Title: Pushing the LimitsGenre: Young Adult
Publication: August 1st 2012, Harlequin Teen
Pages: Ebook
Source: Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Teen for providing me with this DRC in exchange for an honest review. :)
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. 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.When I received Pushing the Limits for review, I was ecstatic. I had heard nothing but good things about it and I mean, what's not to love? It has an intriguing premise, a beautiful cover and fantastic characters. My hopes and expectations were high...but there were moments where it let me down a bit, but it was a beautiful story that made up for some of the disappointments
As soon as I started reading Pushing the Limits, I knew it was going to be an addictive read that would keep me up till 2 in the morning, and I was right. I read half of the book in about two sittings and thoroughly enjoyed it. It has a satisfying pace in which it runs. It didn't move too fast and it didn't move too slow, it had the perfect pacing, which is always enjoyable.
The plot was brilliant. I loved how Katie finely weaved what happened to Echo into the story. As Echo regained fragments of memory of what really happened that horrible night, you can finally see the full picture and how much Echo has really suffered. I loved how the author wrote Pushing the Limits from both Echo and Noah's point of view. You then really learn and discover who they are.
The characters were unique and realistic. Echo was such a sweet girl and from the first couple of pages you feel sympathetic towards her. She feels lost and broken and I did tear up a bit when her and Noah were together, as you could see how they were helping each other. Picking up their broken pieces, and sticking it back together. Echo could also be really spunky and feisty at times and I really admired her when she had the courage to expose her scars to the school. She's a real fighter.
I will admit it, I really didn't like Noah in the beginning. The way he spoke about her when they first met made me think of him as a real jerk. But he really surprised me. There were moments with him in the novel that tugged at my heart-strings. Like when he was with his brothers, I could just imagine the pain he was put through, losing his parents in a fire and his two little brothers to Carrie and Joe, heir adoptive parents. They way he cared for them was just phenomenally beautiful...and the same with Echo. He was so sweet to her, gentle and caring, sticking by her side and making sure he was always there when she needed him. The relationship they had was stunning. The loved and respected each other. I also liked it that it wasn't instantly love at first sight. That had to talk and be friends and work their way up to being where they were with their relationship, gradually trusting each other more and more.
What I didn't like about Pushing the Limits, was the amount of swearing it contained. I was quite shocked at the language some of the characters used, and to me that ruined the book a little bit. There was also some inappropriate content in the book that made me, at parts, want to put down Pushing the Limits, but I continued reading and I'm glad I did, as it makes up for it in the end.
Pushing the Limits is a satisfying contemporary romance. It has depth and meaning to it. A perfect blend that has a lightness to it and a bit of darkness that comes together to form a great novel. Pushing the Limits teaches you to love and forgive and being yourself.
I give it: 4 CUPCAKES!
