Review: Crash into You by Katie McGarry

Crash into You (Pushing the Limits #3) by Katie McGarry

From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane
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

Publishes in US: November 26th 2013 by Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA contemp
Source: Harlequin Teen via Netgalley
Series? Yes. Pushing the Limits #3 (click for info)
Take Me On (Pushing the Limits, #4)  publishes May 20th 2014 by Harlequin TEEN

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    Wow. Hot, emotional and powerful. That is my immediate reaction to Crash Into You. 

     Of course we know of Isaiah, but we really get to know him and what makes him tick in this book. He is more layered and deep than I suspected. We go into his world of cars, debt, streetracing and the impossible of falling in love as well as him facing some other unexpected characters. 

    We also get to meet Rachel, who is a perfect blend of fragile and strong. She has to put on a face to keep her mom and family happy as well as harboring a huge secret. Well, several, actually, Isaiah being one, and something to do with her health being another. She finds a place and meets a few people where she can actually be herself, not the Rachel that she has pretended to be for the world. So it is hard for me when she has to go back under the veil of secrecy when she is at home. But her relationship with her brothers is layered, and I know there is love there, but also it has a lot of protectiveness, a dash of selfishness because they just want her to put on the face to make their mom happy. And the twin connection with her and Ethan was neat to have, although I do think that there could have been more there. Watching Rachel grow, learn to stand up for herself and actually explore her passions was a great journey to watch as her character learned and blossomed under the love and support of Isaiah. 

    But could secrets and one guy that seems bent on their failure ruin it all? Well, we find out in this one, and as you know, Katie McGarry doesn't make it easy on them. They see their share of problems, obstacles and even danger that threatens to tear them apart and test their young love. 

    I loved the scenes where they were falling for each other. They were intense and they have a chemistry that left me with a shiver and a smile. 

    As far as side characters, we get to see Noah, Echo, Beth and Ryan but it is from a new vantage point. We really get to see the hurt that Isaiah feels from Beth, and I kept hoping they could patch it up and just be friends because of all their past, they should have each other's backs and glad to see the other happy. We also get to know Logan better, and I am hoping that one day he might get his own story. We know that Rachel's brother West is next, but the person whose book I REALLY want to see and will beg for is the side character of Abby. She is so tough and I want to know what has led her to the choices she is making. I know that I already love her because of how she befriends Rachel, but I want more from her. 

     I liked where it ended their story, with that promise of hope and expectations yet to meet, but with the main plots of this story wrapped up.  

Bottom Line: Intense look at a character I already loved and more that worked their way into my heart.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Have you ever driven over 90?