REVIEW: Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits #3)

Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits #3), by Katie McGarry
To Be Published November 26, 2013
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Format: e-galley, obtained from NetGalley
Genre:  Young Adult/Mature YA Contemporary Romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating:  5 STARS

(From Goodreads) 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.

Best Katie McGarry Book YET. I am so unbelievably in love with Isaiah, I can't even tell you. And Rachel was so awesome... I know I'm gushing and fangirling, and I almost never do that, but this book seriously deserves it. Between the romance, the friendships, and all the hot cars and car talk, there was so much to love here.

Isaiah, still stinging from the rejection of the one girl he allowed himself to love, is in a pickle. He needs money to make his rent, so, he decides to race in an illegal street race. He did not plan to race against a timid, but beautiful girl who very obviously doesn't belong there. A near miss with the cops, and an unexpected fallout from the raided race, forges a friendship between Isaiah and Rachel, which then becomes something much more than friendship. Now, circumstances beyond their control will force both of them to confront the people who have been ruling their lives in order for them to even have a chance at being together. 

My heart broke for Isaiah in Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2). He's such a good guy. He has an incredible sense of loyalty and dedication to his friends. He's been dealt a crap hand in life, and yet, he ducks his head and keeps going, trying to make himself better. I get why Beth rejected him. But, gosh - I just really wanted something to go right for this guy for a change. His homelife sucks, the girl he loves rejected him and he's constantly having to prove to people that the tats and piercings do not mean that he's a thug. In Crash Into You, my heart was STILL breaking for Isaiah. Then, in walks Rachel.

In the span of one week, I've done the two things the system taught me never to do: felt too much and dreamed of a different life. Wandering thoughts and feelings lead to an impending wreck. 

Rachel appears to have everything. Except, she's not living the life she wants. Rachel is the replacement part to her family. The family's eldest daughter died when she was a teen, and her mother had Rachel to fill the void. Except Rachel is not her sister. She loves cars and speed and hates shopping and mani pedis. She has severe panic attacks when she's stressed out or made the center of attention. This poor girl is a ghost in her own life.

But, holy crap on a cracker - when Isaiah and Rachel get together, it was like a thing of beauty. They were exactly what each other needed. Rachel needed someone who understood her love of cars and accepted that about her. She needed someone to protect her and help her feel safe. And she needed someone to help her stand up for herself and bring that inner fierceness out. Isaiah needed someone to shelter him from all the storms that buffered him every day. He needed someone to see through his rough exterior to the good man underneath it. He needed someone to believe in him and to love him unconditionally. Isaiah and Rachel needed each other.

Katie - mad props to you. There were so many awesome boys in this one book, it was easy to go a little cross-eyed from all the man candy. There was, of course, Isaiah. Noah and Ryan from books one and two are also very much present. Then, there's Logan, Ryan's BFF; Zach, a boy Isaiah knows from school; and Rachel's FOUR hot brothers - Gavin, Jake, West and Ethan. (Take Me On, the fourth book in the series, will focus on West, the token man-whore of the group) I hope Katie has many more books planned for this series, because I need to know more about all of them.

There are other girls present too, of course. There's definitely some time spent with Echo, who seemed to be going through her own troubles. There's also Beth who spends the book trying to smooth things over with Isaiah. And we are introduced to Abby, Isaiah's other female friend who gets tight very quickly with Rachel. What an odd couple those two made. I absolutely loved it.

The romance between Isaiah and Rachel was so painfully sweet. This is NOT a new adult book. There are no super sexy scenes between these two. The sexy times between them are fueled more by emotions than by hormones. Which almost makes it better. The words these two had for each other made me melt.

I can't give you the world, Rachel. But, I'll give you all I got. 

So, I guess the only question left at this point is, what are you doing still reading this when you should be out there pre-ordering Crash Into You? Go! Shoo! Do it now, because seriously, you need to read this book.