Review: Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry

Walk the Edge (Thunder Road #2)
by Katie McGarry
pub 3/29/16 by Harlequin TEEN
YA - Contemporary

I always think of Thunder Road as the series that I didn’t expect to love. I picked up Nowhere But Here with a whole lot of skepticism because I mean — a motorcycle gang named Reign of Terror? I think we all were a little hesitant. But through the magic that is Katie McGarry’s writing, I absolutely loved it. I loved Emily, Oz, the familial and internal conflicts and the deeper message behind the gang which one is of family and loyalty. It surprisingly worked. (It also helped that there was a couple characters voicing my concerns about this gang and their way of life.) So I started Walk the Edge with an open mind and a whole lot of excitement but I have to admit, it wasn’t quite what I had hoped for.

My favorite part of the book was definitely Breanna (Bre) and Razor. Breanna is the quintessential good girl with one frustrating life. She’s in a family that consists of 8 other (mostly horrible) siblings and selfish parents who rely on Bre, their middle child, to pick up the slack since she’s so dependable and responsible. (In case you can’t read between the lines: I hated her family.) Then there’s Razor. He’s been known as the one most likely to step out of line but this book lets us see his real side. One that is good and tender and very smart. His heartbreaking back story and look into his true self was exactly what I wanted since being introduced to him in the previous book. (But he really does have a bit of a temper too.) When Bre and Razor cross paths, they shouldn’t make sense but they do. And they’re only brought closer together when they decide to team up over their current problems. She’s being blackmailed over a compromising photo of the two of them and he’s searching for answers that the club won’t give him. Together they get to the truth and fall for one another in the process.

(Major) reservations

For the first time, the club wasn’t working for me. The way everyone in town talked about them and feared them, not to mention the way they seemed to run the law rubbed me the wrong way. It just didn’t make any sense. And I think I noticed it more because in the previous book, we were kind of in this little Reign of Terror bubble and now we were getting a broader perspective. Then I have to mention Bre’s family again. I don’t doubt there are families in real life who are just like hers but I felt frustrated by how accepting she was of her situation. I wanted her to speak up so badly but even when she did, it fell a bit flat? And not a single person in her family truly tried to make it up to her. There are a lot of problems among the family (on an individual level and as a whole) and it's completely glossed over. A lot of important things aren't explained and they needed to be. Lastly, there were a lot of conflicts, some of which I didn’t think were necessary. There’s the whole good girl / bad boy / opposite side of the tracks thing (which was already done in Nowhere But Here), then the blackmailing (which I thought could’ve been so easily solved from the get-go), Bre’s family issues (ugh, I can't even) and Razor’s mystery (which was the main one I felt most curious about). I would’ve preferred to focus on Razor’s side of the story and even working out Bre’s problems with her family since they clearly impact her deeply rather than all four sub-plots.

Do I recommend?

If you haven't started this series yet, I still would highly recommend that you at least read Nowhere But Here.