Walk the Edge
Thunder Road #2
By:
Katie McGarry
Published:
March 29, 2016
Publisher:
Harlequin Teen
Add to
Goodreads
Source:
eARC from publisher in exchange for a honest review
GR's Summary:
One moment of recklessness will change their worldsThunder Road #2
By:
Katie McGarry
Published:
March 29, 2016
Publisher:
Harlequin Teen
Add to
Goodreads
Source:
eARC from publisher in exchange for a honest review
GR's Summary:
Smart. Responsible. That's seventeen-year-old Breanna's role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully's line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas "Razor" Turner into her life.
Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don't belong. But when he learns she's being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it's time to step outside the rules.
And so they make a pact: he'll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she'll help him seek answers to the mystery that's haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they're both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they're going from here.
My Thoughts:
Katie McGarry's Thunder Road Series has all of the aspects in it that I love about reading young adult contemporary romance! It has the loyal fraternity and close-knit bonds of brotherhood; as well as high energy, and action-packed plot lines, that only the best MC club romances have. These stories make you feel as if you are experiencing the enthralling and passionate discovery of first love right alongside the main characters; as well as the painful, but necessary growth that happens in the space between being a young adult, and maturing as you learn to embrace and love who you are, while you become an adult.
Walk the Line is the story of Thomas "Razor" Turner and Breanna "Bre" Miller. Razor and Breanna have a lot in common. They are both struggling at home, and have a hard time fitting in. Razor has sworn loyalty to the Reign of Terror, but the death of his mother haunts him. A detective visits him, and tells him that his mother's death was not an accident. Due to the fact that Razor's father and the Reign of Terror are not giving him the answers he seeks, he will have to investigate her death on his own. He learns from the detective that there were two coded messages that might clue him in to what happened the night his mother passed away.
Breanna is the "perfect" child. She is highly intelligent, gets excellent grades, and helps with the burden that her parents have thrust upon her, as she takes care of her younger brothers and sister. However, Bre doesn't feel understood. She is the weird smart girl at school, and her older siblings give her a hard time at home. Bre's parents don't have any time for her, because they are both busy working long hours, and attending to the children that they think need them more.
When Bre gets stranded at school one evening, she talks to Razor for a little while. She is intimidated by him, and believes all of the horrible rumors that she has heard about both him and the MC. Bre and Razor share an attraction, and end up seeing each other at a bar, where they talk, and flirt. Unfortunately, one of Bre's classmates takes a picture of Bre and Razor together. The picture doesn't look innocent despite the fact that nothing happened between the two of them. He blackmails Bre with the photo and threatens to post it on the internet if she doesn't do his English essays for him.
Bre confides in Razor, and he promises to protect her, and try to find a solution to her problem. He also asks Bre to help solve the coded messages about his mother, and she agrees. As these two get to know one another, they fall in love. However, can a relationship between them survive, when they come from two very different worlds?
Walk the Edge was a fast-paced read, that had a lot of depth and layers to it. I loved that it was realistic about the challenges of being a teenager, as well as the fact that no matter what backgound you come from, life experiences can make you feel similar afflictive emotions, such as being the the odd man out, or feeling, alienated, helpless, unimportant, etc. Ms. McGarry tackled themes of prejudice and stereotypes, and how important it is to look beyond the surface of who a person is. She also touched on the fact that life isn't just black or white, but consists of many shades of gray. As kids, we believe in absolutes, but as adults, we learn that life isn't that simple.
Ms. McGarry is a brilliant author. I love how her novels are so entertaining, but also chock-full of substance, life lessons, and pearls of wisdom. The friendship, romance, and unconditional acceptance that Razor and Bre shared was very sweet, heart-warming, passionate, and emotional. The bonds between family members was also a central topic in this story as Razor and his father worked on their relationship, and Bre interacted with her family members.
I am beyond ready for the charming Chevy, and broken-hearted Violet to get their story. These two belong with each other, and it has been obvious since the first book in the series that they have unresolved feelings. I have a need for "happily ever afters," and hope that Violet will be able to let go of the anger and blame that she has placed on Chevy, and the Reign of Terror for her father's death.
My Rating:
Walk the Edge was a great addition to the Thunder Road Series, and a book I highly recommend. I love all of the main characters in this series, and how they cross-over into each additional book. I give, Walk the Edge, by Katie McGarry, 4.5 Palpable Emotions, Team Work, Passionate Blossoming Love Filled Stars!
Book Teasers:
Book Excerpt:
“I’m here about your mother.” The asshole knows he has me when my eyes snap to his.
“She’s dead.” Like the other times I say the words, a part of me dies along with her.
This guy has green eyes and they soften like he’s apologetic. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve received some new evidence that may help us discover what caused her death.”
Anger curls within my muscles and my jaw twitches. This overwhelming sense of insanity is what I fight daily. For years, I’ve heard the whispers from the gossips in town, felt the stares of the kids in class, and I’ve sensed the pity of the men in the Reign of Terror I claim as brothers. It’s all accumulated to a black, hissing doubt in my soul.
Suicide.
It’s what everyone in town says happened. It’s in every hushed conversation people have the moment I turn my back. It’s not just from the people I couldn’t give two shits about, but the people who I consider family.
I shove away those thoughts and focus on what my father and the club have told me—what I have chosen to believe. “My mother’s death was an accident.”
He’s shaking his head and I’m fresh out of patience. I’m not doing this. Not with him. Not with anyone. “I’m not interested.”
I push off the railing and I did out the keys to my motorcycle as I bound down the steps. The detective’s behind me. He has a slow steady stride and it irritates me that he follows across the yard and doesn’t stop coming as I swing my leg over my bike.
“What if I told you I don’t think it was an accident,” he says.
Odds are it wasn’t. Odds are every whispered taunt in my direction is true. That my father and the club drove Mom crazy, and I wasn’t enough of a reason for her to choose life.
To drown him out, I start the engine. This guy must be as suicidal as people say Mom was because he eases in front of my bike assuming I won’t run him down.
“Thomas,” he says.
I twist the handle to rev the engine in warning. He raises his chin like he’s finally pissed and his eyes narrow on me. “Razor.”
I let the bike idle. If he’s going to respect me by using my road name, I’ll respect him for a few seconds. “Leave me the fuck alone.”
Damn if the man doesn’t possess balls the size of Montana. He steps closer to me and drops a bomb. “I have reason to believe your mom was murdered.”
About Katie McGarry:
Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan. 
Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewer's Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.
Giveaway:
Cheesecake Nutters. Thanks for the giveaway!
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