Series Review – Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

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.

Review:

I really enjoyed reading Pushing the Limits. It surprised me in a lot of good ways. I loved the well written and developed characters as well as the mystery behind their backstories and the romance. I just wish that was less predictable.

This is just a tiny snippet of the full review of Pushing the Limits I wrote a while ago.

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
Overall:	4.3

Lila McCormick, Echo's best friend from Pushing the Limits, first met Lincoln Turner when tragedy struck both their lives. But she never expected their surprise encounter would lead to two years of exchanging letters—or that she’d fall for the boy she’s only seen once. Their relationship is a secret, but Lila feels closer to Lincoln than anyone else. Until she finds out that he lied to her about the one thing she depended on him for the most.

Hurting Lila is the last thing Lincoln wanted. For two years, her letters have been the only thing getting him through the day. Admitting his feelings would cross a line he’s never dared breach before. But Lincoln will do whatever it takes to fix his mistakes, earn Lila’s forgiveness—and finally win a chance to be with the girl he loves.

Review:

Crossing the Line was a cute read but that was about it. I didn’t really connect to either of the two main characters and the story as a whole kind of felt… flat to me. It really felt more like a scene that was cut than an actual story itself.

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
Overall:	3.1

For new high school graduate Echo Emerson, a summer road trip out west with her boyfriend means getting away and forgetting what makes her so... different. It means seeing cool sights while selling her art at galleries along the way. And most of all, it means almost three months alone with Noah Hutchins, the hot, smart, soul-battered guy who’s never judged her. Echo and Noah share everything — except the one thing Echo’s just not ready for.

But when the source of Echo’s constant nightmares comes back into her life, she has to make some tough decisions about what she really wants — even as foster kid Noah’s search for his last remaining relatives forces them both to confront some serious truths about life, love, and themselves.

Now, with one week left before college orientation, jobs and real life, Echo must decide if Noah's more than the bad-boy fling everyone warned her he'd be. And the last leg of an amazing road trip will turn... seriously epic.

Review:

Breaking the Rules was a really satisfying read. Ever since I finished reading Pushing the Limits, I’ve felt a thirst for more Echo and Noah – I needed more of them. I felt like I only got tiny sips of water with the rest of the books in the series, but Breaking the Rules finally, finally, quenched my thirst… sort of. I still want more. Lol.

I actually wrote a full review of Breaking the Rules too, if you’re interested. ?

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
Overall:	4.8

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all.

Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....
Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

Review:

In Pushing the Limits, I didn’t really like Beth all that much. I thought she was a bit rude and annoying, especially since I loved Echo. That being said, I think Dare You To does a really great job showcasing the other side of Beth. I loved getting to know her background story and see her relationships with her family and Isaiah, instead of wanting to slap her, I felt sympathetic. Ryan, on the other hand, he, I wanted to slap at times. I felt like he acted a bit dumb and but I still enjoyed the arc his character took.

I think Dare You To is a character driven novel. Not much happens (that I can remember) plot wise and the conflicts that occur solely revolve around the characters themselves and the ones around them.

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
Overall:	3.7

The girl with straight A's and the perfect life—that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy family…and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker—a guy she has no business even talking to. But after the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

The last thing Isaiah needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks. But when their shared love of street racing puts their lives in jeopardy, Isaiah and Rachel will have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Review:

I enjoyed reading Crash into You more than Dare You To. I was able to connect to both characters more easily. I really felt for Rachel and kind of hated her family situation. I also thought she was a bit naive. Like with Beth, I loved getting to know Isaiah better and finally read about his background story. That being said, I thought the story was a bit stagnant to me. While I was able to connect with the characters, I couldn’t really emote with the conflict they had. Does that make sense? I didn’t feel an urgency for them to solve their huge problem even though their lives would be really messed up if they couldn’t do so.

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
Overall:	4

Champion kickboxer Haley swore she'd never set foot in the ring again after one tragic night. But then the guy she can't stop thinking about accepts a mixed martial arts fight in her honor. Suddenly, Haley has to train West Young. All attitude, West is everything Haley promised herself she'd stay away from. Yet he won't last five seconds in the ring without her help.

West is keeping a big secret from Haley. About who he really is. But helping her-fighting for her-is a shot at redemption. Especially since it's his fault his family is falling apart. He can't change the past, but maybe he can change Haley's future.

Haley and West have agreed to keep their relationship strictly in the ring. But as an unexpected bond forms between them and attraction mocks their best intentions, they'll face their darkest fears and discover love is worth fighting for.

Review:

Take Me On is about West, Rachel’s brother, and Haley, a girl from the other side of town. What’s interesting about Take Me On is that I think it’s the first time in the series where at least on the main characters wasn’t mentioned in the first book. They were both almost completely new characters (except for the little bit of West that we saw in Crash into You).

While I really emphasized with West and Haley, I had a bit of trouble connecting with them. I had to fight the urge to facepalm multiple times because of their actions. I enjoyed the plot but thought it was a bit too similar to the one in Crash into You. I really liked the ending though!

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
Overall:	3.6