Dare You To (Pushing The Limits #2) by Katie McGarry Review:

Goodreads Book Blurb:
"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....

RELEASE DATE: MAY 28th, 2013
Goodreads Review Link
Genres - Young Adult/New Adult/Contemporary Romance

Baseball Jock Meets Skater Chick… Awesome!

“This isn’t a game to be won or lost. There are things in my life that were set in motion before I took my first breath. I don’t have a choice in this.” – Beth
“That’s bullshit. Everyone has choices and I’ve made mine. There is no way you’re leaving.” – Ryan

Beth Risk/The Skater Chick:
Cant…
“Guys like him don’t go for girls like me.” - Beth
Beth, who was introduced to us as the edgy, sneering, cynical girl in Pushing the Limits, book one, has her own style, a stubborn streak a mile long and an exclusive past she’s let no one know about, not even her best friend Isaiah. She’s impervious, detached, bold and unafraid. But it’s a disguise. Hiding behind a layer of provocative clothing and dyed hair, she’s perfected an alternate persona so the world can’t see that inside, her soul is damaged, her heart broken and her trust shattered. She throws attitude to hide her fear but something unexpected happens when she gets a second chance at normal. She meets Ryan Stone and he can see the real Elisabeth.

Ryan Stone/The Baseball Jock:
Can…
“I don’t lose and that includes losing you.” – Ryan
Ryan loves to win. He’s always been a winner and his family is a prominent fixture in the community. His passion? Baseball. His plan? To go pro right out of high school. Its what he’s always worked for. It’s what his <i>father</i> has always worked for. But when new opportunities come knocking and dirty secrets hidden behind the perfect family façade, start tearing his world apart, Ryan finds himself in a desperate search to find out who he is. Add to that, the beautiful and distant Beth, his concentration wavers and life spirals out of control.

The Skater Chick and The Baseball Jock Collide:
When these two opposing forces clash, sparks fly and temperatures rise and that’s not including the desire that ignites between them. What starts out as a bet between the jocks to score the number of the elusive dark haired beauty turns into a romantic tale of redemption and second chances. But it’s not without its difficulties. Beth is distrustful of anything good and watching Ryan try and break through her walls was intense and powerful.

She Says I Can't, I Say I Can...

And then there’s Isaiah/The Third Wheel:
Best Friend, Unrequited Love…
But I have Isaiah and he’s anchoring me. I slide down the wall until I can curl into a tight ball on the floor. “I need you.”
“I’m here.” And we sit in silence. – Beth and Isaiah
We saw in book one, Isaiah and Noah have been Beth’s family and best friends for years. When Noah found Echo, his attentions were split between the love of his life and his family. So Beth clung to Isaiah more, resisting the change Echo brought. Isaiah confessed to Noah his love for Beth but never had to courage to tell Beth, knowing it would only break his heart in the end. In this book, Isaiah is forced to come to a conclusion he never thought he’d face and his spirit is crushed. I can’t wait until book three, Crash Into You, Pushing The Limits #3, when we get a chance to read Isaiah’s story.

The Review:
I have to admit, when I saw the blurb for Dare You To, I was heartbroken. I was absolutely sure that Beth and Isaiah were destined to be together and when I read the name Ryan Stone in the blurb, I just knew I was going to be disappointed. I was looking forward to another harrowing journey, like the one I got when I read the first book, Pushing the Limits. With the introduction of a new character when there was already an established love interest between Beth and Isaiah, I was positive it wouldn’t work. I also know I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. But boy was I wrong! This book tore at my heart, it captured me from the first meet of our hero and heroine and after the first couple of chapters I was cheering for Beth, the skater chick, and Ryan, the winner, to have their happy ending! The writing was fluid and all encompassing, pulling me into the pages and keeping me glued to the climatic end. To capture a reader like that, is a true testament to how wonderfully talented this author is.

Wish List:
There’s only one thing I could wish for in this book. I really wanted to see more of Noah and Echo. I totally fell in love with them in Pushing the Limits! I get that the author is moving the story forward but I can still wish ;) We get a couple of cameo’s from Noah and Echo but I wanted.. no, NEEDED to know they were still wrapped in their love bubble and though we get a definite look that they are in fact still doing wonderful in their life together, I just wanted that beautiful fairy tale to continue. I know, I’m holding on and that’s what re-read are for right? I also wanted to see the relationship between Beth and Echo more stable rather than still fractured. I hope by the time this series is all said and done, they are all one big happy family.

Side note – There was a scene that I swooned at because Noah just gives me a happy! When Ryan meets Echo, she’s wearing short sleeves and he sees her scars and Noah immediately takes up for her when he catches Ryan starring. Yum! Gotta love a man who can ride to the rescue!

The Wrap Up:
This book moves the reader forward in the series flawlessly. It was intense, beautiful and heartbreaking. You have to love this author. She’s brilliant in her ability to take the reader on an angsty journey they won’t forget. I will admit this book misses some of the drama of Pushing the Limits, which is why I gave it 4/5 stars. But the author does a fantastic job and it’s definitely going in the re-read pile. Also, I can’t wait for book three. Sign me up because I’m ready for Isaiah’s story now! 

NOTE:: Dare You To is a YA Contemporary-Romance written by Katie McGarry. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review by Harlequin Teen through NetGalley.

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