The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski

Synopsis: Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart.

Determined not to dwell on the negative and push forward, Camryn is set to move in with her best friend and plans to start a new job. But after an unexpected night at the hottest club in downtown North Carolina, she makes the ultimate decision to leave the only life she’s ever known, far behind.

With a purse, a cell phone and a small bag with a few necessities, Camryn, with absolutely no direction or purpose boards a Greyhound bus alone and sets out to find herself. What she finds is a guy named Andrew Parrish, someone not so very different from her and who harbors his own dark secrets. But Camryn swore never to let down her walls again. And she vowed never to fall in love.

But with Andrew, Camryn finds herself doing a lot of things she never thought she’d do. He shows her what it’s really like to live out-of-the-box and to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. On their sporadic road-trip he becomes the center of her exciting and daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But will Andrew’s dark secret push them inseparably together, or tear them completely apart?

Review: Since its release, I hear only good things about this novel, but I was not sure if it was for me. But after the French release and after seeing that the wonderful reviews were continuing, I was really tempted to read it. And what a nice surprise! It’s been a long time since I had not read a book that could touch me to this point. The author has made a poignant story, which takes us away according to the feelings of the two characters.

I do not think, I have ever read something in the New Adult genre, so I was curious to see what it meant exactly. We then discover the story of two young people who have not been spoiled by life. First, we meet Camryn, a girl full of doubts. Since the death of her last boyfriend, she does not really know what she wants in her life. Nobody seems to understand her, and her mother loses interest in her, but at least she has her best friend with her. Or at least until a dispute occurs between them leaving Camryn left to herself. Because of that, our young heroine decides to leave, with no real purpose, to be carried away by the wind. And it is during one of these trips that she meets Andrew. Ah, what about him? I admit that I struggled to understand him, and I do not think we actually know him until the end of the novel, when all his history and his secrets are known. He is also a little lost and really needs a little time alone to prepare for his father who is dying in the hospital. And although he shows a strong facade, everything bubbles in him and he doesn’t know how to face this ordeal. But what these two people did not expect, it is surely their encounter that will change their vision of life and it will enable them to give birth to an unbreakable bond between them. They don’t know each other, but by their journey, they will understand each other better than anyone else. And when they will have no one to turn to, they can withstand and cope with events together.

I was completely turned upside down by their history. Besides, I can tell you right now, if you expect some non-stop action, go away, the novel rather reflects the complexity of the feelings of two people who did not know each other and who by strange circumstances find someone to realize a long trip, trying to understand what they want from life. And then when they progress and begin to understand what they want, a nice story appears between them. And what a story! I really did not expect that the relationship between them would be so beautiful. They both know they do not want a love affair and yet when the time they spend together increases, they realize that there may be more. We then observe their doubts, fears, hopes and the birth of something fragile which will strengthen throughout their journey to become something wonderful. They will get to know each other and themselves at the same time. I was eager to see how the story would end and what was going to happen and I’m really not disappointed. Their road trip was something they both needed and it enabled them to be happy. We pierce the secrets gradually but some will remain hidden until the final even for us.

I also enjoyed the way the story was built. Indeed, a large number of chapters was conducted from the perspective of Camryn, but we can also follow Andrew and I admit that both is always fascinating. This allows us to put ourselves in the place of the two characters and to better understand them. It is the same the “present“ used throughout the story, something that we encounter less and less in books. Finally you understand that this novel was a great discovery for me and I took a great pleasure in discovering the story. I am also curious to see what the author reserves for us now because the book is perfect by itself.

5

mellianefini

9 thoughts on “The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski

  1. I’m glad you enjoyed your firs NA novel, Melliane! I enjoy NA quite a lot, but my preferred genre is still PNR / UF 🙂 There is usually a lot of angst, and broken characters in NA, but somehow, they still manage to draw me in, and really pull at my heartstrings.

    I haven’t read The Edge of Never yet, but I will. As you know, I have so many books still on my TBR – I haven’t read the ones you sent me this summer yet 🙁 I hope I’ll be able to during my vacation from Uni 🙂

    Have a great evening, Melliane 🙂

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