Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry Review and Giveaway

Pushing The Limits

by Katie McGarry

Amazon, Kindle, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound

Goodreads 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.

 Oh, you're gonna want this one, today! The romance is amazing, the suffering is heartbreaking and the characters are amazing. Let's take things slow. First the romance, a somewhat scandalous romance between bad-boy Noah and used to be popular Echo. How did that happen? Mutual need for information that turned into something more. But then there's Noah's understanding of Echo's situation. They are both broken, almost beyond repair. But somehow, they came into each other's lives. And like it or not, they have something between them.

The suffering, they have both experienced great loss. Echo has lost her family in a different way than Noah, but Noah, Oh God, Noah! He's trying to be so strong and keep things together and he has dreams for his life but he can't have them and be who he thinks he's supposed to be. When his full story finally comes out, get your tissues out. I have never wanted to reach through a book more and let a character cry on my shoulder than I did Noah. He cried and I was okay with that. I didn't think any less of him for it because anyone in his situation would do the same way before he did. I didn't have quite as much sympathy for Echo only because she was constantly whining about her stepmother. Granted that stepmother used to be her babysitter, but it got just a bit old. I did think she was in a tough spot though. And her losses were no less than Noah's just different.

 So there is Noah and Echo telling the story, which I love! But the side characters are so great and you can see how they add to  Noah's and Echo's lives either making it harder or easier. Lila was Echo's friend before and after that night. Lila is the kind of friend you want to have your back. She doesn't care about popularity or the risks of dating someone unpopular, she cares about Echo. She knows that Echo is not a self injurer like the rumors say, that she isn't a freak and she pulls her over to their old table where the cheerleaders sit, where Grace sits, the one who cares how it looks even if they used to be bffs. Then Noah has his own little crew, Isaiah and Beth, they are his little family in foster care. They all look out for each other. They contribute to Noah's bad reputation but they are all making the best of a bad situation.

Can I just say that I couldn't turn the pages fast enough on this one to see how it ended? I saw no way for a happy ending for anyone. Not with what Noah wanted and what Echo needed. Katie McGarry knows how to deliver a deeply emotional novel with characters that will leave you thinking about them long after you've closed the book. I've been thinking about this novel for a few weeks now. I wanted to write a worthy review. I think I felt every emotion I could reading this novel. I've never pulled for two characters more than these two. I was so divested in the outcome...that's all I can say.

 There is a sneak preview of Katie McGarry's next novel in the back of this novel and I hope she can deliver the same caliber of novel as this one. I'm sure it will be in a top ten of mine this year. So did I make you want to read it? Do you want to know what they lost? What would make bad boy Noah Hutchins cry? Why would Miss Popularity's life change overnight? Don't skip this one. It lives up to the hype and then some!

Here is the trailer for the book just to tempt you even more!!

And for the giveaway! We have Karen at Media Masters Publicity for the Hardback copy of Pushing the Limits today! YAY! for Karen! And for Harlequin Teen!!


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