ARC Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Dare You To by Katie McGarry
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Blurb: 

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....

An e-ARC has been provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: From the moment I read the excerpt of Dare You To, I was super-super-super excited to know more about Beth's life and believe me when I say, I had MAJOR expectations form this book as Pushing The Limits ranked up to one of my favourite books of all time.
I'm glad to say Dare You To didn't disappoint though I did hope I could like Beth, if not more then just as much as I'd liked Echo.

In Pushing The Limits, there were a few hints of what Beth was going through and from there only it was evident that Beth's life was pretty screwed-up. I enjoyed reading her POV in this book from the start but somewhere in the middle, she became a little annoying. I mean, her reasons for being so closed-off were totally justified and I tried to be really open about her situation but I still wish she'd given Scott a break. He was a really sweet guy and I loved the way he treated Beth as if she was his daughter.
The way she said "blah blah blah" when she was mad was really funny, though. Here's a snippet-

'I lift my hand in the air and flap it like a puppet's mouth. "Blah, blah, blah Elisabeth. I'll only be gone a couple of months. Blah, blah, blah Elisabeth. I'll make enough money to get us both out of Groveton. Blah, blah, blah Elisabeth. You'll never grow up like me. Blah, blah, blah Elisabeth. I'll make sure you have some fucking food to eat!"'

Now coming to the romance part. Is it really that surprising when I say that I feel Ryan had always been better than Isaiah for Beth? Don't get me wrong. In PTL, even i felt that Isaiah would be good for Beth but after knowing her story, it was like she was just drowning in this deep well along with Isaiah without them even realizing it. She needed someone, someone form the outside to pull her out of there and Ryan was perfect for it. He actually got through the thick walls Beth had made around herself and helped her get out of them instead of getting inside the walls and doing nothing to pull her out like Isaiah.

There was no suspense as to who Beth'll choose in the end because from the beginning it had been Ryan only as it was his POV alternating with Beth's. I didn't feel to bad for Isaiah because I knew Katie McGarry has some awesome-blossom story ready for him and his time is gonna come soon too. :)

Dare You To was an intriguing read no doubt and I felt myself connecting to Beth and Ryan as the story bloomed further BUT my heart didn't pace like it did with PTL but that's okay 'cause it was close. VERY close.

Overall, I loved the writing-style, the story and the execution. Katie McGarry did an amazing job with Dare You To and handled all the characters very well. This story made me laugh and cry several times and just this fact can tell how much I liked it. Dare You To is one book that is definitely worth reading at least once!

Here are some of the quotes I loved-

“I like you. I. Like. You. I'll admit you're annoying. Sometimes you agitate me to the brink of insanity, but you can throw it back at me like no one else. When you laugh, I want to laugh. When you smile, I want to smile. Hell, I want to be the one to make you smile.”

“You're a lot like that bird in the barn. You're so scared that you're going to be caged in forever you can't see the way out. You smack yourself against the wall again and again and again. The door is open, Beth. Stop running in circles and walk out.”

“Screw what Mom and Dad think. Screw the rest of the town. Screw perfection. This girl is mine.”

“I hold the bottle out into the rain and watch as the steady flow slowly fills it. When there is enough, enough that Beth can clearly see, I close the bottle and hand it to her.

She raises a skeptical eyebrow, but accepts the bottle.

"It's our rain Beth."

Her head barely shakes to show her confusion while I rub the back of my neck and search for my courage. "I told you I loved you in this rain and when you doubt my words, I want you to look at this bottle.”

“Jocks usually aren't smart. Their muscles feast on their brains.”