Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits #1) by Katie McGarry

 

Summary:

 

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

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. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And 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.

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 397 pages (E-book)

Source: NetGalley ARC

Available Formats: Print/E-book/Audio

Publication Date:  August 1st 2012 by Harlequin Teen

 

It took me forever but I was finally able to convince myself to sit down and read it not to long ago and boy am I ever glad I did. I absolutely loved Pushing the Limits even though it made me so angry I wanted to throw my kindle down.

 

I've never been one for reading contemporary young adult novels but I have to say that Katie McGarry put for a fantastic example of how to write a realistic novel that has the barest of stereotypes.

 

I thought the story line was really unique and one that I've never seen before in the genre and as dark as it was I'm glad someone wrote a book like it. I've become fed up with the fluffy young adult romances out there and for once someone has done the smart thing and taken out the unrealistic fluff and wrote a wonderful angsty read.

 

My favourite part of the book was the characters. Echo was amazing and I absolutely loved her. She was such a strong person but she hid it from so many people even herself for so long that for a long time during the book I wondered if she would ever find herself and I think that was probably the saddest thing about the book. I loved the way she saw the world and could see the goodness in people.

 

Noah, the bad boy was an enigma at first and I really enjoyed reading his side of the story. It might not have been as physically traumatic as Echo's side of Pushing the Limits but it was every bit as emotional. As much as I hated his arrogance and player attitude I came to understand why he was the way he was and admire his will to survive given his circumstances just as much as I admired Echo's.

 

The other characters in the book were very well developed. Some I loved others like Echo's Father, stepmother, Beth, the idiots at school who ridiculed Echo and the system of people that were working against Noah in his quest to be reunited with his brother made me so angry I almost through my kindle down in anger and frustration.

 

The plot work that Katie McGarry did was amazing and not to fast nor to slow and had so many twists and turns that I had no idea how it was going to turn out until I reached the end which I was sad to see. It kept me on my toes and I was very impressed with this debut.

 

Overall, the book was a fantastic read that had me turned into an emotional wreck switching from being happy to incredibly angry depending on what parts of the book I was reading. I thought the author did a masterful job of writing a book that can make the reader fall in love and be heart broken all in 400 pages. The romance between Echo and Noah was as tumultuous as the rest of the book and it will pull at your heartstrings.

 

I would recommend this book to any one who loves contemporary young adult romance novels especially those who want something a bit more mature, and darker. There is some language in this that some parents may not approve of but nothing teens don't say or here on a daily basis.

 

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my free and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.

 

Loved it!
★★★★★

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