Thursday, January 28, 2016

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry [ARC REVIEW]

TITLE: Pushing the Limits
(Pushing the Limits #1)

AUTHOR: Katie McGarry
PUBLISHER: Mira Ink
PUB DATE: Jun 1 2012
What if the last person you should fall in love with is the only one who can save you?

"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. The room tilted...

No one knows what really 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 the horrible night that changed her life forever.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot 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. Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And now Echo has to ask herself just what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again...

- Source: NetGalley

Rating:



This book triggered the one thing most important to me in a book, Empathy. And man, did I empathize! There were moments between chapters that I was reading through teary eyes trying not to cry. That didn't last long. By the end of the book my eyes were puffy and my nose was clogged. Damn!

I gotta say Katie McGarry knows how to build her characters well. Echo and Noah's issues may not be something I experienced personally but the author's technique in telling their stories and showing their individual personalities was raw and enticing. And while I know this book focuses on both of their lives and romance between them, I can't help but notice how well the minor characters were established as well. Each one with a different voice, a different issue and has distinguishable characteristics. Very, very commendable. It's not often I find myself engrosses with not only the protagonists but all the people around them as well.

I always love a good love story. And this was definitely amazing! Okay so maybe I was a little irked over Noah's pet name for Echo but I'll let that slide. I love the idea that Noah and Echo not only grew into better people in the end but saw them make sacrifices for each other's future, no matter how painful the choice was. I love how their relationship matured along with them.

This story was set in high school. Our characters are about to graduate. Ah, high school. The life of peer pressure and nonsensical insecurity. I think you can guess I've had a pretty 'eventful' high school life with that statement. Ha! Long story. Anyway, I think the environment was well suited for a plot such as this. I can understand the pressure that Noah and Echo were feeling towards everything that has been happening in their lives, between handling high school and dealing with personal demons, I'd give Mrs. Collins a hug for all that she did to help these two.

Pushing the Limits is an emotional roller coaster. I loved every experience of reading it: the romance, the slow unraveling of Echo's repressed memories, Noah's maturity, everything! This is was absolutely beautiful!



*Thank you, Mira Ink and NetGalley for granting my request to view Pushing the Limits