Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry
SYNOPSIS:
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….
REVIEW:
This book was brutal, I knew going in that Beth’s story was going to be savage, but this cut me to my core. Beth is so very broken and the more I learned about her, the more my heart broke for her. The constant lies, deceit, and betrayal make me understand her rough around the edges exterior from the early books in the series while simultaneously making me want to envelop her in a hug and tell her it will all be okay.
But I have to get this out of the way first…Katie McGarry writes awful parents. Like these people are the absolute worst! Beth’s dad was…well what he did and said was unforgivable but Beth’s mom. I have never had such a strong urge to slap someone upside the head and shake them. Toxic parent-kid relationships. And honestly, Ryan’s family isn’t much better. The need to constantly portray perfection…it’s okay Katie, just tap into my childhood and gut me, really it’s fine.
*Deep breath* Aside from toxic parents, Beth and Ryan were adorable. I loved how Ryan was tender and persistent. Beth found herself, and it may not be the version she wants but her perseverance was inspiring. She finally quit running and let love and feelings in. Ryan’s friends, Chris, Logan, and Lacy all added much needed comic relief from the heavy plot lines.
I think my only pet peeve in this series, is that Katie McGarry seems to be writing a similar story in each…in which the characters are intimate and then everything goes to sh*t before a happily ever after is delivered. Now I wouldn’t normally nit-pick this but I mean the characters have sex and then the next chapter some horrid revelation and downfall start. I mean, at least let them have a little happy time!
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
