Blog Tour: Review of Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits #3) by Katie McGarry

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.

Lea says...

Crash Into You is the third book in the Pushing the Limits series and centers around Isaiah Walker, whom we met in the previous installments. I was very excited about getting more of his story and seeing whether or not he finally got his piece of happiness.

The heroine is the seemingly perfect Rachel Young. Seemingly, because most everything about her is an act. She is the baby (though she has a twin) of the five Young children, and the only remaining girl.

“The shy girl. The awkward girl. The one born to replace the girl everyone really wanted.”

—Rachel

 The reason she even exists in the first place is severely depressing and the way her parents expect so much of her is maddening, and it definitely takes a toll on her health. She can barely speak in front of a group without suffering from extreme anxiety, which she hides in an effort to keep the house of cards her family is built upon, from crashing down.

“I hate this illness. I hate it in ways that make my blood run cold and my muscles heavy with rage. I hate the way my family has always looked at me as if I’m breakable.”

—Rachel

Despite the perfect façade she exhibits for her family, Rachel likes nothing girly. She doesn’t desire trips to the mall, or days spent being pampered in a fancy salon. Nope. What Rachel craves—the only thing that can ease her nervousness—is speed.

 “My mind clears when I’m behind the wheel and there’s something about the sound of the engine dropping into gear as I press on the gas makes me feel…powerful.”

—Rachel

During a drive one fateful night, she finds herself involved in some crazy, illegal activity, complete with running from the police. Much to her surprise, the tattooed and scary looking Isaiah is who comes to her rescue.

“God does exist and he sent an angel in a white Mustang to prove it.”

—Isaiah

They spend the rest of the night growing increasingly attracted to one another. Isaiah is so sweet to her, and being inside his head, we see how confusing it is for him to realize his initial impression of Rachel is possibly wrong. And we see Rachel begin to crawl out of her shell, bit by bit.

“This isn’t me. None of it. I’m not the girl who hangs in a bar. I’m not the girl who is comfortable talking to guys. And I’m sure not the girl who leans over the table to be close to anyone.”

—Rachel

The two connect in a way neither ever expected, and I love the way Isaiah regards her. For such a hard edge, he is adorably caring and protective of her. And even when more trouble than they know what to do with finds them, he can’t keep himself away from her.

“Rachel’s this brilliant flame blazing in the darkness. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I’ve always been the kind of guy that likes a fire.”

—Isaiah

While they try to wheel and deal their way out of this life-threatening situation they were mistakenly pulled into, their developing relationship is caught in the crossfire. I was nervous throughout the majority of the book, and definitely rooting for these two to make it out, alive and together.

Your heart will break for Isaiah, shuffled through various foster homes and about to age out of the system. And for Rachel as well, because even though she comes from a wealthy side of town and has lots of immediate family who are all overprotective, she is extremely neglected. Though he does struggle with some of the differences between them, along with feelings of inferiority, I love that Isaiah doesn’t let his misfortune cloud his judgment of her, that he sees her for who she really is instead of being bitter about what she has.

 “Being born into this world is the greatest crapshoot there is. Some are born lucky, others aren’t. For the first time, I see that this rule transcends money.”

—Isaiah

Crash Into You is a beautiful take on the clichéd bad boy/good girl storyline.  I read through it quickly and didn’t want it to end. That may be my only complaint. I wish that there would have been more of the two of them in regards to what will happen next. I know that the next book will be about one of Rachel’s brothers, and I can only hope that we learn more about her and Isaiah’s individual futures, as well as their relationship status.

I loved the other two books and novella from this series, and once again, Katie McGarry did not disappoint. I cannot wait for the next one!

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KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie would love to hear from her readers. Contact her via her website, katielmcgarry.com, follow her on Twitter @KatieMcGarry, or become a fan on Facebook and Goodreads.