A Wicked and Beautiful Garden by Katie McGarry

Summary: "Twenty-eight year-old Cassie Strega can’t escape fate.

All she wants is to live a normal, quiet life delivering the babies in her small town. But when she discovers she comes from a lineage of witches, her life becomes extraordinary—in the gravely dangerous type of way.

Then, she’s reunited with her first love.

Orion, the sultry Fae warrior who broke her heart years before, is searching for a baby. Not just any baby, but the queen of the Fae who will one day lead them in their final battle against the demons determined to rule the world. The same baby who has been calling to Cassie for help in her dreams.

Fighting the intense attraction of their former blood bond, Cassie and Orion work together to find the child. But when the heartbreak that nearly destroyed Cassie nine years before looms once more, she’ll have to decide whether getting involved in the supernatural war is worth losing everything, including her life."

I'm confused as to how Katie McGarry got here, but I'm glad she did. A fast-paced read. A good Fae story. A strong heroine. Plot twists and developments. 

Now I'm in a book hangover. Yay, but also, boo!

Eagerly awaiting the second book's release! I need ANSWERS.

322 pages

goodreads

Only a Breath Apart by Katie McGarry

Katie McGarry's newest book was not what I was expecting. It's a bit different from her others, and I couldn't help but compare them. I couldn't get the boys from the Thunder Road series out of my head. 

I adore her characters and her writing. In this book, I especially enjoyed all of the Peter Pan references. I wish she would have just written a more direct contemporary Peter Pan retelling instead. 

I enjoy action-packed books, and this book was just not that. For what the book is supposed to be, it's excellent.

But it was not for me. 

364 pages

goodreads

Long Way Home by Katie McGarry

Another cozy and comforting re-read. Who knew that MC fiction could be so homey? I love how strong the bonds between the characters are; it's refreshing. 

Honestly, I can't get enough of this series. I guess I'll have to the re-read Pushing the Limits series next!

(I'm in a bit a reading rut, but it sure doesn't feel like it.) 


408 pages

Nowhere but Here by Katie McGarry

It's hard to believe that I first read this book back in 2015! I loved it even more the second time. Re-reading it was such a comfort, like curling up with a warm, fuzzy blanket. 

Diving into this world makes my real-world problems fade away. 

494 pages

Say You'll Remember Me by Katie McGarry

Summary: "Drix and Elle come from different backgrounds and different worlds. He was convicted of a crime he didn't commit; she's the governor's daughter. They try to find what connects them and break past the odds to, maybe, be together while finding their own independence from their pasts and their families' expectations."

Love, love, loved this! Say You'll Remember Me just might be my favorite Katie McGarry book thus far. The story and characters are mature, emotional and intriguing all the way through. I hope she keeps writing books like this for many years to come.  

452 pages

Long Way Home by Katie McGarry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was high on my list when I saw Laura posted a review. 

That prompted me to hurry up and pick up this story, and since she basically summed up the story and my feelings, I don't have much more to add. I definitely agree that I wish there had been more interaction between some of my favorite teenage characters, but that didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed this story.

If Katie McGarry wrote legal briefs, I would read them. She has a magic touch when it comes to writing, much like Colleen Hoover and Sarah Fine. There's something about the way they all craft stories that is completely undeniable. They could partner to write a self-help book (a genre I typically hate), about slug farms (um...what?), with an emphasis on quantum mechanics (blech), and I WOULD READ THAT BOOK.

Pages: 408

Long Way Home by Katie McGarry

Summary: "Forced to live according to her motorcycle club father's strict gender code, 17-year-old Violet takes matters into her own hands to protect her younger brother when their father is killed carrying out gang business, a situation that separates her from the boy she loves and causes her to be targeted by a rival club."

Long Way Home is the third and highly anticipated installment in the Thunder Road series by Katie McGarry. I could NOT wait to get my hands on this book! Violet and Chevy (characters we meet in the previous books) finally get their own beautiful story, and it was amazing! I never wanted it to end; it almost felt too short, even though it's 408 pages! Characters from Katie's Pushing the Limits series were also interwoven with Chevy's story, which was amazing! However, I wish all the characters had interacted much, much more.

I hope she continues this series!

408 pages

Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry

Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Go ahead, Katie McGarry. Write an anatomy textbook. I would read it. Who knows? I might even memorize it. Some authors could write an apartment lease and make it fascinating, and Katie McGarry is one of them.

YA Contemporary Romance isn’t the genre I read most often, but I have read and adored everything Katie McGarry has written. I think her characters get better and more interesting each novel. She digs deep into what makes people who they are, and she shares it out in a way that lets me decide what I think about that.

Also, why aren’t there any motorcycle clubs in my life? They’re like the 2016 nights in shining armor, with their loyalty and codes of honor. It’s fascinating, though I don’t know how much is fiction and how much ties to reality. Either way, I love this world and want more.

Pages: 448

Walk the Edge (Thunder Road #2) by Katie McGarry

Walk the Edge is the second installment of the Thunder Road series by Katie McGarry. The Thunder Road series follows the teenage members of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club in Snowflake, KY. While I enjoyed the first novel, No-Where But Here, this one felt more natural and easy to read. Breanna was a character who I easily related to, and Razor was quite the swoon-worthy hunk. I waited so long to ready this book, and then I rushed through it! The anticipation for the next book (Chevy and Violet's story) is going to destroy me!

448 pages 

Nowhere but Here by Katie McGarry

Summary: "When a reluctant visit turns into an extended summer vacation among relatives Emily 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."

Nowhere but Here is the first installment in the Thunder Road series, a new series by Katie McGarry. The next installment, Walk the Edge, comes out in March 2016. 



494 pages

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

Summary: "Hiding secrets from her family that expects her to be perfect, Rachel Young falls in love with Isaiah Walker, a foster youth who hides his own secrets until their shared love for street racing puts their lives in jeopardy."

Crash Into You is the third book in the Pushing the Limits series, and it is absolutely my favorite. Rachel is a fresh and interesting character. She is both strong and vulnerable, while still being sweet and kind. She's my favorite of the girls in the series, and it was also nice to finally see what it's like inside Isaiah's mind. This installment avoids the downfalls of the other novels by keeping the family drama to a reasonable level. The other books in the series can be incredibly over-dramatic and depressing, but Crash Into You has just the right amount of drama.

484 pages

Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Summary: Dare You To is the follow-up novel to Pushing the Limits. After meeting Noah, Echo, Isaiah and Beth in Pushing the Limits, Dare You To follows Beth in her new life and her adjustments in her relationship with Isaiah, her uncle Scott, and her drug-addicted mom. Beth continues to try and protect her mom, no matter the cost to herself. Dare You To deals with some pretty heavy stuff: drug use and domestic violence. Her mom's boyfriend beats up both Beth and her mom, and it can be pretty gruesome at times. 

When Beth is forced to leave her mom to live with her estranged uncle, Beth meets Ryan, the all-star pitcher on the school's baseball team. Beth and Ryan begin a fun and antagonizing flirt-mance while they each try to work out their own personal issues. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book, even though it was quite predictable. I hated Beth in Pushing the Limits because she was exceedingly mean to Echo, but her meanness is toned down in this installment, which makes her more tolerable. I liked Ryan quite a bit, and he is my favorite male character in the Pushing the Limits series so far. 

486 pages

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Summary: "Rendered a subject of gossip after a traumatic night that left her with terrible scars on her arms, Echo is dumped by her boyfriend and bonds with bad-boy Noah, whose tough attitude hides an understanding nature and difficult secrets." 

After I read Take Me On, I realized that I did actually need to read this series in order, as the characters in each book show up in the other books. While Noah and Echo are the two main characters of this story, Isaiah and Beth are Noah's foster siblings who each get their own story later in the series (Beth: Dare You To, Isaiah: Crash Into You). Other minor characters in Pushing the Limits appeared in Take Me On, so I definitely should not have read them out of order. 

I thought Echo was sweet and strong, even though she had a thoroughly depressing story. I initially thought these books were simply "good girl falls for bad boy" but they're more "girl with traumatic past falls for boy with traumatic and depressing past." I think I'll try to continue with the series, as I'm really interested to see how all the characters fit together. 

391 pages

Take Me On by Katie McGarry

Summary: "Abandoning kickboxing after a tragedy in the ring, champion fighter Haley is forced to train an attractive mixed martial arts student who secretly fights on Haley's behalf to redeem his troubled past."

I made a huge mistake by reading this book out of order from the rest of the Pushing the Limits series by Katie McGarry. The story was not quite what I expected, as there was a ton of unnecessary drama heaped upon the characters. I almost couldn't enjoy the simple story of the training/fighting because the two main characters were so bogged down by ridiculous burdens. Overall, there were some really great moments and memorable lines, but it was exhausting to read. I hope the other books in the series are not so over-the-top. 

455 pages