Crash Into You By Katie McGarry

Crash Into You (Pushing The Limits: Book Three)
Written By Katie McGarry
Published 01 / 12 / 2013
Thank you to Harlequin Australia 
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.

It seems Rachel has it all, a big family with overly protective brothers, a twin, wealth, fashion and beauty, but internally Rachel feels as though she's broken and will never been seen for who she is, not who she's expected to replace. Before Rachel was born, her mother lost a daughter to cancer. Colleen was everything Rachel feels she isn't, graceful, popular and her mother's golden child. Rachel is expected to walk in Colleen's shadow, a fate she'll never live up to. The nerves and worry has led to Rachel being diagnosed with panic attacks, crippling migraines and vomiting. But Rachel's family believe she's no longer ill, unaware that Rachel has learn't to hide it well. The only thing Rachel has in her life is her Mustang. She loves her car with a passion, wanting nothing more than to flee onto the open roads, and escape her family's expectations.

When Rachel stumbles upon an illegal street race, she finds herself opposed against the handsomely dangerous Isaiah. But someone has alerted the police, and as racers scatter, Rachel is caught on the wrong side of the tracks and has no idea how to outrun the authorities. Ever the gentleman, Isaiah takes it upon himself to help. But in the chaos, someone fleeces organiser and street thug Eric of the takings from the meet... And he believes Rachel is involved.

Isaiah hasn't felt this attraction since Beth, and won't allow himself to be hurt again. He has his own problems to deal with, like the reappearance of his mother after being released from prison more than two years ago, and a nosey social worker. But Isaiah needs money, and fast. Still in the foster system, he now lives with best friend Noah, while his former foster parents cash his maintenance cheques in exchange for their silence. Noah wants to move into the university dorms, a far better option that the rat invested one bedroom apartment the two can no longer afford. 

As Rachel and Isaiah come to an agreement to raise the money to keep them both safe from Eric, Isaiah finds himself fighting his feelings for the girl that deserves more than he can offer her. But as Eric increases the stakes, Rachel finds her situation at home can't continue, something has to give. She isn't the only one harboring a secret that threatens to tear her family apart, but will Isaiah be there to pick up the pieces?

My Thoughts


The Pushing The Limits series is an incredible young adult series, amongst my favourite contemporaries. Book one left me an emotional mess, book two was a miss as I don't particularly like Beth's character, but I loved Crash Into You. It's a mixture of adrenalin, passion and insecurities and if Isaiah isn't the hottest character in young adult of recent times, I'll eat my hat. I'll admit, he wasn't a favourite of mine in the previous two books, he seemed to be portrayed as just a tough thug with no aspirations. I couldn't have been more wrong. He's probably the closest character to being realistic as you could find. A guy portraying that he's tough, fearless and wants to be left alone, but he's scared, vulnerable and his self esteem won't allow himself to believe he's worthy of someone like Rachel. 

Rachel isn't without her faults, she lives her life as a replica of her deceased sister, but not by choice. No one wants to see their mother unhappy, so her brothers, including her twin Ethan and father, constantly push her to become the image of Colleen that her mother mourns. It's only with Isaiah where she finds she doesn't need to pretend, but having never had a boyfriend before, she's walking on eggshells with the boy she finds herself slowly falling for. 

Katie McGarry's writing is effortless. She doesn't indulge in long speech dialogues between characters, which gives the storyline a realism that most contemporaries seem to lack. She's fast becoming one of my favourite authors, with her emotional, realistic, feel good storylines. 

And thank you for the Kellan Lutz lookalike model on the cover Ms McGarry. Thank you.

7 comments

  1. Oh I love this author but I haven't gotten around to reading Dare You To or this one! I loved Pushing The Limits though. The fact this one is about Isiah makes me want to go out and buy these books right now! I don't know why I haven't yet. Awesome review! And I totally agree that model looks like Kellen Lutz! :)

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    1. That's the awesome thing about the series too, you can skip a book or read them as a standalone. This one is hot. Isaiah is such a beautiful soul. Rachel is a new character, but really likable. She's insecure and most female readers will be able to relate, I certainly found aspects of myself in her during my teenage years. Thanks for stopping by Bailey, and can't wait to see what you think of this one when you get around to it.

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  2. I loved Crash Into You! So far, it is the best book in the series (for me, anyway). The characters were much easier to relate too, and I felt that the male character was fully explored and developed, unlike in the first two books.
    Isaiah is just delicious.
    I enjoyed reading this review, thanks!

    Brea. (:

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    1. I couldn't agree more Brea. So far the characters have been the most realistic, and Isaiah really is the typical teen male. Hiding behind a facade, scared of what he's feeling. So glad you enjoyed it too.

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  3. I'm glad that you enjoyed this one! I wasn't a huge fan because of the insta-love but it certainly was nice to hear from Isaiah's POV!

    Lovely review! <33

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  4. Sounds amazing, I still haven't read this series yet but I have all 3 on my shelf to read. I'm planning to some time soon though, I would like to get to know their stories.

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  5. I love this series! It is one of my favourite. I'm glad you liked this one. I haven't read it yet but I can't wait to. Katie McGarry is a fantastic author and I have loved everything she has written before. Thanks for sharing :)

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