By Katie Mcgarry
Genre YA Contemporary
Pages 392
Recommended by Steph
First Sentence "My father is a control freak, I hate my stepmother, my brother is dead and my mother has...well...issues."
Synopsis
Echo used to be "normal". But coming back to school with scars all over her arms and no memory of how they got there hasn't been easy. As if that's not bad enough, she's in therapy, and so is Noah. Noah has lost his parents and gone through foster care. His brothers have been taken from him and he'll do anything to get them back, even if it means meeting with a therapist.
What it has going for it
I'm such a sucker for a romance that promises to be steamy, and with that cover you just know this one is going to be. ;) The premise behind this one immedietly drew my attention and from page one, I was sucked in. I loved LOVED the slow building of the romance. No annoying insta-love here. So refreshing, guys. This ones biggest strength is the characters. They were carefully written out with little traits that were consistent and true to them, and for a book written in two points of view, I was impressed. It was an easy read despite the issues and length.
What's lacking
Sigh! Well, despite it being easy to read I did find myself looking at how many pages I had left and wondering why the heck the book had to be THAT long. It took no time at all to figure out what happened to Echo and what the big "mystery" was. I was very invested in the romance until Noah started calling Echo "Babe". Oh my gosh! Gag! That's just a personal thing but if a guy ever calls me "babe" I'll sucker punch him! Noah just wasn't a very believable guy to me and that, and the length, sorta ruined this one for me. I didn't hate it....I just didn't love it.
Favorite moment
The Valentines dance, when Noah and Echo finally got together...alas, he ruined it by beginning to call her "babe" Ugh!
Yea or Nay?
Remember, dear blog readers, I'm always in the minority and everyone else adores this one. So, yes, go ahead and read it if YA romance is your thing.
Awe my husband and I call each other babe all the time haha.
ReplyDeleteI've heard only good things about it so it's refreshing to hear someone say Pushing the Limits isn't perfect. I've had a copy of this since BEA this summer, but I still haven't read it. I'm sure I won't like it unless I read it a just the perfect time. I need to really be in the mood for romance in order to read and enjoy it.
Yeah, read it when you're in the mood, cause it's too long to enjoy if you're not. That's funny that you use the nickname babe. It's just not a favorite of mine.
Delete+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteI don't mind the endearment "Babe" at all, so I at least won't have that issue! ;-) The rest of the review makes this sound great. I'd be totally okay with reading this now, and you know how hesitant I am about trying new releases! =)
I'd love to read your review of this. If you don't like it I would laugh my head off as you tare it apart.
DeleteI don't like stories that go on forever or get drawn out too long. I think that's why it's hard for me to write sometimes, because I want to make sure it's long enough... but not TOO long. And sometimes I feel like I can manage it in less than 50,000 words, even though it should be at least that much. I like the idea of a slow building romance though. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to find the right length for a book, for sure. I think a romance just doesn't need to be dragged out this long. But that's just me.
DeleteSadly, I'm in that minority right there with you so I might have to think about this one. I've only heard rave reviews so far and that makes me a bit wary. Love your reaction to guys calling girls "babe"
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's why I love you. We'll keep each other company in the minority. ;) Maybe Gambit will be there. We can hope.
DeleteI liked this one, but I never felt connected to Noah at all. For some reason he just seemed aloof to me. I also felt the writing was a bit disconnected and jumbled. It wasn't as smooth of story as I was hoping for.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I couldn't quite connect to him either. I'm glad I'm not the only one who wasn't enamored with this one.
DeleteOMG THE BABE DROVE ME CRAZY. Rereading that first sentence is really interesting. I think when I first read it, I was all "oh... another whiney protag" and then it kind of gets flipped, because Echo did have a ton of shit going on. I'm sorry you didn't love it, but I'm glad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteOoh. Another YA contemporary. But it's never a good sign when you start wondering why a book has to be as long as it is...
ReplyDeleteThe babe thing doesn't get to me usually... I have read so many awesome reviews on this one, but I am with Jessica, it is never a good thing when you are looking at page numbers. I think I will give this one a try. Thanks, Jenny!
ReplyDeleteI hate when people call each other babe too. It just feels weird. I'm so glad my husband doesn't call me that! I wonder if I could look passed it in a book. I don't know, lol.
ReplyDeleteI read the first few pages of this one and that was all I could handle. Could have been a mood thing, but probably not. I'll doubt I'll bother reading the whole thing, especially if you didn't like it ('cause you know how alike our tastes are :])!
ReplyDelete"Babe" always makes me think of that movie with the singing pig. Which just makes me laugh when I hear people calling each other that. I've heard some good things about this one, so too bad it wasn't a great read for you. I still want to read it, but I'm not in a hurry.
ReplyDelete"Babe" didn't bother me too much, nicknames rarely do, unless of course it looks like the author did a find/replace and you never hear their actual name again, that's annoying.
ReplyDeleteI'm bummed you did love this, but I know that not every books is for everyone. :)
I enjoyed this one but I too felt that it was longer than it needed to be. I did roll my eyes every time babe and baby was thrown around. It's a toss up between those and "I just knew he was my soulmate." If there is anything that puts me off more from a book it would be lovey dovey words.
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