Posts Tagged: ARC

I received this book for free from Harlequin Teen in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Isaiah has been a favorite character of mine since book 1. He’s got a badass look but the kindest heart and most gentle soul. Crash Into You, written in his POV, made me adore him even more. We get to see what’s going on in that hard-to-crack head of his. Having had a difficult childhood in the foster care system, he’s developed a rough edge, but to give a big eff you to stereotypes he’s positively one of the most generous and loyal person I know (yes I have met him in real life – be jealous! >.<). He doesn't always get the best hands to play with, though, which makes it all the more harder to watch - the more he tries to stay out of trouble, the more it seems to find him. In turn, you get this urgent need to know how everything turns out Right. This. Minute! This book will see a lot of 3AMs! It also brings to light the heartbreaking, but real issue of kids aging out of the foster care system. This is something teenagers face at an age where they have yet to figure themselves out, let alone the harsh world they suddenly find themselves in - most times alone. Standing by Isaiah is the delicate, but radiant car obsessed Rachel. Rachel is a private school, straight-A, good girl type, at least until she decides to drag race herself into trouble. Her innocent nature could have easily been overwhelmingly annoying, but instead she gives the book so much heart and perfectly balances out Isaiah's tough shell. She does come with her own secrets, which she hides from not only Isaiah but her whole family. While it's undoubtedly a sad situation she was born into, I appreciated the lack of an extreme worst-case-scenario that seems oh-so-popular in contemporary fiction - particularly in New Adult. Overall I found Rachel likeable in an effortless sort of way, plus she comes with a handful of brothers to add to an already fantastic cast. As usual, from protagonists to the smallest of roles, every single character is molded with a personality and life of their own. I especially loved Rachel's brothers who are all distinctly quirky and older brother like. Though what stood out to me was how bigger of a role the characters from the previous books had in this one compared to its predecessor. We get longer and more significant glimpses at Noah and Echo, both being fairly important in this story, actually. Beth also makes a few appearances that leads to some developments on that front as well. On the subject of Beth, I'm happy that she and Isaiah didn't end up together. It seemed like the obvious choice from book 1, but after reading Beth's and Isaiah's individual stories it's clear that a romantic relationship between these two would have been a disaster. They need someone to balance their bold personalities out; they would have likely crashed and burned. In contrast, the romance between Isaiah and Rachel is full of sparks and raging chemistry. Not having been a fan of the hot and cold nature of Ryan and Beth's relationship, it was with relief that I found this one drama free in comparison. Don't get me wrong, they do have their share of bumps in the road, and although some of it could have been avoided had they communicated better, it was much easier to emotionally immerse myself in this relationship. One thing about Eric, the "villain" of this story, is that I didn't completely feel the fear that he was rubbing off on everybody. Sure he has "friends with bats" but this is a 19year old kid that people treat like a mob boss! This was obviously not even enough to steer my rating, but I wouldn't have minded more show of the power he wields. After all is said and done, what may be the best part of the book is finding out it's not over!

5 Hot Espressos

Find my review of Pushing the Limits (Book 1), here!

Find my review of Dare You To (Book 2), here!