Book Review: The Edge of Never (The Edge of Never #1) by J.A. Redmerski

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: November 15, 2012
Publisher: Createspace
426 Pages

Sometimes life takes you off course . . .

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?

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“Pain is pain.”

The Edge of Never was an interesting read for me. This was one where the reviews I’ve read for it were split, people loved it or hated it. Me? Neither. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it. It was okay. Parts were good, parts were ridiculous, and parts pissed me off. 

The story begins with our protagonist, Camryn, heading out to a club with her best friend, Natalie, and best friends boyfriend. Right away I noticed the common formula’s we see throughout YA/NA books. Our MC is the straight-laced, good girl, so obviously the best friend is branded “slutty”. Our MC is fashion challenged causing the best friend to want to dress her up in better clothes and paint on her makeup (I really don’t understand why a majority of authors cannot write likable friends). Our MC leaves all guys drooling in her wake. Enough…it’s all been done before. Anyway, moving on.

When out with her friends, her best friend’s boyfriend makes a move on Cam, telling her he’s been in love with her for years. Here begins the first in a series of violent behavior situations and slut-shaming that make their way through the book. After her best friend calls her a liar, Cam decides she’s had enough and leaves. Along the way she meets Andrew, a fellow traveler, and they embark on a journey together discovering different places and each other.

Even though the beginning of the book was very predictable and somewhat boring, I really liked the idea of Camryn’s journey. We’ve all had thoughts of just packing up and leaving. Just getting on a train or bus going somewhere, and Cam does just that. What I didn’t like was how Cam started off as a strong-willed character ready to take on the unknown then quickly turned into a scared girl who couldn’t travel by herself and needed a man with her. Without hardly any warning, Cam becomes dependent on Andrew almost right after meeting him. 

I liked Andrew right from his introduction. He was fresh and adorable, and just a tad bit mysterious. Some would say a little too mysterious based on the ending, but I will get to that in a minute. Anyway, like I said, I liked Andrew…until he revealed himself to be an extremely violent person. *insert sad face* Now, I’m sorry if I get a bit off topic here, but I just do not understand the appeal of a violent man. And this is a trend that I am seeing more and more in YA/NA books. Authors are romanticizing violence. There is a difference between being protective and strong versus uncontrollably angry and violent. We need to stop showcasing this trait positively.  This was the main reason why my rating is so low. Ok, sorry, back to review. *gets off soapbox*

The story moved in and out of realistic to unrealistic for me. Everything was always so dramatic. The sex was way more graphic then I had anticipated and seemed unnecessary here. Oh and go figure, Cam’s a natural sub while Andrew is a dom. How perfect is that?

As for the ending, where the eff did that come from? I was really confused how this big bombshell was dropped from Andrew, even though we had his POV throughout the story. It felt a little cheated, but I went with it and I felt the emotions I’m sure the author wanted me to feel. 

Uggghhh....I was so frustrated with this book. I really liked parts of it, but went wrong in a lot of ways and I couldn't overlook them. I enjoyed the authors writing style – her characters, despite their flaws, were quick witted and I liked the dialogue. I will read the sequel because I’m curious as to what else to author could put this couple through. 

I received an copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley for my honest opinion and review.