Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both. 

Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member—is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down. 

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

I really like Ms McGarry Pushing the Limits series and I think they are some of the best realistic YA/NA stories out there. She creates truly memorable young people fighting for their place in life, figuring out who they are and what they want to be which I greatly enjoy. 

This book is similar, yet different. It's book 1 in her new YA/NA series, Thunder Road, and the blurb describes it as a mixture of Sons of Anarchy and Westside Story. Now, I have to admit that SOA is one of my favourite TV series of all times though or may be because of that, most biker romances I've read don;t really work well for me.

I was curious to see a biker's club from a teenager's perspective (OZ's family is part of the club) and I have to say that this book didn't live up to my expectations, maybe they were too high, but still.

The story is told from dual POV, Emily and Oz, it's fast paced with some elements of suspense, but tame overall as far as Motorcycle clubs go. The storyline itself  is quite complex and initially it was difficult to keep track of who is who and why things were happening the way they were.

The focus was on the bikers' world, the club business. It was all well developed and detailed but got repetitive and boring since it was all everybody was talking/doing. It read like cliche after cliche, just witht he insistence of their club and its business being legal. Things were rather tame, this being a YA/NA story the focus definitely was not on sex and violence (they were implied but not graphically presented).

Most of the characters really confused me and I didn't understand their actions or motivation. The heroine, Emily was not very likable. I understand the difficult situation she found herself in, but she came off naive and immature, further more everybody treated her like a small child all the time. The main conflict was based on this big secret everybody knew (or at least parts of it) kept from her. I really struggled to understand why everybody was so insistent on not telling her anything and I couldn't the logic behind their decisions. Why not just tell her? It's not something that can stay hidden forever. And Emily is 17 years old, your daughter, granddaughter, friend, lover, someone you care about. After all honesty is the basic element in any relationship, at least I think so.

I liked the hero, Oz, better than Emily, but still he didn't completely win me over.  He was too focused on the becoming member of Reign of Terror, at least initially he was ready to do anything to get this, including hurt Emily. I liked his character development and felt there was real depth and growth. Emily was supposed to overcome her fear but she remained detached and somewhat bland for me till the end.

I was frustrated with the way the parents acted in this story - both Emily's biological family and her adoptive father, even Oz's parents seemed rather dysfunctional.

The romance was sweet, teenage, first-time of everything love and I liked it. I enjoyed the other teenagers (Oz's friends), Rachel was a particular favourite of mine, together with Razor and Chevy and I'm curious about their stories.

Overall, not a bad NA biker story, though I expected more.

Purchase links: Amazon * Kobo * BAM * B&N * iBooks * IndieBound

From Echo’s POV

There’s nothing like the rush of being chased by the great Noah Hutchins…

I hold my breath and strain to listen past the late-day birds singing in the branches above. The fine hair on the back of my neck rises as if Noah has appeared behind me and deliciously blown over my skin. I close my eyes. He’s so near I can imagine his body wrapped around mine.

Noah is wily and good at seeking, but I’m crafty and better at hiding. I edge to the side again and in painfully slow movements look behind me and…

“Gotcha.”

I scream. Loudly. My heart ramming through my chest. Birds’ wings beat together as dozens of them take to the sky. The moment I spot the laughter in Noah’s chocolate-brown eyes, my scream quickly morphs into a fit of giggles. He reaches for me, but I stumble back from the solid arm attempting to sneak around my back.

“You’re not getting away this time.” Noah’s deep voice vibrates down to my soul.

Noah’s arm slides one way and in a maneuver so slick it seems choreographed, I slip to the side, once again barely dodging his grasp.

“You’re too slow,” I taunt as I gain traction and sprint for the field of untamed wildflowers. The white-and-yellow daisies brush against my legs as I push forward. My skirt swishes against my thighs, and I love how the smooth material grazes my skin. Clean air fills my lungs, and my blood beats manically in my veins. Never in my life have I felt so alive. So high that I’m soaring.

“I’m letting you win,” he calls out.

“You are not.” I slow and pivot to watch as he struts behind me. The tall grass and flowers reach his jean-covered legs. For once, his dark hair doesn’t hide his eyes, and I love the spark of naughtiness in them. “You’re sore that you’re losing.”

He flashes the type of grin that encourages tingles. “You’re becoming cocky, Echo.”

I laugh, and the sound causes his smile to widen. Even though he’s slow in his approach, his wide gait closes the distance between us faster than I’d like. I steadily walk backward, unable to tear my eyes off the fluid way he moves. “Now, now. Out of the two of us, we both know you own that title.”

“Own it, wear it, I am it. I’ve never claimed differently.”

Nope, he never has. Noah is exactly who I see. A few months away from Kentucky, away from home, the rough foster kid is evolving into a man.

“Hey, Echo.” Noah gestures with his chin that he has something important to say, and I stall, watching as his gaze falls to my midriff. “Your tank rode up.”

I peer down and in a heartbeat realize my mistake when grass rustles and Noah grabs my waist. In a dizzying circle, my arms wrap around his neck and somehow we both end up on the ground. Me on top. Noah on the bottom. As always, Noah becomes my safe place to land.

With a wink, Noah rolls us, reversing our positions, but I don’t complain. I dream of his body over me. The heavy sensation is familiar and addictive. Noah skims his nose along the side of my neck, and the pleasing tickle causes me to suck in air.

“I won,” he whispers against my skin.

I find myself in a waking dream as I savor his caresses. “Did not.”

Noah presses a kiss to that sensitive spot behind my ear. A stream of warmth floods my body. Longing for more, I twist to expose my neck.

“Did, too.” His hands roam, sliding to my side. I melt and tense at the same time. We’re in the wide open, but I can’t stop the way my body molds to his. My fingers bunch the material of his shirt as I play with the idea of removing it. We’re far from the walking trail, far from the campsite. How many people, besides Noah and me, allow themselves to wander to the point of being lost?

“You said you could find me in five minutes,” I say softly. “That was longer than five minutes.”

“Echo,” he says as he raises his head. His fingers begin this little dance. Moving up then slowly down. Each down is slightly lower and promises very wicked things.

“Yes?”

“I’ve got you beneath me and not a person in sight. That’s winning.”

A peacefulness unfurls within me. I have to agree. That is winning.

Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Synopsis

*** *** *** 

Goodreads Blurb

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.

My Review

This is definitely my favourtie book of this series so far. I loved Noah and Echo's story and liked Beth and Ryan's but Rachel and Isaiah totally blew me away. I generally like one the main character more than the other and I have to admit it usually is the male lead, but in this case I loved them both equally.

Isaiah has been a great character ever since he was first introduced in book 1. Things were really difficult for him in book 2 with Beth leaving and ultimately rejecting him, so I was very much eager to see him happy in book 3.

Ms McGarry has kept the realistic writing style of this series creating believable and complex characters involved in intensive relationships. Nothing about Isaiah and Rachel is simple, one-dimensional. On the surface they are complete opposites but as they story unfolds and their relationship grows they turn out to have much more things in common (besides their crazy love of fast retro cars) than anyone can expect.

Their story is told in alternating POVs thus giving us insights in the minds of both Isaiah and Rachel. He is rough around the edges, forced by the circumstances to be tough and seemingly uncaring. She is gentle, straight-laced girl who is expected to be the perfect daughter and sister. For both of them this is just a facade. Deep down they are just teenager on bring of adulthood - insecure, full of dreams and hopes and fears and secrets they are unwilling to share with anyone. 

It is a perfect romance coupled with realistic treatment of serious issues - foster care, family obligations/expectations, survival on your own on the streets, fighting for your own future.

I liked how the relationship between Isaiah and Rachel developed. It had its ups and downs, yet there was no unnecessary drama. Similar to Noah and 'his siren' Echo, Isaiah repeated refers to Rachel as his angel. It may seem a bit cheesy but for me it was endearing and just gave this dreamy, fantasy element I so like in romance. What bothered me a bit was Isaiah' over-protectiveness and possessiveness of Rachel. Being responsible beyond his age is understandable given his situation, yet I felt it was taken a bit over the top. He acted like real badass alpha male in the making and even though I like strong men, I felt like underestimated and even smouldered Rachel at times.

Rachel was also an amazing character. Her family situation seemed perfect on the outside but in reality was even more messed up than Isaiah's. The author exploits a fairly common theme in YA  fiction - really bad parenting causing terrible suffering to the children but he does it without taking it to any extremes, thus making it all the more powerful and convincing.

The story is very captivating, giving you all the thrills and anxieties of the first (true) love and at the same time keeping you grounded in the reality of imperfect/broken families and life on the streets. The issue of aging out of the foster care system was treated in depth and with the corresponding seriousness.

The author manages to make all the character realistic and to keep their stories authentic. Noah and Echo are featured prominently in this book and their friendship plays a rather important role in Isaiah's life. We see some of Beth as well, thankfully working out things with Isaiah (I really hated the way she treated him in book 2). Logan, Ryan's friend, is also quite a lot and I even thought that the next book will be about him and Abbey, a very special friend of Isaiah's (hint, hint, Ms McGarry). 

Well, as it turned out, there will be a next book in the series and it will focus on West (one of Rachel's four brothers). It is coming out in May 2014 and I can't wait to read it.

Crash into You - Katie McGarry

Goodreads Blurb

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....