Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication date: November 26th 2013
My rating: 3.5 stars
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.
I’ve been a huge fan of Katie McGarry since Pushing the Limits and then Dare to Me so I’ve been anxiously awaiting Isaiah’s story. While Crash Into You wasn’t my favorite of the three it was still a compelling read.
When we last left Isaiah he was angry and hurt by Beth. They had been best friends but with Isaiah
always hoping for more. Unfortunately,
Beth didn’t feel the same. Because he doesn’t want to stay with Beth’s aunt and
uncle anymore, Isaiah is now on his own renting a crappy apartment with Noah,
but barely getting by. Trying to stay
afloat he gets embroiled in a street race gone wrong and this is where he meets
Rachel and is completely knocked over:
God does exist and he sent an angel in a white Mustang to prove it.
Rachel comes from privilege and wealth and from all outside
appearances she leads a perfect life. But if you look closer, she’s quite a
mess. She was conceived basically as a replacement
for a sister who died of cancer, so she lives in her shadow. Trying to live up
to expectations and fill the hole left in her family, there’s no room for the
real Rachel, and she suffers panic attacks from all the pressure. Real Rachel loves cars, working on them and
driving them fast. This is how she meets Isaiah.
Isaiah and Rachel’s lives become intertwined and even though
they come from very different social circles, there’s an immediate attraction.
Because Rachel has led such a sheltered life she’s socially awkward and very
different from any girl Isaiah has met. He finds her innocence and honesty
refreshing. There are no games when it
comes to Rachel. Isaiah is used to everyone having an ulterior motive or only
looking out for themselves with the exception of Noah and Echo, so the fact
that Rachel worries and cares what happens to him touches him deeply. The fact
that Isaiah sees Rachel how she really is and likes it fills her with joy. In his eyes she’s strong, capable and far
from the weakling her family considers her to be. There shared passion for cars
just seals the deal for these two and it’s not long before they’ve fallen head
over heels.
“You can ignore me, Rachel, and you can try to treat me as a friend,
but none of that will erase the fact that I think about kissing you every
second I'm awake and dream at night of my hands on your body. And it sure as hell
won’t erase that I’m terrified by how much I like you."
With danger, expectations, and self-doubt, Isaiah and Rachel’s
relationship is not smooth sailing.
However, Ms. McGarry has a talent for writing swoony scenes that make
your heart race, and she manages to gift us with these juicy moments often, in
between all the drama.
Like I said in the outset Crash Into Me wasn’t my favorite
of the three and I think it’s partially because so much is going on not any one
thing is dealt with in depth. There was
the drama of Isaiah’s mother coming back into his life, Isaiah trying to make
it on his own, and then we have Rachel with her family troubles and resulting
panic attacks. On top of all that Rachel and Isaiah have a street racing thug
after them for money. Add in their
romance, and I just think there were too many issues to do any one of them
justice, even with the near 500 page count.
I’m still a huge fan of Katie McGarry. I don’t expect an
author to write a 5 star story for me every time, and even with my issues was a
very addictive read. I’m still anxious
to read anything she writes, and I can’t wait for West’s story next!
Connect with Katie McGarry:
20 comments:
Agreed. Not every book has to be 5 stars. That's an impossible expectation to meet. I'm glad that even though you had issues, you still enjoyed the novel. Isaiah is my favorite character from the series and I hope that the plot won't be too far fetched for my taste. cant wait to read it :)
The quotes you chose fit into your review nicely! And yea, not all books by the same author has to be a 5 Star. I'll still read it if I like the author's writing style. :)
Great review, Rachel.
I hope we'll love next book much more than this one.
The whole 'angel' thing annoyed me quite a bit and I ended up severely disappointed in this one. I was never McGarry's biggest fan, but at least her books were always compulsively readable. Not this one, though. It just didn't work for me.
I'm glad you had at least a bit more luck with it.
I have to agree that a little too much was taken on and handled too quickly in this novel. I really enjoyed Rachel's story, but Isaiah's seemed a little too flat for me. I think I just expected more from his tale and wound up being disappointed.
I wasn't a fan of Isaiah's mom coming into the picture...she needed to go away and seemed like she was added just for extra drama. And that "angel"...no. Bad nickname. No. I liked getting swept up in this story & didn't think too hard about it (overanalyzing romances makes me question too much!).
Yeah some moments at this book were unexpected. I mean I'm not used to Katie throwing so much drama in a book. I'm happy you enjoyed this one overall. I hope that the next book will be better for you :) Great review, Rachel :)
This is in my TBR, I think I'll like this a lot though :)
I really enjoyed this one, but I can see why many readers found this to be the weakest novel yet. I, for one, can come to terms with it because, for some reason, I don't expect too much. I do hope the next novel really gets back to the basics though! Great review, Rachel :)
I enjoyed this one overall, much better than Beth's story, but I have to say that I agree with you on a lot of points you mentioned. Especially, the overwhelming amount of drama. It seems like with every book the author keeps on increasing the amount of drama and it can get kind of frustrating at times. I also disliked Rachel's mother. She was so annoying and made my blood boil. However, yes, McGarry has a good writing style that keeps you hooked to her books.
I'm glad you liked it overall, Rachel. Lovely review.
I completely loved this one Rachel, but I get what you're saying about so much going on that no one thing was really dealt with in depth. I agree, particularly with regard to Rachel's family, but given her brother's story is next, I'm thinking we'll get a more thorough examination of them in his book. Glad you're still a huge Katie McGarry fan and are as excited for West's story as I am! Bring him on:)
I agree, very addictive and it was my least fav of the three, but still loved it
I gave this book a reluctant four stars. Rachel (hey, namesake!) drove me nuts. But in the end, Isaiah saved it all for me.
While this might not have been the best, that's great you still really like the author. I haven't read anything by her but I know I should because I have heard many good things!
I agree that Crash had way too much going on. I love Isaiah, and wanted an amazing story for him. I wanted to feel for him what I did Noah in PtL. I just didn't get Rachel, or her ridiculous family. I hope West's book is dialed back on the crazy.
Great review, Rachel!
I agree completely, Rachel! I am reading this at the moment and think I should be done by today. Pushing the Limits remains my favourite piece of work from Katie McGarry so far. I think I've slowly been investing in this series less as it's gone on, but I have too found them all to be compelling reads. There's just something holding me back slightly from investing 100% emotionally here - like you said, there might just be too much going on - but I'm still finding the writing pretty addictive, despite that. And I can't wait to read the next one. :) Great review, lovely!
Aw, I'm sorry you didn't fully love this one. I'm still not sure if I will read book two and three (A) I did love book one, but been so long since I read it. Anyway. Amazing review sweetie :D
I haven't read any in this series, but I've seen you talk about this series and you make me want to! Too bad this wasn't as great as the others, but at least it wasn't horrible for you :) Love the review, Rachel!
I just started reading this one and so far am really enjoying it! It's a shame this one wasn't a higher rating for you. I know that for some people it's their favourite of the series yet and for others they've been left underwhelmed. I hope I continue to enjoy this. Brilliant review, Rachel!
I loved Pushing the Limits but one of the reasons I haven't continued with the next two books is because I can't get over the fact that Isiah and Beth aren't going to be together lol. I'm glad to see you ended up enjoying this one though I always feel like no book can ever beat the first in a series. Great review!
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