Review: Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

Review:

TEMPTATION by Karen Ann Hopkins is a thrilling forbidden romance. Sixteen-year old Rose and her family move to Meadowview where the local community is Amish. When she locks gazes with Noah, a young man who happens to be Amish, they both feel a magnetic attraction to each other. However, it’s not that simple.

They have to keep their blossoming relationship a secret as the situation would become dire if they were ever found out. Being together should be simple, but when you’re 'English' and your love interest is Amish, you can bet everyone has something to say about it. How many obstacles will Rose and Noah have to overcome to be together?

I loved Temptation. I read this over two nights and couldn’t stop thinking about it in the interval. What attracted me to Temptation was how different it is to other stories out there; it’s the first story I’ve ever read about the Amish. Not only that, but who doesn’t love a forbidden romance?

I was interested in learning more about the Amish after watching a BBC documentary a year ago called Leaving Amish Paradise (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zmdg8) where an Amish family left their community for the modern world. It was very enlightening. It was great to learn a bit more about the Amish community. Hopkins was fantastic at interweaving information about the Amish without boring the reader.

I really liked Rose and Noah. I was mentally cheering them on, hoping they wouldn’t get caught and felt emotionally connected to them. It was great that they loved and cared for each other so much. I do wish their relationship had developed a tad slower at the beginning because I really wanted them to get to know each other. Also, truthfully, they are from different worlds and I wondered how much they had in common apart from liking each other relatively quickly. However, their relationship still felt realistic to me.

Their relationship was sweet but I did worry about their lack of communication with each other; not understanding what the other wanted or even telling them. Noah is Rose’s first boyfriend, first kiss and first love. At points, she seemed so young and naive that I wanted to shake her. But at other points, she was very intuitive and mature. Sometimes, Rose didn’t even know what she wanted. Though this was realistic for someone in her situation, I began to doubt how seriously she considered her options.

Noah was very cute and protective of her. There were some instances where he was controlling and domineering and I wanted Rose to stand up to him instead of kissing him and acquiescing, for example, when he doesn’t want her to go to a party. I get that he wants to protect her, but she should do what she wants to do. There was a moment where I really hated Noah. It was when he insults Rose because of the fact that she likes to dance. I felt like smacking him myself.

Hopkins is a wonderful writer. I loved the dual narration. It was always intense, informative and emotional. There wasn’t a dull moment. The descriptions were vivid and I easily imagined everything that happened. The end was action-packed, gripping and full of suspense.

I was very surprised when I got to the end and realised that Temptation is the first in a series. However, it did make sense. Throughout the story, I was wondering when we would get to meet the some of the characters that I thought were essential in greater detail. I see now that that could happen in future books.

I assumed Temptation would be a standalone because it is a contemporary young adult novel and those are mostly standalones. However, I look forward to learning more about the Amish because I feel like Hopkins gave us a glance of it in Temptation.

I can’t wait to see what will happen next with Rose and Noah and what choices they make. The first chapter of the second book was so terrific; I can’t wait to read the next book. If you’re interested in learning about the Amish or simply want to read about a sweet and forbidden romance, Temptation is the book for you.

My thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin!

Rating: 4/5
Author: Karen Ann Hopkins

Review: Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry

Synopsis from Goodreads:

 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.

Review:

PUSHING THE LIMITS by Katie McGarry blew my mind. This is one of my favourite books of the year. It is the story of a damaged girl called Echo Emerson and a boy called Noah Hutchins who is in The System. It is the story of how they must overcome obstacles so that they can move on and improve their lives through helping, supporting and understanding one another.

I couldn’t wait to read Pushing The Limits. I sensed that Echo and Noah would have to go through so much; independently and together. Echo and Noah were brilliant characters. I felt for them immediately and could not stop reading until I knew everything that happened to them.

Echo has gone through a traumatic experience which has left her with countless scars. The thing is- she can’t remember the event that caused these scars... but she does know it had something to do with her ill mother. No one will tell her what happened. Not even her father. All Echo wants is ‘normal’; but how far will she have to dig into the recesses of her mind to get it?

Noah, the badboy stoner, has his own problems. He’s sick of being in foster care. His parents are dead and all he wants is to look after his two kid brothers... but after his past violence, that may never happen. These two’s paths should never cross, but they do. Noah needs Echo’s help to improve his life, not knowing that in the process they will help each other more than they could ever believe.

Pushing The Limits was an intense, thrilling and gripping read. After I finished, I couldn’t stop thinking about Echo and Noah. They have so many problems. They seemed so different and yet at the same time they felt perfect for each other. I could relate to Echo. She was a clever, sensitive and beautiful person. There was no brattiness or whining from her. She was so mature, such a refreshing heroine. I loved Noah just as much as Echo. He was so charming, funny and protective. He endeared himself to both Echo and me quickly. There was of course a sense of danger about him, but nothing to be scared about.

McGarry is an extraordinary writer. I loved the dual narration and both Echo and Noah’s voices. All her characters felt real. There were characters I loved and those I hated; for example, Ashley, Echo’s stepmother. There were some very emotional scenes which left me with a lump in my throat and tears trailing down my cheeks; a mark of great, unforgettable storytelling.

I won’t stop thinking about Pushing The Limits anytime soon. It’s a must read. I recommend this book to everyone who is interested in a story about characters overcoming their pasts, thinking about the future and lots of romance. Fans of Simone Elkeles will definitely love this. I can’t wait to read more from Katie McGarry. There is a fantastic playlist for Pushing The Limits; I particularly liked and cannot stop listening to Down by Jay Sean because it personifies Echo and Noah’s rollercoaster relationship. My hands are itching to pick up Dare You To (Beth’s story).

Rating: 5/5
Author: Katie McGarry