Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Title: Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits #1)
Author: Katie McGarry (website)(Twitter)
Pages: 392
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: July 31, 2012
Source: Library
Rating: Wowsers, I loved this!

Ok, ya'll, if you've read my blog for even one minute you know that romance is.not.my.thing. But everyone and their sister told me that I needed to read this book and that if I gave it a chance, I'd love it. 

I was giving it 25 pages and then I was bailing...

Or not. 

Wowsers, I loved this book. Intense doesn't even begin to describe it. It was an emotional roller coaster ride that I didn't want to get off of. I was thinking that I'd hate to read a story about "Echo" but her name grew on me. It fit her. It fit her character. She was so broken. So everything. 

And Noah. Great day, why is every male character named Noah, incredibly hot? Forgetting the fact that he would be technically young enough to be my son, I wanted him for myself. Or maybe his older brother. Wink.

McGarry alternates chapters between the perspective of each of them and I was wowed by how different they sounded. Alternating perspective is hard to pull off but she did it well. When Noah started calling her his siren, I wanted to melt into a puddle. He was flawed and not always the best guy in the world but he was real and he was trying.

I enjoyed how the characters really came into their own throughout the book. It was believable that they would struggle. It was believable that they wouldn't always get what they want. It seemed truer to life than other YA books I have read in the past. The wonderful character development was just icing on the cake.

I really didn't expect this to live up to all of the hype but it really did. The writing is well done. The all important dialogue was great. The secondary characters were well done as well. I know that there are companion novels and I really look forward to reading more about them. They gave me all the feels.

While I think that fans of romance are obviously the targeted audience, I think that those like me who tend to shy away from romance can and will enjoy this one as well.