Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Published: July 31, 2012 by Harlequin Teen
Series: #1 (Pushing the Limits)
Length: 392 pages
Source: bought (at Barnes & Noble)
“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 had mixed feelings for Pushing the Limits. It was a good read, but sometimes I couldn’t connect with the characters, and just didn’t feel like they popped out of the book. This book has an alternating point of view between Echo and Noah and sometimes I get confused on who was telling the story because they sounded very similar. Also, the pacing was kind of slow at times. I do like the story though and how these two characters got their backs. Pushing the Limits is about Echo & Noah who goes to the same school and are both going through something tough.
I really love Noah’s character. He lives by the ‘family first’ rule. He cares about his brothers SO much which I could relate to because I have 2 younger brothers and I love them very much! For Echo, I like how she slowly changed as the story progressed. At first, she kept fighting for “normalcy” (getting back with her ex-boyfriend who was a jerk & kept nagging her to have sex, etc.) but her peers can’t just relate to her and doesn’t understand what she was going through. She gradually gained her confidence which made me admire her. She was self conscious because of her scars, but ever since she became friends with Noah, she realized that there IS a person who could look pass her scars. I also like how there’s a meaning behind her name.
Overall it was a good & okay read. I’m a sucker for contemporary books, but this one did not end up as one of my favorite contemporary books. Since this book is about the characters relieving from a terrible past, I think people who also had a bad past will like this book & will be able to relate a lot, but I think people who didn’t will likely be able to relate too and like the story. This book just didn’t give me the “FEELS!!” or “AT THE EDGE OF MY SEAT” moment.
