Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry Review + Excerpt + Giveaway

As a huge fan of Katie McGarry and her work, I am thrilled to be a part of her blog tour for WALK THE EDGE, the second book in the Thunder Road series. So read about Walk the Edge, see my review, enjoy an excerpt, and enter the giveaway. And most importantly, pick up a copy on March 29 (or pre-order it now!) and experience Razor and Breanna's story for yourself.

One moment...

That’s all it takes to change your life.

What happens when your entire future is on the line because of one reckless moment? This is what Breanna Miller and Thomas “Razor” Turner have to face in Katie McGarry’s WALK THE EDGE. Blackmail, family secrets, future plans on the verge of collapsing, two people who aren’t supposed to be together fall in love, and the power of social media in defining who you are when you’re not even sure who that person is yet…Join the Club and and immerse yourself in the world of the Reign of Terror. Pick up WALK THE EDGE today!

One moment of recklessness will change their worlds

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 cyberbully'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.

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MY REVIEW

My introduction to the Thunder Road series in Nowhere But Here left me wanting more and that's what I got in Walk the Edge. Razor was a secondary character in the first book and even then it was apparent he was troubled. Getting his back story went a long way in understanding Razor's pain over his mother's apparent suicide and his thinly veiled distrust of the Reign of Terror - the men that are supposed to be his family. When a detective shows up asking questions about the circumstances of his mother's death, Razor reaches a breaking point and is unstoppable in his need for the truth.

In a family of nine children, Breanna is fifth in line and completely lost in the shuffle. She feels invisible to her family (except when they're taking advantage of her), invisible at school, and is left feeling that no one knows who she really is. A random encounter with Razor and the threat of a compromising, although innocent, photo being posted online has Breanna placing her trust in the most unlikely of places - a member of the Reign of Terror, the motorcycle club she's always been warned about.

I really loved the evolution of Razor and Breanna's story. Breanna started off fearful of Razor, believing every rumor she'd ever heard. But Razor proved himself over and over again, showing a protectiveness, a sense of honor, and a willingness to do the right thing that made my heart swell. They connected slowly and found in each other something they were both lacking - someone who saw them for who they really were. All of a sudden they had someone who was on their side, who looked beyond the rumors and the reputations, and they could let their walls down and be themselves. But it came at a price, because fitting into each other's worlds was seemingly impossible. 

The members of the Terror and the inner workings (and secrets) of the club are explored further in Walk the Edge and I continue to be fascinated with them. Their brotherhood is stronger than most families and trust among the members is absolute. It's this trust that Razor struggles with and it's heartbreaking to watch as he fights for answers and demands the truth while feeling betrayed by his own family.

Family is a big issue for Breanna as well, and hers had me seeing red! Her parents had nine children and then seemed to leave them to fend for themselves or depended on the older children to basically parent the younger ones. Their hands-off approach and blind eye to Breanna's needs infuriated me. And when they finally decided to wake up and act like parents, it felt misplaced and like it was too little, too late. I was hopeful that I would eventually warm to them, but that never came. I was resentful on Breanna's behalf. 

In Walk the Edge, Katie McGarry has continued her tradition of phenomenal storytelling. Realistic characters, families (whether biological or chosen) and stories that always capture my heart. Katie McGarry is my go-to for contemporary YA fiction and Walk the Edge is a perfect example of why.

Enjoy This Excerpt From

WALK THE EDGE

I know that the capital of Bolivia is Sucre. I know that the average distance from the earth to the moon is 238,900 miles. I also know that blue whales can go six months without eating. Random, bizarre stuff. That’s what my head is full of. Nothing that will boost my math scores on the ACT or secure me a date to prom. Nothing that will save me and my best friend from this being our last day on the planet.

While my brain is obviously wired differently, there are certain common sense rules all girls in town comprehend. It’s not knowledge that has to be taught, like when I was six and my oldest brother spent weeks teaching me to tie my shoes or how at four my older sister spared a few minutes from her overly important life to show me how to spell my name.

In fact, sitting here on the top step to the entrance of Snowflake High watching this potential disaster unfold, I search my memory for the first person who warned me to steer clear of the Reign of Terror Motorcycle Club.

There was no pamphlet handed out during health class. No sex conversation like the one my mom had with me in Kindergarten because I referred to a certain male body part by the same name as a round toy. Stupid brothers teaching me their stupid slang.

But when it pertains to the threat that is the Reign of Terror MC, it’s not learned, it’s known. Like how an infant understands how to suck in a breath at the moment of birth or how a newborn foal wobbles to his legs. It’s instinctual. It’s ingrained. It’s fact.

“Do you think his motorcycle will work this time?” Addison asks.

“Hope so,” I breathe out, too terrified to speak at a normal level in fear of drawing the scrutiny of the men wearing black leather vests who circle the broke-down bike. Reign of Terror arches over the top of the black vest, in the middle is a half skull with fire blazing out of the eye sockets and drops of fire rain around it. It’s ominous and I shiver.

Addison and I sit huddled close. Legs touching. Shoulders bumped into the other. We’d probably hold hands if we didn’t have our welcome back to school information folders gripped tightly to our chests. Because we can’t spawn eyes in the back of our head, we lean against the large pillar of the overhang so no one can sneak up on us from behind.

It’s edging toward nine in the evening but the August sun hasn’t completely set. Darkness, though, has claimed most of the sky. Temperatures during the afternoon hit over a hundred and I swear the concrete stairs and pillar absorbed every ounce of today’s sunshine and is not transferring the heat onto my body.

Sweat rolls down my back and I shift to peel my thighs off the step. Why I thought it was a fantastic idea to wear the jean skirt, I have no idea.

I take that back. I do have a clue for my clothing choice. Tonight is the first time my entire grade was together in one room since the end of last year. My goal for the year may seem simple to some, but to me, it sometimes feels impossible. I’d like to be seen, to be known as something more than freakishly smart Breanna Miller at least once before I leave this town. I’d like to somehow find the courage to be on the outside who I am on the inside.

An annoying sixth sense informs me that I’m about to make a huge impression—on the evening news: two friends on the verge of starting their senior year vanish without a trace. Because that’s how motorcycle clubs would handle this—they’ll kidnap us and then hide our bodies after they’re finished with whatever ritual act they’ll use to perform.

My knee begins to bounce. Mom and Dad left after my failed attempt to convince them to let me attend High Grove Academy and they promised to return in time for pickup.

The senior welcome session ended at eight and the parking lot cleared out by eight twenty. The straggling parents arrived by eight thirty and that left Addison and me alone with blond-haired biker boy and his dilapidated machine.

He called his buddies around the same time I tried the various members of my family for the fiftieth time. His gang showed in a chrome procession in less than ten minutes. I’m still waiting to hear from anyone I’m related to. 

Pre-Order WALK THE EDGE, Register your Pre-Order and receive an exclusive Echo and Noah short story and a chance to be in the next Thunder Road novel!  Register at https://offerpop.com/campaign/796530.  

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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.

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