KICK PUSH – Book #1 by JAY McLEAN

3 August, 2015

SYNOPSIS

There’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.

* * * *

Reviewed by Gitte & Jenny

✯✯✯✯ 1/2 Stars

“I see you.”

Wow; what a truly beautiful journey we’ve just been on. Kick Push felt unique, refreshing and had a hero that literally stole our hearts. We started reading and were quite simply unable to put this story down with huge lumps in our throats and aching hearts. Yet in amongst the devastating sadness was rays of hope, love and perseverance. This book had such a huge heart.

“Kick. Push. Coast….Time to coast, son.”

Joshua Warden – be still our hearts – is without question one of our favourite book heroes. This man truly is a hero in every sense of the word. Faced – at such a young age – with one of the most daunting responsibilities there is, this boy had to grow up real fast and missed out on being a teenager and a young adult. We have to say every moment with Joshua and Tommy melted us into a puddle on the floor and we felt it to our very core. Joshua stepped up and fought with every fibre of his being to be there for his son no matter the cost to him. And believe us, he lost pretty much everything by showing maturity, selflessness and love beyond his years.

‘…how many times can a person break before the only things left are shattered fragments too small to piece together?’

A prospective pro skater star he has to give up life as he knows it to embark upon a new life with his son Tommy being the main lead. Throughout Kick Push we were in awe of this boy; so many heart melting as well as tearful moments – so much beauty.

‘There’s nothing sadder, nothing harder in the world than watching the person you love fall apart right before your eyes – and you can’t say or do anything to change it.’

There’s a scene where it seems as if life becomes so intensely overwhelming it broke our hearts and if we could, we would’ve reached into the story and pulled out Joshua and Tommy. However, we didn’t need to as the beautiful Lady Chaz stepped in and gave our boys a ray of hope and shelter. Through a surprising kindness and a helping hand our Joshua begins to set his path straight once more and whilst still fighting to give his son, as well as himself, a better life you feel and sense the change. This change begins when the broken and haunted Becca – with the emerald eyes – becomes as vital as breathing for Joshua.

‘…everything stops. Everything. My breath….My heart…My world…Everything. Stops.’

Between Joshua and Becca there’s enough baggage to take you on a round the world trip and the journey is without question one of the most morose and heart breaking we’ve been on in a while.

‘I don’t control my actions – fear does.’

Yet all along we had this feeling that the direction we were going in was one of people entering your life to move you in the right direction by playing a huge part; having a life changing impact albeit it brief or fleeting.

‘It feels good just to be able to breathe. Just breathe. Because the simple act of breathing is a constant struggle when you live your life in fear.’

So why not 5 stars; well for us – we can’t help but wish Kick Push had remained unique in the sense that it had ended at a ‘certain’ point and the future would have turned out different because of what was. We obviously can’t say too much but we were quite surprised with where the direction went in the last few pages. And in a way we want to pretend it ended at that ‘certain’ point as that would have been brilliantly poignant and even more – incredibly special. Well for us anyway.

“I have to let you go because you’re my drug, and I’m your poison.”

It would also have made this Author a master of writing something wholeheartedly original and unique from the first page to the last.

We highly recommend this emotional tale to every single reader out there; but beware…..it may not lead where you expect it to!

**Reviewed from an ARC copy provided by the author, with thanks**
Josh’s story continues in Coast, the sequel releasing on 7th June 2016 🙂

* * * *

KICK PUSH by JAY McLEAN

amazon us || amazon uk

COAST BOOK TWO
Seque to Kick, Push releasing 7th June

amazon us || amazon uk

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