Series: Pushing the Limits #1
Finished on: January 12, 2012
Released: July 31st 2012 by Harlequin Teen
Source: Library E-book
Rating: 3.5/5
Summary from Goodreads:
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.I hurried to read Pushing the Limits, because I'm super interested in the Katie McGarry's Dare You To. With all the amazing reviews I read of Pushing the Limits, this really wasn't what I was expecting. I know I have a definite minority opinion with a 3.5 review, but I just couldn't get super into it.
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.
That isn't to say I didn't like it, because I did, but it was in a ebb and flow pattern. There were times where I didn't want to put it down and times where I struggled to want to pick it up again. I don't even know what to pinpoint that made me not love it. The story was interesting and so where the characters, I think it just slowed down a little too much at times. I couldn't quite get into the dual perspective, either. I found myself so much for interested in Echo's point-of-view over Noah's. Every time it was an Noah chapter I just wanted to get back to Echo. I really, really liked Noah as a character and as the male love interest, just not so much as a narrator. Echo's story with her parents and her history absorbed me more than Noah and his brothers. But I must say, Noah is definitely one of the more realistic and true-to-real-life male characters in contemporary.
The secondary characters were also great. I loved Lila as Echo's best friend and Isiah and Beth as Noah's. And apparently Dare You To isn't Beth/Isiah: ohmygoshwhat?! I trust that Katie McGarry knows what she's doing though!
Overall, this was a very well-written emotional contemporary with some touching and heart-wrenching moments. I definitely recommend it because like I said before, I can't even explain exactly what made me not love it. Most likely, I just wasn't in the mood for this kind of story at the time. I'm still really looking forward to Dare You To. (:
I think I actually am in the minority of people who really liked this book. haha. So it's funny you saw that you think you are in the minority for the opposite reason.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I liked this book so much or couldn't put it down. I really thought I wouldn't enjoy it but the author IS a good writer and she made two very sad characters come to life for me. I'm actually not too psyched about the characters in her next book, but I'm sure I'll pick it up anyway because Pushing the Limits was such a seamless experience for me.
Great review!