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!

Yesterday I reviewed Pushing The Limits which is the first book in this series. Today I am reviewing the second one in the series. I had heard through the grapevine that this one wasn't as good as Pushing The Limits and while I did have some issues with Ryan at the beginning, I have to say that I loved this one too.For different reasons of course. Pushing The Limits was about realizing that while you may be damaged, you are still worthy of love. Dare You To was about needing to live your own life, apart from what is expected of you.

Ryan is expected to play ball and date Gwen. That's it.His father has put immense pressure on him to focus on baseball and date a "good girl" like Gwen. The pressure has gotten worse since Mark, Ryan's older brother came out of the closet.Ryan's family has all but abandoned Mark for something that he cannot control.

Then we have Beth. Hardcore Beth who we saw a bit of in Pushing The Limits. The Beth that a lot of us were convinced would end up with Isaiah. I think that was part of my initial issues with her and Ryan. I couldn't get the idea of her and Isaiah out of my head.Beth's had a hard life. She's had to play the adult to her mother since she was pretty young.She feels like it's her responsibility to do that because her mom didn't leave her.

It takes just about the entire book for her to realize that she is not responsible for her mother's behavior. Her mother chooses that life. Her mother would rather have a violent drug dealer as a boyfriend than get away and be safe with Beth. Watching Beth realize all of this was gut wrenching. Watching her lean on Ryan was amazing to watch. In the past, her self esteem was in the toilet. She never felt like she was good enough for anyone. Which is why, when rumor swirl around the school about her past, she goes back to believing that she's not good enough.

"I love how he can smooth away the roughness and make me feel like someone worth loving." -Beth

At the end of the book there is a particularly heartbreaking scene that had me in tears, actually more like violent sobs. It wrecked me in the best possible way. It's no secret that I like books that give me the feels and this book did that.

It took me awhile to warm up to Ryan but once I did, I really liked him. I also really liked that he called her by her name and NOT some stupid nickname. Beth remained my favorite character throughout this book.While I couldn't relate to her, I could empathize with her.

I wish we had seen more of Ryan's brother Mark, but what we did see of him, I liked. I really liked how Beth worked to get Ryan and Mark on speaking terms again.

"Grow a pair of balls, that's what I would have done. God, Ryan, you are an asshole.Your brother is gay and you toss him out of your life because you are too much of a pansy to stand up to your father." -Beth

Ryan's friends Chris, Lacy & Logan all seemed like a good crowd. They supported each other and they were always willing to help each other out. The dares that were part of the friendship took a backseat to true friendship which I loved.

This book was near perfect for me. I am giving it 4.5 stars. I am taking off a half a star mostly because it took me nearly half the book to warm up to Ryan. If you haven't read this series yet, then you need to and soon.

Katie McGarry absolutely blew me away with her stunning debut, Pushing the Limits. Now, after reading Dare You To, she has thoroughly won me over. I don't feel near as strong about this one as I did PtL, but Dare You To is emotionally charged, brimming with tension, and loaded with characters that practically walk off the page.

Narrators:
It is always hard for me to read a companion novel or spin-off with different narrators than the ones I originally fell in love with. but McGarry has a knack for making characters that are so real and stay with readers for a lonnnnng time. Once again, Beth and Ryan seem like opposites, but is reality, they compliment each other very well. Whereas Beth seems prickly, defiant, and stubborn (with trust issues off the charts), Ryan is the golden boy who everyone adores (with a secret hobby: writing). I was reluctant to get inside both of these characters' heads, but I do not regret jumping in. Both of them are full of secrets and family problems and personal obstacles they need to conquer. Seriously, both characters grow so much. I wasn't swooning hard-core for Ryan, but he was a good guy and I like him. And Beth isn't exactly someone I would want as my best friend, but I loved getting to know what was going on in her mind and understanding her life.

Romance:
The relationship between Beth and Ryan is more than just a fluffy relief from the drama. The romance is used as a tool for growth and self-discovery. Ryan and Beth's relationship is far from perfect--it can get frustrating and repetitive--but the two continuously encourage each other to face fears and make better decisions. At it's foundation, their romance is solid and meaningful. Oh, and sexy. There's lots of kissing, in case you were curious. And then some.

The other people:
But Beth and Ryan aren't the only characters in this book. Even those that only make brief appearances in the book had an effect on me. Scott (Beth's uncle) provides the parental backbone that Beth has needed her entire life. I really liked him. He kept trying to do the right thing, even when Beth made it difficult. And then there is Isaiah. I was sad when I found out that this book was Beth and Ryan's story, not Beth and Isaiah's. While I realize that Isaiah and Beth are not meant for each other, my heart still broke for Isaiah. He is so sweet and he deserves happiness. Needless to say, I cannot wait for his story, Crash into You. Ryan's friends are also great and I appreciate how supportive they are of Beth. Unlike his family and skankbag of an ex-girlfriend. Blech!

So, yeah...
Honestly, the plot isn't all that spectacular. Not very memorable. I read this book a few months ago and have since forgotten most of the details about the plot. It's the characters that make this book what it is. Still, McGarry demonstrates exceptional writing skills and a story that will envelop readers. It goes to show that McGarry is certainly much more than a one-hit wonder. I pray that we keep seeing LOTS more of her. Even if this isn't my favorite book in the entire world, I still flew through it, eager to see what happens next. Yeah, you want to read this.

Dare You To takes you on the emotional journey of Beth Risk and Ryan Stone. These two could not be more different and more perfect for each other. Beth, doesn't really have much going for her, she is troubled, lives with her mom who is always wasted and her mom's boyfriend who loves to beat them both on a regular basis. Ryan seems to have the perfect life on the outside, he plays baseball, has many friends and fits in at school. But his home life is a much different story, a father who expects him to play professional baseball no matter what and a brother who his parents don't speak to or speak of. Beth and Ryan meet one day over a dare and have this connection that neither one can deny.

I loved watching these two characters grow throughout this book. Beth is not quick to trust anyone. She has been let down by so many people in her life which has made it hard for her trust. She is a big ball of snark which I loved! Seeing her learn to trust someone and know that not everyone is going to leave her was amazing. Ryan grew throughout this book as well. He always does whatever his father wants and is pretty much living the life his father wants him to live. I loved seeing him learn that he needs to do what is right for him and take his life into his own hands.

This book deals with some real issues. Beth's mother is a drug addict with an abusive boyfriend. I really wanted to smack her and haul her off to rehab myself. I felt for Beth having to be the adult and take care of her mother like she was her child.

If you have read Pushing Limits I don't doubt that you will love Beth and Ryan's story as much as Noah and Echo's. McGarry has an amazing way with words. You can't help fall in love with and feel for her characters. When they laugh you laugh and when they cry you cry. I love books that deal with real issues and characters that are flawed.

My favorite part of any book is the love story and this book did not disappoint. Beth has some big walls up that Ryan needs to break through. She doesn't trust and is more concerned with her mother and her problems. But once he starts to break through that first wall what these two have cannot be denied.

Dare You To is a book about love, loss and learning to trust others and yourself. McGarry has quickly become a favorite author of mine and Dare You To has been one of my favorite reads of 2013.

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.

For me, this was one of the best companion novels I've ever read. Katie McGarry's writing is just incredible. I went into the book still clinging to a shred of hope that Isaiah had a shot. I mean, I loved Isaiah in Pushing the Limits. Beth, not so much. I wasn't sure how I felt about a book being centered around her, but one of Ms. McGarry's many fabulous gifts as a writer is an incredible hand at character development. By the time I finish one of her novels, I feel like I'm so well aquatinted with her characters that I wonder why they aren't around to hang out anymore. Even when Beth frustrated me and drove me crazy with her well-earned right to angst, I still loved her. So I tip my hat to you, Ms. McGarry. Very well done.

So in Pushing the Limits, the image we got of Beth was a girl with a messed-up home life that was best friends with Isaiah. In Dare You To, us readers get an inside look into what exactly is so messed-up, and let me tell you there was a lot there. As crazy as Beth's perspective was at times, she had been through and seen a lot more than I would ever want to imagine. This book gives a lot of background on Beth's mom and her evil boyfriend, Beth's dad, and a new character: Beth's Uncle Scott.

Scott ends up convincing Beth (well maybe with a hint of blackmail) to live with him. He left when he was 18 to play baseball, made the pros, and now he is back and wants to take care of Beth. Even though he's made some mistakes over the time, he owns up to them. And he truly wants to give Beth everything he can to help her truly live her life in a way she can be proud of and be successful. I really admired him as a character, though his wife annoyed me most of the time.

But of course, there is another part of the book. The part that all of us Team Isaiah's were fighting. Still, I had to switch teams about halfway through the book. I had to switch to Ryan. Oh Ryan. Let's talk about Ryan, shall we? Even if he did ask Beth out at first on a dare. Despite a rough start, Ryan proved himself to be amazing. There was just something about him that I don't find in other fictional boys. Both Beth and Ryan have some demons in their life that they have to face *though Beth's are a tad bigger to me* and they are magical together.

The book pulled me in so fast that I hated having to leave Beth and Ryan's world. Katie McGarry manages to create steamy stories that are also incredibly sweet and romantic. The differences between Beth and Ryan truly made the story powerful and the book pulled my emotions in with a strong force that left me flipping pages breathlessly.

Oh my goodness. This was dark, amazing, emotional and hot. Katie has written another contemporary masterpiece and as an added bonus we get to see a peek at Noah and echo. Though you didn't have to read pushing the limits to understand and love dare you to. They would just seen like secondary characters.
I loved Beth and her tough exterior and how Ryan broke through that and while she was still amazing and kick ass we get to see get beautiful heart.
Ryan is perfect on the surface but there is a lot brewing under neath. I loved his loyalty and admired his self confidence and how hid desire to win became a theme. Though i really appreciated that he stepped up and did what wad right even if it meant losing.
There were some smoking hot scenes that made me need to stick Mt head on the freezer and then run back to get more.
The characters in this story are so beautifully written! Ryan's inner dialogue was awesome and it made me smile a lot.
Lacy is a great character as well and i loved how she fit into the whole scene. She reminded nee a lot of myself with the boys was friends and the limited loyalty. As well as being on the fringes.
Gwen... Oh, Gwen. I wanted to smack her.
Loved Ryan s brother and that her read not perfect bit he too had a story and things to prove to himself.
Beth and her need to take care of her mom is so understandable and it hurts my heart all that sheer had to go through.
Isaiah... I so thought that some how this would be his and Beth story but while he was in it and their friendship was an important theme and he had a lot to add to the story it was not in the way that i thought.
Watching Beth learn to trust others and especially learn to trust herself was the most amazing part of this story. It wasn't an easy road, and she had to go through sooo much. Not only did her relationship with Ryan help, but also her uncle, Lacy and letting go of her past. She had to realize that no one is perfect, herself included, but that there are people who are worthy of the trust. Really, the theme of learning to also accept yourself for who you are is what I am coming away from this story with!
I love the dual narrative, it helped me to understand and love both of the characters all the more. It is also a unique way of storytelling where you know what the other person is really thinking and feeling.
The ending is like the rest of the book--perfection.

Bottom Line: Darkly captivating an emotional romance woven with hope and character growth.