Review: Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry (Thunder Road #2)

Note: This ARC was provided by Harlequin Teen in exchange for an honest review.

The boy everyone sees but nobody knows is with the girl everybody knows but nobody sees.

There's no plan, no pattern, and while every part of me that relies on rational thought to make decisions screams in protest, the part I hardly ever lead with, the part that has never led the way before...my heart...it takes a stand.

Tear-soaked tissues? Check. Major book hangover? Check. Desperate need to get the next book in the Thunder Road series? Check (times ten). This is what I'm left with after having just finished Walk the Edge, the second book in the Thunder Road series from bestselling author Katie McGarry. I thought the first book, Nowhere But Here, was an emotional read, and I honestly thought this one wasn't going to affect me to the same degree, but I spoke too soon. This was an intensely heartrending read and one of the few books that had me crying at more than one point in the story. From the moment he was introduced in book one, I knew Thomas "Razor" Turner was going to be the Reign of Terror motorcycle club member that I most wanted to learn more about. He was quiet but not reserved, his silence more of the calm masking the devastating storm that never stopped stirring beneath the angelic, blond, blue-eyed facade.

Losing a parent can leave any child devastated, but to lose that parent in a way that made their child feel abandoned and unwanted and having them wondering what exactly happened can cause lingering aftershocks of unresolved anger and resentment. Razor was only ten when his mother died after she drove her car off a bridge in Snowflake, Kentucky, but eight years and an unending stream of rumor and innuendo later and the happy boy of before has increasingly morphed into a young man even his own brotherhood is wary of. He's sullen and is ready to act first and ask questions later and only if he can be bothered to do so. People in town whisper about him, formulating back stories about the boy who lost his mother and is now a member of the rumored notorious club, but Razor couldn't care less nor does he bother to correct them. Then he has his first interaction with Breanna Miller, and she becomes a catalyst.

Bre has been warned all her life to stay away from members of the Reign of Terror MC and even though she and Razor go to the same school and he's just a year older than her, his reputation precedes him. But soon she gets glimpses of the real Razor through his smiles and protective nature. She's unsure if it's even possible for someone like him to show any sort of interest in someone like her, but his curiosity and wanting to get to know the real Bre makes him even more of an anomaly, which makes them a rather perfect pair, considering she's seen as an oddity, not just by her peers but by her family as well. With a brain that collects and stores a seemingly endless supply of information, Breanna is a puzzle solver, and when Razor reaches out and asks for her to decipher what could be clues that may finally give him sought after answers to his questions about his mom's death, Bre agrees--to challenge herself and to help Razor.

This second in a series continues the main story arc about the Reign of Terror MC brotherhood and the family formed by its members. Razor's relationship with his father has deteriorated and he isn't sure if the club can really be trusted, not with them clearly hiding something from him and it all has to do with what happened to his mom eight years ago. The only people he can really trust are his best friends, Oz and Chevy, but he knows that they're also hard-pressed to remain loyal to the club. So, when Razor and Bre begin to form an unlikely friendship and an alliance of sorts, the ease in which he opens up to her and where he starts to feel something more than anger, it changes his life, but then he does the same for Breanna, whose home life has left her the odd child out. She hasn't been comfortable in her own skin for a long time, bullied and ridiculed by classmates and often forgotten by her family, Bre feels lost and alone.

Just like with the book before it, this sequel has an element of mystery suspense to it and coming from two different sources: the blackmailing scheme concocted by a classmate against Breanna and the search for the truth spearheaded by Razor. Both demanded resolutions, but they didn't come quick, everything playing out and keeping me engaged from start to finish. For a good portion of both books one and two, it's easy to look at the Reign of Terror's secretiveness as more harmful then helpful and to pin a lot of the blame when it came to the heartache the younger characters experience on the seasoned members of the club. As the series continues to develop and evolve, the kinship that these club members share is just as interesting as the love stories. The wait for the third book may be a long one and my expectations are very high, but I have yet to be disappointed. Five-plus stars for Walk the Edge, yet another 2016 top favorite. ♥

Date Read: 30 March 2016

Learn more about Katie McGarry.

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