Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Pages: 392
Publication Date: July 31, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

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.

I've had a rough start with this book. I hated it, despised it and I literally wanted to throw it across my room, but I couldn't do that because it was an ebook. I burrowed this book from my online library several times. I read  a few chapters, then returned it - thinking it was crap, burrowed it again because I thought it would be good, vice versa. After seeing one of my favourite bloggers talk about this book, I knew it was time to force myself to read this and see what the hype was about.

The main reason why I didn't like this book in the beginning was Noah. His POV was definitely hard to get into. I didn't like his character at all. I just thought he was a typical bad boy. Eventually, I grew to like him. His love for his brothers was the only thing attractive about him. To be totally honest with you, I cried when Noah was debating whether he should let his brothers stay with their foster parents or fight for his brothers through court. I understand the pain he went through because I, myself have foster siblings. I understood Noah's side and the foster parents' sides.

Pushing the Limits was a fantastic contemporary. Though it was sort of cliché, it was a fairly written one. I've read better love stories with emotionally/physically damaged characters. I don't see myself re-reading this book, but I will definitely check out the next book in the series.

4/5 STARS