Walk the Edge

My love for Katie McGarry and her novels is no secret. I've been obsessed with her writing since Pushing The Limits and I fell even more head over heels in love with her after reading the first Thunder Road book, Nowhere But Here. I have been eagerly awaiting Walk The Edge, and by eagerly I mean salivating and chomping at the bit. Walk The Edge brings us right back into the crazy world of the Reign of Terror Motorcycle Club, and boy am I glad to be back.Much like with the first book, Walk The Edge focuses on two people coming together and realizing the meaning of family, acceptance, and love. Unlike the first book, though, both of our main characters look at the Reign of Terror with skepticism. While Razor is a member, he also knows the club is keeping secrets - and that doesn't sit well with him. Not at all. Breanna, on the other hand, is pretty much petrified of the club because she grew up in Snowflake and has heard all those nasty rumors that seem to circulate anything and everything that is different. I honestly cannot tell you if I liked this book more than the first, or visa versa. Both are self contained - you technically don't have to read Nowhere But Here to understand Walk The Edge, but I do recommend it. On their own, each book is wonderful, swoon-worthy, and action packed - though, in Walk The Edge we get to see more of the action firsthand. I am in love with both. I adore Oz and Emily and Razor and Breanna, I couldn't pick between the two if you asked.Breanna is a lot different from Emily, and I appreciate that. One of the reasons I love Katie McGarry's writing so damn much is that none of her characters ever feel the same. You would think with a multitude of contemporary novels she would slip into a certain mold and stay there, but nope! Every character is so different yet so real and so easy to relate to even if you have nothing in common. Breanna is just like that. She is freakishly smart, her brain works on a different frequency - that's what she tells herself. She loves puzzles, she loves solving codes and riddles and once she starts she cannot stop or rest until it is solved - it would drive her mad. She would kick ass at Jeopardy because she remembers weird, random-ass facts that no one would ever think of learning - and I think it's awesome. Breanna is also cautious, brilliant, thoughtful, and caring. She is patient, she is kind, and she learns from her mistakes as well as admits when she is wrong. One of my favorite part of Breanna's story line was seeing her shift from a smart girl terrified of the Reign of Terror because of rumors to someone who learned to respect their world and even begin to love them like family. My other favorite part of her arc, besides seeing her learn to stand up for herself, was watching her with her siblings. I have to say, at the beginning of the novel I absolutely despised Breanna's family. They treated her like nothing more than working trash and had a total disregard for what she wanted and what she needed. It was heartbreaking, and even more so, in my eyes it was unforgivable the way they treated her. Especially when she came to them needing their help and they shut her out, and then they punished her for the very thing she was going to ask for help on later. Assholes, the lot of them. By the end, though, there was a moment with Elise - the youngest, that sort of made my heart melt (and Breanna's too).Now for Razor, oh my goodness gracious. I do have to say, I think I actually like him more than Oz. I don't know what it is. Maybe it was his unending faith in Breanna, maybe it was his sheer protectiveness and stubbornness. Maybe it was that edge in him that was missing in Oz. Razor is unpredictable when angry, but when with Breanna he was like a giant teddy bear. It was the cutest thing, I swear. From that first moment when he came up and fixed her phone, then tricked her into saying he could be her body guard, I was lost. Razor isn't perfect, let me tell you. He has his moments, but his angsty tantrums are so understandable it was hard to fault him for it. I love Razor, I really, really do love Razor. I mean, he offered to help Breanna - without involving the club - which could cost him everything. He could have been kicked out and who knows what else, but he did it really without a second thought. So yea, Razor is my cuddly grizzly bear and you can stuff it. Also, I think it was Razor's character arc that really made this book as fantastic as it was. Talk about knight in shining armor and all that jazz. Just, yummy.Overall, Walk The Edge has definitely earned a place on my shelf of fame. It was perfect. It was the perfect balance between loyalty and self discovery. It was a carefully crafted masterpiece full of twists and turns and moments that will turn you into a sobbing puddle of fangirl - or boy. It is a must read, it is a book that will last generations and appeal to a variation of audiences. Walk The Edge is the type of book that you will struggle to put down. It is the type of book that will suck you in completely and you won't even know you are lost until it is too late. Katie McGarry is the queen of contemporary and she keeps on feeding my addiction. We're going to need a Thunder Road Support Group.

Diesmal ist Razor von den Reign of Terror unsere Hauptfigur. Durch einen Zufall lernt er Breanna kennen und beide schließen einen Handel. Er wird ihr Beschützer wenn sie ihm dabei hilft den Tod seiner Mutter aufzuklären. Das Schicksal nimmt seinen Lauf und bald schon werden sie zu freunden. Doch schon bald empfinden sie mehr als nur Freundschaft füreinander und beide müssen eine wichtige Entscheidung treffen.Razor und Breanna sind beide so niedlich, sie passen perfekt zusammen. Jeder für sich ist nur eine Hälfte, aber zusammen sind sie etwas ganzes. Die Familie von Razor kennen wir schon aus Band 1 und jetzt lernen wir Breannas Familie kennen. Ihre Familie ist absolut grausam, sie ist das 5 Kind von 9. Ihre Eltern sind kaum zu Hause also muss sie die Jüngsten erziehen.Ihre älteren Geschwister hassen sie, weil sie denken das sie zu perfekt ist und sie merken gar nicht wie sehr sie Breanna damit verletzten und wie schwer sie es im Leben hat. Clara ist die schlimmste von allen, sie ist ein richtiges Miststück, bloß weil Breanna nicht so eine Versagerin ist wie sie. Ihr Bruder Liam ist zwar nicht ganz so schlimm, aber ich möchte ihm trotzdem eine Ohrfeige geben oder mehrere.Fazit: Die Handlung war sehr spannend, voller Action und hatte eine gut Portion Romantik. Der Schreibstil war wieder mal sagenhaft, wie man es von Katie McGarry gewohnt ist. Es kamen wieder viele bekannte Gesichter vor und es kamen auch ein paar neue hinzu. Ich weiß aber leider nicht ob ich das nächste Buch der Reihe auch lesen werde, denn es dreht sich um Chevy und Violet. Ich hasse Violet, sie tut Chevy immer wieder weh und er hat jemand besseres verdient!!

I was provided an advance copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect the contents of my review.Wow. It's been a while since I've read a Katie McGarry book, and I love falling back into her world. Katie's stories are intense, real, visceral. They're lovely and sweet, but they also never shy away from the ugly parts of life that are occasionally glossed over in books. And yet...they're also full of love and hope and butterflies in your stomach and first kisses and puppy dogs (no, really; there's a dog in Walk the Edge).I admit I was a little nervous going into Walk the Edge. Razor is depicted as something akin, to a psychopath in Nowhere But Here, but that's not at all who he is. Razor actually is a boy who is unpredictable, distrustful, and closed off, but also kind, loyal, and yes, he just wants to be loved. I fully admit the motorcycle club way of life is one that is strange to me so I empathize with Razor's inability to trust his father and other leaders of the club when they have been lying to him about the circumstances of his mother's death. To me, brotherhood means trust, but it also means honesty, and in both Nowhere But Here and Walk the Edge the club has flirted with disaster by not being honest with Emily and now Razor. Razor is a good guy, one who always has his people's backs (Bre, Violet, Oz, Chevy, Stone), and it's kind of disappointing to see the men Razor looks up to require him to walk outside his comfort zone before they walk outside theirs.This is one way Razor and Bre are perfect for each other. I adore Breanna. Her voice is sweet, but she's also tough, smart, and caring. I love how she takes care of her siblings, although I hate that she has to. It breaks my heart the way Clara treats her because my sister would never be that way to me. I hate how isolated and invisible Breanna feels even in her own family. I hate how she tells her mom she needs to talk because teens are always told to talk to their parents or a trusted adult, but her mom doesn't listen and then leaves her to play house. Dear adults, if you're reading this review: if a teen ever tells you they need to talk, LISTEN. That right there is what makes teens stop talking to you and get into trouble. But my favorite line of the book, mentioned two or three times, is when Breanna mentions how "the boy everyone sees, but nobody knows is with the girl who everybidy knows but nobody sees" (ARC, pages 229 & 393). I love that they fit together, sometimes exactly alike, sometimes complete opposites.I also really like the cyber-bullying plot, and I feel like even more than the overarching rival gang plot of the series, this arc was a major strength of the book. I didn't have Facebook in high school. No Twitter. No Snapchat. No Instagram. Nobody had a Youtube channel. No tumblr. I had Myspace for a couple months my senior year, but it was still relatively quiet. It wasn't yet widely known as a way to torment people. I never had to deal with the online pressure teens face today, but thousands of teens today do.Breanna's and Violet's struggle with blackmail and cyber-bullying and sexism is incredibly relevant and important. Violet's loss of a scholarship, her opportunity to leave Snowflake, is an example of bulls*** real-world consequences of VICTIMS of bullying. Another character attempts suicide for fear of those consequences. Katie never pulls punches and here is the modern world all laid out: "once it's out there, it never goes away" (ARC, page 150).Teens, be smart what you put out there. Parents and teachers and librarians, read this book. Give it to your teens. Give it to boys. Talk to your teens. Actually, talk to your kids. Teach them early. There is so much to learn, so much to discuss from a book like Walk the Edge. I didn't have to deal with this kind of stuff, but it makes me endlessly happy that there are books like this one that will help teen readers. Definitely this is a title I will be recommending to everyone.

I am still working to collect my feels from the burning pile on the floor. This book destroyed them … again. Katie McGarry has a talent like I have not read and for that, I thank her.This is the story of Razor and Breanna. Razor is the unstable one of the Reign of Terror group, known for being a walking powder keg. Razor has a huge chip on his shoulder, blaming his father for his mother’s death, which has reeked emotional havoc on him. In the midst of dealing with his issues, he befriends Breanna. Breanna is the super smart, incredibly shy brainiac at school that is constantly picked on. Breanna is number 5 of 9 children and is constantly being forgot about by her entire family. That is how her path crosses with Razor. Breanna’s parents forget to pick her up after a parent/teacher conference one night and Razor is working on his broken down bike in front of the school. Against his better judgement, Razor offers to stay with Breanna until someone picks him up because he is concerned for her safety. Razor has spotted Breanna in school and is incredibly interested in how her brain works and everything else about her. Sure, Breanna has heard the horror stories that surround anyone belonging to the Terror, but she finds that she is drawn to Razor not just for his looks, but for the fact that she feels noticed by him. Things between Razor and Breanna develop into more than a mutual friendship and Razor defies the club by asking Breanna to help him find out what really happened to his mom a decade ago. Razor is so sure the club is hiding secrets from him, keeping the truth from him, that he is willing to throw everything away to find out the truth.When I first started this book, I was a little hesitant because it gives the story of Breanna being blackmailed by another classmate, and it almost felt like it was more juvenile than the first book, if that makes sense. The first book in this series, Nowhere But Here, dealt with more serious issues, like parents lying to their children about their biological dad and about what their past really was. Breanna’s story was that of one being blackmailed into writing papers for a school jock. He was going to blackmail with a photo of Breanna and Razor in a truly innocent moment, but the perception was something more. I felt bad for her, I really did but I kept wondering how this would tie in to a motorcycle club and Razor with his issues. I am happy to say that it all comes together in the end with a beautiful bow. It makes me incredibly anxious for the next book in 2017!If you follow me on Twitter (which I hope you do!) then you cannot doubt how much I adore this book. It is full of action, mystery, character development, and HOTTNESS. While I read this story, I could not stop picturing Razor as Tom Hardy and that made the story that much more delicious to read.Excuse me while I fan myself.Okay, I’m a little better now.One thing I really like about this book is that she allows her characters to grow and develop as the story moves along. That is refreshing to read and I hope she continues this. Razor learned that he needed to let people in, to trust them, in order to help himself heal. Breanna had to learn that being herself is more than enough, and that she does not have to carry everyone’s burdens. This is a quick read kind of book, even though it is over 400 pages. I could not stop thinking about this book when I was not reading it. I simply had to know what happened.You know I cannot say this enough – you want this book. You need this book. You want to read the steamy scenes between Razor and Breanna.

I thought I loved Nowhere But Here but I didn’t plan on Walk the Edge. Not one bit.The Reign of Terror MC is back with Razor, Thomas Turner’s story. Razor is a high school senior that’s been a Terror member for a few months now. He’s already 18 years old, and is as fickle and unpredictable as they come.Breanna Miller is one of nine. That’s nine, NINE, children. Smack dab in the middle, she’s neither here nor there. A brilliantly smart young woman, Breanna’s mind won’t shut off and she needs something to keep it occupied at all times so that she won’t lose it. She’s also the only one of her siblings with an ounce of responsibility, which means everything falls to her – babysitting, meal preparations and being a surrogate mother. That’s because her parents are too busy with work and her other brothers and sisters.When Breanna and Razor meet, their attraction is pretty much instantaneous. Razor is fascinated with Breanna’s delicate nature, her mind and her quiet beauty. Breanna is immediately drawn to Razor’s angelic good looks, him being the complete opposite of what rumors made him (and the MC) to be, and they strike up a secret friendship.Razor is getting Breanna’s help in cracking a cypher that might help him find out how his mother died, information that his father and the MC has been keeping secret from him and the rest of the town. They have had their reasons, of course, but it has put a strain on Razor’s relationship with his dad and a major dent in his trust in the MC.Their friendship escalates when they’re teamed up in AP Physics and Breanna is threatened and blackmailed by Kyle, her classmate. Breanna and Razor fall in love and must keep their romance a secret from her family and school – she can’t risk her family forbidding her from seeing Razor, and they both can’t risk Kyle making his move and ruining her future.There are other things playing into the plot of this novel and they all contribute beautifully to the progression of the story, to the drama and the constant need to turn the page and figure out what’s going to happen next.When we reach the peak of the story, Breanna’s life is in danger and Razor is just coming to terms with his mother’s death.I think what I love most about McGarry’s writing is that she’s not giving a full closure with a rosy future. It’s hardcore real and makes sense. It fits the characters and the plot and I don’t know – just makes sense.Walk the Edge is a wild ride of first love, intense and passionate bond, smart plot and a bullet wound. It’s figuring out the past and the future in one go, and it’s love.