Crash into You (Pushing the Limits #3)
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Published: November 2, 2013 by Harlequin Teen
Format Acquired: ARC from publisher via NetGalley (thank you!!! Squeee~)
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Kobo | Audible
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.
Wow. I... wow. This book, you guys. I'm actually quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Heck, I LOVE THIS BOOK. So much! I wasn't a big fan of Isaiah in Pushing the Limits, I admit. I like him because of his relationship with Noah and, sure, I wanted him to have a happily ever after (or something) after the whole Beth drama but I wasn't exactly fangirling when I found out the third book would be about him. I don't know, I guess I was too hung up on Noah. Once I started reading Crash Into You though, things quickly changed.
The thing that I loved most about this book was the (sorta) drama-free romance between Isaiah and Rachel. I've just about had it with characters who can't freaking decide if they want to be with each other. I hate the constant push and pull, the nonstop drama and all that. Isaiah and Rachel had a bit of drama but it wasn't pointless. I like that they had a spark when they first met and from then on, their relationship grew. Everything about Isaiah and Rachel romance was believable because they actually took the time to let it grow. More than that, they articulated their feelings for each other in the most genuine way - not over the top but you can still feel the intensity. Considering how tough their lives were, I half expected them to get all intense and cheesy. This usually happens in books with heavy themes. Fortunately, no such thing happened here.
Individually, Isaiah and Rachel are equally great characters. We finally see who Isaiah is beneath the tough exterior. We know more about his hard childhood in the foster care system and the stories behind his tattoos. I absolutely love that Isaiah isn't like the stereotypical tattoo-covered bad boy. He's just had a rough time growing up so he made some bad choices but at the end of the day, he's still a genuinely good guy. Then we have Rachel, who has a pretty messed up home life. Her family isn't really bad... they just have weird rules about everything. It's just sad to be living in a situation like hers. But at least she has 4 older brothers to make things a bit easier for her. I like that while both characters have sad backgrounds, it wasn't depressing at all.
Isaiah and Rachel are both passionate about cars. Since I love cars (not as much as they do though), I was glad to see how much research the author has put into this book. The engine, drag racing mechanics, even the way it would feel driving real fast - all well described. I was super giddy reading the parts that involved cars. I think it's a great subject that tied everything together.
Now I only have two issues with the book. The first being the very annoying and unnecessary conflict with Rachel's brothers towards the end, and how she reacted. The second would be the main conflict that brought Isaiah and Rachel together - Eric. They got into some trouble with him because of one unfortunate night of racing. There's this urgency in paying off their debt but in the end, I'm not sure I really saw Eric as the threat they say he is. I only felt like he was all words and nothing else.
The ending was, simply put, perfect. It wasn't all happy but at least they got somewhere and things were working out. I had issues with the book, yes, but they weren't enough to change my mind about rating this 5 stars. I love the chemistry between Isaiah and Rachel. I love their characterization. I love that even minor characters played important roles and had defined personalities. I love that characters in previous books made appearances. I love that there'll be a next book (OH YAAAAY!!!). I love that I had a hard time writing this review because there's either NO WORDS or TOO MANY WORDS (I went with too many words, obviously). So yeah. Crash Into You is exactly the kind of book that's impossible not to love.
Other books in the series:
(Click to view the book on Goodreads)
About the author
Katie McGarry
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.
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10 finished copies of Crash Into You (US and Canada only)
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