Walk the Edge, Katie McGarry

Pages: 364

Publisher: MiraInk

Release Date: 10^th March 2016

Edition: UK e-proof, review copy

Other Titles from this Author: Pushing the Limits, Dare You Too, Crash Into You, Take Me On, Breaking the Rules, Nowhere But Here

Razor knows his family is haunted by secrets of the past.

High school senior Thomas ‘Razor’ Turner knows his family has a dark history as part of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, especially when it comes to the secrecy surrounding his mother’s death. When Razor starts to dig deeper into his mum’s case he turns to the unlikeliest source for help: classmate Breanna Miller, the shy, smart girl he's never looked twice at. But the more time they spend together, the more they realise they actually have in common, and how attracted to each other they really are.

When secrets from the past are revealed, can their newfound feelings survive?

I’ve been feeling pretty slumpy lately and not enjoying books as much as I wanted to, but I breezed through Walk the Edge.

Razor and Breanna are amazing protagonists. It took only a few chapters for me to fall for them and completely have their backs. Razor is a strong and silent type. He’s still floundering following the death of his mum and the swathe of rumours and whispers that came after it; his trust in his family and the Terror is waning and he’s just lost. Breanna is the middle child of 9 and she has an almost photographic memory for facts and is a genius at puzzles. She doesn’t fit anywhere in her family and she's invisible to everyone. Until Razor.

I was shipping them SO hard! Katie McGarry does sexual tension and forbidden love flawlessly. It makes these books addictive and it’s impossible not to get behind her couples. Reading this felt like behind wrapped in a blanket, except from the moments where it stressed me out because I just wanted them to kiss already… Or tell a teacher what was going on!

Spoiler coming!

During an innocent moment between Razor and Breanna, popular jock Kyle takes a picture of them that makes it look like more than it was. And he uses it to blackmail Breanna to write his English papers for him. I tend to find blackmail rather frustrating to read about, particularly in a school setting, as telling a teacher will usually solve the problem, but boy did it get on my nerves in Walk the Edge. It was obviously needed for the big dramatic moment at the end, but I also think the novel would have worked perfectly without it and we might have gotten to go a bit in depth about Razor and Breanna solving the riddle about Razor’s mum’s death.

Spoiler over!

It also would have changed the way that Razor saved and protected Breanna so frequently. I mean, yeah, he’s a biker with a whole hoard of them at his back, but she’s ridiculously smart – she could have used her brains instead of his brawn. I've noticed that Katie McGarry’s books can be a tad problematic when it comes to gender stereotypes and a dash of sexism. The guys are tough and overly protective, while having a sweet, broken side, of course. They regularly save the heroines, even when they’re whip smart and capable. Breanna swooned and first admitted she loved Razor when she first saw him shirtless and I definitely face-palmed. He frequently mentioned her fragility and softness and it was a little aggravating. I've definitely read worse, and it didn’t stop me from enjoying Walk the Edge a hell of a lot, but I just wish that it wasn’t so obvious. With a series based around a motorcycle club, turning stereotypes on their head and allowing women to be as important and proficient as the men would have spoken volumes and made it a very special read indeed.

As always, I’m eagerly awaiting the next book from Katie McGarry. They’re just so much fun to read!

Thanks to Mira Ink and NetGalley for the review copy.

Sophie