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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
I was super excited to hear that Take Me On was going to be the fourth book in the ‘Pushing the Limits’ series. I’ve loved Katie McGarry’s writing style every since I first started the series, and I absolutely could not wait to read West and Haley’s story. Now that I’ve finished the book, I can honestly say that if you’ve enjoyed the series so far, you’re definitely going to love this wonderful addition!
Haley is a titled champion kickboxer who vowed to never step in the ring again after a tragic night that changed her world forever. But when the guy she saves late one cold night accepts a fight in her honor, she once again finds herself back in the ring. Training West shouldn’t be too hard, he’s got raw talent and he knows how to use it, but he’s definitely not someone that Haley wants to get involved with. When a bond starts to form between the two, Haley and West must overcome their fears and family issues, and discover that love is a risk worth taking.
Haley is a really awesome character. Life has not been very kind to her and her family, but they struggle through and make the best of what they have to deal with. She’s definitely not shrinking violet, but is instead a trained fighter, who can even take down an experience fighter when she has to. But some things in the past have changed her, and she has had a hard time overcoming the fears that haunt her. Even so, she’s still a strong character that loves her family and will do whatever she has to do to keep them together. I love her determination and strength; it was really admirable considering all that she has gone through.
When we first met West in Crash Into You, I honestly didn’t think much of him. As I read Take Me On and get to know him better and the reasons why he did some of the things that he did in the past, things start making more sense regarding him. I love his stubbornness and his protectiveness over Haley. I love that while he was considered a ‘playboy’, he was completely faithful to her. I always love that in a bad boy. These two characters are so well written and so complex, you can’t help but to love them.
The book is told through both West and Haley’s point of view. I really love books that are written this way, as we get to climb inside both characters heads and see exactly what’s going on with them and how they feel. West and Haley were made for each other. Both were stubborn and determined. They made such a great pair.
I fully expected to take my time and read this book slowly to savor each little bit of the story, and at 544 pages, I totally could have dragged it out to be a long and enjoyable read. But once I started reading the story, I absolutely couldn’t stop. I read the bulk of the book in just a day’s time. I can’t help it, I was totally hooked! The storyline for the book was really touching. The struggles that both characters had to face made them such stronger people, and I really felt bad for both of their situations. But they are fighters, both in the physical and emotional sense, and I think that together they could overcome just about anything.
I also want to mention that I love that in McGarry always includes includes some characters from her previous books. In this book we get to see Rachel, Isaiah and, of course, Abbey, who I absolutely love and who I hope gets her own story in the future. It’s great to see these characters that I love once again. Isaiah is one of my most favorite bad boys ever. I would read just about anything with him in it. *wink*
Overall; If you haven’t read this series before, I definitely recommend that you do so. Take Me On is an excellent addition to the Pushing the Limit’s series. I can’t wait to see if there are more stories in this series in the future. I am totally hoping that there will be!
Happy Reading!
**Check out this review at TheReaderBee.com!
I loved this book. It was awesome and the connection between West and Hayley was beautiful. It was a huge step up from Crash into You. I didn't really care for that book. So I went in with low expectations. Loved the fact that Katie McGarry used issues that many people face for this story and it felt almost real. Thank you so much Katie for this book it was so amazing. Looking forward to to another book (hopefully) and her new series.
Amazing, Breathtaking, Haunted, Cannot put it down. These are the words I would use to describe this book. Katie McGarry has outdone herself with this one. I enjoyed others in Pushing the limits series, but Take me on blew me away.
Haley’s life in spiraling and she is trying to hold everyone in her family together, after her father loses his job they soon become homeless and move in with her uncle who is controlling and emotionally abusive. Haley’s one chance is to get into college so she can leave and help support her family. After a nasty and violent break up with her boyfriend, Haley quits kickboxing much to her families disappointment and promises her self she will never fight again.
West’s life is also coming apart, expelled for fighting at school defending his sister who is in ICU after a car accident, West blames himself, although they have plenty of money and live in a mansion, West feels responsible for his sister’s accident and acts out angrily and his father kicks him out on the street.
West and Haley’s lives collide one night when Haley is on her way back from the pharmacy with her fathers medication when she is jumped and robbed by a bunch of guys, West tries to save her by jumping in so she can escape, but Haley brakes her promise to herself when she goes back to kick serious butt to save West.
To protect her family Haley agrees to train West to fight against her ex boyfriends family.
Take me on, is full of emotion the characters are realistic and beautifully written, the evolution of the characters from the start to the finish is wonderful and realistic, even though they are from two different worlds the romance is definitely swoon worthy and has you on the edge of your seat.
I highly recommend this book to anyone, It can be read as a standalone or with the rest of the series, easily one of my favourite books this year.
Haley’s life in spiraling and she is trying to hold everyone in her family together, after her father loses his job they soon become homeless and move in with her uncle who is controlling and emotionally abusive. Haley’s one chance is to get into college so she can leave and help support her family. After a nasty and violent break up with her boyfriend, Haley quits kickboxing much to her families disappointment and promises her self she will never fight again.
West’s life is also coming apart, expelled for fighting at school defending his sister who is in ICU after a car accident, West blames himself, although they have plenty of money and live in a mansion, West feels responsible for his sister’s accident and acts out angrily and his father kicks him out on the street.
West and Haley’s lives collide one night when Haley is on her way back from the pharmacy with her fathers medication when she is jumped and robbed by a bunch of guys, West tries to save her by jumping in so she can escape, but Haley brakes her promise to herself when she goes back to kick serious butt to save West.
To protect her family Haley agrees to train West to fight against her ex boyfriends family.
Take me on, is full of emotion the characters are realistic and beautifully written, the evolution of the characters from the start to the finish is wonderful and realistic, even though they are from two different worlds the romance is definitely swoon worthy and has you on the edge of your seat.
I highly recommend this book to anyone, It can be read as a standalone or with the rest of the series, easily one of my favourite books this year.
Meh. This is one of those it's-not-you-it's-me sort of reviews. There will be quite a few who love this book. It has all of those elements that made the first three books in this series enjoyable, but for me this one just fell completely flat. Totally and completely flat. Why?
Oh my gosh ... the angst!!! So much teenage angst! Holy cow! I was so sick of listening to West and Haley complaining about their rotten lives. I'm not exactly sure what it was about this story that set me off. There was plenty of angst in the previous books of this series. All the characters had messed up lives in one way or another. But for some reason in this book it just put me on edge. It was so horribly irritating. Maybe this was all me, and maybe I am just done reading YA books with these sorts of story lines. I don't know. All I know is that Haley and West's constant narration of their misfortunes took up entirely too much of the book. I think that the problem may have been that Katie McGarry took way too much time having the characters knock me over the head explaining how horrible life was. I would have preferred a shorter book where I as a reader got the chance to make that conclusion for myself. Too many times I just wanted to yell at these two to stop crying about their problems and DO something about them. TALK to each other. TALK to SOMEBODY. Erg!
But that wasn't all. The amount of testosterone floating around this story was stifling. Good grief! Every single time two males got within ten feet of one another it was as if they needed to pee a ring around the area marking their territory. Every single time any man came near another man fists were in danger of flying. Every. Single. Time. Maybe I am completely naive about these things, but are there really young men who are so entirely driven to fight every single moment of the day out there roaming the halls of the schools? Yes. I know there are guys (and girls) who are fighters ... but every single encounter of their lives? Really? Whether these testosterone amped guys exist or not ... it got so incredibly old reading about these neanderthals constantly threatening each other. I kept wanting to break out the guitar and sing a good rendition of "Give Peace a Chance" in every scene. Too much anger. Too much posturing. Too much.
There were some parts of the book where I felt like the characters were maybe talking a bit too metaphorically for someone in this age group. There were things that probably sounded great in an author's head as it was put on the page, but in a real life situation would come out sounding totally hokey. West, in particular, had a few spots in the book where he started waxing on poetically, and I just had to roll me eyes because the words did not come across as authentic to his voice.
Still ... the writing in this is good ... not as good as the first three books, but good. I think that Katie McGarry has probably overdone the troubled youth theme in these stories, but that's a theme that just keeps on giving, so I'm sure this won't be the last group of troubled youth to show up in a McGarry novel. If you are a reader who is not tired of this theme then I think that you will still find some things to love in these stories. They are stories about kids in bad circumstances finding a way to overcome the hardships life has handed to them. This book was not for me at all, but big fans of the series will probably still find things to love about it. I can only give this one two stars ... it was okay.
Oh my gosh ... the angst!!! So much teenage angst! Holy cow! I was so sick of listening to West and Haley complaining about their rotten lives. I'm not exactly sure what it was about this story that set me off. There was plenty of angst in the previous books of this series. All the characters had messed up lives in one way or another. But for some reason in this book it just put me on edge. It was so horribly irritating. Maybe this was all me, and maybe I am just done reading YA books with these sorts of story lines. I don't know. All I know is that Haley and West's constant narration of their misfortunes took up entirely too much of the book. I think that the problem may have been that Katie McGarry took way too much time having the characters knock me over the head explaining how horrible life was. I would have preferred a shorter book where I as a reader got the chance to make that conclusion for myself. Too many times I just wanted to yell at these two to stop crying about their problems and DO something about them. TALK to each other. TALK to SOMEBODY. Erg!
But that wasn't all. The amount of testosterone floating around this story was stifling. Good grief! Every single time two males got within ten feet of one another it was as if they needed to pee a ring around the area marking their territory. Every single time any man came near another man fists were in danger of flying. Every. Single. Time. Maybe I am completely naive about these things, but are there really young men who are so entirely driven to fight every single moment of the day out there roaming the halls of the schools? Yes. I know there are guys (and girls) who are fighters ... but every single encounter of their lives? Really? Whether these testosterone amped guys exist or not ... it got so incredibly old reading about these neanderthals constantly threatening each other. I kept wanting to break out the guitar and sing a good rendition of "Give Peace a Chance" in every scene. Too much anger. Too much posturing. Too much.
There were some parts of the book where I felt like the characters were maybe talking a bit too metaphorically for someone in this age group. There were things that probably sounded great in an author's head as it was put on the page, but in a real life situation would come out sounding totally hokey. West, in particular, had a few spots in the book where he started waxing on poetically, and I just had to roll me eyes because the words did not come across as authentic to his voice.
Still ... the writing in this is good ... not as good as the first three books, but good. I think that Katie McGarry has probably overdone the troubled youth theme in these stories, but that's a theme that just keeps on giving, so I'm sure this won't be the last group of troubled youth to show up in a McGarry novel. If you are a reader who is not tired of this theme then I think that you will still find some things to love in these stories. They are stories about kids in bad circumstances finding a way to overcome the hardships life has handed to them. This book was not for me at all, but big fans of the series will probably still find things to love about it. I can only give this one two stars ... it was okay.
Loved this book! Why do all good books have to have an ending?! Why??! I believe this book was the best one out of the series. Want more!
I don't think it's possible for Katie McGarry to write characters that don't have amazing chemistry. I devoured every book in the Pushing the Limits series and Take Me On was no different.
Hayley and West come from two very different backgrounds with one thing in common: They like to fight. Difference being that West fights because he can't control his temper and Hayley, once a championed fighter who holds a national title, hasn't fought in six months.
After a random chance encounter, and Hayley subsequently saving West from two thugs, West slowly enters himself into Hayley's life, despite her protests. Hayley and West's relationship differed from the others of the series because where our past couples initially started conversing for some sort of mutual gain, West more or less forces himself into Hayley's life.
Hayley is a definite bad ass, but refuses help from other with an innate need to handle things on her own terms while protecting those she loves and cares about. West on the other hand, has a desire to protect. He blames himself for Rachel's current hospitalization and feels himself a failure and outcast in the eyes of his family. But in his eyes, protecting Hayley is his chance for redemption.
These two characters have great chemistry and, despite her reluctance to train him herself, I love that they bond over these training sessions. Side note, I wouldn't mind Hayley training me to fight - girl is hardcore. And in their relationship, I really believe it is West who helps Hayley out more by allowing her to face her past and present demons and to deal with them instead of running. He helps her become that fighter she once was and allows her to gain the confidence to stand strong once more.
Katie never fails to make me grin like an idiot with her books. The boys are always swoon worthy, the girls are never damsels in distress, the romances are always spot on, and the plots engaging and thought out. I know she has one more book for this series coming out, Breaking the Rules, but nothing beyond that planned for this series. And while I'm going to be sad to say goodbye to these characters, I have to thank Katie for renewing my love of the contemporary/realistic fiction genre.
Hayley and West come from two very different backgrounds with one thing in common: They like to fight. Difference being that West fights because he can't control his temper and Hayley, once a championed fighter who holds a national title, hasn't fought in six months.
After a random chance encounter, and Hayley subsequently saving West from two thugs, West slowly enters himself into Hayley's life, despite her protests. Hayley and West's relationship differed from the others of the series because where our past couples initially started conversing for some sort of mutual gain, West more or less forces himself into Hayley's life.
Hayley is a definite bad ass, but refuses help from other with an innate need to handle things on her own terms while protecting those she loves and cares about. West on the other hand, has a desire to protect. He blames himself for Rachel's current hospitalization and feels himself a failure and outcast in the eyes of his family. But in his eyes, protecting Hayley is his chance for redemption.
These two characters have great chemistry and, despite her reluctance to train him herself, I love that they bond over these training sessions. Side note, I wouldn't mind Hayley training me to fight - girl is hardcore. And in their relationship, I really believe it is West who helps Hayley out more by allowing her to face her past and present demons and to deal with them instead of running. He helps her become that fighter she once was and allows her to gain the confidence to stand strong once more.
Katie never fails to make me grin like an idiot with her books. The boys are always swoon worthy, the girls are never damsels in distress, the romances are always spot on, and the plots engaging and thought out. I know she has one more book for this series coming out, Breaking the Rules, but nothing beyond that planned for this series. And while I'm going to be sad to say goodbye to these characters, I have to thank Katie for renewing my love of the contemporary/realistic fiction genre.
I liked this one but not as much as the rest. I felt like West grew a lot but I didn't connect with Haley at all. I did like hearing from Rachel and Abby. I hope she gets a story. I even wouldn't mind hearing from Haley's cousin or brother in the future.
Once again, Katie McGarry does not let down. I think my favorite boys of hers are now tied between Isaiah and West!
What really annoyed me about this book was the fact that she wouldn't tell anybody that she was assaulted, or anything. I know she felt the need to protect her family, but she was just being stupid by doing that. Horrible decisions left and right from her. I wanted to slap her and tell her to get a hold of herself.
Another thing, the main male character made me so mad! He's such a big brat! He blamed himself for something he wasn't there for and he didn't even ask for his sister's money. Nobody should just take something that doesn't belong to them.
The book and story were still great, though.
Another thing, the main male character made me so mad! He's such a big brat! He blamed himself for something he wasn't there for and he didn't even ask for his sister's money. Nobody should just take something that doesn't belong to them.
The book and story were still great, though.