Book Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Dare You To
Pushing the Limits #2
Author: Katie McGarry
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 28th 2013
Review Source: NetGalley - Harlequin Teen
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"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....

Katie McGarry will leave her fans once again wowed when they read Dare You To. If you loved and swooned over Pushing the Limits than you might even say Dare You To topped it. Dare You To is an intense roller coaster full of emotions and feelings. You will be sucked into the life of Beth and Ryan. This is definitely one of 2013's books that will fascinate you.

All American boy Ryan has everything going for him. He is your all-star baseball player with all the right friends. The guys want to be him and the girls want to be with him. So when Ryan takes on a dare to snag the Emo skater girl that his buddies and him run into, Ryan can't say no to a bet. So it takes Ryan off guard when he gets turned down by Beth. Beth has no interest in boys like Ryan. She has enough on her plate and does not need to add anymore drama to her life.

See Beth doesn't run in the same circle as Ryan, nowhere near it actually. Beth come from a hard life and the reason she is where she is now is because her mother's boyfriend beat her up and her uncle Scott had to take her away from that world. So her uncle moves her in with his family in a new town with new people. One of those residents being Ryan. What was the chance in that.

Seems that Ryan won't take no for answer and is set in completing his bet. Ryan and Beth begin to gravitate towards one another even when they are trying not to. Seems Ryan has his own skeletons in the closet that he is hiding from everyone. These skeletons will bring these two characters that normally would never have looked at one another if given the chance closer every day. You never know if you'll be witnessing them wanting to murder each other or devouring each other instead. The bond that begins to form will leave you in la la land. I love that little by little we see Beth change and start to blossom and trust those around her. Ryan will finally start living and accepting the secrets he has been hiding. I swooned hard over Ryan and how he treated Beth. Beth didn't stand a chance, Ryan was just too irresistible. Get ready to add Ryan to your list of book boyfriends.

Dare You To will be one of 2013's early favorites. Katie's well written characters are easy to fall for. This book I highly recommend to YA fans or anyone who likes a romance with a some weight on it. Can't wait to dive into Isaiah's story next.

Here is a small excerpt from Dare You To:

“I hold the bottle out into the rain and watch as the steady flow slowly fills it. When there is enough, enough that Beth can clearly see, I close the bottle and hand it to her.

She raises a skeptical eyebrow, but accepts the bottle.

"It's our rain Beth."

Her head barely shakes to show her confusion while I rub the back of my neck and search for my courage. "I told you I loved you in this rain and when you doubt my words, I want you to look at this bottle.”

How was that for a teaser? This part made me think of the book cover since they are in the rain. Can't wait for everyone to read Dare You To.