Life has been hard for Camryn, in more ways than one. Her parents are divorced, her brother is in jail, and her boyfriend passed away in a car accident. Following the death of her boyfriend, Cam loses her purpose in life. After an argument with her best friend pushes her over the edge, she’s finally had enough. Camryn ends up boarding a bus going to nowhere in particular. Little does she know, her life is going to change forever.
Camryn is an interesting character. She is depressed at first and doesn’t know what she wants from life. She goes through hard times and the decision she makes, to escape her hometown, is understandable. Due to this, we as the reader, get to see her daring side. Cam does a great job of managing herself strongly and through her adventure discovers so much more about herself. She was relatable in so many ways and her story is encouraging. Andrew, who doesn’t seem so at first, is actually not so different from her and harbors his own dark secrets. He is very confident and charming, despite his own heart-breaking backstory. He has a quick temper and he is very protective. Once he notices Cam, he is instantly intrigued by her.
This book is written in a dual point of view which gives us more insight on the two main characters individually. Both of them are trying to escape their problems. Andrew’s relationship with Cam makes him come to peace with a lot of things in his life, and how to react calmly in difficult situations. She fills holes in him he never knew existed, and she becomes a strength in the hard times he is experiencing. He and Cam complete each other and together they make each other better people. As her relationship with Andrew develops, you slowly see her empower herself and become a whole new better person. She is shy to be herself, initially, being afraid that others won’t accept her, but with Andrew’s help she is able to overcome her fears. The wonderful thing about Andrew and Camryn is how they are realistic whilst still having a romance you can fantasize about. When they meet, there is no instant connection and no butterflies. Instead, there is animosity, which is soon replaced by small talk. The conversations were interesting while still remaining normal enough to be something we’ve likely conversed about. The relationship grows slowly yet steadily and the book still leaves plenty of time to focus on the romantic aspects. The author kept a wonderful balance between the sad, the mundane, the romance and the fun. Another aspect of the book that we truly enjoyed was the humor. It came out at the right points and nearly made us laugh out loud. The author placed the humor so perfectly; it doesn’t take away from the story or its occasional seriousness, instead it brings out some of the best parts in Andrew and Camryn’s relationship. Andrew was silly and risk-taking, and through his careless character he brought out the best in Camryn. And of course you could always count on her for a sassy backlash. The dynamics and dialogue in their relationship was incredibly entertaining to read.
While this book was fantastic as a whole, there are small things about this book that weren’t so great. Right from the first chapter, some of Camryn’s inner dialogue can come across as pretentious, and in turn rather annoying. She thinks of herself as a deep, insightful person, but only comes across as thinking she’s better than the girls around her, as if they are inferior to her for thinking more about boys. In fact, going through some of the dialogue again actually left us laughing because it was slightly ridiculous. This new adult book had some sexual scenes as well, which is often a given with this genre. However, Andrew has an odd view in terms of “owning” or belonging to one and other. Aside from this, we absolutely love Andrew as a character, and we love how he truly cares for Camryn. Despite this, his stance would sometimes come across as slightly misogynistic. While some people might have found the nature of this appealing, we found it slightly gross and unnecessary, and at the very least out of place where the author had it written.
In The Edge of Never, you have two young people who felt completely lost until fate brings them together and they learn to complete themselves. A story of two strangers who lose themselves in new experiences and find out what they truly want along the way. The love story was beautiful and watching it unfold through the pages was an unforgettable experience. The characters were amazing and we can’t wait to see where their journey takes them in the sequel. Suffice to say, we enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of New Adult Contemporary books.
4/5
Tagged: Book, book review, contemporary, contemporary September, J. A. Remerski, NA, romance, the edge of never
Fatima, Hooriya, and Uswa reads 
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