Take Me On by Katie McGarry

Title: Take Me On (Pushing the Limits #4)

Author: Katie McGarry

Publisher: HarlequinTEEN

Release Date: May 27, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

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 fro 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.

Haley 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.

It’s no secret that I love Katie McGarry and her books. Actually, I more than love her books, I absolutely ADORE them. So I’ve pretty much been pining for her latest, Take Me On, since I flipped the last page of Crash Into You. Now that I’ve read it, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I absolutely loved Take Me On. I mean, how could I not?

A year ago, Haley Williams walked away from fighting even though she was a champion kickboxer. It was the only way she could think of to protect the people she cares about. But when West Young walks into her life, Haley finds herself throwing punches once again to protect West, a complete stranger. West has been getting into fights for as long as he can remember. But never has he considered training to be a fighter. Now, West finds himself volunteering to fight for Haley, the girl he’s just met but who he can’t seem to stop thinking about. Haley and West should keep things simple between each other. Neither is in a position to be in a relationship. But the more time they spend together, training, the deeper their feelings for each other get. The big question for Haley and West is whether what they feel for each other worth fighting for?

Oh how I love Katie McGarry and her books. I’ve already said it, but I’ve pretty much been pining for Take Me On since I flipped the last page of Crash Into You. There’s just something about these stories that is incredibly addicting. So when I picked up Take Me On, I made sure I had lots of time on my hand because I knew that I wouldn’t want to stop reading. And I was totally right. The day after I started reading, I was at work and I kept looking at my bag, wishing I could be reading Take Me On instead. Because it was oh so good. As typically happens with Katie McGarry’s books, I was hooked right from the start. It helped that I had already met West in Crash Into You and I was dying to find out more about him. But even if I hadn’t known him, I would have been hooked. I wanted to find out all about these characters and their lives. I wanted to find out why Haley had walked away from fighting. I wanted to see if West’s father would realize how much he was making his son miserable. And of course, I wanted to see West and Haley together. I wanted to see their relationship grow and develop. Because West and Haley needed each other, even though they didn’t alway see it. 

In Crash Into You, I had gotten a glimpse of West Young and I wasn’t sure how I felt about him. But then Take Me On came along and I was all over West. Just like with Rachel in Crash Into You, it didn’t take long for me to realize just how miserable West was because of his parents, especially his dad. West was just in a bad place, he needed to get out. But until he was forced out, he didn’t really know how to get himself out. And really, what West needed was Haley—someone who would get under his skin in ways no one else could. But Haley was also someone who understood West the way no one else did. And much like it didn’t take long for me to fall for West, it took even less time for me to love Haley. I wanted so much for Haley. If I thought West was in a bad place, Haley was in an even worse situation and she had no way out without losing everything and everyone she’s ever cared about. I loved her, but I also wanted her to get her fight back. The whole time I was reading I could tell that she had this urge to fight back against her situation, but she kept on suppressing it. But when she met West, that started to change and I was happy about it. So yes, I LOVED West and Haley. On a different note, I still want to find out more about Ethan, West’s younger brother and Rachel’s twin. Also can Abby have her own story yet? Because I would read that in a heartbeat.

It should come as no surprise whatsoever that I loved Katie McGarry’s Take Me On. From page one, I was hooked and I couldn’t have asked for a better story for West and Haley. If you still haven’t read one of Katie McGarry’s books, you really should get on that. Because I honestly can’t wait to read what she writes next.

Pushing the Limits GIVEAWAY

Today I have the pleasure to be able to offer one lucky blog reader a gorgeous finished copy of Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry. Now I've already read Pushing the Limits and let me just say that you are seriously missing out. This is the kind of books that will keep you up for hours when you are reading because you will just be dying to know what happens next to Echo and Noah. If you're having any doubts, you can always check out my review in order to get more information about the book and to see what I thought.

Thanks to Harlequin Teen one of you now has the chance to win a copy. To enter the giveaway, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. The giveaway is open to US/Canada only and you need to be 13 or older in order to enter.

Good luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Title: Pushing the Limits

Author: Katie McGarry

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: July 31, 2012

Source: From Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

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 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 each her how to love again.

Ever since I first heard about Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry I knew it was a book I would want to read. Then I heard it was amazing and that only made me want to read it even more. And then it was 4:30 AM and I was still awake and I wasn't able to put Pushing the Limits down. So, yeah, it was absolutely amazing.

Echo Emerson used to have it all, until that one fateful night almost two years ago that changed everything. But despite all her efforts, Echo can't remember what happened and how she got those horrible scars on her arms. All Echo wants is for everything to go back to normal, but that may be easier said than done. At least until Noah Hutchins walks into her life. Echo should hate everything about Noah, but it doesn't take long for her to be attracted to him. Because with Noah, Echo starts to feel safe again and starts to think she could have normal again. But Noah has his own issues to deal with and those may be what stands in their way.

The books that will keep me awake and reading until 4:30 AM are pretty rare, but Katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits was one of those books. It was an absolutely amazing read. Right from the beginning, it didn't take long for me to have trouble putting the book down. It wasn't so much that there was a lot of action taking place, but the story just dragged me in completely. It got to the point where it felt like I was right there with all the characters. But this story was also incredibly well written and majorly heartbreaking on more than one occasion. And that's why I loved Pushing the Limits was much as I did. I love any story that tears at my heartstrings and this definitely happened. There were so many times where I was in tears, because that's what the characters did to me.

The story in Pushing the Limits alternated points of view between Echo and Noah, and I loved that it allowed me to get into both of their heads. There was so much going on with both of them and the fact that they were damaged and trying to fix themselves and each other made me love them that much more. I could understand Echo's desperation when it came to remembering what happened to her that night. And Noah was a good guy dressed up as a bad boy. Every time he was with his little brothers my heart swelled and I inevitably found myself tearing up. And when Noah and Echo were together, I pretty much felt all the emotions. What was so great is that it wasn't a perfect relationship, and that's what made me love it so much more.

Pushing the Limits was an unbelievable read. Through her fantastic writing, Katie McGarry made me feel a whole range of emotions, confirming that damaged characters simply make the best stories.