ARC Review- Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
 My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Summary:   

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.

An e-ARC has been provided to me by the publisher for an honest review.

My Review: From the second I started Pushing The Limits, this book got me hooked. Even when I wasn't reading it, my mind kept going back into the story and wondering what's gonna happen next. This book was amazingly written, had a mind-blowing story and wonderful, truly awesome characters. If you're looking for something really, really great to read, this book is definitely the one for you any day, anytime!

I can't even begin to describe how much I adored the characters of this book. I felt like I was connected to Noah and Echo. Their happiness made me smile, their despair sometimes even made me cry. This fact alone states how much I loved it. It wasn't just the amazing concept or the fact that it had everything I would expect in a YA contemporary romance. This book just sucked me into Noah's and Echo's life. Their pains, their betrayals, their moments of happiness, confusions and perhaps most importantly, their journey of self-discovery was what has made this book one my favourites of all time. Even though I seriously cried A LOT while reading this, the happy moments in the story were enough to make me smile on several occasions.

Echo had some serious issues throughout the story. The not-so-normal scars on her arms, the freaky incident that caused them and the fact that she couldn't remember a single thing about that night could drive anybody under the water. But it didn't break Echo. She survived. Yeah, she changed incredibly after the episode, but at least she survived and had the will to make her life somewhat normal again. This truly made me consider her as one of the strongest female protagonists I've come across so far.

Noah, on the other hand, made me swoooooon over him as soon as he was introduced in the story. He had his own set of issues but he dealt with them far differently than Echo. He was hard-core, stubborn and had his aims set. Adopting his brothers and getting them out of the foster care system was his highest priority and this made me love him even more. His love and affection for his brothers, his family was endearing. He was always there for Echo and his undoubted love for her made my heart melt at times.
Both of their worlds were vastly different and yet so similar. The way they felt towards each other was-I think- what all of us want with our "The One"s. It was like both of them were the pillar of strength for the other one. Guiding, supporting, loving each other like nobody else.

All the other characters were very, very well built-up and I really liked Echo's best friend Lila, or as Echo called her, The Good Witch, Glinda. She was also always there for Echo, helping her and supporting her. The confrontations Echo had with her dad and step-mother made me cry several times. It was ridiculous but I just couldn't help it. The torment she felt was just so..painful at times.

All in all, I don't think 5 stars are enough to describe my love for this book. I highly recommend it to all YA fiction lovers! :D