Title: Kick Push
Author: Jay
McLean
Genre: New Adult,
Contemporary Romance
Series or Standalone: Series (Kick Push #1)
Rating: ★★★★
½ Stars
Reviewer: Melyssa
I’ve spent the last two days or so trying to put
my thoughts into intelligible sentences so that I could adequately review this
story, but as it appears, I don’t think it’s quite possible to put into words
exactly what this book is and in the end what it meant to me.
I knew picking this up just based on what I’d
heard about it (the blurb, random thoughts by other readers) that it was going
to be a heavy book. One that would grip me and take me on an emotional
rollercoaster of sorts. So from the moment I opened the book and began reading,
I went in expecting to feel.
I just never could have predicted just how much I
would feel by the time it was over.
Despite owning numerous books by this author
because her blurbs seem to draw me in like no one’s business, I haven’t gotten
around to reading any of them (I know, I know. I suck so hard right now), but
there was something about the premise behind this one that I couldn’t let go of
and had to just jump right into.
Joshua was my premise. Joshua was what brought me
here. Not because he was introduced in another book, though. I was blind to all
of this. He interested me, he was my premise because he was a single dad.
Call me crazy, but when you’re the single mom of
four children, and you had your first at 19 and were in no way prepared for the
way your life would be forever altered and changed, there’s something about a
teenage boy going through much the same thing, being the one that took on that
role the way you did that jumps right off the page and straight into your
heart.
I had so much respect for this character. Even
when he was falling apart, overwhelmed, at the end of his rope and the worst
when he was downright mean and stupid with his words and actions, I had respect
for him. Maybe because I’ve been there, I don’t know. I just know that his
road, I was on it with him the entire time. Giving up on a lifelong dream
because the little boy you helped create and bring into the world becomes your
new dream. Becomes your everything. Losing family, people that you love because
of the choices you make that while solid, they can’t seem to agree with. Joshua
touched me on a level I don’t think another character in a book has ever done. It
was unbelievable.
Enter Becca. She had a hill of her own to climb,
but she also had to sort past the mammoth sized mess of bullshit that Joshua’s
ex (Tommy’s mom) left behind when she decided to up and leave. Things were not
easy for Becca, but just like Joshua, I could relate. I didn’t live through the
things that she did, so I couldn’t say I bonded to her because we shared the
same life experiences, but her fear, what drove her, how she came out of her
shell, grew but then relapsed back into the only way of being she ever knew
when things got hard, I understood all of it.
These two were perfect for each other. Each of
them flawed and a little bit damaged, but when they were together, bringing out
the best in each other. But with all things related to love, it can’t always be
roses right, so for all of the good they were doing for each other and that little
boy (god bless that boy might I add. He was a bright spot), they also brought
out the worst in each other. They became each other’s addiction. They were
growing but they were also becoming so dependent on one another that it
eventually turned things on its axis.
I enjoyed the focus that was put on the growth of
these two characters once they’ve been pulled apart. I know that’s not your typical
answer when it comes to a romance (you do want the HEA after all), but for
these two, I thought that their coming of age moments, their personal growth
almost outweighed my need to see them end up together. Because at the stages
they were in their lives, they would have kept on imploding without that
growth.
I had mild issues with the way Becca’s past was
handled. I mean, I waited through a good portion of that book to learn the
truth, only to have it surmised in a chapter or so. It felt off all things
considered. I think maybe if it had been spanned out a bit at a time over the
course of the story it would have fit better, but having it all dumped off at
once and then moved on from, well I felt a bit cheated.
Did that take away from my overall thoughts on
this book? Not really no. I was already all in at that point, it just seemed a
little disjointed. What got me most, mainly because I’m not sure I understand
how much more you can put them through, was why this was broken off and turned
into two books.
Yes. You heard me. It doesn’t end with a HEA. At
least not in the romantic sense. I saw two characters that were on their own
roads of healing that seemed happy and in good places, which for the record, I
was overjoyed about, but there was no real romantic payoff here and there won’t
be until the next installment comes out. So if you’re going into this thinking
it’s a standalone story with a clear cut ending, it’s not.
It’s not a heavy cliff-hanger though. You’re not
left on the edge of your seat. Its open ended with a to be continued. I just
hope that in the next book, there’s resolution for both Becca and Joshua
because my heart along with my head demands it. I’m invested emotionally in
them, love story and personal journey, so it’s my hope they get that.
Needless to say, this book got me right in the
feels and even now, days later, I’m having a hard time getting over it. So if
an emotionally gripping story is your thing, you’re gonna love this. Just be
prepared to have the wind knocked out of you a few times but just how real and
honest, along with raw, that this gets.
To the author, job well done. Thank you for
ripping my heart open, making me feel for these characters, heartbreak over
their struggles, hope and joy for their triumphs and contented by their growth,
both alone and together. It was one hell of an adventure and one that I’m glad
I took the chance at being a part of.
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