Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry Review and Giveaway

Published: July 31st, 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Copy: Courtesy of publisher and Netgalley

"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.

"An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!"-Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series.

About author Katie McGarry:

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and she remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Writing has given Katie an excuse to pursue her passions. Research for her books has provided her with the amazing opportunity to train with baseball players, ride along in a drag car at ninety-six miles per hour and experience boxing and mixed martial arts. Katie loves to visit schools and talk to teenagers about her research, writing and the truth that no dream is out of reach.

* Check out Katie's website: www.katielmcgarry.com

Review
Regular readers will know that angsty, contemporary novels are really not my usual genre du jour, but I'm happy to say that Pushing The Limits was a wonderful read for me.  I was enjoyably surprised with this edgy romance, and raced through it, barely stopping to take breath.

Both characters are so fractured and fragile, yet so believable.  Not once did I feel that Echo or Noah were overdrawn or over-reacting to situations.  Echo's family is seriously warped, yet I can see why they want to protect her - possibly for selfish reasons. As a parent, it's hard to know what to do for the best, we want to protect our children from harm - so while I don't agree with her father's reasoning, I do understand where it came from. The fact that they are able to eventually overcome their problems is a testament to therapy.  Ms Collins is a shining example of the 'understanding authority figure', and I loved her methods.  She was never over the top and her concern for Echo and Noah always seemed genuine.

As for Noah, well what can I say.  He was trying to help his brothers in all the wrong ways for all the right reasons.  I felt that his situation was exactly what is meant when you hear the phrase 'there, but for the grace of God'.  He is landed in an untenable situation, through no fault of his own and is branded a trouble-maker for trying - unsuccessfully - to do the right thing. Your heart will just bleed for him.

There has been a lot of positive press about this novel lately and I can only add that as far as I'm concerned it has all been justified.  Pushing The Limits is a taut, engrossing story that will tug at your heart-strings.  Definitely a book worth reading.

For those of you who have not yet had a chance to win a copy of Pushing The Limits, fill in your deets below and you may still get lucky.  Good Luck.

(Sorry I was having issues and couldn't get the form to fit properly.)