Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits #1) by Katie McGarry

PUSHING THE LIMITS SERIES BOXSET
by KATIE McGARRY

AMAZON US | AMAZON UK

 SYNOPSIS

“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..

Reviewed by Gitte

4.5 STARS

I loved this book…. I truly did.  It was an extremely emotional and heart breaking journey with some very serious issues that were dealt with superbly through the brilliant writing of this Author.  Some of the scenes had me in tears as they got very dark and grabbed hold of my heart! This book is so powerful, it packs quite a punch and it will stay with you for a while after.  I loved the speed at which this story progressed, it wasn’t rushed, it was believable and it showed that rebuilding your life after a traumatic event takes a lot of strength, bravery, trust and above all love.

This story is about Echo and Noah and their fight to piece together their shattered lives; my heart broke for both of them.  These characters had rawness to them and such depth that you’d have to have a heart of stone not to feel their pain. We got to hear both their voices and each was as strong as the other, I fell in love with both immediately.  They truly were inspirational characters that battled to fight the obstacles of injustice placed in their paths.  Despite the seriousness of the storyline and the broken and damaged souls of Noah and Echo there was a balance of wit and sarcastic humour which shone some light in the darkness.

Echo was let down dramatically by the one person in her life she should be safe with.  This traumatic event changed her life in every way possible very much like a domino effect.  Her home life is pretty unbearable and at school she is now treated appallingly. Echo’s journey was pretty intense, such a lost and lonely girl; so beautiful and so vulnerable.

Noah was an amazing character, almost a contradiction in term. He’s a proper bad boy; tattooed and cocky, sleeps around, smokes pot and generally can’t be bothered. However, what you see is surface and a given label. It is not who Noah really is! As each layer of Noah is removed you learn why he has acquired this label, what led him on this “path”; the tragedy, the awful situations forced upon him, the misunderstandings, and the judgement. The love he gives is pure and beautiful.  He is fearless yet vulnerable. Sexy and protective with a wicked sense of humour. He completely stole my heart!

Through Mrs Collins the school counsellor, Noah and Echo form a connection which sets them both on their journey of healing, self-discovery and forgiveness. They share both pain and desperation yet see beauty and hope in each other. They love unconditionally. Their journey is harrowing yet beautiful!

I would have loved for the ending not to have been as abrupt as it was….maybe through an epilogue. We have so much heartbreak and drama. To have a bit more “afters” would have made it perfect!

I highly recommend this book to readers who loved books such as: Beautiful Disaster, Slammed, CRASH & Easy.

Reviewed by Gitte