Actin' Up with Books: Review and Excerpt: LONG WAY HOME by Katie McGarry

LONG WAY HOME

Thunder Road Series #3

by Katie McGarry

Publication Date: January 31, 2017

Published by Harlequin Teen

Pages: 448

Source: Publisher | Purchase

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Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving.

It’s the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it’s up to her to do the saving. To protect herself, and her vulnerable younger brother, she needs to cut all ties with the club—including Chevy, the boy she’s known and loved her whole life.

But when a rival club comes after Violet, exposing old secrets and making new threats, she’s forced to question what she thought she knew about her father, the Reign of Terror, and what she thinks she wants. Which means re-evaluating everything: love, family, friends . . . and forgiveness.

Caught in the crosshairs between loyalty and freedom, Violet must decide whether old friends can be trusted—and if she’s strong enough to be the one person to save them all.

My Thoughts

Yes, I am here to sing praises for another fantastic book by Katie McGarry. Sharing my love for her books is like having my favorite song on repeat. I can't ever get enough if it. LONG WAY HOME is Chevy and Violet's story and oh have I been waiting to know more about this girl. I loved Violet for her fiery personality in the previous Thunder Road series books and couldn't wait to read more about her. And Chevy.

What I liked:

The story went in a direction that I never imagined, but one that is prefectly fitting for the environment
Really understanding and relating to Violet. Violet knows who she is and what she wants and the sacrifices she makes to stay true to herself in the this male dominated environment are admirable.
Violet's relationship with her brother and how she tries to encourage him to become self-sufficient
Sweet Chevy
The crossover/connection of characters from this series and the Pushing the Limits series

I love how the intimacy and the tenderness and the delicate ways they show their affection for each other are written. Readers get just enough to understand the connection. It gives me goosebumps.

"I extend my arm, hand up, and she laces her fingers with mine. Our thighs are locked tight and I lower our hands so that they rest on both my leg and hers. Peace. This is the closest I've felt to peace in months."

What I'm most drawn to in the Thunder Road series and especially in LONG WAY HOME is the idea of family. Blood relations don't have to make you family, your friends are you family too.

"Families and friends don't abandon you if you decide you aren't exactly like them. They love you regardless of the path you choose."

Memorable Quotes:

"Loving him was easy, It's life that's hard." - Violet does love Chevy easily. Without even saying it, it is evident in everything she does. It's there in the way she trusts him, and it's there when she had to let him go.

"I'm secure in who I am and other people's definitions don't define me." - this is said by Chevy's mom. And this could have just as easily been said by Violet.

I enthusiastically recommend LONG WAY HOME to readers - both teens and adults, because of the storytelling, the heart, and the characters.

I'm sad this is the end of the series, but I know that rereading it will be just as delicious as reading it for the first time.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC as part of the InkSlinger Blog Tour in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARC provided. I've purchased a finished copy for my own personal library. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

READ AN EXCERPT

CHEVY

“Chevy,” Cyrus calls near the entrance, “We need to talk.”

Damned knot in the tug-of-war-rope and I’m starting to feel frayed. Mom doesn’t blink as she waits for me to say something. To tell Cyrus he can wait. To tell her what she wants to hear. But as much as I love her, I’m also drawn to the club. She’s right, I do want both.

“I’ll be back to pick you up later,” I say.

Mom throws the towel she had expertly throttled into the sink behind her, walks to the other side of the bar and the strobe light casts a red haze around her. If I didn’t know her better, I’d buy the flirty smile and the way she giggles in happiness as she leans on the bar to take a drink order. But that’s not her real smile and that’s not her real laugh. It’s part of her job, part of her act, because that’s what working her requires—performing.

With a kick to a barstool, I head for the exit. Cyrus walks out into the night and I follow. Once outside, Cyrus turns to me and his warm breath creates a cloud in the cool night. “We’ve had some trouble tonight with the Riot.”

The Riot would be a motorcycle club north of us in Louisville. They’re pissed at the Terror for myriad reasons, the main one being we’re a legit club and they deal in illegal. They’re also angry at one of our main members, Eli. They feel he stole their daughter and granddaughter from them. Eli didn’t steal a thing. Can’t call someone’s free will in walking away from crazy a crime.

Life sucks for the Riot and I’m fine with that. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Everyone’s safe, but we’ve had word that they’ve ridden past the boundary lines we set with them a few months back. It’s all rumor and no one on our side has confirmed it. Could be someone’s overactive imagination, but I’ll feel better knowing you’re off the road.”

I’m under eighteen, still a kid to him. Cyrus used to act this way with my two best friends, Oz and Razor, but both are eighteen and full members of the club now. The babysitting twists my gut, but then again, I’m not ready for the decision eighteen will bring. “How about Violet?”

“I’m on my way now to look for her. She’s also not answering her cell.”

Yeah. A lot of that going around. “If she took Stone to the game, she would have headed straight home. I’ll check on her on my way to Mom’s if you want.”

This gives me the excuse I need to see Violet. Because I won’t be able to sleep without knowing she’s okay. So I can thank her for what she did for me with the note. To gauge whether or not Violet is waving the white flag.

Cyrus lays a hand on my shoulder. “I’d appreciate that. I need to head back to the clubhouse to take care of some business. I’m serious about what I said though. Me and a lot of guys would love to hear about the game.”

I know they would and I’d enjoy being with them, but Mom’s already sore that I walked out on her to talk to Cyrus. “I’m beat. After I check on Violet, I’m crashing.”

Cyrus gives me a fast pat and a hug. We both mount our bikes and start our engines with a growl. My grandfather takes the lead and I follow him as long as I can before taking the path that leads away from him and toward where Violet lives.

Don’t Miss the First Two Titles in the Thunder Road Series!
Grab your copies today!

NOWHERE BUT HERE
Read my review

WALK THE EDGE

Read my review

Katie McGarry Bio:

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, NOWHERE BUT HERE, and WALK THE EDGE 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.