[Dare You To blog tour] Where I dare you to...

Who's excited to be a part of this tour? Me! For my stop, and since the theme of the book is basically daring people to do something they wouldn't usually do so why don't I dare you to do something as well?

Before I start the dare, please check this lovely quote from the book to get you going:

For this post, I am daring you to... LISTEN TO SIX SONGS THAT I LIKE. I wrote somewhere in my "About me" that I'm a big fan of Kpop/Jpop and Jrock, and I have 6 songs here that I would love for you to listen to. Tell me what you think, share your thoughts. Is it something you'll listen to again? Why? Why not?

Song #1: Silent Siren - Stella

"If I touch this glittering dazzling thing, the world might collapse
kiss me, kiss me, baby I want to grab on it
I'll run until I get stuck, painfully reaching out my hand
And then someday I'll arrive to that place..."

Silent Siren's a 4-member all girl band with cute, electro rock sound. When I have a bad day I just play this song and it totally makes me feel the good vibes again. The energetic vibe is what makes me love this band so much. I always get that happy, perky feeling whenever I listen to their songs.

Song #2: the GazettE - Calm Envy

"It's not the two of us, concealing this means the (good bye)
How I wish it to be us together crying at this (farewell)
More than thinking back about it, I would like you to forget
And put me in this empty space.
Don't chase those long passed days..."

the GazettE's one of my most favorite bands of all time. They're the band that really got me into J-Rock and they're one of those few bands who write the own songs that just gets into you. Calm Envy is a song about goodbye written from a girl's perspective. Really, it's a sad song but I think it's beautiful. This is one of my favorite songs from them.

Song #3: Rising Sun - TVXQ

"Break down the thick imprisoning walls.

Press forward with courage and strength

To regain my innocence.

I’ll burn fiercely like a raging fire

And end like the radiant rays of sunset.

I’m waiting for the rising sun…"

I grew up with these boys. Like I said, I'm a Kpop fangirl and I've spent almost ten years following this band. One of their rock/pop songs that makes me want to dance. It's a bonus that the song has a deeper meaning than it looks at first.

Song #4: FIR - Lydia

"Lydia,
Those glazed eyes…
Why do you wander
In the sea of broken hearts?

You’ve been hurt
So your smile has withered
So, for whom does the gypsy girl sing?

You can see the mist
See the rain
See the sun
The broken earth is reveling in sadness…"

One of the first songs of FIR that gained popularity. This song is part of the OST for the Taiwanese adaptation of the manga Mars.

Song #5: SHINee - Noona, You're So Pretty

"Noona is so pretty,
Guys won't leave her alone
Her heart's shaking - I know her true feelings
My love for her is just an instant feeling
Whatever anyone says, she's my life..."

Before One Direction came out with a song that makes a girl feel so loved and so confident about her own inner beauty, SHINee was first to release a similar song entitled Noona (older sister) You're So Pretty. It's that catchy, totally danceable song that just makes you smile. Truthfully, I listen to this song if I want to feel better about myself.

Song #6: Kalafina - Lacrimosa

"Lacrimosa
Broken and vanishing into the distance
I want to love this dazzling world once more
I hide my dreams within my eyes
Until my tainted heart
Receives falling tears..."

I got goosebumps when I first heard this song. Obviously I am a big Kalafina fan and probably the only band that plays contemporary classical music / chamber pop that I like. The lyrics for this song is haunting and they sound amazing when they sing live!

-----

So that's my 6 picks. I have more that I love and I barely recommended new songs, but please please tell me what you think of the songs. I dare you to listen to them and tell me your thoughts! Of course everyone's musical tastes are different, but tell me your honest opinions about the songs!

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry
June 7th 2013 by Mira Ink

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

Get your copy of Dare You To here: http://amzn.to/13zlsx6

About Katie McGarry
Katie 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. Writing has given Katie an excuse to pursue her passions. Research for her books has provided her with the amazing opportunity to train with baseball players, ride along in a drag car at ninety-six miles per hour and experience boxing and mixed martial arts.

Katie is the author of the full-length Young Adult novels PUSHING THE LIMITS and DARE YOU TO, and the e-novella CROSSING THE LINE. Her debut novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS, is a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction. Katie’s next novel CRASH INTO YOU will published by Mira Ink in December 2013.

Katie would love to hear from her readers - contact her via Twitter @KatieMcGarry

Book trailer:

GIVEAWAY! WIN A FINISHED COPY OF KATIE MCGARRY'S DARE YOU TO!

Rules:

UK Only (sorry, publisher request!)

Must be at least 13 years old

Ends 7/5

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The rest of the tour stop can be found in the sidebar!

Interview + Giveaway: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry!

I'm late with this but I am jumping on the awesome Pushing the Limits bandwagon. Even though I have yet to read the book, I have heard nothing but praises for Katie's debut. And now I have a giveaway for all of my readers here!

But first, check out the Q&A With Katie McGarry

Q: What was your inspiration for writing Pushing the Limits?
A: I had two main inspirations: One, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to write a story in which my characters felt strong enough to leave their pasts behind and create new futures for themselves. The first scene I ever saw in my mind was Echo and Noah leaving town after graduation. Two, I wanted to write two characters who were facing over- whelming issues and who, through battling these issues, found hope at the end of their journey.

Q: How did you come up with Echo’s name?
A: Echo went through several name changes as I wrote the man- uscript. For a while, she had a very normal name, but it alwaysfelt off. It wasn’t until I looked at Echo from her mother’s point of view that I found her name. Echo’s mother loved Greek my- thology so it made perfect sense that she would name her chil- dren after the myths. I read several Greek myths and the mo- ment I found Echo’s, I fell in love. Echo, to me, was the girl who lost her voice. Thankfully, she finds it by the end.

Q: Which character is the most “like” you?
A: All of them. I gave each character a piece of me (though some have larger slices of me than others). Overall, I’d say I’m a strange combination of Echo, Lila and Beth. Echo has my need to please, Lila has my unfailing loyalty to my friends and Beth encompasses my insecurities.

Q: Did you experience friendships with Grace types when you were in high school?
A: Yes. And the more people have read this story, the more this question comes up. Grace has struck a stronger nerve in people than I ever would have imagined. It seems most of us have un- fortunately experienced a relationship where a person wants to “like” you and wants “be your friend,” but only if it serves their needs. In case anyone is wondering, that isn’t friendship.

Q: Are there any parts of the story you feel particularly close to?
A: Yes. The relationship between Noah, Isaiah and Beth. Beyond my parents and sister, my nearest family members were over fourteen hours away. My friends became my family. The peopleI grew up with were more than people I watched movies with or talked to occasionally on the phone. These were people with whom I shared life’s most devastating moments, but also my hardest laughs. These were people who I would have willing- ly died for and I know they would have done the same for me. They shared my triumphs with smiles on their faces and con- gratulatory hugs. They held me when I cried and offered to beat up whoever hurt my feelings. These were also the same people who were more than happy to get in my face if they thought I was making a wrong decision.

Q: Did anything that happens to Echo happen to you?
A: Sort of. I was bitten by a dog when I was in second grade and repressed the memory. It felt very strange to have no memory of an incident that other people knew about. It was even strang- er to have injuries and not have an inkling where they came from. In college, I finally remembered the incident when a dog lunged at me. I relived the horrible event and sort of “woke up” a few minutes later to find myself surrounded by people I loved. Even though I “remember” the incident, I still don’t remember the whole thing. I only see still frames in my mind and there is no blood in any of the memories.

"My father is a control freak, I hate my stepmother, my brother is dead and my mother has...welll...issues. How do you think I am doing?" - opening line of Pushing the Limits

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. Echo and Noah couldn’t be more different, but they find themselves united by a common goal: to sneak into their court- ordered social worker’s case files in order to learn the truth about themselves and their families. What they didn’t count on is falling in love -- and now Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Buy a copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

About author Katie McGarry:

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and she remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Writing has given Katie an excuse to pursue her passions. Research for her books has provided her with the amazing opportunity to train with baseball players, ride along in a drag car at ninety-six miles per hour and experience boxing and mixed martial arts. Katie loves to visit schools and talk to teenagers about her research, writing and the truth that no dream is out of reach.

Rules:

Open to US/Canada Only (will be shipped by publisher)

Must be 13 years old and up
Ends September 7

a Rafflecopter giveaway