Pushing the Limits - Review

Pushing the Limits

By: Katie McGarry

Expected Publishing: July 31st 2012 by Harlequin Teen

384 pages

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

"An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!"-Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series

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.

Oh boy guys! This is one of those times where my expectations didn't get in the way of a book. I've seen people say great things about Pushing the Limits--mostly that it was just a great book and that Noah is an awesomely hot bad boy to fall for. And well...they did not disappoint. Pushing the Limits gets my 5 Star rating. That's rigt! It sure does. I debated on giving it a 4.9, and then I said to myself, "If this book doesn't deserve 5 Stars, then what does?"

Noah is an extremely hot bad boy like everyone said. Quite possibly he makes one of my character crushes. AH!!! Except for his potty mouth and experience with weed (UGH!!!). I don't want to say too much about him because I don't want to spoil him for anyone else. But I loved his voice in this book.

The narrator swapping was difficult for me to pick up on in the beginning. Maybe that was just my e-Galley version, but I eventually got used to it and could quickly pick up on who's POV I was reading.

And I even mustered up some tears for this one. Of course I refused to let any of them spill and quickly wiped them out of my eyes before my husband could spot them--not that he would have given me a hard time for them or anything.

This is easily a MUST!!!!! (did you hear me? MUST!) read for the summer. Please check it out! You won't be disappointed. The first chapter to Dare You To (Beth's story) was at the end, and I'm already stoked about reading it. Just that one chapter was enough to hook me. Looking forward to it's release as well.

Again, Pushing the Limits gets a 5 Star rating from me. Have you read it? What did you think?

Updated: July 8, 2018

Independence Day/The Golden Lily Giveaway

For those that read my post Happy Birthday to Me & 100th Blog Post or my In My Mailbox - #9 (from last week), you will remember that I made the mistake of going shopping for myself the week of my birthday and ended up with some duplicates. I had already decided to do my Happy Birthday to Me & 100th Blog Post Giveaway and give the winner the option to choose between 6 books. The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead was one of the options for that giveaway and also one of the books I received as a duplicate for my birthday. So if the winner had chosen The Golden Lily, I was just going to ship them my extra copy. However, as it was stated above, she did not.

That's what brings us to today's post and giveaway. Starting today, July 4th, in celebration of Independence Day, I'm giving away my extra copy of The Golden Lily. This giveaway will end July 13th. (You can read my review of The Golden Lily here.)

Goodreads--The second thrilling installment in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy spinoff series

Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students--children of the wealthy and powerful--carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Richelle Mead's breathtaking Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive. In this second book, the drama is hotter, the romances are steamier, and the stakes are even higher.

Please don't forget to check out my updated Contest/Giveaway Rules as some changes have been made since my last giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you everyone! Have a happy and safe 4th, and God bless!

Top 10 Tuesday - Books I'd Want on a Desert Island

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is: Top Ten Books for People Who Like X Author.

But since I’m terribly horrible at this kind of thing…then I’m going to do one of the past Top 10 topics. I’m trying to work my way through them from the bottom. So…my Top 10 Tuesday topic will be Top 10 Books I’d Want on a Desert Island.

1) Bible by God - I’d love to be able to say that I could maintain my faith without having God’s Word so easily accessible to me; however, you just never know until you’re put in the situation. And there’s never going to be an opportunity where I’d want to NOT have God’s Voice with me. So yeah. That’s a must and definitely earns the first place position with no questions asked.

2) I’d take along a copy of the Oxford-English Dictionary. One because I’m sure I’d have a ton of time to learn some new words. And two because I might need some paper for kindling. I’m sure there’s a few pages I would be alright with sparing for the cause of a warm fire. If you’ve ever watched any of the survivor type shows: Survivorman; Man Vs. Wild; Dual Survival, then you know that a fire can be the difference between life and death. And what good are my books if I’m not alive to read them?

3) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – So I’d have to have some Austen with me. Who better to share my lonely nights with than Elizabeth and Darcy?

4) The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan – Because this would remind me that no matter how bad my situation may be, it could always be worse. I could be stranded on a desert island surrounded by ZOMBIES!!!!

5) Crazy Love by Francis Chan OR The God Who Sees You by Tammy Maltby – (I’m totally not cheating since I said OR.) Either of these books could serve to help keep me focused on what really matters. Crazy Love would help me keep my focus on the fact that God loves me with a CRAZY LOVE. And The God Who Sees You would remind me that He hasn’t forgotten me, and even though I might be lost from friends and family or the rest of the world, God hasn’t lost me.

6) The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling – (Ok so now I’m officially cheating because there are 7 books in the series, but come on, you couldn’t just bring one and that’d be over half my list.) But I’d need a whimsical, wizarding world that is Harry Potter in order to help keep hope alive. Plus I’m sure I could find some sticks out there that would make perfect wands, and I’d be perfectly fine playing pretend and shouting out spells, charms, incantations, and creating potions whenever I needed my own "Wilson" type thing to keep me sane. And no one would be around to judge me for it just because I’m an adult.

7) The US Army Survival Manual by...who writes that thing?– Because DUH!!!!! (Maybe this one should be higher up on the list?)

8) The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian – Because this book single handedly changed my prayer life and I’d probably need a lot of prayer to survive on a desert island.

9) The Song of Fire & Ice series by George R. R. Martin – Because this series has a little bit of everything in it. It’s got good, evil, some of both, love, and not so much, dragons, shape shifters, kings and castles, lord and ladies, murder and betrayal, heroes and heroines, wars and more wars, friendship and enmity, brilliance and foolery.

10) And maybe I’d bring me some Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich so every now and then I could get in a good belly laugh. This isn’t my favorite series in the world or anything like that, but it’s definitely one of the only ones that’s ever gotten me to laugh out loud so frequently.

So that’s it…that’s my top 10(ish) books that I’d take with me on a desert island. What do you think? What would you take with you on a desert island? Or in keeping with today’s actual topic, based on these books, do you have any recommendations for other books/authors for me to check out?

The Sunday Post - #1

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Because I already participate in the In My Mailbox meme, I'm just going to use this one as way to recap my week.

THIS PAST WEEK:

I hosted my first giveaway. Happy Birthday to Me & 100th Blog Post Giveaway. It ran from June 21st (my birthday) to June 27th. I had 158 entries, and the winner, Ephrielle Miles, chose a hardback copy of City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare. A worthy choice in my opinion. (You can read my review of City of Lost Souls here.) Thanks again to everyone who participated in that giveaway.

I also had my largest In My Mailbox post yet. Receiving a total of 9 books this week. I try not to request more books than I can review, but this was the first week I've been approved for books published by Harlequin. (Thank you so much Harlequin!)

While I'm on the subject of publishers and NetGalley, I also received my first auto-approval from Curiosity Quills Press. A big shot-out to those guys and big thanks for that.

I was contacted for the first time from an author requesting a review of his work. Jazon Dion Fletcher and Skull Flowers which is featured in my In My Mailbox post also. And then just as I was checking my email eariler, I received another request from an author to review his work as well. I don't have all the details worked out on that one yet, so I won't go into detail here, except that I'm obviously excited about all of this.

I was tagged for the Liebster Blog Award. That was a surprise and an awesome lot of fun. I had the opportunity to visit the pages of some bloggers I didn't already know. As I mention in my post, I couldn't really find much in my google search for the origins for this award, but whoever created it, I thank you. It's a great way to boost the confidence of a small-time blogger and help him/her get even more involved in this wonderful community.

I participated in Top 10 Tuesday where this week's topic was Top 10 Characters That Remind Me of Myself or Someone I Know In Real Life.

And finally, I reviewed Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore and What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor.

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

For those that read my post Happy Birthday to Me & 100th Blog Post or my In My Mailbox - #9 (from last week), you will remember that I made the mistake of going shopping for myself the week of my birthday and ended up with some duplicates. I had already decided to do my Happy Birthday to Me & 100th Blog Post Giveaway and give the winner the option to choose between 6 books. The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead was one of the options for that giveaway and also one of the books I received as a duplicate for my birthday. So if the winner had chosen The Golden Lily, I was just going to ship them my extra copy. However, as it was stated above, she did not. So I'll be hosting another giveaway starting on July 4th, in celebration of Independence Day, giving away my extra copy of The Golden Lily. This giveaway will end July 13th. So be on the lookout for that. (You can read my review of The Golden Lily here.)

That's it for my first Sunday Post and blog related news this week. What's been going on in your blogging/book reading worlds this week? Let me know!

In My Mailbox - # 10

In My Mailbox is a weekly post hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren where bloggers can discuss the books we got in the mail this week.

From NetGalley for review...

Pushing the Limits

By: Katie McGarry

Expected Publishing: July 31st 2012 by Harlequin Teen

384 pages

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description--"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

"An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!"-Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series

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.

Confessions of an Angry Girl

By: Louise Rozett

Expected Publishing: August 28th 2012 by Harlequin

304 pages

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description--Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some CONFESSIONS to make... #1: I'm livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I'm allowed to be irate, don't you?

#2: I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who "might" be dating a cheerleader. She is now enraged and out for blood. Mine.

#3: High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and "seeing red" means being angry-get it?)

Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.

(Don't know what they mean? Look them up yourself.) (Sorry. That was rude.)

Temptation

By: Karen Ann Hopkins

Published: June 26th 2012 by Harlequin

383 pages

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description--Your heart misleads you. That's what my friends and family say. But I love Noah. And he loves me. We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other's arms. It should be ROSE & NOAH forever, easy. But it won't be. Because he's Amish. And I'm not.

When I saw Wilde's Army, I wasn't sure I wanted to pick it up because I only gave the first book, Wilde's Fire, 3 stars, but you know me, I have a hard time quitting midseries. So I thought I would give book 2 a chance before making a final judgment.

Wilde's Army

By: Krystal Wade

Expected Publishing: July 4th 2012 by Curiosity Quills Press

348 pages

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description--“Hello, Katriona.”

Those two words spark fear in Katriona Wilde and give way to an unlikely partnership with Perth, the man she’s been traded to marry for a favor. Saving her true love and protector Arland, her family, and their soldiers keeps her motivated, but the at-odds duo soon realizes trust is something that comes and goes with each breath of Encardia’s rotting, stagnant air. The moment when concern for her missing sister spirals out of control, all thoughts of trust are pushed aside and she finds herself trapped by the daemon tricks Perth warned her of.

However, rescuing those she loves is only half the problem.

Kate still must get to Willow Falls, unite her clashing people, and form an army prepared to fight in order to defeat Darkness. When so many she’s grown fond of die along the journey, her ability to play by the gods’ rules is tested.

How will she make allies when the world appears stacked against her? And will she still be Katriona Wilde, the girl with fire?

The Kindling

By: Braden Bell

Expected Publishing: July 10th 2012 by CedarFort Inc

304 pages

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description--All thirteen-year-old Conner Dell wants to do is pass pre-algebra, play lacrosse, and possibly kiss Melanie Stephens. He didn’t mean to set anyone’s gym shorts on fire or make school lunches explode. But now that the strange powers inside him have been ignited, Conner’s normal teenage life is about to go up in flames!

This fast-paced novel is non-stop fun for kids and parents alike. With characters you can’t help but root for, a plot that keeps you guessing, and plenty of humor, it’s a guaranteed thrill ride from cover to cover!

Torn

By: Stephanie Guerra

Published: May 15th 2012 by Marshall Cavendish

263 pages

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description--Stella Chavez is your classic good girl: straight As, clean-cut boyfriends, and soccer trophies . You’d never guess that Stella’s dad was a drug addict who walked out when she was a kid. Or that inside, Stella wishes for something more.

New girl Ruby Caroline seems like Stella’s polar opposite: cursing, smoking, and teetering in sky-high heels . But with Ruby, Stella gets a taste of another world—a world in which parents act like roommates, college men are way more interesting than high school boys, and there is nothing that shouldn’t be tried once.

It’s not long before Stella finds herself torn: between the best friend she’s ever had and the friends she’s known forever, between her family and her own independence, between who she was and who she wants to be.

But Ruby has a darker side, a side she doesn’t show anyone—not even Stella. As Stella watches her friend slowly unravel, she will have to search deep inside herself for the strength to be a true friend, even if it means committing the ultimate betrayal.

Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes Trilogy #1)

By: Shannon Dittemore

Published: May 29th 2012 by Thomas Nelson Fiction

320 pages

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--Once you’ve seen, you can’t unsee. Everything changes when you’ve looked at the world through . . .

ANGEL EYES

Brielle’s a ballerina who went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She’s come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can’t seem to shake.

Jake’s the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what’s going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices start.

A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.

And this week, I received my first ever request from an author to review his book. YAY!!! Thank you Jazon Dion Fletcher.

Skull Flowers

By: Jazon Dion Fletcher

Published: February 14, 2012 by Backwoods Press

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

( Amazon )

Amazon description--Skull Flowers is the story of Alexis, her robot 808, and her bumbling friend Officer Whistle Britches as they set off on an adventure to find out who and what was behind the assassination of her father Governor Champagne. Along the way they encounter many villains including Special Agent Scarzensky, Mistress LaReaux, and Dr. Necropolis and explore many strange places including the Death Factory owned by Controlled Substances Inc., the polluted bayou along Fiddlers Creek, and the Pyramid ov tha Priestess ov Mars. In her journey she is aided by her mentor Professor Proxy, her pirate friend Junebug, and his girlfriend Minx. Where the stars will shine eternal, where the sky it never ends, where all will ride eternal, where the moonlight shall attend, amongst the riots and make believe.

Also, I was one of many people to win one of the giveaways during Armchair BEA a couple of weeks ago, and I received my prize this week.

Open Minds (Mindjack Trilogy, #1)

By: Susan Kaye Quinn

Published: November 1st 2011 by CreateSpace

326 pages

Source: Won in an Armchair BEA giveaway

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can’t read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.

This has by far been my biggest week in the blogging world. I'll be doing a separate post in a few to recap it. But in the meantime, what did you guys get in your mailboxes this week? Let me know!