Review: Dare You To

Title: Dare You To
Author: Katie McGarry
Source: Netgalley
Genre: NA/Contemporary Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewing Song: On the Way Home CSN&Young
Blurb:

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."
"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....
"I dare you..."
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....

Goodreads /Amazon** / Author

Lori's Thoughts:
I really, really wanted to love this book. A lot. But alas I didn't.
This is Beth's story. It's not a pretty one, it's full of mistakes, hardships and self-inflicted emotional trauma. Beth's life was never great, and when she is forced to live with her Uncle, it goes from bad to worse (at least in Beth's mind). She is taken away from her best friends, and is too far away to care for (and by care for I really mean enable) her mother. In the hick town that her Uncle takes her to she meets superstar jock Ryan. Ryan has his own problems. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Wait. Did I just fall asleep? Just kidding, don't get your panties in a bunch. It's a NA/YA(I really have no idea where to put this) book for heaven sakes, everyone has "problems". I just wish that sometimes the problems weren't all the same for every story.


Ok so why did this book go from a potential 5 stars to 3 stars? Well, because it's amazingly readable. I obviously couldn't put it down. McGarry is such a tease. The tension was so thick that I needed it to be resolved. 


I also really loved that Beth is more like a guy than Ryan. And finally my big problem. Ryan was so vanilla it was boring. Yes, he's swoon worthy, but he had no real edge. He was so virgin-y and sweet that I thought I might gag. He was just missing a spark for me. I can't narrow it down. Maybe because he tried to have a sexy swagger and had nothing to back it up with? If you're going to try to drip sex appeal then, GOSHDARNIT OWN IT! 


As for the writing, McGarry is talented. I have said that. She drew me in and kept me up all night. The book was just not as much my cup o' tea as I wanted it to be.
I found it, I pinpointed what stopped me from going gaga over this book!! It just felt like the author held her characters back. I didn't feel like they were fully developed. I needed Beth to be a bit more Beth. Seriously, the girl does almost a complete 180 in this book. And I needed Ryan to have a little bit more balls. 


Overall, another good book from McGarry. I think I enjoyed Pushing the Limits much more. I can't wait for Isaiah's story! As my nephew would say BOOMASHAKA. Isaiah will give me some edge bad boy-ness. 
Recommended for YA/NA readers. 
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book. 

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