KICK, PUSH by Jay McLean

June 20, 2019

Kick Push by Jay McLeanThere’s a single defining moment within every skater.
It lasts only a second. Two if you're good.
Three if you’re really good.
It’s the moment you’re in the air, your board somewhere
beneath you, and nothing but wind surrounds you.
It’s the feeling of being airborne.

The sixteen-year-old version of me would’ve said it was the
greatest feeling in the world.
Then at seventeen, I had my son.
And every single second became a defining moment. Even the ones that consisted of heartbreak when his mother left us.

Seventeen. Single. Dad.
That’s what my life became.
Yet, every day, I managed to find that feeling of being
airborne.
Or at least I convinced myself I did.
But I lied—to myself and to everyone around me.
Until she showed up; Tanned skin, raven dark hair, and eyes the color of emeralds.

You know what sucks about being in the air?
Coming down from the high.
Sometimes you land on the board and nail the trick.
Then kick, push, and coast away.
Other times you fall.
You fall hard.
And those are the times when it’s not as easy to get back up, dust off your pads and try again.
Especially when the girl with the emerald eyes becomes your drug...
And you become her poison.

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Kick Push #1
Release - August 4, 2015
Genre - New Adult Contemporary Romance
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat - 2.5 out of 5
Format - ebook
Length - 442 pages

My Conflicted Thoughts 🤨

★★★✩✩

After falling in love with this author's More Than Series, I always planned on reading more. The writing is just so freaking beautiful. Once I saw all of the rave reviews for this duet, I knew I'd have to start it. And while so many parts of me are glad that I did, there's something that's niggling at me, stopping me from praising this story with more accolades.

It's Becca.
As much as I felt for this young girl, as sympathetic as I was because of her story, as hopeful I was for her, she disappointed me and pissed me off. And because she was the more obviously broken of the two, everyone who looked at Josh differently because of her made me upset too.

Here's the thing...
If you get involved with someone who seems to be troubled, who has a past that has traumatized them, but they share NOTHING of that past with you, that's on them. How are you expected to expertly traverse a mine field if you don't have a map? How can you avoid triggers if you don't know what they are?
Being a single parent, you already have enough on your plate. Add in a broken person and you become beyond stuffed. But you make the effort. Yet that person makes BARELY an effort. Hiding things, becoming irrational when you don't fully disclose, and then everyone expects you to still smile like sunshine beams are coming out of their ass. Josh really put himself out there. He gave her all of him. He showed her everything!
So when you break, like any normal person would, why are YOU in the wrong? You're acting NORMAL!! Yet when your damaged butterfly pops off on tangents, becomes dramatic and overly emotional, they're coddled and never have to answer for their behavior.
When they do something drastic, because of your breakdown, which they helped cause, why is it your fault? Why is everyone, including yourself, blaming YOU?
JOSH did NOTHING wrong. And yet he got the brunt of the blame. Becca turned her back on him for what exactly? He did exactly WHAT to her?

So yeah... while beautiful, this story wasn't perfect.

I'm off to read Coast because I need to know if Becca redeems herself. JOSH has nothing to make up for. He just needs to continue to live, love his son, and find beauty in life. Part of me is hoping he puts her firmly in the past, but I know that's unlikely. Ah well, here goes!

About the Author
Jay McLean is an international best-selling author and full-time reader, writer of New Adult and Young Adult romance, and skilled procrastinator. When she’s not doing any of those things, she can be found running after her three little boys, investing way too much time on True Crime Documentaries and binge-watching reality TV.
She writes what she loves to read, which are books that can make her laugh, make her hurt and make her feel.

Jay lives in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in her dream home where music is loud and laughter is louder.

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