Waiting on Wednesday (159): NOWHERE BUT HERE

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NOWHERE BUT HERE by Katie McGarry

May 26th, 2015 from HarlequinTeen

An unforgettable new series from acclaimed author Katie McGarry about taking risks, opening your heart and ending up in a place you never imagined possible.

Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both.


Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member—is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

Katie McGarry's books are always entertaining, so I'm excited for her newest series!

What are you waiting on?

Covers: Perilous Sea, Ruin & Rising, & Fires of Calderon

Mortal Heart

Invaded

Snow Like Ashes

The Thousand Dollar Tan Line (Veronica Mars #1)

Illusions of Fate

Ruin and Rising

The Perilous Sea

Take Me On

The cover for The Fires of Calderon was revealed today, too! Looks like an exciting MG story. 

I'm loving a few of them (especially Ruin & Rising, Snow Like Ashes, The Perilous Sea), but I'm a bit underwhelmed by the VMars cover + title. 

What are your thoughts? 

The Queen's Library (40): October & November Books!

FOR REVIEW
PAWN by Aimee Carter (Netgalley)
REVELATIONS by JA Souders (Unsolicited HC)

THE TAKING by Kimberly Derting (Edelweiss)

DEATH SWORN by Leah Cyrpress (Edelweiss)

CRASH INTO YOU by Katie McGarry (Netgalley)

ROOMIES Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando (Netgalley)

THE WINNER'S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski (Netgalley)

RACING SAVANNAH by Miranda Kenneally (Netgalley)

HOUSE OF IVY & SORROW by Natalie Whipple (Edelweiss)

LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD by Ava Dellaira (Requested ARC)

PURCHASED - KINDLE BOOKS
WAVECROSSED by Andrea Colt
TYGER, TYGER by Kersten Hamilton
IRON'S PROPHECY by Julie Kagawa
THE DUST OF 100 DOGS by AS King
THE BURNING SKY by Sherry Thomas
THE DARKEST MINDS by Alexandra Bracken
ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE by Kate Karyus Quinn
THINGS I CAN'T FORGET by Miranda Kenneally

PURCHASED - PRINTED COPIES
LEGEND by Marie Lu* (my review)
PRODIGY by Marie Lu*
CROSSED by Ally Condie*
ALLEGIANT by Veronica Roth*
THE 5TH WAVE by Rick Yancy
EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS by AS King
THE EVOLUTION OF MARA DYER by Michelle Hodkin
THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson (My review)

* Purchased for an essay I am writing. Can you guess which genre of YA lit I'm writing on? It's going to be challenging (it is supposed to be a rhetorical analysis essay, which is very different from the analysis I usually write), but hopefully fun!

Huge thanks to the Little Brown BYR, Tor, HarperTeen, HarlequinTeen, Ksenia + St Martin's Press, Sabrina + Sourcebooks for the review copies!

YA Book Queen's 
Weekly Recommendation

This feature is inspired by Pop Culture Junkie's This Week In Books, The Story Siren's In My Mailbox, and Mailbox Monday. The Queen's Library is a way for me to feature books that I add to my bookshelves and a place to post my weekly recommendations. This is not a new meme, but merely an adjusted feature that is better suited to my blog and needs.

Review: DARE YOU TO by Katie McGarry

Title: DARE YOU TO
Author: Katie McGarry
Published: May 28th, 2013
Series: Pushing the Limits #2 (companion novel)
Genre: YA contemporary
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
POV: 1st person, dual, alternating
Pages: 462
Format: Hardcover
Source: Amazon Vine Program
Rating: The Royal Library, Middle Shelf

"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....

Like some other people who read McGarry's debut, I was surprised to find that Beth was going to have her own story – and one that did not involve Isaiah as her main love interest. In addition, I was amazed that McGarry chose to write from Beth's POV. In PUSHING THE LIMITS, Beth was hardly an enjoyable or endearing character, so I was a bit nervous when I started DARE YOU TO. Yet, right from the start, McGarry proves there is more to Beth than her rough, don't-f%#$-with-me exterior. Even Ryan, the seemingly Mr. Perfect baseball star who provides the second narration in this novel, proves there is more to him than how fast he can throw a baseball. 

In the beginning of the story, Beth says that she is a piece of a puzzle that never quite fits in. Her words are fitting, because when it comes to Beth and Ryan, they are two puzzle pieces – they're shaped differently, but they still somehow manage to fit together perfectly. Even as their personalities clash and challenge one another, Beth and Ryan simultaneously bring out the better qualities in each other. And, as in any good book, the collision of these two different characters begins with a simple dare, which complicates everything for both of them. Filled with electric tension, surprising secrets, and tantalizing drama, DARE YOU TO is an exceptional story. If you're hesitating when it comes to checking out this story, I dare you to read this book – you won't regret it. 

Highlights: McGarry brought two very different characters together and made their relationship believable and worth rooting for. Beth and Ryan's voices were distinct, nearly impossible to confuse, and they proved to be layered characters. Side characters were fantastic, especially Lacy and Uncle Scott. I especially enjoyed the mystery behind what was going on in Beth's mother's home. As a whole, characters were wonderfully written. 

Lowlights: The story became a bit soap-opera-dramatic a few times. I wish McGarry would have written more about Beth and her Uncle Scott, it would have been nice to see them bond a bit more on page instead off the page.

Notes: Cursing (mostly by Beth), hot-and-steamy moments, mentions of safe sex, mentions of drugs/drug use, and physical abuse. Also, if you take the book jacket off the book so no one will know that you're reading a kissing book, think again. A slightly different version of the cover is printed on the actual book, so you'll just have to bravely read it and ignore the people who stare. Also, you do not need to read PUSHING THE LIMITS in order to understand this novel (you do get to see the two narrators from that novel appear in this story, which is always fun).

Rating: The Royal Library, Middle Shelf. DARE YOU TO is fantastic, worth owning, and has earned a spot in the royal library. I enjoyed this story very much, despite a few small issues here and there, and would recommend this book to other readers. 

My reviews of other novels by Katie McGarry: 
PUSHING THE LIMITS

Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits
Katie McGarry
July 31st, 2012
384 pages (hardcover)
Harlequin Teen
Source - Netgalley

"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 everything 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 teach her how to love again."

In Pushing the Limits, a girl with a blurry past and a boy with an uncertain future collide. From the first page, Echo's strong voice drew me in and the full truth about her past kept me curious. While I was initially a bit put off with Noah, he proves himself to be a young man with a heart of gold that shines brilliantly when he's with his brothers and when he's with Echo. The alternating point of view could have been difficult to keep consistent, yet McGarry skillfully handled each character and never lost sight of each voice and each distinct personality. Whether it's the tantalizing mystery of Echo's past, the passionate romance, or even the sweet familial moments, this is one story that makes it easy to keep turning the pages. An emotionally charged story, Pushing the Limits is a standout summer debut.

Highlights: Suspense, humor, family, secrets, romance....All nicely done. The cast of characters were all developed with faults, quirks, and everything in between. While I guessed the truth about Echo's past early on, McGarry still kept me hooked by how expertly she handled the tantalizing buildup to the truth behind Echo's mystery. Great character growth, especially with Noah. And the scenes between Echo and Noah? So much chemistry, and their relationship was much more believable than I anticipated.

Lowlights: A little predictable. Also, I can't really put my finger on it, but it felt like something was missing. The story didn't make as big of an impact on me as I hoped it would (I could just be weird, since the story seemed to make an impact on many other readers). 

Rating: 

The Queen's Library (2)

Inspiration & Information

For ReviewPushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (Netgalley)Suffocate by S.R. Johannes (eBook from author)
Thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin Teen, and S.R. Johannes!


What books did you get this week?

Images from Goodreads