The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski

About the book

The Edge of Never is a New Adult book by J.A. Redmerski. It is published by Harper on 14^th July and the book is 480 pages long. I received an e-copy for review through Net Galley.

Plot Synopsis

Since the death of her high school sweetheart, Camryn Bennett’s life has never been quite right. She’s not the same person she used to be, is definitely not interested in dating and doesn’t really have a lot of fun anymore. After one crazy night she can’t stop thinking about, Cam knows it is time for a change. Without a word to anyone, she heads off on a bus to a random place based on a baked potato. Although she doesn’t really have a clue what exactly she is doing, Cam feels much better for not being at home.

On her long and boring bus journey she meets Andrew, who is more like her than she can imagine. Although not wanting to even talk to him to begin with, he gets under her skin and offers her the chance of a lifetime… the opportunity to really know what it means to live. Instead of travelling on her own, Andrew joins her and they embark on an exciting road trip without a set plan. The attraction is burning between Cam and Andrew but both have secrets and pasts which could affect everything.

What I thought

Although New Adult is a new genre, this book had such a buzz about it and I had heard so many great things. For some reason though, I left it sitting on my Kindle for ages before I got round to reading it. Once I had started it though, I couldn’t put it down. I somehow managed to read the whole thing on my phone during a shift at work.

Twenty year old Camryn has had a hard life. Her boyfriend died in a car accident and then later, her brother was jailed for causing a car accident. Cam completely changed after these events and at the beginning of the book, she is very unsure about who she is. I can’t say that I liked the beginning of this book though. While it gives the opportunity to get to know Cam in her hometown and her friends, I don’t think it was needed. I think the beginning created an unneeded reason for Cam to run away as she already had enough of those. I would have loved for The Edge of Never to have begun with Cam sat on a bus, beginning her road trip.

Once away from her hometown and on her adventure, I absolutely loved Cam. She instantly became a different and much more interesting person to read about. She has a quick and witty personality and has some great lines as soon as she meets Andrew. At this point, instead of being solely narrated, Andrew gets his say as well which was something I liked. The reactions from each character about the other were so funny and made for a great read. What I wasn’t expecting from this book was for so much of it to be set in transportation. Cam and Andrew spend a hell of a long time either on a bus or in a car but it never got boring. Their personalities and conversations were entertaining and exciting.

Both characters have had some tough things going on in their lives but neither let it really get to them as much as I thought it would. Not that this is a bad thing. As Cam and Andrew head off on an adventure together, the book is about really getting to know yourself and being open to new experiences. I loved this aspect of the book as it was really inspirational. It also showed how one little thing like getting on a bus can change your whole life forever. It also shows not to dwell on the past too much or these wonderful things might not happen.

Together, Cam and Andrew are just as fantastic characters as they are separately. These two have sizzling chemistry and a hell of a lot of sexual tension between them. However, they are also super cute at times, goofing around and teasing each other but at all times, they are themselves and quite open. As they are on a road trip and spend a lot of time travelling, this gives the opportunity to really get to know these characters. We get to find out their hopes and dreams, what food they like and don’t as well as things like musical preference. I know some things sound silly but I think these are well thought out characters with a lot of depth.

As for the plot, you can probably already tell that I loved the road trip element to this book. There is much more to it than that though. As I already said, the book is about the characters really getting to know themselves as well as each other. Along the way, certain events change the way in which one of the characters thinks, or the way in which they see other people. I loved the excitement of not knowing where they would travel to next or what they would experience. As well as these two fantastic elements, The Edge of Never is extremely deep and heartfelt. There is so much passion and emotion put into this book and my own emotions were constantly changing throughout.

While I didn’t like the beginning of The Edge of Never, I absolutely loved it afterwards. It was funny, heart-breaking, passionate and exciting all at the same time.