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

Purchased by myself

Release Date: August 3rd 2012

Publisher: MIRA Ink (Harlequin)

Description:
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.

My Opinion

I first discovered this series through NetGalley when I read Dare You To. I then ended up reading Crash into You from NetGalley when I got an arc, so you could say I've read this series in a weird order even if they can be read individually. Pushing the Limits has been sat on my kindle for months as I got it on free download but it wasn't until I purchased the paperback did I finally sit down to read it. I'm not sure why, maybe it was because it was the first book and because I'd read the others I pushed it to the side even though they are really stand-alone books.

Anyway, I'm glad I didn't put it off any longer. This book tugged at my heart strings more than the others in the series. Although I knew who Noah and Echo were from the other books I didn't know their full story and it was nice to be let in on that and how everything slotted into place. You can see where the author has carried certain things on and it also quantified their love in book 2 and 3 as I saw it develop and grow.

Pushing the Limits had everything I'd come to expect from this author. The emotions were believable, the characters deep and interesting and it keeps you engaged. I felt for Echo and Noah, they were easy to sympathise and engage with and I couldn't stop reading their story. Everything moved at a fast-pace but I liked how Echo's memory restraints left the information coming in drips. I also like how she worked with her counsellor and the relationship between Noah, Echo and Mrs Collins developed - it was very well crafted and the slow build up added to its believability.

Overall I can't believe I waited so long to read book one and now I'm am highly anticipating book four. This series is a must read.