut. I bend forward and rest my joint hands on my knees and stare at the sight in front of me.

Fuck me, my eyes burn. I shut them, attempting to get my shit together. It’s a painting. Only a painting. I reopen them, and it’s the same disorientation as a right hook to the head. It’s more than a painting, and that’s the reason my throat swells.

Last night meant as much to me as it did to her and she painted it, capturing it in a way unique to Echo. She’s right, it’s not done. It’s a skeleton compared to her other work, but I see enough to know what she desires, what she plans to design. Up close all those colors would look like chaos, but when viewed as a whole it creates this beautiful picture. In the end, that’s the best way to describe me and Echo, our relationship. Our love.

The bed dips as Echo eases onto it, settles behind me and props her chin on my shoulder. Her signature scent that reminds me of walking into a bakery becomes an invisible blanket surrounding me. “What do you think?”

“It’s us,” I whisper, and knots form in my stomach. Echo always finds a way to blow my mind. She tenses behind me and I continue, “It’s where we spent last night.”

“It is.” Echo relaxes, and her fingers curl around my biceps. “Do you like it?”

Struggling for composure, I place my hand over hers and pause. “It’s…”

I’m not Echo. I don’t have words for what happens inside me. If I did, I’d fail at describing this. I shift to rest my forehead against hers. “I don’t deserve you.”

“That’s my statement,” she says so only I can hear. “I wish we were alone again.”

I press my lips to hers, slide my hand through her hair and watch as the curls bounce back into place. “Me, too.”

 

About Katie McGarry:

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

Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewer's Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.

Website | Twitter @KatieMcGarry | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tumbler | Instagram

 

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BOOK REVIEW - CRASH INTO YOU by KATIE MCGARRY - PUSHING THE LIMITS # 3 - HARLEQUIN TEEN - YA CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

By: Katie McGarry
Published By: Harlequin Teen
Released: Available Now
Details: Paperback from publisher for honest review, 447 Pages

RATING: 4.5 ISAIAHHHH STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads  

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.


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Anybody who has read Pushing The Limits and has met Noah and Echo knows that Katie Mc knows how to write a contemporary romance.

She brings the feelings to her writing and she makes us break out the tissues and do some mopping up.

Isaiah has been a character I have been waiting on for a HEA. I simply have loved him from the start and haven’t known much about him other than his friendships with Noah, Echo and Beth.

All these characters have done it tough and needed support from each other and counselors. They have made their own family that they can trust and who are loyal to them.

Isaiah and Beth had some sorting out to do. Isaiah made my heart bleed in Dare You To.

It bled all over the pages.

Katie cracked my heart open with Isaiah's pain.

I really like Beth and Echo. Noah is kind of the wiser one, I feel. Almost like the leader of this group that have come together. Noah is there when Isaiah needs him.

Warm fuzzies.

Enter Rachel the girl Isaiah would end up loving, but he took on a debt to a dangerous teenage thug because of Rachel’s naivety. It wasn’t his debt, but he owned it and stepped up to the plate. He had money issues before this happened.

He needed this debt like a hole in the head.

Rachel’s character I had a frustrating time with in Crash Into You. She is from a very wealthy family. She has waaayyy too over protective , hypocritical brothers, a mum who made a child to try keep Colleen’s spirit alive but left her alive daughter feeling invisible.

I liked Rachel more when she had her Mustang and she was being herself. I thought she suited Isaiah. 

I wasn’t sure of Rachel when she gave up without much of a fight allowing Isaiah, somebody she didn’t know, to take over her debt. Sure she was naive, but she is from a very wealthy family. Now if she was poor or middle class, I could understand that more, it gave me a more validated reason why she accepted Isaiah's help. 

We do learn she has family issues, but Isaiah does too.

Isaiah also has money issues and he needs to feed and clothe himself and pay rent. 

He is putting himself through school.

Bravo to Isaiah.

He never complains.

He makes no apologies for his appearance. Never judge a book by its cover, something Rachel's family needed to learn.

"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."

Rachel saw how Isaiah was living, yet I didn't feel like she really took the time to stop and think about his situation. She accepted him for who he was without much hesitation. 

She saw Isaiah for the good guy he was.

I watched Isaiah hanging on by a thread to his life. He and Noah virtually couldn’t feed themselves, late on rent and Isaiah is fighting so hard the whole book to get the money to pay Eric for Rachel's debt.

There is one thing Isaiah is awesome at.

It is cars.

But there is a legal and illegal side to what he loves and he has to choose which side to stay on.

For his future.

The future he is trying so hard to make a reality.

I just loved him so much more watching him not hesitate to overcome the obstacles he needed to keep Rachel safe.

Beth let a good catch go.

My heart ExPlOdEd watching Isaiah have so much going against him, but he doesn't waiver. He knows no different. His life is a struggle. He just accepts it and tries to live each day as it came. 

Fight each battle the best way he knows how.

He makes mistakes. He is a kid from the foster care system. He has done everything to survive. Every day is a financial or emotional struggle.

Then ... Ethan and West do what they did to Rachel and I just fumed. They didn’t just do it to Rachel, they did it to Isaiah without knowing. I just thought they were so selfish and who actually does that. Just takes and shrugs it off.

You are family. 

Boys!

I got angry at Rachel for not jumping up and down and demanding it back and meaning it. I get her reasoning's, but, I still got my crank on.

I felt at times Rachel was a doormat who Ethan claims as his twin, his best friend but he still belonged to that over protective , hypocritical boys club.

This is a rich family that is very dysfunctional. Their parents do care about them , yet none of them felt like they could talk to their own parents about their problems.

5 kids enabled their parent’s behavior.

I wanted to tell Rachel to get a job to help pay her debt. I am so glad she found some of her own money, sold some jewelry. It made me have a higher opinion of her.

She took some responsibility for her actions.

Yes, they were her actions and I think she forgot that sometimes along the way.

Isaiah was her Knight before he really knew her.

I am a little over protective of Isaiah. Heheeee! 

I just felt like Isaiah needed a break and he just wasn’t getting it. I wanted Rachel to stand up to her family earlier on, for Isaiah and herself.

He did it for her without hesitation.

I wanted her to be his Angel. I wanted Isaiah to be saved, for once.

Rachel was upset about her family issues, which really just needed her telling everybody how she felt.

I know, easier said then done, and then we saw what Isaiah was going through, well, comparing notes she still had it more comfortable.

Her money issues were brought on by her own naivety. It was like watching a relay race and everybody passing the baton to help her out. 

Rachel has more than one Knight.

I'm not being totally hard on Rachel as I do understand her reluctance to talk to her family. I gained more compassion for her character when she finally stepped up to the plate and what happened. 

I really like Courtney. 

I really like Logan. When he came to my attention in Dare You To , I knew he was going to be a great character. I love he and Isaiah get along.

Abby is such a great character as you don’t know what she is going to do next. She decides eventually what side of the fence she wants to sit on and when she does she comes through. She has things hinted about her past, I am interested to get a book about Abby’s story.

I know West’s book is up next and l’m looking forward to reading about him.

I definitely know that Katie made me feel Crash Into You. I think it is the first time I have gotten a tad peeved at the female lead.


* whispers * It may be because of my fictional love for Isaiah.

The one thing for certain is Katie writes a darn emotional read. 

You will feel. You can't help but feel.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW: DARE YOU TO by @KATIEMCGARRY

DARE YOU TO

by

KATIE MCGARRY

Publisher:  Harlequin Teen

Acquired: Digital copy for review from Publisher via NetGalley

MARISSA'S RATING:

5 DOUBLE DOG DARE STARS!

GOODREADS DESCRIPTION:

 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....

 MARISSA'S REVIEW:

Katie McGarry does it again! 

After reading the first few chapters of PUSHING THE LIMITS,  I knew Katie McGarry was thrusting us into a series of NOT TO MISS books. Focusing on the damaged and flawed instead of the perfect and popular - McGarry gives us a set of characters that, individually, have amazing strengths and so many layers that each well deserves their own book.  And DARE YOU TO is Beth's story.......

DARE YOU TO captures the reader's mind and heart, gives it a hard shake and pours out a cocktail of emotions you only had reserved for watching The Notebook!

Beth Risk is a broken soul in need of mending.  She's had it pretty bad and as a result deals with life by not "feeling" - turning her heart and mind to stone when required makes moments pass without too much emotional damage.  She's a rough cut diamond that Ryan is determined to dig up and polish - and make his own.

Ryan Stone is a sports star in the making and with his dad's single minded guidance, will be the next big baseball star to come from their town.  His dad's persistence in staying on track has driven a wedge of resentment between father and son - one that a stubborn father refuses to see and a "good son" refuses to admit.  Life isn't always perfect and Ryan's family has a few home truths that can knock them off their pedestal.

Beth is placed in the care of her uncle, Scott Risk.  The only person left that can save her (well try) - but of course her reluctance is  understandable - her left and her mother when she was little to the unloving hands of her father (Scott's older brother)....he promised to come back and take them to safety but never did.  How can she possibly trust the one adult that she idolised a long time ago?  If it gets too hard will he just leave her again?

Beth's reluctance to be in Scott's care is compounded with her persistence that she is better off in her own world with best friend Isaiah.  They are each others' rock and survive their lives just fine.  

   

DARE YOU TO continues along the raw, gritty and emotional line that McGarry gave us in the first book PUSHING THE LIMITS.  Outcomes can sometimes never turn out as you pre-empted - and this is one of those instances.  But with that, McGarry gives us the desire and need to impatiently wait for CRASHING INTO YOU - Isaiah's story and book 3 in this series. 

ENJOY!

MARISSA

 

BOOK REVIEW - DARE YOU TO by KATIE MCGARRY - PUSHING THE LIMITS # 2 - HARLEQUIN TEEN

By: Katie McGarry

Published By: Harlequin Teen

Released : 28th MAY 2013

Details : ARC Digital , 479 Pages

RATING: 5 I DARE YOU TO STARS!!

Blurb: Goodreads

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...



BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I knew Beth’s story was going to rock my heart. What I didn’t know until I read the blurb and saw the book cover, was Isaiah wasn’t going to be in Beth’s heart the way he wanted her to be.

Assumption. Much.

I have to say, after reading Beth’s story, Isaiah’s book, ‘Crash Into You’, book # 3 can’t come quick enough, this book has left my heart wide open ...waiting to read Isaiah’s HEA.

It won’t close up until I read his story.

Isaiah really made my heart break in this book, the way Katie wrote Isaiah in ‘Pushing The Limits’, had me loving him. I loved his passion for cars, his friendship with Beth, his loyalty to Beth.

In this book ....... oh, be still my bleeding heart.

“I’m okay with silence, Beth.”

........ ”I need you.”
“I’m here.” And we sit in silence.


Isaiah just had me so upset over his love for Beth. I cried for his protectiveness, his love, his strength and loyalty....for the best friend he wants so bad.

For Beth who he thinks he wants...needs... more than a friend.


His eyes shut at the word friends and his jaw jumps as if I said something to hurt him. But we are friends. He’s my best friend. My only friend. 

Katie had me so torn between Ryan, who is this great guy who through a dare meets Beth, and Isaiah, her best friend.


This girl is sexy, but she’s also a handful. If I hadn’t accepted the dare, I’d toss her into avoid-like-the-plague territory. 

Beth being Beth makes it very hard for her walls to come down. She has Noah and Isaiah and her mess of a mother ,and now she has an uncle who has come to claim her...to in effect help save her... his name is Scott.

I LOVE Scott, he has an understanding of Beth’s life. His much older brother is Beth’s dad. Scott the boy who made good from the only thing he knew how to do, baseball.

Ryan and Scott have something in common, a love of baseball.

Ryan has a lot of skeletons in his closet he must free himself from.

Scott has tried to free himself of most of his skeletons, now he has Beth’s closet to help her clean out.

Big job!

Beth is stubborn, a fighter, loyal to those she can trust, except now love gets in the way and messes with Beth’s anger and distrust, messes with her plans.

Ryan is just a beautiful guy. I have to tell you, Katie had to convince me that Isaiah was not the guy for Beth. I soooo wanted Isaiah to be Beth’s ultimate saviour because Isaiah has always been there for Beth.

Her rock.

Her friend.


“When you kiss guys, do they drop dead from the venom that spews out of your mouth?” 

Ryan is who Beth needs. The life she needs. Isaiah has things he must do to free himself.


I’d love to kiss her right now. Not the type of kiss that makes her body come alive. The type of kiss that shows her how much I care - the type that involves my soul. 

I loved having Noah pop up. He and Isaiah are such loyal guys to have on your side. Even when one of those guys is making the reader grab for tissues as he wants so bad to be Beth’s ‘Knight in Tattooed Armour.’


With one touch, Isaiah could ground me. Keep me from floating away with his arms as my anchor. His steady beating heart the reminder he would never let go.


As I walk past him, Isaiah wraps a hand around my arm. “One more thing.” His eyes darken into shadows. “Call me. Anytime. I swear to you, I’ll answer.”

Gahhhhhhhh!! You are killing me Isaiah.

I loved all the sub characters, Chris and Lacy. Logan, he is an interesting character I want to know more about. Does he have a story to tell us ...Katie?? I feel like you were hinting to me that he does. Or do I just want to read one?

Strap yourself in, ‘Dare You To’ with it’s very apt title will have you grabbing for the tissues, your heart can’t help but grieve for what unfolds in this book and you will be very impatient for ‘Crash Into You’, especially when Katie gives you a teaser at the end of ‘Dare You To.’

There is going to be a scene in this book, a few, but one in particular, that will have you just loving Ryan that bit more, and you will probably go ‘Awwwwwwwww’ out loud and that...... is when you will know why Ryan won you over.

I read this book , January 10th and I really haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I just adore Katie's writing. She has such a way with pulling the reader in and not letting us go until the last page. 

I am patiently.....or not so patiently waiting for Crash Into You. Due for release November 2013.

For some reason I have this thing about Isaiah. 

Well done Katie, I might just well be a Katie McGarry addict.

Michelle

  

BOOK REVIEW - CROSSING THE LINE by KATIE McGARRY - PUSHING THE LIMITS # 1.5 - NOVELLA - HARLEQUIN TEEN @KatieMcGarry

By: Katie McGarry

Published By: Harlequin Teen

Released : Available Now

Details : Digital, 61 Pages

RATING : 4.25 SHIRTLESS LINCOLN STARS!

Blurb : Goodreads

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.


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I really enjoyed Lila and Lincoln’s novella. It was a nice little look at Lila and how she is connected to Lincoln, Echo and how she is handling her friendship with Echo and Grace.

I loved the little letters between Lincoln and Lila as chapter starters.

Lincoln is no Noah or Isaiah with their hardships and life, but he has a little story to tell us about his mistakes and loss and his link with Echo’s family.

When you lose a dearly loved family member the fall out of that loss can spread and find its way into the pores of the siblings.

I really like Lincoln and his rock climbing. I felt his passion and am glad he has found his direction. Sometimes in life we take two steps backwards before we can go forwards again. When you are a teenager, that is ok. You have time .

Vengeance was fun to watch. Loved it! 

A guy like Lincoln...well, I felt like I wanted more. He has a gorgeous personality. I really could have kept reading about him. 

Lila grew on me. Once she got her shiz back in order. Stephen the ex.....*boots him with my foot* 

I love the title of this book means more than one thing.

Katie has such a way with writing real life situations into her fiction. Her lads are always beautiful in more than looks. I can see why the girls fall for them. 
This is a great novella to bridge between Pushing The Limits and Dare You To. I have read Dare You To and I absolutely LOVED it. 

I can’t wait for Crash Into You. I have a huge place in my heart for Isaiah.



FAVE QUOTES:

Ah, hell , she smells like her letters; like lavender.



It’s crazy how you brought up feeling alone. I feel alone a lot. Oddly enough, I feel the most alone when I’m in a room full of people.



All the time, I fight the urge to cut my hair and buy new clothes. I mean, who exactly am I going to change into? I’m still me, but not.


Play this right, Lincoln. She deserves a man, not a boy.


“I didn’t want you to hate me,” I whisper as I respond to her last question. “Because I’ve fallen in love with you.”


His shirt’s back on, which is a sin. He could definitely give Echo’s guy a run for his money in the abs department.


And then I wonder what I would be like if he really was falling for me, because Lincoln in real life is a million times more intense than Lincoln in letters...and I’m seriously falling for him.



At the top of the rock, I read your letter and realized you were the one person I wished I could share the view with.”

Michelle

BOOK COVER REVEAL - DARE YOU TO by KATIE MCGARRY - BETH'S STORY - PUSHING THE LIMITS # 2 - HARLEQUIN TEEN

EeeeeEEEe!!
 This is a highly anticipated read for me.

Beth's story, and no it isn't with Isaiah.

Please , does that mean we get another book with Isaiah?

Look at Ryan and Beth gripping each other.......
.......EEEeeeEEEeeee

 Can. Not. Wait.

DARE YOU TO

Pushing The Limits # 2

Due For Release - May 28th 2013

Harlequin Teen

"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....

If you haven't read Pushing The Limits, Noah and Echo's story, well please do so, grab some tissues and hunker down somewhere comfy and private, incase you know, you get a bit sad. I got sad.

My Review - Pushing The Limits

Interview with Katie McGarry

Michelle

5 STAR BOOK REVIEW: PUSHING THE LIMITS by @KatieMcGarry

PUSHING THE LIMITS

by

KATIE MCGARRY

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 409 (ebook)

Acquired:  From publisher via NetGalley
Available: Now!

Marissa's Rating:

5 STARS!

STOP WHAT YOU ARE READING.....

YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!

Goodreads Description:

"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.

MARISSA'S REVIEW:

Katie McGarry pulls out all stops and delivers a powerful, emotionally charged teen romance that will appeal to readers of all ages. It packs punches from so many angles and yes......I CRIED! Not just a tear  escaping down my cheeks.....but a steady evacuation of my tear ducts and a silent sob or two.  

Echo Emerson and Noah Hutchins are our focus characters in this powerful tale. Both have had fairly comfortable lives in the past...only to be thrust into despair, heartache, violence and self emotional torture. 

Echo has been dealt heavy blows with the death of her beloved brother Aires, the demise of her parent's marriage and a horridly traumatic event involving her and her mum....only she can't remember what happened - and no-one is telling.  The only reminder she has are the horrible scars on her arms and the knowledge that her mum was responsible. Oh yeah...and being ostracised from the IT crowd at school kinda sucks as well!
 
All Echo wants is to repair Aires '65 Corvette - she might just feel whole again after losing him.  But she must break down brick wall barriers her father has built in order to accomplish this one small thing. Not to mention allow her mind to let her remember what happened that night her world came crashing down around her.

Noah exists in a welfare system that has created a safe haven for his brothers....but ripped him out of their lives and into the unfortunate downside of the foster system.  He is determined to claw his way back and reclaim his brothers - convinced that he is their best hope at a good life.

Noah and Echo are thrust together by their school counselor - a move that sparks some amazing feelings and creates a bond and love that will be tested, prodded and pulled in all directions. 

All characters involved in this story are great to read.  None are  plonked there for their word count  - they all play important roles in the lives of Echo and Noah.

We read in alternating views from Noah and Echo.  Katie has pulled this style off brilliantly.  I never felt like "oh, I want more Echo" or "oh, I want more Noah"..... Katie fed the story to us in the right amount of portions that made for a satisfied reader at the end!

To say I enjoyed this tale is an understatement...it not just entertained me....it captured me.  

I will leave you with a snippet of a clip that I found on You Tube. it is a ballad titled Can You (Echo's Song) by Angela McGarry and is now available on iTunes.  There's also an upbeat pop/country version too!

ENJOY!

MARISSA 

GIVEAWAY / INTERVIEW WITH DEBUT AUTHOR/ CHARACTERS FOR YA BOOK PUSHING THE LIMITS - KATIE MCGARRY , NOAH AND ECHO - HARLEQUIN TEEN

Today on NOVELS ON THE RUN I have a wonderful interview with author Katie McGarry and her characters Noah and Echo. I can not express how much I loved this book. It is a very heartfelt read . 

My review for Pushing The Limits

INTERVIEW


Welcome Katie, Echo and Noah to Novels On The Run.

Michelle:   Katie, what a powerfully emotional story you wrote. I think every reader will be hard pressed not to shed a tear with your words. I can only imagine what it did to you writing about Noah and Echo. You can feel it in your words. I wanted to ask you about Mrs Collins. I really loved her character. Is she based on somebody you know? 

Katie:  Thank you for your kind words about Pushing the Limits. To answer your question, no, Mrs. Collins isn’t based on anyone I know. Instead of basing my characters off of someone, I typically put a piece of myself, no matter how small, into each of my characters. Echo has my sarcasm, Beth encompasses my fears, Isaiah and Lila share my loyalty, and Noah has my passion to love. 

Michelle:  I understand from when you signed the contract until now it has taken two years for your book to be released. The publishers obviously loved it. What was it like for you waiting to find out what the bloggers/reviewers thought of your debut story as it is not released to the public yet. How did you react once you started seeing the positive response to your heartfelt work? 

Pushing The Limits - Releases 31st July 2012

Katie:  The wait honestly wasn’t difficult. I actually signed on with my publisher in the fall of 2010 so it’s only been a little longer than a year and a half. I know it sounds like a big time gap, but when you think of everything that goes into publishing a book (cover design, revisions, line edits, copy edits, promotion, marketing, etc.) the time flew by. 

Thus far I’ve been very humbled and awestruck at the response. At BEA, I met a wonderful group of book bloggers and one of them had read the book. When she began telling me how much she enjoyed it, I think I went into shock. My brain stopped working, my heart paused, and I froze like a deer in headlights. There was no way she was talking about me. I mean, is it possible that someone really enjoyed my book? 

She was very gracious when my brain began functioning again and I was able to stutter out a “Thank you.” 

Michelle:   Hi Noah, I think you are going to have yourself quite a few fans when Katie’s book is released. How do you think you will handle the excitement? 

Noah:  Fine. I’ve got two best friends who have no problem reminding me of who I am, plus I’ve got an awesome girl. 

Michelle:  You and Mrs Collins have this relationship I adore. She is quite a caring lady. What words would you use to describe her? 

Noah:  Annoying, persistent, and an awful driver, but she’s also smart and she gets a lot of things about me that others don’t. 

Michelle:  Hi Echo, can you tell us a bit about your art. What type of art would you say is your style? I really enjoyed the scenes where you picked up a brush. 

Echo:  I consider myself an impressionist. Think of Monet or Degas, but I’m not nearly as good as them. A few of the pieces that I painted while trying to reclaim my memory are more abstract expressionist. Think Jackson Pollock for this, but once again, I’m not nearly that good. 

Michelle:   Echo, what would be the one thing people would have written in your high school yearbook? 

Echo:  I guess most people would probably write, “It was nice hanging out once or good luck.” My life completely changed in high school and so did my circle of friends. Lila though, my best friend,—she’d take up entire pages recounting our every moment together. 

Michelle:  Noah, what would have been the one thing people would have written in your high school yearbook? 

Noah:  That would have required me to buy a yearbook. I was saving my paychecks to find a place for me and my brothers to live after graduation. 

Michelle:  Noah, what tangible object symbolizes you most? 

Noah:  I’d say my leather jacket. I use it to warn the world to stay away from me and it can keep Echo safe and warm when she forgets her coat. Which by the way, is often. 

Michelle:  Now for my musical questions as I love to hear what music links characters and their relationships.Noah could you please give me a song for each of these that you feel represents the person and why? 

Noah: 

 Echo

 'Nothing Else Matters' by Metallica. 

I think of her when I hear the lyrics: 'I never opened myself this way, life is ours, we live it our way' 

Mrs Collins

Dr. Dre’s 'I Need a Doctor' featuring Eminem.

A lot of that song captures how I feel about her. She gave me hope when I was in a bad spot. Believed in me when no one else did.

Grace

'What Its Like' by Everlast.

Doesn’t represent her, but maybe she should try listening to it before she tries talking to Echo again. 

Michelle:  Echo, could you please give me a song for each of these that represents the person and why? 

Noah

I smile every time I hear 'Beast of Burden' by The Rolling Stones. It always reminds me of his sexy egotistical swagger when he’s coming onto me. Everything about him makes me smile. 

Mrs Collins

It probably sounds silly, but I think of 'I Will Survive' by Gloria Gaynor when I think of Mrs. Collins. She just has this awesome attitude about her and she taught me how to bring out my own bit of attitude. She also taught me that I will survive everything that has happened.

Beth

I know just a little bit about Beth’s past so I’d have to say 'Farmer’s Daughter' by Crystal Bowersox .

Michelle:  Katie, could you please give me a song for each of these that represents them and why? 

Noah and Echo’s friendship

'Push' by Matchbox Twenty.

Echo and Noah never push each other physically, but they are always pushing the other in the area of trust. As in, you can trust me, but can I trust you? 

Beth and Isaiah’s friendship

'Somewhere With You' by Kenny Chesney

These two share a very complicated friendship and this song describes it to me. You’ll learn more about them in the upcoming novel, Dare You To. 

Isaiah

'Shimmer' by Fuel

Isaiah is a great guy, but there is a lot of hurt buried in him. I always thought of his pain when I heard the lyric: 'All that shimmers in this world is sure to fade away again.' 

Echo’s mum (Sorry, I couldn’t think of one for her) 

From these songs I am seeing the kleenex coming out again for Beth's story. I had better stock up.

Michelle:  Katie, is there a YA author who has grabbed your attention the most and why? 

Katie:  I recently read an ARC of Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter and it completely sucked me in and blew me away. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. It was one of those books that I have to read again because I know I missed stuff because I inhaled it so quickly. It has a fantastic plot and the hero is burning hot. 

Michelle:  Katie, is there anything you have learned from writing ‘Pushing The Limits?’ 

Katie:  Yes. I lost my best friend quite a few years ago, but I hadn’t realized how much grief I had held onto until I wrote this story. As Echo and Noah worked their grief, I also discovered I was working through mine. 

Michelle:  Katie, is there anything special you will do for yourself on the day your book hits the book store shelves? 

Katie:  To keep my nerves at bay, I’ll probably try to go about my business as normal. I will be reading from the book at Carmichael’s, a local bookstore, later that night and will sign after the reading. 

Michelle:  Dared You To is the companion novel , Beth’s story is there a quote you could give us from this book? I am rather keen to read Beth’s story. 

Katie:  Why her? Why tonight? There’s a dare and I’m going to win. “Counter’s a little slow tonight.” 

She (Beth) glares at me like I’m a little slow. “Are you speaking to me?” – First Chapter of DARE YOU TO, Ryan’s Point of View 

Thank you Katie, Noah and Echo for answering my questionsJ



Michelle

GIVEAWAY TIME

 1 x Pushing The Limits Paperback

Aussie Entries Only Sorry

Harlequin Teen are kindly donating

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Giveaway starts now!

Finishes 10th August 2012
 Midnight Aussie Time

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Have a great week!!

WINNER IS KALAYSN!!
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