Book Review: “Take Me On” by Katie McGarry

Title: Take Me On

Author: Katie McGarry

Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary Romance

Release Date: June 6th, 2014

Published by: Mira Ink

AUTHOR SITE | TWITTER | GOODREADS

I received this from Mira Ink in exchange for an honest review. As always, my reviews are fair and non-bias.

Acclaimed author Katie McGarry (Pushing The Limits, Dare You To, Crash Into You) returns with a new story about love, loss and what winning really means…

Champion kickboxer Haley swore she’d never set foot in the ring again after one tragic night. But then the guy she can’t stop thinking about accepts a mixed martial arts fight in her honor. Suddenly, Haley has to train West Young. All attitude, West is everything Haley promised herself she’d stay away from. Yet he won’t last five seconds in the ring without her help.

West is keeping a big secret from Haley. About who he really is. But helping him fighting for her is a shot at redemption. Especially since it’ s his fault her family is falling apart. He can’t change the past, but maybe he can change Haley’s future.

Hayley and West have agreed to keep their relationship strictly in the ring. But as an unexpected bond forms between them and attraction mocks their best intentions, they’ll face their darkest fears and discover love is worth fighting for.

Having been a HUGE Katie McGarry fan since Pushing The Limits, I was over-the-moon happy to get to read Take Me On (thank you, Mira Ink!). I was looking forward to seeing how West was introduced into the story being Rachel’s brother from the last in the series; Crash Into You – a.k.a. the most amazing book ever. And Haley sounded like a tough girl, but I could see there was going to a soft side to her.

Haley – fierce yet loyal – was just trying to live her life, although going through hell, still trying not to draw attention to herself. After quitting being a champion kickboxer, she didn’t look back once. Not until she met West, that is. He’s everything she swore she would never get involved in again, but she felt like she owed him something after standing up for her from her idiot ex-boyfriend in a fight that starts off a ricochet of events that would change both of their lives forever.

Violent fights and standoffs lead to West getting challenged to a fight – and Haley gets wrapped into training him. He’s all-talk and she had her work cut out for her, but the more they melt into each other’s lives and secrets, the closer they become and the harder it becomes to ignore their strong connection. After swearing not to step in the ring again, Haley finds it hard at first, but once she does, she feels the adrenaline that she used to feel and how doing what she loved made her feel. But with her ex-boyfriend stepping out from every shadow and West creeping into her thoughts, Haley’s life is far from perfect, not to mention how her family is falling apart with every passing day.

West’s life is far from perfect, also. His sister; Rachel, was in an accident that he knows he had a fault in. The guilt weighs heavy on him and a dark shadow appears over his life like a rain cloud. But when Haley comes into his life and starts to change him for the better, he starts to realize that she helped not only his fighting but the ways of everything, with every new unveiling of his life leading to a shock unveiling in his family secrets.

Take Me On challenges Crash Into You for having two of my favourite characters. If you loved Rachel and Isaiah, then you’ll fall for Haley and West over and over. They were each unique in the way Katie wrote their back-story and the pain and heartbreak behind every secret kept from each other. I turned pages as fast as I could, sinking into the story with every new chapter. Katie McGarry writes what we all want in a YA novel; a bittersweet story, a complex relationship and addictive characters.

Overall, Take Me On is a five-star addition to the Pushing The Limits series that no fan will want to miss. A seriously compelling story with characters to pull on your heartstrings. I’m SO excited for Noah and Echo to return for their second story…and I’m dying to read a story about Abby! Bring on that book and I’ll be first in line.