Review: Pushing The Limits

Title:  Pushing The Limits
Series:  N/A
Author:  Katie McGarry
Publisher:  Harlequin Teen
Pages:  384
Format:  eBook

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.

My Review:  There was is so much hype surrounding this book.  Really, every blogger and reader I know has mentioned it at least once.  I think I've only ever seen a five or four star review of this book.  Maybe I saw a three once but that's about as bad as it got.

Personally, I don't know how this book didn't get top marks all around.

I loved everything about this book.  Really, it all fit together nicely.  From the plot to the characters, it was all seamlessly put together.

Noah and Echo were amazing.  I thought that their differences was what really brought them together, even though they were similar in a lot of ways.  This book was told from both Noah and Echo's POVs.  I've never been a fan of alternating POVs but lately I've found that I enjoy the books with that element.  It was exciting (as well as frustrating) experiencing the story from the eyes of both the main characters.

I thought the dual plot also thickened things.  With Noah and his problems and Echo's with hers, I never felt like a piece of the plot dragged.  If it had been only Echo's story being told, I think it wouldn't have been nearly as interesting, and same goes to if it was only told from Noah's perspective.  Both are very interesting characters, yes, but their plots involved more internal struggles rather than external.  Together, their plots complimented each other wonderfully.

I did think the mystery of what happened to Echo the night her whole life changed was interesting.  Normally mysteries just get me frustrated and make me want to flip to the last page but I was so wrapped up in the story and learning new things with Echo and Noah that I didn't mind one bit!

Oh, and I absolutely adored Mrs. Collins.  She was a great character and I felt like she added a lot to Noah and Echo's emotional health.  It was interesting to watch her progress from dangerous enemy in the MC's eyes to friend and ally.

Overall, wonderful plot, beautifully built tension and mystery, and wicked characters.  I look forward to reading anything else Katie McGarry publishes!

Five Stars