Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the LimitsPushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #1
Published by: Harlequin Teen on July 31, 2012
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 384
Source: NetGalley
Buy on AmazonBook Details
Rating: ★★★★★

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.

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

There are not enough words in the universe to describe how much I love this book!

I’ll admit I was skeptical at first. Contemporary books are normally not my thing. But Pushing the Limits got such rave reviews and I thought the plot sounded intriguing, so I figured I’d give it a whirl. I fell completely in love. I felt like I was Echo.. and Noah. Pushing the Limits yanked my heart out as I suffered through Echo and Noah’s pains, and then put it back together as they healed. I was living every moment with them, my emotions rising and falling with theirs.

I laughed, I cried, I giggled insanely.. god, I’m ready to read it all over again!

Okay, Ashley, focus.

Pushing the Limits is riddled with raw emotion. It deals with some really intense issues that you wouldn’t usually expect in a romance novel, but that’s what makes it feel so genuine and so powerful.

Throughout the entire book, it was so much fun watching Noah and Echo’s chemistry evolve. It’s the furthest you could get from insta-love. It starts out as sort of a “hate” relationship. Echo has this preconception of Noah as a troubled, bad boy, girl-using druggie. And Noah has a preconception of Echo being the pathetic, loner, possibly suicidal outcast. When their relationship evolves, you see both of these characters wondering why they’re falling for the other person. They don’t understand it; it’s weird; it doesn’t make sense. But somehow these two people are drawn together and attracted to each other because they manage to find common grounds in the darkest parts of their lives.

Even if you don’t have a dark and terrible past like Noah and Echo do, this book makes you sympathize; it makes you understand. Every word on every page is so genuine and filled with raw emotion that you feel like you’re living the story. Pushing the Limits deals with topics like abuse, foster care, psychological disorders, and divorce. But don’t worry, it’s not all heavy, intense subjects.

Echo and Noah both have ‘lesser’ problems as well — ones that most teenagers face and thus, might be easier to relate to for some people. They both just want to have normal lives. Echo struggles between two guys: the ex boyfriend who constantly tries to pressure her into having sex, and the bad boy who she thinks is probably no good for her. She worries about not having a date to the social dance, about never finding a guy who will love her, getting the courage to ask her parents for birth control, and so on. These are problems that most teenage girls think about at one time or another.

My one gripe? So much sexual tension and no climax! Katie, why must you taunt me so???

This is definitely one of the best books — if not the best — I have read this year! I’ve already preordered my own copy of this book and I’m recommending Pushing the Limits to every single person I know!

The Verdict

amazing

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5 comments

  1. I loved this one so much too!! I cried like a baby throughout so many parts of this book, although I admit I am a little sensitive but, it really touched me, I really liked your review and I totally agree with the sexual tension lol. Awesome review!

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    1. I know exactly what you mean! This book just has so much incredible emotion. That’s why I ADORED it! You really fall in love with the characters and feel everything they feel. I just want to cuddle up with this book and sleep with it under my pillow! Can’t wait until I get my finished copy. 🙂

  2. I KNOW!! You perfectly and exactly said how I feel about this book!!! I want to read it again, right now and I know I’m going to cry again! and again! and my heart will break again! Gosh this story was beautiful beyond words… *sniffles*

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  3. I definitely agree with your point on how emotionally invested you can become in this two characters! They are so broken but that’s what makes the story so powerful! You are so right about their slow building relationship! I loved watching them develop. Great review, Ashley!

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