Weekly Spotlight - Katie McGarry

This week its about Katie and her Pushing the Limits series. I read about Pushing the limits before it was released and had to read it. I was right about this book, it was amazing and pulled at your emotions. Right away she would be an auto-buy author. 

Pushing the Limits series is about a new couple in each book, and they have their own struggles. You can relate with many of these struggles and each one will have an emotional pull on you. They can also be read as stand alone.

Pushing the Limits

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. 

My Review

Dare You To

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

Crash Into You

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

Take Me On

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

Dare You To

Dare You To
by Katie McGarry

Book: Pushing the Limits #2
Publisher: HrlequinTeen
Pub Date: May 28 2013
Genre: Young Adult
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought
Book Links: Goodreads   Amazon

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: Book two was written just like Book one. This time it was about Beth and Ryan.

Beth is this cool chick, with some dark secrets. She lives with Isaiah, Noah, and Echo. Noah and Echo are from book one, and are mention a bit. Now about Beth, she is living with them due to her home life. Her mom is dating this douchbag who beats on them both. So Beth left not wanting to be thrown around anymore. Though that doesn't stop those two, both of them are on probation. One night Beth gets another call from the bar about her mom. As usual she goes out to get her and take her home. This night was different, her boyfriend smashed a car window with a bat. Beth takes the bat in her hands planning to hit him, so he wouldn't hurt them. Suddenly the cops she up and arrest Beth. Only reason was so that her mom doesn't go to jail for breaking her probation.

What happens next is her uncle Scott comes and takes legal guardianship of Beth, which means taking her away from everything and giving  her a new life. Beth doesn't want that and Scott ins't exactly this role model for her.


Ryan is a baseball player, and a good one at that. He has lead his team to victory and won't start to lose any time soon. Right now its him and his parents. Before his brother Mark used to be in the picture. When he told them he was gay, Mark had the choice to say or go. Staying meant hiding, so out Mark went. 

After being left by his brother thing have changed, and Ryan's family hasn't been the same. So after a night of hanging out with some friends, Ryan heads back home. Only for one day to meet the player of his dreams. Scott Risk, grew up and is moving back to Ryan's hometown, along with wife Allison and niece Beth. He and Ryan talk,  well mainly his dad talks for him. Though Ryan and Scott have a chat about baseball and hoping he would help show Beth around. 


Finally they meet and everything can start. Beth is all attitude with Ryan, and he just wants to help out for Scott. What they didn't plan was their attraction for each other. Of course they won't say it right away. Whatever Beth does, makes Ryan smile and like her more. Beth likes that she can throw anything at Ryan and he just takes it, and sometimes gives it right back. 

These two are so many things! Annoying, aggravating, interest, excitement, everything a good pair has! They act just fine and get along for a while, until the day Isaiah shows up at the school and takes her to the woods, where they talk. He gives her a new phone and plans to take her back. Ryan even saved her from Isaiah one night. After that night she doesn't plan to run off again. Ryan still likes her after all that. At a point Ryan goes and tells Beth about the dare. She is upset at first, but knowing her she just forgets and moves on after.

At the night of a party, things seem to be all smooth. Beth joins Ryan and after an hour the dare is done. Though 15 min later he and Beth are off. They end up stopping to rest and have some beer behind the barn. Here Ryan reveals that his life isn't so perfect and he gets drunk, when Beth barley has one.  Things get going and nearly out of hand, at least Beth thinks so. The following day Ryan goes to see Beth. They talk and end up trying the whole dating thing. Who knows, this must just be perfect. 

Well I love Katie's writing and can't wait for more.

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪✪

Pushing the Limits

Pushing the Limits

by Katie McGarry

Book: Pushing the Limits #1

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pub Date: July 31 2012

Genre: Romance, Chicklit, Young Adult

Format: Hardcover

Source: Borrowed

Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon

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.

My Review: Echo is sitting in an office with her dad and step-mom.  They are all there to talk about Echo, her life, her accident, and being under watch by the state. Mrs. Collins is the school counselor and social worker. She is trying to see how Echo is doing and that is a bit hard with her dad butting in every second and talking for her as well as planning her life for her. Her step-mom Ashley however is just sitting there going along with her dad and holding her pregnant stomach acting as if the world revolves around her. After the crazy episode with her mom, Echo is not allowed to see her and has a restraining order on her, Though Echo isn't too pleased with that part. The whole session gets strange and ends with Echo having the chance to fic her late brothers car, and having to tutor this Noah kid. The day goes on and Echo and Noah agree to meet up for tutoring. When the tutoring time comes, Noah is waiting while Echo runs late. She finally arrives and he gets up to leave. He says he doesnt have time for this and that he has a life. They leave things at that for a few days until the night of that pary comes up. Echo and her friends re sitting around while Echo watches one of her girls play ping pong. Plus it's also Echo's birthday and he is just sitting around. Her ex Nick shows up and wants a dance, except he never gets to dance. Echo runs outside for some air and Noah shows up, notices she is cold and hans her his sweater when Echo just blurts out. She asks if Noah has said anything about her scars to people amoung some things. He explains that he hasn't said a word of it. They talk some more before heading thier own ways. Now Noah is off to see his brothers who he hasnt seen ina while. They were seperated, after Noah had hit his first foster parent. Where he was moved to another home and his brothers to a spereate place so they wouldn't be near his violent attacks. However Noah would never hit his brothers. He waits for them to come into the room. When they do he notices a mark on the face of his brother. The social worker says it was an accident, which either way got Noah pretty heated. After the visit he heads back home and faces his days as usual. A few days later Echo and Luke are off on a date. Them and a group of friends all head into the theater. Once the movie starts Echo can't take it and runs off. The movie was about war and Echo started wondering if her brother Aries went through what the people in the movie went through. After calming herself down she walks to the food court, since she won't beable to finish the movie. Echo doesn't like Luke the same, since before they broke up junior year. Now all she want's is to get rid of him as a boyfriend. Now at the food court Echo is hungry but can't get anything since Luke told her to leave everything behind, that he would pay for everything on their first date. So Echo settles for sitting at a burger place, where she finds Noah behind the counter working. Once Noah is off work they talk and decide to visit the arcade. They head there together, hand in hand. Noah likes Echo but is afraid he won't like him, although Echo may feel just the same. They chat, share stories and have a good time. Forward a few days and it's the day of the dance. Noah visits his brothers then heads to the dance. Echo arrive at the dance with Luke and her friends. They are at the dance and Echo wants to talk to Luke but he runs off before they can. Noah shows up and has Echo dance with him. They dance and Luke spots them and get mad. They head into the hallway, where Luke and Noah hit each other. Not liking it, Echo tries to stop them but gets hurt in the process. Before things get worse Mrs. Collins shows up. Luke heads back to the dance, whit Noah grabs Echo and helps her. Mrs. Collins, notices and realizes that Echo is the girl Noah likes. Collins goes back to the dance, while Echo and Noah just sit on the floor. Noah goes to wait outside while Echo deals with Luke. Echo is able to leave Luke and still keep her friend Lila. So after heading outside to see Noah, he grabs her and takes her to a fountain, and explains how he built it along with his parents. They spend some moments there, before Echo heads home. After a few days pass, Echo introduces Noah to her dad and Ashley. Once they meet, both head over to Noah's place, where Beth of course still acts nasty to her, but eventually through the story they get alone. Right now Echo and Noah are happy together and go through each day being happy. Within a few days Echo is off to see Mrs. Collins, where she remembers another memory. In the mean time Noah is heading to the office, where he hears Echo going through her memory. He stands there wondering if he should go in there of if he should let her deal with it them call her. So he opts for letting her deal with it. Once Echo is okay she drives off to her home with her dad speeding behind to keep up. They reach the house and once inside Echo starts flipping out and yelling about how everything is his fault and Ashley's.  After all the shouting, she heads to her room to sleep.  Meanwhile, Noah is trying to get in touch with her, but hse hasn't replies, until one day during his class. He runs into the cafeteria to talk to Lila about this, just as Echo tells him to meet her outside the school. He ditches and follows her car to the cemetery. She sits at Aries grave and they talk before Echo heads to Lila's house to talk.  Now around night time she heads back Noah's house because Steve showed up at Lila's. So Echo stays the night with Noah and they have a wonderful night. However the following morning Noah talks about marriage and his brothers in a way that seems like he is only with Echo to get to them. Which of course upsets Echo and she runs home. Eventually after some time passes he finds Echo and they makeup, but Echo wants to end things. Will they? Well the last few chapters will be for you all to wonder about. So I suggest reading the book(:

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪✪