Title: Push (Push #1)
Author: Claire Wallis
Release Date: May 1, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Pages: 274
Source: Bought

Overall: 5 Stars

Summary:

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. 

My Thoughts: 
Claire Wallis's debut Push is a dark and edgy NA read that will leave you captivated from the very first page! When Emma moves into a new apartment and meets her new neighbour David, the chemistry between them positively sizzles. Emma and David recognize an inner darkness in each other, and soon enough, they can't help falling into a passionate relationship.

Emma and David seem to balance each other from the very start. They both carry deep emotional scars from their unstable childhoods which have twisted their views on what defines love. David makes Emma feel cherished and protected, an unfamiliar feeling because her own family never cared about her. Emma understands that David needs to feel in control, but what she doesn't realize is that David's previous girlfriends have all disappeared and the closer she gets to him may just put her own life in jeopardy...

The further along I got into the novel, the more difficult it became to reconcile the David you get to know in the present through Emma's perspective with the chilling actions of the David we see in the past. It added a layer of suspenseful tension to the storytelling not really knowing what kind of person David really was. He is a mystery you simply can't help wanting to unravel, and I still have no idea if I should love him or be absolutely terrified of him.

While there may have been hints dropped about the ending, the cliffhanger still left me gasping in absolute shock. I need to find out what happens next in the sequel. Like. Right. Now. Claire Wallis has written an addictive novel that walks a fine line between romantic contemporary and psychological thriller. With such a refreshing concept, I fervently hope to see more NA books like Push in the future.