Full review also posted here on TotalTeenFictionThis was one of these books that was all over Twitter, and when a book like that pops up everywhere I get totally curious about it. So I bought this book for a few reasons, but mostly because, I'll admit, I wanted to know if it lived up to the hype! And also because it's New Adult which I really want to read more of. The Edge of Never tells the story of Camryn and Andrew who cross paths on their separate road trips. Camryn is running away from her problems and Andrew is heading towards his.
I liked the start of this book because you get to see Camryn facing all these issues in her life. I was curious about NA because I wanted to see people facing things that twenty-somethings have to face, and for Camryn that means trying to move out and hold down a job, neither of which are going to plan. When she ups and leaves it showed that real desire to independent which I could sympathise with. I think she really needed to get away from her friends and discover herself. Camryn does seem to be a pretty extreme case because she did seem to have just about every possible life trauma going on - from family drama to friend drama, to a past of mental health problems - but I still think there were some relatable issues there.
She starts out not wanting a boyfriend which I respected her for, but it wouldn't be a good story without a romantic interested cropping up at some point! And I really did adore the love story in The Edge of Never. I loved Andrew and he and Camryn had this pretty amazing chemistry. I thought they definitely some of the most realistic characters I'd come across and their conversations felt really natural. In fact the two of them were so funny that it became one of those very rare books that makes me laugh out loud, which is a huge compliment! It was just great to see them gradually develop that bond as they end up on this road trip together.
When Andrew is introduced, the book alternates between Camryn and his perspective. This was both a positive and a negative for me. On the good side, it gave an insight into Andrew's character and made me really warm to him. I loved getting inside his head! But on the other hand there was a lot of overlap and some scenes were told from both POV which was repetitive.
Now there were a lot of raunchy scenes in this book as well as swearing and drug references. Some of the sex scenes were a little over the top for me but otherwise I felt the language and tone was true to life and something I'd expect from people like these characters. For me, I don't mind having that edge in NA as I read a lot of adult fiction, but I'd advise caution for anyone who would be put off by that kind of thing.
The real winning moment of this book was the ending which was just full of shocks I did not see coming. I couldn't stop reading and I'm pretty sure I read a lot of the final few chapters with my mouth hanging open in shock. I was totally blown away. The real question after reading this book was did it live up to the hype? My answer? Absolutely! I was surprised just how much I liked it. Great characters, amazing chemistry and fantastic writing. This is definitely an author I'll be checking out more of.
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