Take Me on (Pushing the Limits, #4)

by Katie McGarry

Abandoning kickboxing after a tragedy in the ring, champion fighter Haley is forced to train an attractive mixed martial arts student who secretly fights on Haley's behalf to redeem his troubled past.

Abandoning kickboxing after a tragedy in the ring, champion fighter Haley trains a cute mixed martial arts student who secretly fights to redeem his troubled past. The plot contains profanity. The AR quiz does not include bonus novella CROSSING THE LINE.

• ISBN10: 1306577349
• ISBN13: 9781306577342
• Publish Date: 1 January 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 12 May 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Harlequin Teen
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[pagingserenity]

Take Me On is about West, Rachel’s brother, and Haley, a girl from the other side of town. What’s interesting about Take Me On is that I think it’s the first time in the series where at least on the main characters wasn’t mentioned in the first book. They were both almost completely new characters (except for the little bit of West that we saw in Crash into You).

While I really emphasized with West and Haley, I had a bit of trouble connecting with them. I had to fight the urge to facepalm multiple times because of their actions. I enjoyed the plot but thought it was a bit too similar to the one in Crash into You. I really liked the ending though!

[KitsuneBae]

I love Kasie West but this one left me disappointed. T_T

[ellieroth]

También en: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

¿Este es el final de la serie Pushing the Limits? Goodreads no menciona ningún próximo libro de la serie y cuando le preguntan a Katie solo dice que “ojalá” puede volver a escribir un nuevo libro dentro de la serie. Y, vamos, tiene de donde, con los 3453645757 hermanos de Rachel más uno de los más encantadores personajes secundarios que leí en mucho tiempo, Abby, tiene de dónde sacar libro. Katie, Harlequin Teen, por favor, no me dejen en el aire, hay mucho ahí que quiero saber.

Hubo una cosa muy curiosa con este libro, todo iba bien, me gustaban los personajes, la historia es entretenida, Haley es mega ultra badass, pero luego… Viene la “Revelación” de unos personajes que me daban igual pero cambió completamente toda mis sentimientos respecto al libro.

Eso es lo interesante con los libros de Katie McGarry, uno espera leer tan solo la historia cliché, y te lo da en 80% del libro pero es ese 20% que puede hacerte amar más el libro, o en mi caso, hacerme sentir incómoda. Obviamente no puedo decir qué fue lo que pasó porque es una de las revelaciones principales del libro pero si alguien ya lo leyó me gustaría mucho que dijera algo en los comentarios (¡Pero cuidado con el spoiler a los demás, eh!)

Centrándome ahora sí en el libro es que me ha encantado como POR FÍN tenemos una escritora que no romantiza la violencia en una pareja. Sí, sé que me gusta el drama y la angustia con los personajes (sobre todo masculinos, que es básicamente lo común) que llegan a encontrar redención gracias y por la protagonista, luego de que ella sufra y sufra por parte de él. Pero en los últimos meses, veo más y más, como algo “ligero” se volvió un poco aterrador entre algunas lectoras (algunas bastante jóvenes) hablando y amando sobre personajes que ni siquiera yo, con mi amor por la angustia, aceptaría y del cuál huiría con orden de restricción incluida. Gracias Katie por recordarnos que el chico malo no siempre cambia y no siempre tiene un corazón de oro (No todos pueden ser Noah o Isaiah, lamentablemente).

Si hay un nuevo libro (y no me refiero a uno intermedio ¬¬) haciendo matemáticas con los libros de Katie, asumo que tendría como protagonista un Bad Boy sexy, así que no nos sintamos desesperadas, nosotras oh amantes de la redención.

Otro de los puntos que me gustó del libro es el respeto que tiene West por Haley, demostrando que no solo es una cara bonita sino también cerebro ya que conoce, respeta y admira (al menos la mayoría del tiempo :v) que Haley podría derrotarlo a él y unos cuantos más en una pelea.

Algunos giros inesperados, a veces difíciles de asimilar, reencuentros con personajes muy queridos de libros anteriores y una historia que amarán los fans de Katie McGarry

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[Sam@WLABB]

Haley is a girl who has lost her fight and herself. West is a guy who has been living a charade of a life for 17 years. One night, West and Haley's lives collide. His inner knight-in-shining-armor is awaken, and he begins his quest to win Haley's heart.

This story is filled with drama and tears and life altering bombshells, but most of all, it is filled with heart. Hearts that open to see real love, to recognize and accept a helping hand, to forgive, to move on.

I loved Haley and West together. Talk about opposites attracting. They had a sweet and tender love, but also, were so supportive of each other and willing to sacrifice their own happiness for each other. I also liked how we got another look at Rachel's recovery. I always like catching up with old characters. And I would be remiss without mentioning how Abby was such a star in this book. We really get to see a different dimension of Abby and my curiosity regarding her grew with each word I read.

Great series, great book, great characters. Loved it!

[Ashley]

Nose Graze — Book reviews & blogging tips

My enjoyment levels

I think the best way to show you my feelings for Take Me On is to show you this graph:

I started out LOVING Take Me On. I liked the characters, I liked how Haley was this epic kickboxer and I was pumped for some Katie McGarry luuuurve. But after about the 30% mark, everything changed.

What's up with all this disconnect?

I read the first 30% of Take Me On in one sitting. Suddenly, it took me about six days to get through the rest of the book. I think my biggest problem was that I felt disconnected from the characters and their problems. I feel REALLY bad saying this, given Haley and West's circumstances and family problems, but I just didn't care. In fact, I was actually ANNOYED with Haley for refusing to fight. And then I'd feel really guilty for being annoyed with her because of WHY she wasn't fighting. Haley stopped fighting because her ex boyfriend hit her and then she hit him back. So whenever she thought about fighting, all the could think about was the "blood" on her hands from having been hit and then retaliating. I feel like I was SUPPOSED to really 'get' Haley and sympathize with her, but instead I just disagreed with her... and that makes me feel guilty because am I really 'allowed' to disagree with someone who's been hit by their boyfriend? Ugh. But anyway, I think I just realized that it wasn't her fault and she was defending herself in the only way she knew how. I wanted her to take that situation and own it and have it make her train even harder (self defence and all that). But instead she ran and cowered and... I just didn't like that. God, now I feel like a bad person.

I'm sick of horrible parents

Haley's dad sucks. He lets her uncle walk all over her, call her a slut, and demand that she go into the kitchen and cook. Her dad just sits there and lets her take that kind of shit because he feels all pathetic since he lost his job.

West's dad believes there's only one right way to live: in privilege. This becomes particularly evident at the end when West brings up his grades and starts acting more like a 'man' than a boy. That's a good thing, right? West's father commends him for it and basically says, "You can come home now, son. Leave that public school, come back to the rich school, and dump that poor girlfriend of yours because she's a bad influence. You're finally on the right track." He goes as far as to bribe West to leave her because she's not good news.

I think I'm just so sick of these family problems and all this drama. I find myself wanting to crawl back to My Life After Now because that book has some of the sweetest, most supportive parents I've ever read about.

It did pick up a little at the end

I did get more interested at the end, probably because we finally got to the big climax. So at least that was interesting. The kickboxing itself was probably the most interesting part of the book. I think I'm just disappointed we didn't see more of it. For a book about kickboxing, we actually saw very little of it. It was mostly just about the ex-boyfriend drama, the family drama, the relationship drama... oh god, the drama!

Is this series rehashing the same thing over and over?

I still have a fondness for Katie McGarry, but I think I'm starting to lose my love for the Pushing the Limits series. I feel like each book is just a carbon copy of the previous one (with the family problems, drama, romance, and emotions) but with different characters and slightly changed conflicts. It makes me REALLY REALLY sad to say that, but I really feel my enthusiasm for these books waning. I wonder if it's time for me to stop reading them. :(

[kimbacaffeinate]

I positively adore the Pushing the Limits series. Katie McGarry brings her characters to life and makes you feel. I was excited to get West’s story in Take Me On and once again McGarry delivered and I found myself wrapped up in West and Haley’s story.

Five reasons to grab a coffee to go and read Take Me On:

1. Take Me On at its heart is a romance but it offers so much more. We see character growth, friendship, trust and forgiveness.

2. West. I have wanted West’s story from the beginning and I loved getting to know this troubled young man. He has traits to admire and his personal suffering is brought to the surface and exposed. I loved his integrity and the growth we see in him.

3. Haley. Haley had been at the top and crashed to the bottom. Her relentless love for her family and need to protect them and putting them first was so noble, but her sacrifices were great. I loved seeing her bloom, accept, let go and grow.

4. A sizzling attraction with all the feels as McGarry slowly allows this romance to develop. Sure, we felt some insta-attraction and feelings but she gave the romance depth allowing the reader to believe.

5. Mixed Martial Arts, a conflict, a villain and little side stories about the families, and other characters made for a well-rounded story that kept me fully engaged and invested.

Take Me On was all that I hoped for with fleshed out characters and depth. If you have not tried the Pushing the Limit series, all I can say is go, go forth and grab them, read them, hug them and let them into your heart.
Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[nitzan_schwarz]

4.5 stars
McGarry has done this again. I finished the 450 pages book in ONE sitting, in about four hours cause I couldn't stop.

Also, my list of characters from Pushing the Limits that need their own book just grew:
Jax
Kaden
Abby (I ship her with Ethan)
Logan
(and, no, I don't want them both together. I love both of them so damned much, but I feel like they are WAY too similar to be any good for one another. Instead of giving Logan something better than his dares, Abby will encourages them. Instead of finding a way to help Abby out of her messed up situation, Logan will just laugh at it and dare the people she's dealing with. Seems unhealthy to me all around. Both need someone who will ground them, while letting them stay themselves, if I make any sense.
I think Ethan can be that person for Abby - plus, it will make her officially part of Rachel's family, which I think is something Abby needs big time.)

[Kelly]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/06/take-me-on-by-katie-mcgarry.html
I've always been a fan of Katie McGarry and her Pushing The Limits series, and Take Me on is no different. I really enjoy that she can take similar characters throughout the series, throw them into a new scenario, but you're guaranteed it'll result in an ending to warm your heart. They're dependable, and that's now what I expect from Katie McGarry's releases. West was a character I hadn't expected to be given his own story, and I really hadn't expected to like West, considering in Crash Into You his involvement in Rachel's accident may have been indirect, but his actions contributed to he hospital bed she now lies in. But West surprised me, I may not have fallen in love with his character, but with Haley's help, he does redeem himself.

The star of the book is Haley. I felt an incredible amount of sympathy towards her and what her family endures each day. But she's still a teen, and the responsibility and expectations her entire family places upon her is not only unfair, but incredibly sad. Her Uncle's offer of a roof over their heads comes with conditions, not only were the family forced to give him their car, but he expects everyone to be home by curfew, which changes nightly. He's verbally abusive, and yet no one in Haley's family will protect her, or face being on the streets again. But she never complains, she carries on with her head down and trudges through life the best she can.

I loved seeing the reappearance of Abby, and I'm calling for that girl to have her story told as well. She reminds me of a quirky John Green character, that sells drugs. Of course most reader won't condole what Abby does to make ends meet, but the girl has a story to tell that might just be the most intense yet. There were a few twists to the Take Me On storyline that surprised me, which gave West a personality boost.I also enjoyed how the storyline was also an indirect continuation of the previous book, which allows readers to also follow Rachel's story of her accident and survival.

Overall, it's another Katie McGarry winner, if you enjoyed her previous books, you'll love this one.

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

This series continues to be oddly addicting despite every book being nearly the same. Take Me On follows Rachel's brother, West, and newcomer Haley. West has just been expelled and his father kicks him out of the house. He meets Haley as she's being followed by some guys who want to jump her for her father's medication, but little does he know that she's capable of fighting for herself. Haley is a trained kick boxer, although she's given up after an incident with her ex-boyfriend. Now the two are being terrorized by said ex, and the only way to get him off their backs is in the cage, and Haley's the one to train West.

I really liked Take Me On, but it was more for the individual problems of West and Haley rather than for their romance. I feel like I've read this same relationship a million times already, but I do think the author does a good job of creating interesting characters. I was worried that West's plot was going to creep over in the rich boy slumming it kind of cliche, which it kind of does, but not really. West and his father have a major blow out, but West takes it in stride and really works at taking care of himself even though he's living in his car and has no money to eat. He's been under his father's thumb his whole life, and doesn't really feel part of the family. He also harbors a lot of guilt over Rachel's accident, and I loved that we got to continue her story somewhat. West's story ends up being very much about him getting control of his life, and I enjoyed it.

Haley's story on the other hand was a bit harder for me to get into. Her family has been homeless until her father's brother takes them in, but he is not a nice person at all. He gives them curfews, which is fine, but he actually makes them sleep outside if they don't make it, even if it's freezing. He also doesn't let anyone have an opinion about anything. However, we're never given a reason for this behavior. He was very one-dimensional and only felt like a way to make Haley's life more miserable than it was. I also had trouble believing this rift between her and her grandfather over joining her ex's gym and giving up fighting. Her grandfather came across as more of an asshole than the tough love kind of figure I think he was meant to be. I did care about her issues with her ex-boyfriend. He had hit her, which is why they broke up, but she hasn't told anyone that. I think hers was an important story to tell because love isn't suppose to hurt.

I feel like I'm running out of things to say about this series. It's just really good and Take Me On is no exception despite some rough patches. The romance didn't quite do it for me, but I really enjoyed everything else. There's a lot of Abby in this one, being her enigmatic self, so I'm hoping that means her book is next. I have to know what this girl is up to! I haven't a feeling it's not drugs, since that seems too obvious, and that's not Abby's style at all.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.