Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2)

I enjoyed Dare You To. It wasn't as good as its predecessor, but not much can live up to Pushing the Limits. I wasn't a big fan of Beth or Ryan, but I loved getting to see little bits of Noah and Echo!

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I was surprised that Beth isn't with Isaiah. I even though he has another name and that's Ryan. Their relationship in Pushing The Limits already hinted that they'll have a crazy ride together so I was already hoping and wondering how they'd have their happy ending. I was actually having partial feelings towards this book from the beginning.

But all those thoughts changed when I started reading. This has been much easier to relate to compared to Echo's story. The problems the characters were dealing with had a bit more of reality. Beth's story is crazy and heartbreaking but in the end, you still want her to have her happy ending despite how frustrating it has been.

Beth is such a dynamic character that I could easily relate to. There were times when I wanted to slap her and make her realise how bad her decisions are or to make her believe that everything in front of her is true. But there were also times when I want hug and comfort her. She's tough and doesn't let anyone make the shots for her but at the same time, she's vulnerable and needs someone to hold her. Her flaws made her more real and tangible.

Ryan was also someone I loved unexpectedly. I honestly felt like I was betraying Isaiah when I started liking him but Ryan was such a likable character. He wasn't like other popular boys who are so sure of themselves and gets every girl they want. He didn't went through girls like he does with his clothes. He was actually emotionally attached to someone before Beth and that alone made me like him. He was not the typical I-never-knew-love-til-I-met-you kind of guy.

The way Isaiah and Beth parted was heartbreaking. I hated how it's supposed to happen but I understood why it should. There was something about the two of them being so close that they seem to forget reality and forget how to grow up and face life.

This book was another roller coaster ride. It sort of reminded me of Stealing Parker because of baseball but there's this particular scene that I love that reminded me of how Henry left the game for Jordan when she was injured in Catching Jordan. I would love to have a guy leave his game for me. Katie also wrote another set of swoon-tastic kissing scenes that you'll definitely love.

Looking forward to Isaiah's story. Merlin knows how much I am cheering for that guy to have his own happy ending. I just hope he'd rekindle his friendship with Beth in the next book.

First Thoughts:

I read fewer contemporary novels than sci-fi, steampunk, paranormal and high fantasy, and don’t usually pick up the highly charged emotional novels, because they often descend into the sort of melodrama that causes my eyes to roll up to the ceiling. Yet Pushing the Limits was a real page-turner despite the drama and immediately placed Katie McGarry in my top three addictive writers list – joining Jennifer L.Armentrout and Brigid Kemmerer. There’s something about the writing of these authors that makes me simply devour the stories and it’s not easy to explain why. Whatever it is, when I saw Dare You to on Netgalley, I couldn’t not request a copy

Plot: We met Beth Risk in Pushing the Limits, where she went out of her way to be as uncharming as possible. Despite her confrontational ways, her friendship with Noah and Isaiah hinted at her ability to be a good friend. This story tells us exactly why Beth is such a hard cookie.

As mentioned in the blurb, Beth’s uncle ‘swoops’ in to give her a chance at a new life, but don’t expect Beth to be happy about it. You’d think finally having to only worry about school would be appreciated by Beth, but Katie McGarry does a great job at showing just how complex people can be. Beth’s angrier than ever in her new life, and the last thing she needs is ‘perfect’ boy Ryan Stone trying to charm her. Beth’s convinced there’s something more to his persistent interest and we already know all about his dare, but once again there’s more to this story. The plot examines how different Ryan Stone’s life is from the image his family portray. All in all the plot focuses on how often people make assumptions based on appearances and would be surprised if they were shown the whole picture. Rating: 4 out of 5


Characters: The images portrayed by Ryan and Beth are polar opposites – Mr Perfect and Ms Imperfect. He’s focused and controlled, while her energies are scattered and she’s quick to anger. Beth’s never been allowed to concentrate on herself – not on what she wants, let alone what she needs – which explains why she finds getting a break difficult to cope with (and trust). Ryan’s focused on the dream of becoming a pro-baseball player, while Beth’s not a dreamer…she’s an escape artist who has resorted to drink and weed. Yet below the images and at the heart of the people we find they aren’t all that different after all. Yes, they react to situations differently, but each of them cares about their parent(s), and each have to learn in their own way that truly being your own person isn’t selfish. The jock and the skater girl make for a surprisingly sweet – and sizzling – romance.

The sidekicks for these likeable characters are a great supporting cast, and the realistic conversations and interactions with family members help to bring out the detailed complexity of Beth and Ryan’s personalities. Ryan’s controlling father and perfectionist mother make his life at home less happy and free than most would assume. Beth’s mother demonstrates how not to win the “Parent of a Lifetime” award, after putting her daughter into harms way time and again, the reader can’t help but root for Beth. Rating: 4 out of 5.

Writing Style: The pace was great, making this a page turner. It’s true that the scenes and dialogue that pulled this story are mostly suffused by angst, and usually this would have me running for the hills. Yet when Katie McGarry has her characters exhibit this anger and generalised anxiety about life…well, she makes it work. When you get into the heads of the characters you can understand how they’ve come to distrust having opportunities. You understand why they would choose to live in the shadows than come out into the light.

“Emotion is evil. People who make me feel are worse. I take comfort in the stone inside of me. If I don’t feel, I don’t hurt.”

We move from scenes in Beth’s new high school – Ryan’s personal playground – to her new life with her uncle. Then we head off to Ryan’s dysfunctional family life and back to the horror of the non-family life Beth’s been leading, to her friendships with Noah and Isaiah – the latter who she sees as her best friend and confidante. It’s a world that shows that parents are just people, but given the people that Beth and Ryan’s parents are it’s good to have a couple of pretty swell adults to read about too. Rating 4 out of 5.

Anyways, as you know, Pushing the Limits was one of my favorite reads of 2012, so when I heard about Dare You To, I was superrrrr excited. And then I got upset when I saw that the names were Beth and Ryan and not Beth and Isiah. I was sad that they weren't going to get together, but then I found out the reasoning behind it..... Isiah will get his OWN story, Crash Into You. Mrs. McGarry, you are indeed an evil genius.
But even though I wasn't 100% on the Ryan bandwagon in the beginning, the story definitely turned me into a Ryan fan. Granted he's no Noah, but he and Beth had their own story and I loved something about each one of them. As for Beth, its a little hard to say what I thought of her. I loved that she was so passionate about certain things, but that was also her downfall. She was so passionate about the wrong things. Her mother and her past life smh, I would have left it all behind. If I had been her, in that first scene with her mother I would have sent her to jail. She can be fed, clean, and free of the monster in there. But Beth was too busy focusing on the fact that she wanted her mother free, but she didn't think about the fact that even while she's not in jail, she's still not free of the bad things holding onto her. As she held on to all those things, she seemed ungrateful and it was hard to read through her temper tantrums. But as her shell begins to crack, Beth turns into a different person. I loved the person she became when she was finally with Ryan. She had hope and finally knew the real meaning of love.
When it came to Ryan, he had his own demons following him. His parents are both idiots in my opinion. His father is a man who I could NEVER talk to or understand. So many things in this story he steered his son down the wrong path. I was floored that his mother never said anything about it as scared as she seemed of him. But the persona they put on for their community makes them all seem perfect. To everyone except Ryan. At first I wasn't just in love with him, but as the story went on I began to see why everyone was falling for him so hard. He had to figure out a few things about him self just as Beth had to figure out somethings about her self.
Together, their romance felt real and it didn't seem rushed. It was nice to see their changes as things went by. There was so much growth for the both of them throughout the story and it was nice to see that love can really change even the hardest things.