Author: J.A. Redmerski
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: March 12, 2013
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
From Goodreads:
THE EDGE OF NEVER
Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett thought she knew exactly where her life was going. But after a wild night at the hottest club in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, she shocks everyone-including herself-when she decides to leave the only life she's ever known and set out on her own. Grabbing her purse and her cell phone, Camryn boards a Greyhound bus ready to find herself. Instead, she finds Andrew Parrish.
Sexy and exciting, Andrew lives life like there is no tomorrow. He persuades Camryn to do things she never thought she would and shows her how to give in to her deepest, most forbidden desires. Soon he becomes the center of her daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But there is more to Andrew than Camryn realizes. Will his secret push them inseparably together-or destroy them forever?
Due to sexual content and language, this book is recommended for 17+ – Adult Contemporary Women’s – New Adult Fiction
My Thoughts:
Oh my freaking god. These new adult titles I've been reading are killing me lately. I can't read one without ending up a sobbing mess by the end. I mean, really?! Does there have to be so much beautiful angst? My tear ducts are going to dry up and I'm going to have nothing left. Is it me maybe? Does anyone else get all weepy and cry gigantic ugly tears while reading these NA books? Are they all like this? Because if they are I need to invest in the Johnson and Johnson company. I mean for god's sake I just can't handle these body wreaking sobs anymore!
Alright. Rant over. For now. Back to the review.
So yeah, as you can tell this book got to me. It was angsty, oh yea it was angsty. Both hero and heroine had baggage and were going through some major emotional trauma. However, unlike many other books I've read, our main characters didn't dance around too much. Sure, they weren't exactly open and honest for awhile about how they felt about each other, but even so, it was one of those situations where they each seemed to know how the other felt, but both were too chicken shit to say anything. But this didn't mean there were other guys or gals getting in the way. This was a roadtrip and they met other people, but they were focused on each other even before they were together-together. And I loved that. (Sometimes the waffling back and forth and miscommunication in romance novels irks the hell outta me. I sometimes want to scream "enough already!" at my Nook. Thankfully, it didn't come to this with The Edge of Never.)
One of my favorite parts of this entire book was how the author brought these two together. Their time together on the road was beautiful. I loved how Andrew wanted to show Cam how to live. I also loved how he made her try new things, taking her out of her comfort zone and showing her it was okay to take a risk. Even if that risk was with her heart. There time in New Orleans was my favorite. Well, and the time they watched the rain. Oh, and when they were in Wafflehouse. And when Andrew beat the crap out the guy in the bathroom. Oh and in the bar too. And, oh wait, when...
I need to stop with the favorite parts or else I'll end up revealing everything. And besides, I think at this point you get the idea. The bottom line is, the author brought their road trip to life and made me want to hop onto a Greyhound and see where the road took me. (Though, I then remembered how cramped they were and how sick I used to get whenever I had to ride those things from Utica, New York to my aunt's house in Long Island -all while listening to my NKOTB tapes- and that fantasy crumbled really fast. Reality is definitely not as fun as that which we find in books.)
Now. I need to mention the end. Or, let's say the last 50 pages or so. I did not see that coming. Not until Andrew was talking to his mother did everything click into place and I had an "oh shit" moment. At that point I didn't know whether to keep reading or bang my Nook against my face until I lost consciousness. I didn't want to read the rest. I didn't want to see what I thought would happen, happen. But I also couldn't look away. I was a deer in the headlights and the car was driving right for me, and all I could do was stare.
When the truth came out, when Andrew spoke with his mom and everything clicked for me, that was also around the point when I started to cry. And it wasn't dainty, quiet tears with the occasional sniffle. Nope. It was the painful kind that you feel throughout your whole body. It wasn't pretty and by the end I looked like a hot mess with my mascara running all over the place and my hair standing on end from me yanking at it, berating the author for letting me get invested in these characters just to rip it all away. So.Not.Fair.
But thank god for the end; that is got turned around and didn't end the way I had convinced myself it would. Beause I would have been seriously pissed if it had. So when things turned, the tears weren't so ugly and painful and painful anymore. Nope, by then they were quiet, happy sobs while I grinned like an idiot.
Having said all the good about this book I do want to touch on a couple of issues I had. As you can see this was 3.5 stars. I liked it. I more than liked it in fact. But a couple things had me hanging back from a full 4 stars.
First, there were a few errors (editing) here and there, but nothing too extreme to distract me. It was more the teacher part of me that caught a couple things that had me cringing. It jarred me out of the story once or twice, but nothing serious. The only reason I bring it up is because I was surprised to see them in a GCP book. Usually their editing is spot on. The second issue I had deals with the resolution. Don't get me wrong. I loved the ending and wouldn't want it to end any other way. But given what had happened and how we got to the end (and the severity of, well, everything!) it felt kind of rushed. One minute it was near tragedy, and the next, time jump. I wish there had been more time in between; more narrative of that point in both Cam and Andrew's life. Sure, it would have required another fifteen boxes of tissues but it wouldn't have felt like the ending was slapped together.
Other than that, I really enjoyed this read. And I have to say, usually reading in present tense grates on my nerves, but in this case it was done so well it didn't bother me at all. Now I'm going to read something funny and sweet with way less angst and definitely far fewer tears. I need a break. And then maybe I'll grab the second in this series, though by the blurb, that looks to be a freaking doozy too. *sighs at the inevitable*
Here are some purchase and info links: The Edge of Never via Amazon
/ The Edge of Never via BN / The Edge of Never at Goodreads
*I received this ARC from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*
Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett thought she knew exactly where her life was going. But after a wild night at the hottest club in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, she shocks everyone-including herself-when she decides to leave the only life she's ever known and set out on her own. Grabbing her purse and her cell phone, Camryn boards a Greyhound bus ready to find herself. Instead, she finds Andrew Parrish.
Sexy and exciting, Andrew lives life like there is no tomorrow. He persuades Camryn to do things she never thought she would and shows her how to give in to her deepest, most forbidden desires. Soon he becomes the center of her daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But there is more to Andrew than Camryn realizes. Will his secret push them inseparably together-or destroy them forever?
Due to sexual content and language, this book is recommended for 17+ – Adult Contemporary Women’s – New Adult Fiction
My Thoughts:
Oh my freaking god. These new adult titles I've been reading are killing me lately. I can't read one without ending up a sobbing mess by the end. I mean, really?! Does there have to be so much beautiful angst? My tear ducts are going to dry up and I'm going to have nothing left. Is it me maybe? Does anyone else get all weepy and cry gigantic ugly tears while reading these NA books? Are they all like this? Because if they are I need to invest in the Johnson and Johnson company. I mean for god's sake I just can't handle these body wreaking sobs anymore!
Alright. Rant over. For now. Back to the review.
So yeah, as you can tell this book got to me. It was angsty, oh yea it was angsty. Both hero and heroine had baggage and were going through some major emotional trauma. However, unlike many other books I've read, our main characters didn't dance around too much. Sure, they weren't exactly open and honest for awhile about how they felt about each other, but even so, it was one of those situations where they each seemed to know how the other felt, but both were too chicken shit to say anything. But this didn't mean there were other guys or gals getting in the way. This was a roadtrip and they met other people, but they were focused on each other even before they were together-together. And I loved that. (Sometimes the waffling back and forth and miscommunication in romance novels irks the hell outta me. I sometimes want to scream "enough already!" at my Nook. Thankfully, it didn't come to this with The Edge of Never.)
One of my favorite parts of this entire book was how the author brought these two together. Their time together on the road was beautiful. I loved how Andrew wanted to show Cam how to live. I also loved how he made her try new things, taking her out of her comfort zone and showing her it was okay to take a risk. Even if that risk was with her heart. There time in New Orleans was my favorite. Well, and the time they watched the rain. Oh, and when they were in Wafflehouse. And when Andrew beat the crap out the guy in the bathroom. Oh and in the bar too. And, oh wait, when...
I need to stop with the favorite parts or else I'll end up revealing everything. And besides, I think at this point you get the idea. The bottom line is, the author brought their road trip to life and made me want to hop onto a Greyhound and see where the road took me. (Though, I then remembered how cramped they were and how sick I used to get whenever I had to ride those things from Utica, New York to my aunt's house in Long Island -all while listening to my NKOTB tapes- and that fantasy crumbled really fast. Reality is definitely not as fun as that which we find in books.)
Now. I need to mention the end. Or, let's say the last 50 pages or so. I did not see that coming. Not until Andrew was talking to his mother did everything click into place and I had an "oh shit" moment. At that point I didn't know whether to keep reading or bang my Nook against my face until I lost consciousness. I didn't want to read the rest. I didn't want to see what I thought would happen, happen. But I also couldn't look away. I was a deer in the headlights and the car was driving right for me, and all I could do was stare.
When the truth came out, when Andrew spoke with his mom and everything clicked for me, that was also around the point when I started to cry. And it wasn't dainty, quiet tears with the occasional sniffle. Nope. It was the painful kind that you feel throughout your whole body. It wasn't pretty and by the end I looked like a hot mess with my mascara running all over the place and my hair standing on end from me yanking at it, berating the author for letting me get invested in these characters just to rip it all away. So.Not.Fair.
But thank god for the end; that is got turned around and didn't end the way I had convinced myself it would. Beause I would have been seriously pissed if it had. So when things turned, the tears weren't so ugly and painful and painful anymore. Nope, by then they were quiet, happy sobs while I grinned like an idiot.
Having said all the good about this book I do want to touch on a couple of issues I had. As you can see this was 3.5 stars. I liked it. I more than liked it in fact. But a couple things had me hanging back from a full 4 stars.
First, there were a few errors (editing) here and there, but nothing too extreme to distract me. It was more the teacher part of me that caught a couple things that had me cringing. It jarred me out of the story once or twice, but nothing serious. The only reason I bring it up is because I was surprised to see them in a GCP book. Usually their editing is spot on. The second issue I had deals with the resolution. Don't get me wrong. I loved the ending and wouldn't want it to end any other way. But given what had happened and how we got to the end (and the severity of, well, everything!) it felt kind of rushed. One minute it was near tragedy, and the next, time jump. I wish there had been more time in between; more narrative of that point in both Cam and Andrew's life. Sure, it would have required another fifteen boxes of tissues but it wouldn't have felt like the ending was slapped together.
Other than that, I really enjoyed this read. And I have to say, usually reading in present tense grates on my nerves, but in this case it was done so well it didn't bother me at all. Now I'm going to read something funny and sweet with way less angst and definitely far fewer tears. I need a break. And then maybe I'll grab the second in this series, though by the blurb, that looks to be a freaking doozy too. *sighs at the inevitable*
Here are some purchase and info links: The Edge of Never via Amazon
/ The Edge of Never via BN / The Edge of Never at Goodreads*I received this ARC from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*
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