Review: Pull (Push #2) by Claire Wallis

Posted November 6, 2014 by bookstobreathe in Book Review / 4 Comments

Title: Pull
Author: Claire Wallis
Series: Push #2
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Release Date: November 6, 2014
Genre: New Adult
More Info: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon US
Purchase: Amazon UK
Purchase: iTunes

PUSH. It is the second book in the series and is not intended to be a standalone.

"It is impossible for someone like me—someone with a sin-list capable of wrapping itself around the world—to find redemption. To be repaired."

David Calgaro has secrets, and the only woman he's ever loved is about to pay the ultimate price to protect them. He's spent a lifetime searching for purpose and control. And the only place he's managed to find them is in a single, perfect moment; a moment in which he has absolute control over someone else's life.

David is unredeemable, unfixable, unsalvageable. But Emma Searfoss has forced a tiny sliver of hope to penetrate his soul. Hope that, even though redemption is impossible, maybe life isn't. Maybe he isn't who he thought he was. Maybe he's meant to be more.

My Review

Where do I go from here? I feel as if while parts of me have been ripped up and pieced back together, other parts are newly festering wounds. I’m just…speechless. Told almost completely from David’s POV, this was an entirely different story from its predecessor. Sure, the same characters were there, but they were no longer the same people. This was a beautiful story of the road to redemption and acceptance in one’s true self. The highs had me soaring as if I was one of David’s birds and the lows had me crawling through the pits of Hell. I am truly and thoroughly flabbergasted. I feel as if any moment I will burst into tears and the funny thing is I don’t mind one little bit.

She’s the one steering us. She’s the one steering me. She’s the one with all the power now. And she’s the only person I’ve ever known who is strong enough to handle it.

I found myself questioning my sanity many times throughout Pull. Wondering how I could reconcile my love for this character who had committed unforgiveable crimes. I began to rationalize his decisions, question my own morality, and yet as each page turned, I fell deeper and deeper in love with him. This book is almost entirely told from David’s perspective. We were privy to pertinent scenes throughout his childhood that shaped the man he is today. We were privy to how certain life altering situations from the past in the first book changed his psyche. And we were privy to what he was thinking and feeling in the present. You may have noticed I am being particularly vague on the facts and trust me, that is 100% on purpose. This is one of those stories where it is almost impossible to NOT give anything away, but darn it if I’m not going to try. The transformation that David goes through from the event that happened at the end of Push is simply breathtaking. Knowing what I know, his road to redemption was definitely a bitter pill to swallow. I can see the destruction and the beauty of it all. Go ahead and call me crazy if you will, but I’m easily able to find the balance. Because if anything good could come from what he did, this was it. While most will view it in black and white, I am living in the land of gray.

I’m unsalvageable. Unfixable. Unsaveable. I’m pissed off at her for not recognizing that. For not recognizing that fixing me is impossible. And I’m pissed off at myself for managing to convince her otherwise.

There is no redemption for someone like me.

Situations change us. They alter our lives completely, most never recovering. What Wallis achieved with perfection was to make me fall in love with a seemingly unredeemable character. Through his journey away from self-destruction, David forged the path for Emma to truly be herself. The love between these two souls was a sight to behold and a pure joy to read. This was Emma’s path as much as it was David’s. For without one, the other would never have flourished. I know this now. People don’t just come into our lives by accident. The roads may be winding, and we may take many wrong turns, but when you find the right path you are blindsided with a beauty that no other can hold a candle to. And that’s what this story taught me. Though my chest is heavy with emotion, my heart feels lighter. I feel changed for having experienced their journey. Give me the good. Give me the bad. At the end of the day it’s all about how a story made you feel, and this one takes the cake.

She is my savior, and because of her, redemption is not only possible, it’s already happening.

It is her gift to me.

Push (Push, #1)

Amazon US | B&N

My Review

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…

About Claire Wallis

Enamored with the process of creating messy characters filled with imperfections and wicked inclinations, Claire believes that you don’t actually have to like a character to fall in love with them – a good story, after all, is best served with a hearty side of evil (just ask Disney). Claire’s first New Adult novel, Push, was released by MIRA Books on May 1st 2014. The story speaks to her appreciation of enigmatic male characters, perfectly capable of charming themselves straight into your unwilling heart. She enjoys writing about characters that are, at any given moment, both loathed and loved. You know, the ones that refuse to be forgotten.

Claire Wallis has penned hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles over the last ten years, with science playing the lead role in almost all of them. Though non-fiction writing will forever be her first love, fiction has unexpectedly swooped in, hooked her by the soul, and become her true love. As a result of this coup d’état, Claire’s writing career has made a complete U-turn, and instead of rocks, plants, insects, and microbes, she is now putting human characters in the lead.

Claire’s previous jobs include working at a limestone quarry, hawking vegetables at a farmer’s market, clerking at the dollar store, and convincing new mothers that they need to renew their subscription to that parenting magazine in order for their child to survive. She lives in Pennsylvania with her amazingly awesome husband and son.