*Review* Pushing the Limits – Katie McGarry

 Pushing the Limits

Katie McGarry

384 pages

ISBN: 9780373210497

Read 7-31-12

Format: Adobe Digital Editions

Source: NetGalley

Add it on Goodreads!

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.

What can I say about this book?  It is beyond fantastic!  This book is so amazing and riveting and powerful and emotional and….I could go on for a while.  Point is, this one is a must read.  The story is wonderful and beautiful.

Pushing the Limits Read-Along – Week 1

This fabulous event is hosted by ME Candace Book Blog, Natalia @ Dazzling Reads, The Page Turners, Mary @ The Book Swarm and The Bewitched Bookworms.

For 6 weeks, we will discuss the amazing emotional roller coaster that is Pushing the Limits. We will tear up with Echo, swoon over Noah and thoroughly enjoy this unbelievably fantastic book!  Every week will have awesometastic giveaways sponsored by HarlequinTEEN  and we have an epic, unique and absolutely adorable Grand Prize  sponsored by Bewitched Bookworms and Katie McGarry herself!

Ready for some fun?!

Along with the fun questions and reader discussions, there are also giveaways going on!

Visit the different hosts of the week to find out what the next giveaway is and below is the information about the awesome grand prize!

Grand Prize Package

The winner will be drawn from all participants during the course of the  Read-Along. Of course, if you participate every week, you’ll have 6  chances to win! This Prize Package is sponsored by Katie McGarry (we love her so much!!) and the Bewitched Bookworms and is special, unique and totally inspired by our loves: Echo & Noah!

• 1 personalized, signed, finished copy of Pushing The Limits!(Katie will sign it to the winner!)
• Fudge brownie mix since that’s Lila’s favorite and she always buys them when she is with Echo
• Pushing the Limits Bookmark
• A small Hot Wheels Corvette – VROOM!
• CD from Angela McGarry. Katie’s sister-in-law wrote and recorded a song called Can You. The song is inspired by Pushing the Limits and is from Echo’s POV. Part of the chorus is: I’m broken, I’m shattered, I’m scarred. Can you really save me? It’s an amazing song.
• Cinnamon Lip Gloss (Bath& Body works) Noah loves that Echo smells like Cinnamon …
• Cinnamon Room Spray (Bath & Body Works)
• Pair of Fingerless long Gloves

Now, for this week’s questions:

1. The story starts out with Echo’s thoughts on how she wants to answer  her therapist’s questions (snarky and caustically truthful) which are  quickly juxtaposed to how she does (milque-toasty and banal).
Who do you think she hides the truth for more, her parents or herself?

I think she hides the truth more for her parents at first, mainly her father since he is so controlling and worried about what everybody else sees.  He is quite hard to please, and Echo knows that the truth is not what he wants to see or hear, so she clams up.  But there is some that she hides from herself as well.

***

 2. We see Mrs. Collins, the school therapist, interact with both Echo and Noah in the first few chapters. From those interactions, what do you think of her?  Is she a  prototypical caricature of state care?  Or do you think she’s there to  make an honest difference in the lives of those she’s there to help?

I really like Mrs. Collins.  She seems very honest and genuinely concerned for those who need her help.  If I ever had to have a therapist, I would like someone like her.  She isn’t afraid to speak her mind and won’t be intimidated.

***

3. Noah has two friends, Beth and Isaiah, who have his back no matter  what–through thick and thin–and he has theirs. Consequently, his life  is a little easier because he has two people who know about his  situation. Echo only has one close friend, and Lila will barely speak to her in school.
Do you think Echo would have had an easier time coping and moving on if she had friends like Noah does?

A support system is very important when trying to deal with things.  When you feel that you have no one to talk to or don’t have someone you trust to confide in, it makes it a lot harder to get past tough times.  So I definitely think  it would have been easier for her had she had someone like Noah does.  She didn’t really have anyone to help her just live a normal life after what happened, so she closed herself off.

***

4 . Echo fixates on a colorful ribbon that sits on the school counselor’s desk during their one-on-one sessions.
Do you think this is a case of “Oh, look at the pretty ribbon.  Let me zone out while staring at it” , or could it have a deeper  significance?

Definitely deeper significance.  When I read it I thought to myself that something was up with the ribbon.  Something doesn’t stir inside for no reason 🙂

***

 5 .) Noah and the jacket… Already when Noah and Echo meet for the first time, Noah got angry when Echo forgot her Jacket (pg 34). Then on Echo’s Birthday party Noah gave Echo his jacket when he saw that she forgot hers (pg 54). There is a significance behind his anger when Echo has no coat and it tells already so much about Noah!
a) Why do you think is Noah so focused on Echo and her Jacket and what does that tell you about Noah’s character?

To me, this showed that Noah is more thoughtful than people give him credit for.  His heart isn’t a lump of coal like some people like to make it out to be.

b) Show us your favorite jacket! Either with you having it on or alone!

I like peacoats a lot and I have a black one that I love.  It’s packed up right now, so I will show you one like it here.  It’s simple, warm and comfy!

***

6. Echo wears gloves all the time to hide her scars. Not only for her  sake, but obviously also for the others. When Noah sees Echo’s scars for the first time he’s shocked.
a) Do you think this was the moment he began to see Echo in a different light?

He may not have known what had happened to her, but in my opinion he already saw her in a different light shown by how he was concerned for her and how he treated her differently even in the beginning, but seeing the scars really did it for him.  I think seeing her scars for the first time just emphasized it to him and made him realize that they share difficult pasts.

b) Show us your favorite pair of gloves!

I love to text and play with my smartphone, even if it is cold, so I love my smartgloves!  I don’t know exactly how they work, but the tips of these gloves actually work on touch screens.  The days of ungloving and freezing fingers just to text are over! See them here!

Head over to  The Page Turners for next weeks questions and Bewitched Bookworms for this week’s giveaway!

Teaser Tuesday (23)

 Tuesday is a weekly meme anyone can take part in, hosted my MizB at Should Be Reading.  To participate all you have to do is get the book you are currently reading, open to a random page, and post a two sentence teaser that doesn’t contain spoilers.  Make sure you don’t forget to let us know the title and author of the book so people can add it to their To Be Read list if they liked the teasing!

This week is Pushing the Limits and man is it great!  I am hoping to have the last little bit read and reviewed for tonight (if moving the last of my belongings from my old place will let me).  Today is the book’s release date and if the last 70 pages is anything like the first portion of the book, you won’t want to pass it up!

Here’s my teaser:

 Her long blue sleeve was hiked past her elbow and I followed her gaze to the exposed skin. She attempted to yank her hand away, but I tightened my grip and swallowed my disgust.

Pushing the Limits
Katie McGarry

In My Mailbox (15)

 In my mailbox is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren that lets us share our bookish finds!

Purchased:

 The Vampire Diaries The Return: Shadow Souls – L.J. Smith

Peony in Love – Lisa See

Only two this week!  I got these both for really great prices at Big Lots and couldn’t pass them up!

 

 

 

 

*Review* Angel Fire – L.A. Weatherly

 Angel Fire (Angel #2)

L.A. Weatherly

709 pages

ISBN: 9781409522010

Read 7-24-12

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

Add it on Goodreads!

In Book Two of L. A. Weatherly’s wildly romantic, action-packed trilogy, the angels are back with a vengeance . . . and they don’t have heaven in mind.

In the wake of the Second Wave, the angel menace has exploded, and Alex and Willow are on the lam. Willow’s prophetic dream points them to Mexico City, where they connect with a fledgling group of angel killers led by the exotically beautiful Kara, an Angel Killer from Alex’s past. But the team remains suspicious of Willow, even after the more-experienced Alex takes over as leader, training them hard for a rush attack on the Seraphic Council, or “The Twelve.” This elite group of all-powerful angels is also under the scrutiny of Willow’s angel-father, Raziel, who has his own sinister plan to defeat them.

What Willow hasn’t told Alex is that there was also a mysterious boy in her dream, one she felt overpoweringly attracted to. When brooding, gorgeous Seb shows up in the flesh, he turns out to be another—possibly the world’s only other—half angel. He’s been searching for Willow all his life, and when Alex enlists this rival to help keep Willow safe, he can’t predict what chemistry will pass between them . . . or how far Willow might go to keep Alex safe. Will their love endure or spell doomsday for the human race?

First, I am just curious if anybody else noticed that the dress on this cover is the same dress on the Mara Dyer covers?  I just happened to notice one day and found it funny.  Anyway….this books picks up right were the first one left off.  I took longer routes to places or I actually drove the speed limit so I could listen to more of this book.  The narrator did a great job, just like the first time, with the exception of Alex’s voice, which she changed for some strange reason (perhaps she forgot how she originally did Alex?).

I Got a Liebster Award!

Quoting Ramblings of A Book-A-Holic : “This award is given to bloggers who are up and coming
and who have less than 200 followers.”

I think it is so cool that Jane at Much Ado About Books  recognized me for this 🙂  I am so honored to receive this award, it makes me so happy!!

Here are the rules!!

• Each person must post 11 facts about themselves.
• Answer 11 questions the tagger has given you and 11 questions for the people you tag.
• Tag 11 more bloggers.
• Tell them you’ve tagged them.
• No tag backs!

11 facts about me:

1. I work at a jail.
2. I own a corgi named Ein (after the show Cowboy Bebop).
3. I also love manga and anime.
4. I want to have my own personal library.
5. I have a special shelf that has books with their film adaptations.
6. I am determined to be a published writer and have a special tattoo designed for when I do.
7. I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
8. I wish I could paint.
9. I’m a very vivid dreamer and I love it.
10. If I could be any fantasy creature, it would be a mermaid.
11. I can’t eat popcorn without pickles.

Questions for me from Jane:

1.What is you current Obsessed-With book right now? Either new-release or old reread?

I’d have to say probably Cinder.  I loved this book so incredibly much and I am itching so bad to get my hands on the next book.  I think one of the reasons I loved Cinder so much is because I love Sailor Moon, that and the book is just awesome.  Period.

2. How long have you been blogging?

A year and a month, and it doesn’t seem that long at all.  I have definitely learned a lot and I still have more to learn.

3. Are you a TV watcher, or one who adamantly wards off those stupid television programs and sticks only to books as a pastime? (But actually stays up in the night on Netflix geeking out?)

I do love to watch some shows.  I don’t have cable, so most of the stuff I watch is shows I have on DVD, Netflix or Hulu Plus.  I love Bones, Castle, Glee, The Mentalist, Vampire Diaries, and a few others.

4. What are your opinions on the e-reading explosion of technology?

I am mostly pro-book, not pro-e-reader.  I don’t like paying almost as much for a digital copy of a book that I would for a real book I could hold in my hand.  I love the smell and feel of books and being able to admire the covers.  To me digital copies of books aren’t “real” and I don’t like it.  I have an original Nook, and that is because my mom gave it to me.  I’ll read author requests and free e-books on it, but I don’t buy e-books unless they are self published writers that I support.

5. Have you ever traveled out of the country?

Yes 🙂 I have been to the Bahamas, France and England.  I love to travel and I plan to go many other places.

6. What’s the strangest book you’ve ever read? (because of writing style, random plot, etc.)

Hmm, this is a hard one.  I can’t really think of any books I would consider to be strange. I am going to read House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski and I hear it is quite strange.  The writing style is very unique.  I have flipped through the pages and sometimes there was only a single word on the page and throughout the whole novel, the word house is in blue instead of black.

7. Favorite author?

I can’t say I have a single favorite.  I have several favorites.  Tera Lynn Childs, Sarah Addison Allen, Marissa Meyer, and others.

8. Fast or slow reader?

I guess I am kind of average.  I can read a bit faster if I wanted to, but I don’t absorb as much if i do that and I don’t enjoy the story as much.  I am jealous of the readers who can sit and read 3 books in a day.  My TBR pile is so huge, I really wish I could do this!

9. Have you ever been to an author signing/event before? If so, who is the first author you’ve ever met?

I have never been to a big one unfortunately.  Where I live isn’t interesting enough for many big authors to come for book signings.  I did meet Travis Thrasher who is a Christian thriller writer.  He was incredibly nice and is a really good writer.

10. How do you usually acquire your books? Indie bookstores, B&N, e-format, Amazon…etc…

I have a B&N membership, so generally I get them online at B&N.  The lady at my post office commented on all the packages of books I get, lol.

11. Do you write besides blogging? Like poetry or a novel? Or just write because of blogging?

I love to write and my dream career is to be an author.  I have several ideas I have been working on for novel length stories.  I originally started writing poetry and it kept going from there.  I’ve always loved writing and ever since I can remember, when I was asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  it was a writer.

I am tagging:

Head Stuck in a Book
Book Strings
Lili’s Reflections
Jenea’s Reads
Rally the Readers
The Book Addict’s Guide
Unearthly Reviews
The Bookshop Assistant
Nerdette Reviews
Book Nerd Reviews
Young at Heart

*Also you can find these blogs and a ton of others on my Awesome Blogs I Follow page.  I just added about 30 more blogs, so stop by and check them out!*

My questions to these bloggers:

1. Tell me an item on your “bucket list.”

2. Do you want to be a writer also, or are you happy just as a reader?

3. If you could recommend only one book to someone, what book would it be?

4. Physical books or e-books?

5. You have a chance to meet an author, which author would you want it to be?

6. Do you have a favorite reading spot?

7. What is your favorite book that your school made you read?

8. What do you do for fun aside from reading?

9. Is blogging what you expected it to be?

10. Do you blog in silence, or do you listen to music?

11. Tell us anything!

*Review* Kiss Me Kill Me – Laura Henderson

 Kiss Me Kill Me

Laura Henderson

272 pages

ISBN: 9780385734875

Read 7-10-12

Format: Paperback

Source: Library

Add it on Goodreads!

When 16-year-old Scarlett Wakefield transfers from St. Tabby’s to Wakefield Hall Collegiate, she is relieved that no one knows her dark, haunting secret. A few months ago, Scarlett was invited to an elite party with a guest list full of the hottest names in British society, including Dan McAndrew. Before the party, Scarlett had only imagined what it would be like to have her first kiss with Dan, but on the penthouse terrace, Dan leaned in close and she no longer had to wonder. Their kiss was beautiful and perfect and magical, and then . . . Dan McAndrew took his last breath as she held him in her arms. No one knows how or why Dan died, and everyone at St. Tabby’s believes Scarlett had something to do with it. But now that she’s safely hidden away at Wakefield Hall, Scarlett would rather forget that it ever happened. Only she can’t. Especially when she receives an anonymous note that will set her on the path to clearing her name and finding out what really happened to the first and last boy she kissed.

Ok, so I already wrote up one review, and that was before I realized what a dunce I was.  I don’t know why I didn’t know that this was the first in a series and I thought the story just…ended.  I was not happy with it, and then, I saw on Goodreads that it said Scarlett Wakefield #1 and found that there are 3 other books.  I admit that sometimes, I can be a doofus, so now, I am rewriting the review because the fact that it is one of four makes a big difference!  So…on to the new review….

In My Mailbox (14)

 In my mailbox is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren that lets us share our bookish finds!

I got more than normal for this week happily 🙂

Library

Angel Fire – L.A. Weatherly

Jinx – Meg Cabot

Bought

Once – Anna Carey

Eve – Anna Carey

The Selection – Kiera Cass

My Name is Memory – Ann Brashares

Author Review

 

Refuge – Rebecca McKinnon

I’m very excited about a few of these!  I loved Eve and can’t wait to start Once, and I have been waiting on The Selection since May (don’t order a book that’s out with a pre-order book because they won’t send them until the pre-order is out too).  Refuge is the final in a trilogy and I have already reviewed the first two for the author, so of course I had to do the last one 🙂 My Name is Memory was in the bargain book section at the bookstore and when I read the jacket, I just had to have it!  So what was in your mailbox this week?

*Review* Angel Burn – L.A. Weatherly

 Angel Burn (Angel #1)

L.A. Weatherly

512 pages

ISBN: 9781409521969

Read 7-7-12

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library (own paperback)

Add it on Goodreads!

Angels are all around us: beautiful, awe-inspiring, irresistible.

Ordinary mortals yearn to catch a glimpse of one of these stunning beings and thousands flock to The Church of Angels to feel their healing touch. But what if their potent magnetism isn’t what it seems? Willow knows she’s different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into people’s futures, know their dreams, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. But she has no idea where she gets this power from.
Until she meets Alex… Alex is one of the few who know the truth about angels. He knows Willow’s secret and is on a mission to stop her. The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous – and irresistible. In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy.

This was a very fun and different kind of angel story!  Angels are usually these wonderful beings that are pure and good, but not the angels in L.A. Weatherly’s world.  These angels feed off of people, who in turn, become obsessed with the angels and will eventually fall ill thanks to angel burn caused by the feesing.  It’s a very interesting twist on the popular angel perception.

Clockwork Princess Cover Reveal

I am one of the sad few who have not yet read any ofthe Infernal Devices series yet.  Yes, I can feel all the huge OMG eyeballs upon hearing this, but I promise it is on my TBR list and I can’t wait to read it.  All of the covers in this series so far are great, but this one I think is just AMAZING!  So gorgeous!  Take a gander at the lovely cover for Clockwork Princess:

Beautiful yes?  I have heard so many things about this series, and I am ashamed I haven’t started it yet.  Click the cover to add it to goodreads and read the synopsis 🙂