No Limits, Ellie Marney

Harris Derwent has run the full gamut of disappointment and loss in his nineteen years and is not sure if he’ll ever find the means to turn things around.  Running from one disaster to the next, it takes a bullet to slow him down and even the circumstances in which Harris came to be injured were just more mistakes made in a drama that Harris was never meant to be part of.  Harris is one person who needs to find a little light in the dark as he is completely without direction let alone the bus money to get there.  

Amita Blunt definitely remembers Harris.  All the girls in their country town had his blonde head on their radar at some point and though the high school years are well behind them now, the golden glow remains.   As part of the hospital team assigned to care for Harris, Amita and the staff are all on edge trying to imagine what life is going to be like for Harris once he is discharged.   Even whilst recovering from a gunshot wound, the poor guy is being harassed by his obnoxious father to cut short his recovery and bail.  Amita’s police sergeant father Dennis however sees in Harris an opportunity.  

Convinced that the increase of drugs in their close country community is a problem best tackled by having someone on the inside of its supply, Dennis is confident that its time for someone to take the big risks. Someone who hasn’t much to lose, but who might be ready to effect change from within.  Amita is horrified when Harris takes this on, and even more so surprised at herself by agreeing to be the go-between for Harris to report back his findings to Dennis. How long can Harris keep up the double life without being outed as in informant?

The redemptive arc of bad boy (and of course gorgeous) Harris, being one of those people who makes a habit of jumping out of the frying pan straight into the fire, largely drives the action in NO LIMITS, though it is Amita though who is the better fleshed out and realized character. The drug cartel sub plot used to introduce conflict and keep the new lovers apart is rather implausible – plus Dennis the cop seems to be pretty cavalier about procedural safety – but it does heighten the awareness that there is little standing between Harris and him taking yet another punch, or worse.

NO LIMITS taps well into that sense of ‘me against the world’ that young people can experience when living out the transition years in rural isolation.  NO LIMITS also pushes home the reminder that teenage love can be incredibly painful, joyous and exciting all at the same time.  It’s usually selfish, inward looking and all consuming – just as it should be.  The characters in NO LIMITS are on the cusp of adulthood, all the responsibilities that will soon be theirs and the decisions that will shape their futures are not quite yet in play.   

NO LIMITS is an offshoot novel featuring the teenage powerhouse Harris Derwent, who we were first introduced to as a side character in a series prior, EVERY MOVE.  So if you’re the kind of reader that really wants to know what happens next after the curtains have been drawn and everyone has gone home – pick up NO LIMITS once you’ve finished the EVERY series. And if you’re a newbie to the EVERY books, you might find yourself wanting to back track!