Review: Pushing the Limits
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Publication Date: July 31st, 2012
Format/Source: Ebook, purchased
Rating: 5/5 stars
Part of a series? Yes! The first in the Pushing the Limits series.
Goodreads / Purchase: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - The Book Depository
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.
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.
*Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers. Read on at your own risk.*
I shied away from this series for a long time because I honestly thought the covers were kind of ugly, which sounds so awful and judgey when I say it (er, type it) but it's the truth. Contemporary romance is my jam, as you probably know, and I've come to love series of companion novels, so I entered a giveaway for Dare You To. And I won it and I loved it and this is the story of how Serena learned not to judge books by their covers. Not really, this is still a review for Pushing the Limits, but we're getting to that. Anyway, I read, more like devoured actually, Pushing the Limits, and I loved it just as much as I loved Dare You To.
Noah and Echo are already together and very much in love in Dare You To, so I could not wait to read about them getting together. And oh, man, was it great waiting for them to get together. It's your typical kids-from-opposite-sides-of-town-can't-resist-each-other-oh-no love story, but it's also so much more. They didn't think they had anything in common, but they grew to realize they were good together. Echo has a sort-of boyfriend at the time, but she chooses Noah over him because she knows Noah would treat her right despite their differences in status on the high school social ladder. (Side note: Echo's ex-boyfriend was a total jerk who would not take no for an answer and tried to pressure her into having sex which is so ugh and a big ol' no from me.)
And their relationship is even better when they're actually together. Noah is so attentive to Echo, to her needs. He's so intent on showing he cares when he can't voice his feelings. His decision to propose without telling her he loved her was pretty rash, but he figured it out. They didn't try to shut each other out, and they were both open to accepting help from the other, for the most part. I love them together.
I loved them individually as well, Noah especially. His love for his brothers and his eventual decision to let them stay with their foster parents made my heart swell. He's a great big brother, and he really tries. I thought Echo would be stuck-up and one of those people who cares a lot about appearances and social standing, but she's not at all. Some of her friends are, but she's down-to-earth, and she learns not to take anyone's crap. Her relationship with her family is rocky for a different reason than Noah, and she also ends up dealing with it in a healthy, mature way despite her pain.
Of course, the writing was awesome. It was well-paced and had me reading continually until I finished at one am because I needed to find out what happened to Echo. Katie McGarry writes romance so well. Her books and her couples are unique and swoony, and this was no exception.
Pushing the Limits is a beautiful start to an amazing series of companion novels. I can't wait to read the rest of the series (and pretty much anything McGarry writes). I highly recommend it to all my fellow fans of swoon-worthy contemporary romance.
Have you read Pushing the Limits? What did you think? Let me know!
Great review, Serena! I know this is a fairly popular series but I still wish it got even more love. I just adore Katie McGarry and the Pushing the Limits series. I've read Pushing the Limits, Dare You To (my least favorite of the series - I just could not connect to Beth), Crash Into You, and Take Me On. It's hard to chose favorites because they were all so good but it's a toss-up between Pushing the Limits and Crash Into You (Isaiah is just sooo swoony and sweet). I loved Noah and Echo's relationship and both their stories just broke my heart. They both went through so much and were so good together. I'm really excited to read their follow-up, Breaking the Rules.
ReplyDeleteTanya @ Girl Plus Books
I also adore Katie McGarry, and I'm so excited to read the rest of the series. Sorry to hear Dare You To wasn't your favorite. I love Ryan! I understand why you had trouble with Beth, though. I actually own Take Me On, so I'll have to read it soon! I need to get Breaking the Rules soon because I need more Echo and Noah. Thanks for stopping by! xoxo
DeleteSavings in Seconds sent me! :)
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