Pushing the Limits

A Forbidden Student-Teacher Romance

By: Brooke Cumberland

Narrated by: Ryan Stone, Vivienne LaRue

Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

A forbidden and angsty stand-alone romance from USA Today best-selling author Brooke Cumberland about an art student who falls for her off-limits art professor.

He’s my art professor.

I’m his student.

With an electric connection and undeniable chemistry, I know it won’t be long until one of us cracks. When the opportunity arose to pose nude for a life drawing workshop, I couldn’t help the thrill of knowing he’d be watching. While everyone else looked past me with their eyes narrowed and concentrated, drawing only the lines and angles of my body, he saw right through me down to my vulnerability. Professor Hampton looked at me like he wanted to do more than look at me. He saw more than just the physical aspects—he saw me.

How do we keep our distance when everything pulls us together? What feels so right can only go wrong if we keep pushing the limits.

Pushing the Limits is a stand-alone novel and recommended for ages 18+ for mature content. This book has mentions of sensitive topics: suicide, death of a sibling, mental health (anxiety and panic attacks), off-page self harm, and grief. This is a forbidden romance between a student and professor who are both legal and consenting adults. Please listen with caution.

©2015 Brooke Cumberland (P)2023 Brooke Cumberland

Emotional journey with great narration

If I’m honest I have to say teacher/student is not normally a genre I’m drawn to but having read or listened to others works by Brooke Cumberland I decided to jump in and listen to Pushing The Limits. From the moment I put on my headsets I was captivated in Professor Morgan Hampton and Aspen Even’s emotional journey so I guess this is a genre I will be looking at in the future. Ryan Stone and Vivienne LaRue did a great job bringing the characters and their journey to life. They were spot on with the emotions and very easy to listen to. This was a very emotional story that really tugged on my heartstrings, we start off with Aspen attending her twin sisters funeral and then we follow her to college in California we’re she finds support and love with Morgan. Morgan and Aspen know they are walking a very fine line and by crossing it careers and hearts could be in danger of being broken but we can’t always control out hearts…… From the moment I connected with this couple I knew their journey would break my heart but I never realised until I had read the final what effect this book would have on me.

Emotional Must Read!!

Whoa!!! This one is bound to make you feel some sort of way once you finish it. Brooke does a phenomenal job at bringing these characters to life with their gripping, painful stories. This forbidden romance is emotional, spicy, and gutwrenching. It will leave your heart longing for more of their story, for sure!

So much raw emotions!!

This book has so much raw emotion, I was hooked from the beginning. This slow burn, teacher-student age gap is one that will keep you wanting to know what happens next. The passion in the book is to die for. I’m so captivated by the rawness in aspens paintings and how both her and Morgan both knew what it was like to grieve for a sibling. My heart broke for them. I can’t wait to see where their happy ever after takes them❤️

Let me keep Morgan all to myself

This was a really good book! Listened to it on Audio and man was his voice sexy!

Check your Triggers!

Aspen is an Art college student, who is just trying to get through life with her tragic past. Then she meets her professor and she can’t stop thinking about him.

Morgan just loved back home due to a death in the family and he really doesn’t want to be there. He is getting to know his future students through their art work and comes across Aspen’s and really want to meet her.

This book made me laugh and cry, just beautiful!

He can be my professor anytime!

Morgan and Aspen were more than just student and professor. If I didn’t know Aspen was in college, I would have thought they were around the same age. It may be that she suffered a traumatic loss that affects her mental health. Morgan has also suffered a loss and becomes a father figure for his niece Natalia. Aspen and Morgan’s banter and conversations went deep; there was nothing superficial about their relationship. They helped each other heal through their love and support. Ryan Stone and Vivienne LaRue are new to me narrators. Their voices lent an air of maturity and sophistication to the characters that really embodied their personalities.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this review.

Beautiful and Emotional Read

The narrators did an amazing job on this book. I was drawn in by all the emotion put into it. I could not stop listening. Being someone who suffers from anxiety I could totally relate. This is such a beautifully written, heartfelt, deliciously forbidden romance. Morgan and Aspen have been dealt a tough hand in life. Both are suffering from grief. There is an instant connection that neither can deny or fight for long. These two find in each other everything they need to move forward. This book gave me all the feels, highs, lows and extra steam. Must read 5 stars all the way.

I was sent a free audiobook and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

worth the tears

Morgan and Aspen captured my heart right from the start! Three people with their own struggles and heartbreak, perfectly find what they need in each other. I absolutely love this story and plan to re-read it often!

Brooke Cumberland has written a book that draws me in everytime, no matter how often I hear it!

What an emotional journey

I've had this book on my radar for quite some time now and I’m so glad that I finally read it! Pushing The Limits was such an emotional journey. Aspen is one tough cookie. Her story is absolutely heartbreaking but I think that’s why her and Morgan fit so well together. They have such great chemistry, but also a great emotional connection as well. It was great to see that blossom between them. This book has all of my favorite things, an age gap, forbidden/taboo romance, with two souls who desperately need and finally come together. As for the audio for this book, I thought that they did quite a job. I’m pretty sure that I haven’t read anything that was narrated by these two narrators. At least off the top of my head I can’t think of any. I think they did a wonderful job bringing these characters to life. I’d love to listen to other books that they’ve narrated sometime in the future. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more by this author. I really enjoy her writing style and the characters that she creates.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Narrators Were Great and the Story Kept Me Hooked!

First I will say that angsty romance isn't usually my vibe. BUT after reading this I can totally see the appeal.
 I devoured this audiobook in 24hr. I thought both narrators did a great job conveying the emotions and moods of each character. PLUS the male narrator did not make the woman's voice all high and annoying. That is always a plus!

The writing was so easy to listen to and the character development flowed so well. Both Aspen and Morgan are dealing with so much loss, but they find comfort and support in each other. I also loved the relationship between Morgan and his niece. It gave me just another reason to root for him to work through his pain and trauma. The element of the story that I most appreciated was the anxiety representation. It was honest, familiar and sad to watch. I am so glad the author included that in the story.

Lastly, I have to say the spicy scenes were SO HOT! Morgan has a mouth on him and I loved that Aspen was not afraid to ask for what she wanted! I will for sure be reading more from this author!

I was sent a free audiobook by the author and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.  

What an absolutely beautiful, emotional story!

4.5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this professor/student romance between Morgan and Aspen! This was definitely unique than other romances I have read with this trope. Things to look for in this book:

Professor/Student ✔️
Age Gap ✔️
Single dad (guardian) ✔️
Tragic pasts ✔️

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Angst level: 💔💔💔

This book was such a heartbreaking, yet beautiful story. Both Morgan and Aspen have dealt with great loss and guilt in their lives - Morgan lost his estranged brother six months ago and Aspen lost her twin sister six years ago. Both of those losses have destroyed our main characters for different reasons, but the guilt that they carry has been slowly eating them alive.

Beyond the heartbreak in this book, the slow burn build up for Morgan and Aspen was great. You could really tell much how hot they were for each other and how they would eventually end up. Once they do get together, it is hot hot hot. Which we all knew going into it between Morgan's dirty talking mouth and Aspen's experience sexually due to using sex as a distraction. But these two just worked, even though it wouldn't look like it from the outside.

The side characters were also great and loved how the friendships developed with Aspen and her friends. The relationship between Natalia and Morgan and Natalia and Aspen was really beautiful to see as well!

The narrators of this book were perfect! I felt that they really were the right choices for these characters and really did these characters proud!

Please be aware of the triggers and check trigger warnings if you have any!