Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Title: Pushing the Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Age Group: Young Adult
Category:  Contemporary Romance
Release date: July 31st, 2012
Pages: 384 (e-galley)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Source: Review
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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.

Echo is unlike most other girls her age. She's had to deal with so many unfair things that life has handed to her, and the worst part is that she's repressed some of it. She can't remember what happened to her the night she received the horrifying cuts on her arms, other than the fact that her mother tried to kill her.  When she begins speaking with a new therapist in an attempt to piece her memories back together in order to move on, Echo begins to realize that she's lost and there are very few people willing to help her find her way.

Noah, like Echo, hasn't had the easiest life and when they come together, they both notice that they're more alike than they could have ever imagined.  Both of these characters quickly found their ways into my heart and I loved that the story, the hurt, and the romance was told from both of their perspectives.  The emotions squeezed my organs until I felt like I couldn't breathe and this is one book I definitely didn't want to put down.  These star-crossed lover stories seem to be my favorite, and Pushing the Limits is another added to the list.

Echo and Noah turn out to be exactly what the other needs in order to help make themselves whole again.  Their relationship that sprouts from this common situation turns into this strong and caring, perfectly real romance.  They've both dealt with loss in more ways than one and by the end, they both learn how to take something devastating and turn it into something beautiful.  The emotions run high in this one, but it's not all about these two people bonding, it's more about their separate heartbreaking stories and how they're able to continue living, their wounds healing little by little.

Pushing the Limits is an extremely moving story that will bring tears to your eyes and  make almost anyone feel the pain these characters are going through.  Very well-written and full of hope, this story is guaranteed to stay on your mind for quite a while after reading it.  Katie McGarry is clearly talented, therefore I am highly anticipating her next piece of work.