Hello readers! You may remember Push by Claire Wallis from a Waves of Sunday post a few weeks back. Well since then I suckered talked Arlene and Crystal into reading this with me so you can read our reactions on this CRAZY but addictive read below!
Push (Push #1) by Claire Wallis
Publication Date: May 1st by Harlequin MIRA
About the book:
I feel like I am wrapped in a cyclone. Everything is whirling around me, drawing the air out of my lungs and filling me with the best kind of turmoil. Every time his tongue slides against mine, a prickle in my gut tells me how right we are together. How much I need David. How much I need us.
I hope the cyclone never stops.
Emma Searfoss has spent a lifetime trying to escape her abusive stepfather. It's why she moved far away from home. It's why she's kept no ties with her remaining family. And it's why she's got a major rage problem. When her neighbor shows up to fix the kitchen in her new apartment, his enigmatic charm calms the fire in her. David is cool and collected, and he makes Emma feel safe for the first time ever. But David has his own chilling past—his six previous girlfriends have all disappeared without a trace. Emma's walking a dangerous line, but David's pull is intoxicating. And impossible to resist…
This is a new adult romance with mature content for readers 17 and up.
Arlene's Thoughts
I picked up Push by Claire Wallis as a buddy read with my roomies Rachel and Crystal because what better way to spend a weekend in Vegas with my girls than talking about books and hotel hopping, right?
Well leave it to Rachel to pick the twisted novels… let’s not forget that it was her that convinced me to read Captive in the Dark. ~wink.wink~ But I knew from the moment I read the excerpt that Push was going to be my brand of entertainment and create some fun discussion for us.
Well, let me just way…WHAT THE HELL??!! Not only did I read an absolutely disturbing novel that involves what I would call a psychopath, but I have it on good authority that my reading buddy loved it! I sometimes question my choice of reading company... in the most endearing way, mind you… HA!
So let me tell you about this book… spoilers ahead so watch out!
Emma Searfross is crass and full of hard edges. She’s forced to be that way because of her upbringing with her step-father and worthless mother that stood on the sidelines as this jerk tortured her from childhood. So when she meets her neighbor David who is both slightly arrogant and most definitely attractive, these two characters collide in an explosive way.
As the novel unfolds though, we get to meet several other women, seven if I’m not mistaken (Sarah, Kelsey, Elizabeth, Jenny, Anna, Lucia and Maggie) that have also fallen for David and let’s just say are no longer around because to put it mildly… he killed them!!!
Okay, I know I tend to fall for the bad boy, the anti-hero, the one that’s completely messed up, but come on! Even I have my limits. I will have to give it to David for getting away with all these murders but there was nothing about him that I found alluring or captivating. He was just creepy!! I did get a bit irritated with these two “covetous” people because sometimes I just can’t stand when a girl encourages her man’s jealous rage. Not appealing at all!
This book caused some energetic conversation which was quite fun, but for now, I’ll leave it to my roomies to tell me how it ends. I have no desire to follow David to the Brooklyn Bridge. Thank you very much!
3 Suns
Rachel's Thoughts:
Push was an addictive and shocking romance. It was all kinds of wrong and I’m still not
sure how I want it all to turn out, part of me wants a HEA if that’s even possible.
Part of me is screaming RUN! Run far and
run fast!
Emma is fresh out of college and starting a promising career
as an engineer in a new town. Far away
from her evil stepfather and the family forever changed by his existence. This is where she meets David, the calm,
controlled and cocky apartment manager and maintenance guy. Emma’s kitchen is
destroyed so he immediately sets about fixing it, and in the process these two quickly
fall for each other.
It’s no secret from the reader that David has a questionable
and mysterious past with girlfriends. All six of them have disappeared, but
this is not known to Emma. As their relationship progresses and intensifies we
are treated to short chapters detailing exactly what happened to each
girlfriend in their POV and it is chilling!
Neither David nor Emma is what I would call well-adjusted or stable, but
they seem to be perfectly matched. They’re both a little lot crazy, but they
have a lot of reasons to be that way.
Emma’s family life was normal until her father dies and her
mother marries Michael, a completely horrible man, to ensure the family’s
financial stability. His influence on
the family is appalling. I wanted to
slap and choke her mother and brothers for allowing Michael’s mistreatment, and
other things to happen! Emma had
absolutely NO protection from her family. So it’s no surprise that when David
steps up and provides protection she laps it up. She has a flash trigger temper
but this doesn’t seem to faze David whatsoever. These two just seem to get each
other’s brand of crazy, and they have an intense, all-consuming sort of
romance.
David seemed to be calm and controlled, but he seemed like
he could easily snap. Emma jostles that
control and David likes the feeling it gives him. As his past is revealed it sheds some light
into his personality, but I think it’s best to learn that on your own.
Push is very different from all the New Adult reads out
there. It was both fascinating and
horrifying. I’m anxious to find out how
it all turns out. Which reminds me, BE
WARNED there is a pretty hefty cliffhanger at the end! Claire Wallis you are one wicked woman!
4 Suns
Crystal's Thoughts
This book really got me off guard and that was a good thing and a bad thing. You see I loved that this wasn't your typical NA, but man the author could have dialed down the crazy a tad!
Push starts off with a side of crazy and just gets more and more intense from there. Honestly I kinda wish that the author would have left the prologue out. I think it gave way too much away in the beginning and left nothing for the reader to figure out. If that hadn't been in there then I probably would have gone the whole story thinking that David was the horrible creature that he was being portrayed as and when the bomb was dropped at the end I wouldn't have been like oookkkaaayyyy no surprise there. It just felt like a huge opportunity was missed.
That being said though I really enjoyed that this wasn't your typical NA read. Yes there is instalove and all kinds of jealous rages going on BUT there is a creep factor to it that surpasses any other NA I have read. David just isn't your normal run of the mill NA broken hero. Nope he has a dark and I mean DARK past that well if I were his one and only I just couldn't look beyond. I mean really I would be afraid of every bridge in every state in every country in every continent..you get my drift right? So yes this part of the book spoke to me. I like all things creepy and David was definitely that. Did I like his character hale no, but I did like that this was a different kind of story. I get bored with the whole NA genre sometimes so this was a nice mix up.
My one big problem with this whole story may sound silly but really if you read this I have a feeling you might agree is that Emma slept way to sound! (Rachel & Arlene I can hear you laughing stop LOL!) She sleeps through a whole kitchen reno, her bedroom window being completely replaced, and she sleeps through David coming into her room countless times! Now if I slept like the dead (okay that was funny haha..read it and I promise you will laugh) I would get an alarm on my door or something. She has a nice job so she could at least splurge on that. She is a singe girl living by herself PROTECT YOURSELF! It really bothered me because she just left herself wide open to so many horrible possibilities and with a horrible stepfather not too far away I would have though security would have been first on her priority list. But I guess not...
I had a few other problems as well but those listed above were my main ones. The story ends in a painful cliffhanger that leaves me angry because now I have to read the sequel. I'm not attached to these characters, but I have to find out what happens after that last scene. I'm going with a 3 on this one because I felt the story deserves it. I was held captive by the insaneness of it and I really appreciated that the author chose to stray from the norm.
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