Flashback Friday #6: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (with giveaway)

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Left-Handed Book Lover's Flashback Friday. I'm not sure if this feature has been done on other blogs. I haven't seen it, but if it has been, let me know so I can give some credit!

FF is a feature here where I talk about books I read a while ago but still want to give major love to. This feature is designed to give some exposure to books that may have been forgotten about or that some people haven't heard of, even though they're really great! And I've decided to add a giveaway to the Flashback Friday series because what better way to get people reading a book than actually giving a copy out?

This week's FF goes to...

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

(Pushing the Limits #1)

Published: June 1, 2012 by Harlequin Teen

Genre: YA Contemporary

Summary from 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..

WHEN DID I READ THIS?

I read this as an eARC over a month before it was released. I knew that was a little early to read it, but I just knew this book was going to be perfect for me, so I was too pumped to wait to read it. I read the whole thing in a day. I've also really been wanting to re-read it lately.

 WHY DID I PICK THIS BOOK?

I've been obsessed with this book since the second I finished it. I've been shoving it into my in-real-life friends' hands ever since. I know it's a bit more on the popular side, but I don't want people to forget about this book or this incredible author!!

THREE REASONS YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK:

1. NOAH - lkdngoerkngopedf I love Noah so much. He's one of those misunderstood bad boys with a heart of gold. I love him so much. He treats Echo incredibly well, and is so dedicated to the people he cares about. He'd sacrifice his own happiness if it meant helping out a loved one.

2. Hate-to-love relationship - Idk about you, but that is one of my favorite types of romances.

3. Secrets - Aside from the sizzlin' romance, my favorite part of this novel was that McGarry just kep revealing secret after secret. There's always so much more to uncover, and rather than being melodramatic or frustrating, all these secrets help the book be more unpredictable and addicting!

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES

GIVEAWAY 

The winner will receive a paperback copy of Pushing the Limits from the Book Depository. This giveaway is open internationally, as long as the book depository ships to you. Entries from giveaway accounts will not be accepted. Believe me, I will check. 

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Lefty's Lowdown: Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry
(Pushing the Limits #3)
Published: November 26, 2013 by Harlequin Teen
Source: I received this from the publishers for review via Edelweiss. All of the opinions stated in this review are 100% honest.

Summary from Goodreads: The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

 Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

 But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Challenges: The Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge, Netgalley and Edelweiss challenge, The Prequel and Sequel Challenge

I am baffled, Ms. McGarry. Absolutely and utterly baffled that you have managed to do this to me once again. I am still reeling from this book. It was fantastic and I loved every second of it. Crash Into You stayed with me long after I reached 100% on my Kindle. I thought about it the next morning when I woke up, and I immediately wanted to read it again (I can't remember the last time that happened to me). Even still, thinking about this novel twists my stomach in the best possible way. 

Honestly, I wasn't sure how I would feel about this novel. I liked Dare You To a lot, but it was nothing compared to Pushing the Limits. And Isaiah wasn't necessarily my favorite character. I was sort of afraid that I'd like this novel less than DYT and that I'd never find the spark from PtL in any of McGarry's other books. 

I was wrong. 

Isaiah and Rachel won my heart within the first few pages. Isaiah (<333 love ya!) is still trying to figure out how to get the life he dreams about. Rachel is neurotic and spazzy, which makes her an absolute delight to read about. Yeah, her problems aren't, technically, as major as Isaiah's. She knows she has a house to go to every night, that she has a group of people always looking out for her. One might consider her problems "rich people probs" (her family loves her too much, people expect too much out of her) but that doesn't make them any less significant. What I love is that Isaiah and Rachel are working to conquer completely opposite issues, and yet they're ultimately working toward the same thing: living the life they want. I love them individually, and I love them together. In actuality, their relationship is probably a bit unhealthy, a bit dependent, but I just love it. It's intense and sexy! 

I think the thing that bothered me most in this was Rachel's family dynamic. They were all selfish. What was viewed as them being "over protective" of Rachel was really just them not wanting her to screw shit up. It was infuriating. I think that because I come from a really close family, it was really hard for me to read without wanting to beat each and every sibling. 

My favorite part of this novel, though? The drag racing aspect. It was so wonderfully interesting. That's all I can really say about it. This is what made the book so freaking awesome. 

Oh, and of course there are the feels! With McGarry, there are always the feels! There are the feels and fantastic writing and holy mother of intensity! Basically, I love this book. I love Katie McGarry. If you haven't read anything by her, you should probably get to it. If you are unsure about this book, don't be. It rocked my socks off. 

In a sentence: Katie McGarry has completely blown my mind once again with an intense novel of love, cars, and debts.