ARC REVIEW – TAKE ME ON by Katie McGarry

Posted June 2, 2014 by Emma in Blog / 10 Comments

Take Me On (Pushing the Limits #4)
by Katie McGarry
Publisher – MIRAInk
Release Date – 27th May/June 6th 2014
Buy – Amazon | Book Depository

Champion kickboxer Haley swore she’d never set foot in the ring again after one tragic night. But then the guy she can’t stop thinking about accepts a mixed martial arts fight in her honour. Suddenly, Haley has to train West Young. All attitude, West is everything Haley promised herself she’d stay away from. Yet he won’t last five seconds in the ring without her help.

West is keeping a big secret from Haley. About who he really is. But helping him fighting for her is a shot at redemption. Especially since it’s his fault her family is falling apart. He can’t change the past, but maybe he can change Haley’s future.

Hayley and West have agreed to keep their relationship strictly in the ring. But as an unexpected bond forms between them and attraction mocks their best intentions, they’ll face their darkest fears and discover love is worth fighting for.

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FROM Crash Into You

Like all Katie McGarry lovers of her written work, we all feel in love with Noah and Echo with their first adventures in the Pushing the Limits series. But for me I fell in love with Ryan and Beth’s story and now West and Hayley. I was beyond ecstatic to receive this for review, and I didn’t take me very long to devour it… One and half days to be exact! Take Me On take on a whole new approach to the series. Whilst others have stumbled into to each other gazing dreamily from a distance, this one begins when one nearly runs over the other, whilst escaping their greatest fears. It’s the fears or reality that brought them together. Katie McGarry brings about a new chapter of characters to her series.


Hayley and West both share a rawness of emotion and that’s where kick/boxing really defines the both of them within the ring. Hayley is homeless, completely isolated by the thought of providing shelter and money for her whole family, but she sacrificed her life, and her passion to do so. Now when reality combines with sport she freaks and she can’t deal with the thought of going back to where she felt human, normal again. Hayley is a fighter by nature and by her name, I really enjoyed seeing a different side of one of Katie’s characters, like Ryan from Dare You To she has passion, deliverance, reserved yet on the inside she is completely dying inside and she needs a goal, a prodigy to train, a West!

Unlike West, he is a head-on, emotional and irrational character. He tends to live in the fast lane, but that is a poor pun on the reality of Rachel and her story within this novel. It took me a while to really understand at what point we were within the back story and Rachel’s condition. But West’s emotional state was exactly like taking a crash towards his heart, he believes that it was his fault for the state of Rachel. West’s character was a little disjointed in places but when he collided into Hayley, he started to change for the better. After taking shelter within the roof of his car from his father kicked him out, he saw the reality to love, life and reason and those more pertinent to Hayley’s life. A fight for their lives, also tests the strength and skill to fight for each other’s love.

“Our worlds didn’t just collide; they merged as a paint spilled on the sidewalk and it’s like neither one of is will be the right color again.”

Whilst the main characters are brilliant themselves, a sense of a family was very much present within the novel on both sides of the story. The guilt that destroyed West’s family and those around him comes crashing towards them. How certain family members aren’t who they really are and the twisted love that they all have for one another. Hayley’s is very much the same, her grandfather who gave up of her after she turned in her belt and passion, her unlce who has rule and reason over her to keep her family off social services and shelters, and her father who has lost all hope of being the man who he once was. Failure is the key to Katie’s novels but strength, fight and passion brings them together.

Katie McGarry creates kick-ass of a novel! An addicting storyline creating each blow to be a page-turner! She will never fail to amaze me and the depth to her characters and plotlines. I’m devoted to her series and I can’t wait for the next installment to her series, I’m hopefully thinking Abby will be the featured character.

Rating – 5

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10 responses to “ARC REVIEW – TAKE ME ON by Katie McGarry”

  1. Keertana

    I'm glad you enjoyed this one as much as you did! I haven't had much luck, lately, with McGarry's work, hence the reason I am skeptical of picking this one up. It just isn't my cup of tea lately, but I am looking forward to McGarry's novella on Noah and Echo. Glad this worked for you — lovely review!

    • admin

      Oh I'm sorry this hasn't been on your radar lately. I really hope you get to read this one soon. It is one of my favourites of the series, I'm looking forward to Noah's and Echo's novella too. It will be interesting to see how they have progressed since book 1. Thanks Keertana.

  2. Pili

    I still haven't started this series and I'm sure if I'm ready for them emotionally, but I feel like I really must start reading them all!
    Thanks for the great review!

    • admin

      Its always good to wait til they are all out. But Katie McGarry is one of my favourite authors so it just goes out of the window. I hope you get too read this series soon Pili. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

  3. Henrietta @ Leisure Reads

    Thanks to your review, I now have a much better idea about West. Hayley definitely sounds interesting… I've always loved the families portrayed by McGarry, and I'm so happy that this one is a page-turner. 😀

    • admin

      I'm glad your get a better picture of West, my review does no justice in comparison to reading the book so I hope you get to it soon. Families have been a major part of the series and they are presented different in each book which is great! Thanks you, Henrietta! 🙂

  4. Aman

    I wouldn't expect anything less from a Katie McGarry book! This one sounds like the most emotional one in the series so far, with the family drama from both parties and the mysterious tragedy. It looks like tissues would be needed, especially for Hayley's story. I'm so glad that you loved this book, I can't wait to start it now! Great review Emma 🙂

    • admin

      Me neither. She is a legend among the YA contemporary writers. I think yes, it was rather emotional but I think Dare You To will always be the most emotional one as I connected more with the characters more. I really hope you enjoy this one Aman! Thank you! 🙂