Book Obsessed

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits, #1)

Publish Date: July 31, 2012
Hardcover {p.392}
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Personal Library
Echo Emerson, Noah Hutchins

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.

I loved this book from page one. It has won a spot among my top 3 favorite YA novels. I really enjoyed how the book rotated between Noah and Echo with each chapter. It allowed a better understanding of each of the characters. Plus, this way both Noah and Echo were the "main" characters, not just Echo who happened to be involved with a guy who too had issues. This way both of their story-lines took center-stage. Both of them just broke my heart with the things they were going through.

The issues Echo had with her father and stepmother were truly difficult, and in my opinion Echo wasn't being had enough on those two. I know right, a teen whose not causing the parents enough grief. I was so pissed with them, I felt she would have been totally justified in acting out against them. Oh how I hated her stepmother on sight. She and Echo's ex-BFF, Grace, ran a tight race of which did I hate most. I never really changed my opinion of those two even though Echo seemed to be okay with them. Lila and Noah's friend Isaiah, were really the only secondary characters that I did like.

Noah and his brothers broke my heart. The way they loved and depended on one another choked me up at times. I was happy with the decision Noah made regarding them. And Mrs. Collins, AMAZING! If only there were more adults like her in the school system. She worked wonders with both Echo and Noah.

This was truly one of the best YA novels I've read in a really long time. Pushing the Limits has earned a spot in my top 3 favorite YA novels.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

In My Mailbox {164}

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. Every week I'll post what books I've received either by mailbox/library/store.

I'll try to post an entry of IMM every Sunday that I receive books by mail/library/store of that week.

Books via Amazon

Giving In by Maya Banks

Books via Publisher

The Beekeeper's Ball (Bella Vista Chronicles, #2)

The Marriage Pact (The Brides of Bliss County, #1)

Beekeepers Ball by Susan Wiggs

The Marriage Pact by Linda Lael Miller

Books via Reader Service

Before We Kiss by Susan Mallery

A Man's Promise by Brenda Jackson

The Marriage Pact by Linda Lael Miller

Take My Breath Away by Christie Ridgeway

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday {107}: Tease @SoVerySophie

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine. It is showcases upcoming releases of books that I'm looking forward to. It is somewhat similar to one of my previous posts, Anxiously Awaiting. {Button courtesy of Bewitched Bookworms}

Tease
Sophie Jordan
May 27, 2014

What happens when a girl who always calls the shots meets a guy who's too wild for even her?

A born flirt and good-time party girl, Emerson has never had a problem finding a willing guy. She's always chosen her hookups carefully, and she's never broken her three cardinal rules:

Never let them see the real you.
Never fall in love.
Always leave them begging for more.

Then Shaw comes along. A hottie from the wrong side of the tracks, he's immune to her flirtatious banter and come-hither smile. After rescuing her from a disastrous night at a biker bar, he doesn't even try to take her to bed—he calls her a tease and sends her home instead. Unable to resist a challenge, or forget the sexy, dark-eyed, bad-boy biker, she vows to bring him to his knees.

But instead of making Shaw beg, Emerson finds herself craving him. For the first time in her life, she's throwing out her rule book. Suddenly, she's the one panting for a guy she can't control—a guy who won't settle for anything less than the real Emerson and who forces her to do things she's never imagined, including facing a past she thought she'd buried.

A guy who just might leave her wanting more...

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

The Temptation of Lila and Ethan by Jessica Sorensen ~ Launch Day Blitz

Excerpt:

“Why is this bothering you so much?”
“It’s not,” she snaps, turning her back to me. “I was just wondering why. That’s all.”
I stare at the back of her head as she rests her chin on her knees, staring out at the desert land. “It seems like you’re bothered,” I point out.
Her shoulders lift and descend as she shrugs. “If you leave, then I’ll be alone.” She mutters it so quietly I can barely hear her.
I’m silent for a while, unsure what to say or if there’s anything I can say—want to say. “You can come with me.” It slips out and I want to smack myself on the head. Taking her with me would defeat the purpose of escaping the noise and people, yet at the same time I know I’d miss her if I left her behind.
She glances over her shoulder with skepticism on her face. “Could you imagine me living in your truck, because I sure as heck can’t.”
“Why not?” Again, what the hell is wrong with my mouth? Why can’t I just let it go? She’s giving me such an easy out to a huge commitment I shouldn't be taking.
“Because.”

“That’s the silliest reason I’ve ever heard.”
“Because I don’t understand why anyone would want to take off from a city where you have everything at hand and live in a truck where you have nothing but a backseat. It’s pretty much like being homeless.”
I kneel behind her, inching close to her, then hesitantly place my hand on her shoulder. “Shut your eyes.”
She leans away, like I’m scaring her. “Why? ”
“Because I’m going to prove what’s so awesome about my idea.” I wait for her to do what I ask and she stubbornly drags it on for longer than necessary, then finally surrenders and turns around.
“Fine.” Her voice softens a little. “Show me what’s so great about a backseat.”
“There’s a lot of great things about a backseat,” I joke in a low voice, and then dip my lips toward her ear and whisper, “Now shut your eyes.”
I expect her to argue, but she very willingly obeys, shutting her eyes the second I utter the words. I shut mine, too, but only because being so close to her, breathing in her scent, feeling the warmth emitting from her body is driving my body into a frenzy.
“Now picture nothing but mountains,” I say softly, picturing it myself. “No city. No noise. No crazy-ass parents who act like children and treat their children like shit. No nothing. Just the quiet.”
“It seems like an awfully lonely place, if you ask me,” she tells me. “Just me and the dirt and the quiet. Although I wouldn’t mind the being without the parents part.”
“You wouldn’t be completely alone.” I sweep her head to the side and rest my chin on her shoulder. “You’d be with me.”
She pauses for an eternity and her breathing is ragged. Or maybe it’s mine. “What would we do at this mountain place together?” she says.
“Anything we wanted.”
“Hike?” There’s disdain in her voice.
“Maybe,” I say. “Or maybe we’d just sit and enjoy each other’s company in the quiet.” She shifts her weight and situates her hands underneath her legs, leaning back against my chest. “That kind of sounds nice.” “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
As strange as it is, and as much of a pain in the ass as Lila can be, I can actually picture us sitting together up on the mountains in the noiselessness, living in my truck, driving anywhere and everywhere. Together. And the comfort in the idea is kind of frightening because it means I’m thinking about our future. Together. Shit.

I think about moving away from her, putting a little space between us because obviously I’m heading down a road I shouldn’t be headed down. The dream of living on the road has always been one I’d planned to live out alone and now suddenly I’m telling Lila she should come with me. God knows what would happen between us if we lived in a truck with one another. We’d either grow really close or end up hating each other. Or maybe both. But I can’t bring myself to move and break the peaceful moment. So instead I sit down and wrap my legs and arms around her and we just sit there in the sun, enjoying each other in the quiet.

THE TEMPTATION OF LILA AND ETHAN by Jessica Sorensen (May 6, 2014; Forever Trade Paperback; $12.00)

On the surface, Lila Summers is flawless: good looks, expensive clothes, and a big, beautiful smile. But a dark past and even darker secrets are threatening to bubble over her perfect façade. She'll do anything to keep the emptiness inside hidden—which leads her into situations that always end badly. Whenever she hits bottom, there's only one person who's there to pull her out: Ethan Gregory.

Ethan set the rules a long time ago: he and Lila are just friends. He doesn't do relationships. Although his tattooed, bad boy exterior is a far cry from Lila's pretty princess image, Ethan can't deny they have a deeper connection than he's used to. If he's not careful, he could be in serious danger of becoming attached-and he's learned the hard way that attachment only leads to heartbreak.

When Lila falls farther than she ever has before, can Ethan continue to help as a friend? Or is he also getting close to falling . . . for her?

About Jessica Sorensen:
Jessica Sorensen is a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives with her husband and three kids in Idaho. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.

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Rafflecopter Giveaway:
10 copies of THE TEMPTATION OF LILA AND ETHAN by Jessica Sorensen with signed bookplate. a Rafflecopter giveaway