Friday, February 2, 2018

Say You'll Remember Me by Katie McGarry | Blog Tour: Book Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

#SayYoullRememberMe
Hello! Welcome to the next stop on the Say You'll Remember Me blog tour hosted by Inkslinger PR. I'm really happy to share my thoughts on this book with you, as well as an excerpt from the story! Say You'll Remember Me was released on January 30, 2018 and is available at Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Google Play, BAM and Kobo.


Synopsis (via Goodreads): "Doesn't matter who did it. Not anymore. I did the time. It's over."

When Drix was convicted of a crime--one he didn't commit--he thought his life was over. But opportunity came with the Second Chance Program, the governor's newest pet project to get delinquents off the streets, rehabilitated and back into society. Drix knows this is his chance to get his life back on track, even if it means being paraded in front of reporters for a while.

Elle knows she lives a life of privilege. As the governor's daughter, she can open doors with her name alone. But the expectations and pressure to be someone she isn't may be too much to handle. She wants to follow her own path, whatever that means.

When Drix and Elle meet, their connection is immediate, but so are their problems. Drix is not the type of boy Elle's parents have in mind for her, and Elle is not the kind of girl who can understand Drix's messy life.

But sometimes love can breach all barriers.

Fighting against a society that can't imagine them together, Drix and Elle must push themselves--Drix to confront the truth of the robbery, and Elle to assert her independence--and each other to finally get what they deserve. 

"I hate the word beautiful. Hate it. The word beautiful somehow gives the world permission to make wrongful assumptions about me, like that I don’t have a brain. Beautiful somehow gives men permission to say the phrase as a secret password in my direction, and I should therefore fall at their feet. Beautiful makes people believe they can say anything they want about or to me and that I shouldn’t be angry. Nothing in the universe could be more wrong."
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Also, the quote I used may have changed or been altered in some way, but I am quoting from what I received.

Katie McGarry knows how to tell a story. She's able to capture my attention from page one and never let it go. I was fascinated with Drix and Elle, their friends and family, their lives, and the two totally different worlds they lived in. I was able to relate and make connections with every single character, which is pretty effing amazing.

My heart hurts for Drix and the life he's lived. I cannot even begin to image what someone in his situation has gone through. This particular story might be fiction, but the concept is real. There are too many people suffering and barely getting by, our justice system is flawed, and there are so many kids out there that need help. They need someone to be there for them and help them find a better path in life. Someone needs to believe in them and what they can do. Everyone has something to offer the world, and they shouldn't be dismissed or made to suffer because of past mistakes.  A person can go to jail, serve their time, and come out a better person. They just need to be given a chance.

Elle's dad and his program give Drix that second chance. I wish there were more programs like it in the world. If people cared more about others than themselves, I think we'd live in a very different reality. 

Elle is incredibly strong. She wants to make the world a better place, and she thinks honesty is the only thing that should ever be given. I hated how desperately she wanted to please her parents, even at the expense of herself and her happiness. No parent should ever ask their child to change for someone else. I was so angry every time her mother pressed her to alter her appearance in some way. A parent should just love their child and accept the person they see in front of them. Yes, children need guidance and all that, but they also need to be loved, appreciated, and wanted for who they are.

Drix has a wonderful family, and not all of them are blood related. I ached for Dominic and Kellan, Holiday, Axel and Marcus. I would love for any one of them to have their own story. They've all been through so much in their short lives, and they still try to do what is right and always put family first. It was eye-opening to view life from their different perspectives, and I cannot fathom how a parent could be so cruel or neglectful. 

I thought Say You'll Remember Me was a wonderful story that highlights significant issues in our society. Drix and Elle had very different lives, problems and expectations, but they managed to find love and happiness. Their relationship was passionate, encouraging, and they gave each other what everyone needs: hope.




Read an Excerpt:

~Ellison~

Sean points, and a woman in the back asks, “You never met Mr. Pierce before?”

I shake my head, and Sean gestures to the microphone. “No. I was playing a midway game earlier, and he ended up playing beside me, but then we went our separate ways. I left the game, and these guys started to harass me, and hen Hendrix asked if I needed help. I agreed, and he suggested we talk. He said that if the guys thought we were friends they would eventually lose interest, and they did. Hendrix played a game, and we talked until Andrew showed.”

“Andrew?” someone asks.

“Andrew Morton.” That causes enough of a stir that nervousness leaks into my bloodstream and makes my hands cold and clammy. Why is it that I feel that I said something terribly wrong?

“Are you and Andrew Morton friends?” someone else asks, and the question hits me in a sickening way. I name-dropped the grandson of the most powerful US Senator…the position my father is campaigning for. Sean is going to roast me alive.

“Yes. We’ve been friends for as long as I remember.” Friends, enemies, it’s all semantics at this point.

“Did you and Andrew Morton plan to attend the festival together?” Another reporter.

“Yes.”

“Were you on a date?” a woman asks.

My entire body recoils. “What?”

“Are you and Andrew Morton romantically involved?”

I become one of those bunnies who go still at the slightest sound. “I thought we were talking about Hendrix.”

“Did Mr. Pierce confront the men?”

Finally back on track. “No, he was adamant that there should be no violence.”

More questions and I put my hand in the air as I feel like I’m the one on trial. “Isn’t that the point? Hendrix went through my dad’s program, and one of the first chances he had to make a good decision, he made one. We’re strangers, and he helped me without violence. That, to me, is success.” A few people nod their head, and because I don’t want to be done yet… “Mr. O’Bryan—grown men shouldn’t be following seventeen-year-old girls. I’m curious why you didn’t step in when I was being harassed. If you saw Hendrix and me together, then you know what happened, and it’s horrifying you didn’t help. Hendrix made the right choice. You did not.”

A rumble of conversation, Sean places a hand on my arm and gently, but firmly pushes me to the side. The raging fire in his eyes says he’s mentally measuring out the room in the basement he’s going to let me rot in for the next ten years.

My father approaches the microphone with an ease I envy. “Any more questions for Ellison can be sent to my press secretary. As you can tell, it’s been a trying day for my daughter, but we are most grateful for Mr. Pierce’s actions. We promised a program that was going to help our state’s youth turn their lives around, and, thanks to Mr. Pierce’s admirable actions, we are proud of our first program’s success.”

He offers Drix his hand again, and Drix accepts.

Lots of pictures and applause, and Dad leans in and whispers something to him. I can’t tell what it is, but I do see the shadow that crosses over Drix’s face, his throat move as he swallow and then the slight nod of his head.

I don’t know what happened, but I don’t like it. The urge is to rush Drix, but Sean has a firm hold on my elbow, keeping me in place, silently berating me for causing problems.

Drix stands behind the podium and drops a bomb so huge the ground shakes beneath my feet. “Because Ellison had enough courage to explain what happened today, I’m going to tell you what I was convicted of…”



Order Campaign: 

Order SAY YOU'LL REMEMBER ME, register and you will receive AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER, a novella that features your favorite Pushing the Limits and Thunder Road characters!

From the Pushing the Limits series, Noah, Beth, Isaiah, West and Logan are all grown up. Catch up with your favorite characters as one of them finally says, I do.

Pigpen, Eli and Addison from the Thunder Road series: Three separate personalities who still needed to find love...and still had someone important to meet.

This is a limited time offer! So hurry! Registration ends on February 3, 2018! You must register your order to receive AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.  https://a.pgtb.me/4tLZSM



About the Author:

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, and NOWHERE BUT HERE 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.




Giveaway:

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24 comments:

  1. I had kind of drifted away from her books for a while there but I've heard this one is more like her early books so I might give it a try.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. This is my second book by her since returning to blogging. Nowhere But Here was the first, and while I enjoyed it, this one was infinitely better. I could relate so much to these characters.

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  2. This one sounds like the perfect February Valentines book. I love the cover!

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    1. It is! I think it would go well with any month, but February works! ๐Ÿ˜˜

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  3. Thank you so much! ~Jessica, InkSlinger PR

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  4. I love Katie McGarry, and this was a wonderful addition to her work. I am with you! I would love for each member of Drix's family to get a book. They each have a story to tell, and I would love to hear it.

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    1. This was my first blog tour since coming back, and I couldn't be happier with the book! I really hope she makes this a series with the other members of his family.

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  5. I haven't read much of Katie McGarry's works but I'm really lookong forward to this one. I've only read Nowhere But Here, lol. Wonderful review!

    Blessie @ Mischievous Reads

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    1. Thanks! You should definitely read her earlier books, too! Pushing the Limits was wonderful. I enjoyed Nowhere But Here, but Say You'll Remember Me was something else entirely. :)

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  6. I just love this author and can't wait for this one, it looks so good!

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    1. She hasn't disappointed me yet! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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  7. I really need to read more books from her. This sounds so good! Great review!

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    1. Thank you! I think you should start with this one!

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  8. Oh wow, this is such an awesome review. I've only read one book by Katie McGarry but I highly enjoyed it and I really need to pick up her other books. I'm so glad this one was a hit for you! I know many other reader friends who enjoyed it as well, so I definitely need this as my next contemporary fix.

    - Aila @ One Way Or An Author

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    1. Thanks! If this is your next contemporary, I doubt you'll be disappointed!

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  9. Definitely agree with you on this book! I think it highlights a lot of things that we get wrong in our society. A great read!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I've enjoyed her other books, but this one felt more grounded. Drix isn't the only wrongly accused person in jail or prison. Our system is flawed and more needs to be done to remedy the situation. There are too many innocent lives being thrown away because the courts cannot afford to hire an appropriate amount of lawyers to cover all of their cases. More often than not, people need a court-appointed lawyer. Any other option is too expensive.

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  10. I've seen this around, but didn't know what it was really about until now. It does sound like an engrossing novel. I love how the author contrasts the two leads, but still finds a way to bring them together. You have me very curious. Great review.

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    1. Thank you! I loved how nonjudgmental they were even though they came from two entirely different backgrounds. They never saw the other as more or less, and they connected because they could relate emotionally.

      I'm glad I was able to put it on your radar! It's definitely worth reading.

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  11. She is a talented writer. I read Pushing The Limits and loved it. I have yet to read anything else by her only cause I am a mood reader.

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    1. I'm also a mood reader, lol. I can never plan what I'm going to read because it changes from day-to-day. It's also why it takes me a little longer to get through some books. I'll start them and lose the mood I was in. It's not that the book was bad, it's just my brain is weird.

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  12. This one sounds interesting! I love that the characters have deeper issues that seem realistic to today.

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    1. I think a lot of people will be able to relate to these characters in some way. The situations might not be exactly the same, but the struggles are relatable.

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“Stuff and nonsense. Nonsense and stuff and much of a muchness and nonsense all over again. We are all mad here, don't you know?”
― Marissa Meyer, Heartless