The Edge of Never (Edge of Never, #1)

by J. A. Redmerski

The hottest New Adult novel that everyone’s talking about - and you’re already dying to read - a NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL and USA TODAY bestseller

Twenty-year-old Camryn has always felt different from everyone else around her – not content to be tied down by life's conventions, she’s always known that she wants a life less ordinary. But when tragedy forces her to abandon her plans, she vows never to let her walls down again – and never to fall in love.

But one night in the hottest club in town, her world is turned upside down. Desperate to escape, Camryn packs up the bare necessities and boards the next Greyhound bus leaving town, to find the true self she knows is out there. What she finds instead is a young man who is more like her than she knows. Andrew Parrish needs to find himself too, and harbours his own dark secrets…

Zig-zagging across the country together, Camryn finds herself doing things she never imagined, as Andrew shows her what it’s like to live by your own rules and what it feels like to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. Before she knows it, he’s become the centre of her world. But as the electric love and lust between them intensifies, a dark shadow is looming. Will Andrew’s secret push them together – or tear them apart?

• ISBN13: 9780007523177
• Publish Date: 28 February 2013 (first published 1 November 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 480
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[Linda]

*I received a free ARC of The Edge of Never from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

Dark, sweet, humorous and hot. A fabulous road-trip.

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

4.5

The Edge of Never is one of those books that I got based on hype alone. I never read any reviews, or even the blurb. I just saw lots and lots of 5 star ratings and that it was New Adult. And then I fell in love halfway through. I was very, very surprised by this one! At the beginning I thought it was okay, since I wasn't sure what to expect. I did like how the set up was quite different than the other NA books I've been reading. Camryn is twenty and not in college! She's just gotten a job in a department store, but isn't liking this direction her life is taking. And then, one night after out with her two BFFs who happen to be dating, she decides she needs a change of scenery. Her friend Damon comes on to her, she tells Natalie, who freaks out on her, and then Camryn heads to the bus station and gets a ticket to Idaho. Why Idaho? The woman at the bus station window was eating a potato. It's as simple as that.

It took me a little while to figure Camryn out, but she was also trying to figure herself out. The Edge of Never follows her as she sets out on her own across the country in order to escape expectations. She had plans to travel the world with her first love, Ian, but he was killed in a car accident, leaving Camryn without direction. She mentions being off of her medication in order to get answers, and there's a few references to depression, so I'm assuming that's what the meds were for. However, I wish this had been looked at more. Her depression is never mentioned past that, so I had to wonder why it was there at all. This is picked up in The Edge of Always though. Anyway, she has no idea what she wants out of life, except that she doesn't want to be stuck in a routine that she hates. I think this will be quite relatable to many people, especially since the author presents that college isn't for everybody in a nonjudgmental way. It's all about finding out what you want for yourself.

The Edge of Never was also the first road trip book that I can remember reading, so I quite enjoyed that. I liked how Camryn doesn't jump into her car, but on a Greyhound. If I ever went on a road trip, I'd probably do the same, but only because I don't drive. So while on the bus, she meets Andrew and after many, many hours together, they form a friendship. He even saves her life...or at least saves her from some creep. From there on they decide to travel together. I loved watching their relationship grow. Of course, he's the love interest, and even though their feelings grow quite fast, I found it mostly believable. They're in close proximity, 24/7, for a few weeks. It felt right that they'd fall for each other. I also adored how Andrew helped Camryn come out of her shell and live in the moment. He also opens her up to love, something she swore she'd never do again. Andrew also has his own problems to deal with, which I won't go into, since I don't have much to say on the matter. I will say that his relationship with Camryn also helps him deal with his grief.

Now to the point that made me fall madly in love with The Edge of Never: sex! Not just the sex scenes, which are pretty darn intense, but how sex and sexuality are handled in general. Camryn isn't some delicate virgin who needs the super hot but sensitive guy to teach her the ways of the flesh, which I was grateful for. I'm pretty sick of all of these twenty-something heroines who have never done the deed before. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but it just gets old, since lots of girls have already lost their virginity by that point but seem to be underrepresented. But the turning point of this book for me was when Camryn admitted to being sexually submissive and liking aggressive/rough sex. I really appreciate the author presenting sexual submission outside of BDSM! It's something totally natural that I think most people think of as weird or wrong, or as something that only belongs inside a "playroom" or sex club. You probably think I'm strange for finding this to be the best part of book, but it is, because it made me feel less like a freak, since it's also my kink. Probably more than you needed to know about me, but there it is.

There are a few things that I didn't like about The Edge of Never, which kept me giving it a full 5 stars. The first I already mentioned, which was Camryn's mental health, which was barely touched upon. The second was the overuse of "slut" and "slutty." Camryn seems obsessed with not coming across as slutty and it got really annoying fast. She also refers to several women as sluts, even though they most likely weren't. Part of me thinks she was just trying to cover up her shame of her kink, but even so, it was a bit much. The other thing that absolutely drove me nuts was the unprotected sex. I'm one of those readers who pays close attention to see if protection is mentioned before the characters go for it, and not only didn't Camryn and Andrew not use protection, but she very specifically tells him not to "pull out." From then on, I was freaking out about her getting pregnant, which was very distracting.

Then the final few chapters happened and I wasn't expecting that at all. I figured The Edge of Never needed to have some huge, emotional conflict, but I didn't expect that. It never even crossed my mind, so thumbs up to the author for catching me off guard and making me nervous as heck! I just really really enjoyed this book. It wasn't like the other NAs I've been reading and it covered some unconventional material which I loved. Unfortunately, I must say that I hated the last page--which luckily didn't ruin the book for me--and that had me really nervous going into the sequel.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Leah]

I love New Adult books, everyone knows that by now so it’s lovely to discover a new author. Having saw The Edge of Always on Edelweiss and being accepted for a copy, I knew I had to get myself the first novel in the series, The Edge of Never. I bought myself the beautiful paperback, with the bright yellow spine, and I couldn’t wait to read it! I love road trip novels, they’re the best books EVER, and there are not enough road trip novels around. So having cleared my review backlog and with The Edge of Always release just around the corner, I decided to get stuck into The Ege of Never and I am SO glad I did because it was utterly amazing!

The Edge of Never is one of the best road trip books you will ever read, and what’s so amazing about it, is for 96% of the novel, the book only focuses on Camryn and Andrew, and their adventures across America. Any author that can get you to read about just two characters for most of a 450 page novel is special, and JA Redmerski certainly is that. Sure, some will question Camryn’s need to run away, and even more than that, her deciding to go with Andrew when he suggests the road trip, after the bus trip, but I loved it. I love characters who do spur of the moment things like that, it’s what makes them super interesting. If I had the guts, I would SO do something like that, but I lack guts. The road trip was SO enjoyable, and I loved the building tension between Camryn and Andrew.

Andrew and Camryn were such interesting characters. Both had secrets, both had issues, both were a bit damaged, but together, they just made perfect sense to me. I couldn’t WAIT for them to get together, because they were just perfect for each other. I loved how they didn’t just dive into their relationship though, I liked that it was a slow-burner that started as a friendship. They were just so comfortable with each other from the word go and as soon as they met on the bus, and then travelled miles and miles on the bus together, it was just so nice to go on that journey with them, and then in the car on the road trip to Texas, and their pit stop in New Orleans (which sounds like SUCH a beautiful city). It was honestly such a pleasure!

I am so excited to get stuck into the sequel, The Edge of Always, apparently it’s going to be another road trip between Andrew and Camryn and that makes me sooooo excited to read it. I really loved The Edge of Never, it handled such sensitive topics with such care and JA Redmerski is a super talented writer and I loved how the novel showed us both Camryn’s and Andrew’s perspective of things, that’s always the best way to write a book like that, so we can see how they both feel, see how they both see it etc. This was a pure delight to read and I was so sad to reach the end (though what an end it was! I knew something was coming, something I wasn’t going to like, but that was unexpected to say the least) and I can’t wait to dive into The Edge of Always, I just need to finish my current e-book first!

[Rowena]

I’m becoming a huge New Adult fan so when I came across the blurb for this book (not to mention the gorgeous cover), I wanted to read it.

Camryn Bennett hasn’t been the same since her boyfriend was killed in a car accident. It’s been a few years and she’s already had a new boyfriend who ended up cheating on her so she’s kind of checked out emotionally on pretty much, everything. When drama goes down between her and her best friend Nat, Camryn jumps on a bus headed out of town to get away from…everything.

Camryn is in her head a lot. She’s dealing with a whole lot of loss. She lost her boyfriend and first love to a car accident. She lost her brother to prison for drunk driving and she’s just not happy. Nothing can make her happy. She doesn’t have a lot in common with anyone so she doesn’t really feel the club scene that her best friend Nat is into. When she jumps on that bus and decides to take it to Idaho, she feels a freedom that she hasn’t felt in a long time.

It is on that bus that she meets Andrew Parrish.

Andrew is going through his own stuff right now. He’s got a dying father and a secret that he’s keeping close to his vest but when he sees the gorgeous blonde with the braid sitting alone on the bus, he’s intrigued. But then his protective instincts kick in when he sees a man that’s been eyeing her with a dangerous glint in his eyes for a while. There’s nothing to do but step in and make sure nothing untoward happens to his new friend so Andrew becomes a daily part of Camryn’s days on the bus and a friendship with blazing chemistry springs forward between them.

Camryn was the kind of heroine that I guess you get used to in these kinds of books. She’s suffered a great loss and she’s turned into herself and doesn’t want to be around people. She’s got a token best friend who is the exact opposite of her who is outgoing and loud and slutty and everything that Camryn is not. I didn’t really understand why having one night stands and being open and honest made girls slutty but that’s what Camryn thought. Her thoughts were kind of hard to take but as the story progresses, my reservations with Camryn disappear and I really warmed up to her.

Once the story took off (because it was a bit slow in the beginning), I really got into it. I got into what was happening with Camryn, what was going on with Andrew and when it all came to an end, I was satisfied with the way everything wrapped up.

Andrew was a great part of this story, my favorite part actually. He was everything that a hero should be in these kinds of books. Big, strong, understanding and really good in the sack. His secret kept me wondering what it could be throughout the entire book and even though about half way through, I figured out what it was…once that happened, I spent the last half of the book wondering how everything would end. I was hoping for one thing and scared that another thing was going to happen. It made this book addicting and I couldn’t put it down.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was filled with everything that will keep readers turning the page. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

[nitzan_schwarz]

For this review and more, pop by my blog - Drugs Called Books

The Edge of Never has been such a pleasant surprise! If you recall, I was not enthusiastic about Redmerski's writing in The Mayfair Moon, her debut book. But this time, I thought it was fantastic! You can see how her writing got better with each book she wrote, I guess :-)
Anyway, I loved this book. I loved the characters, the relationship, the plot-line... It was great!

This book had what I call a "slow start". It took me about 20% of the book--right until Andrew showed up--to really get into it. But once I did, I was unconditionally drawn into the book and couldn't pull out until the inevitable: the book ended. ~sniff sniff~

Camryn is the female main character of the story, and she tells about 65% of it. I liked her character; I love how she loved completely and unconditionally, her spirit that longed to roam, and that she wasn't afraid to tell her friend the truth - even if said friend reacted stupidly. Besides, I'm thankful to that friend. It made Cam meet Andrew, didn't it? :D

Andrew is such an amazing person!! OMG, I absolutely loved him!!! He was so sweet and charismatic and caring and plain sexy! I really enjoyed reading the parts of his POV, and wish they were longer.

As for the two of them together... ahem, lets just say this ice-cream? That's figuratively me when I was reading about the two of them together....

They were so HOT together! What a scorching couple! Their intimate scenes were just... look at the ice-cream. Do I really need to elaborate farther? (though, just for your information there is a light dominate-submissive theme going on here).
And their romance and love was just p.e.r.f.e.c.t! They fit together so well! Andrew knew what was on Cam's heart even when she didn't, and she was the only one who could calm him down. I loved how they instantly responded to one another on some level, but didn't jump into it. It was so fairy-tale like, the whole situation, as Natalie (Cam's best-friend) said to Cam, and yet it was completely real.
*sigh* I want a romance like this :

The ending...

Mrs. Redmerski is cruel woman! She had me crying and weeping, and I'm not a crier! I knew a bit about what's going to happen - because accidentally I read a comment on GR from one of my friends that was a total spoiler - but I didn't know to whom she was referring, so some element of surprise remained.
And still, I was crying. I was so scared and praying for the happily-ever-after I felt those characters deserved.

As I mentioned above, the thing I was perhaps most surprised and happy about what that I loved the writing. As someone who didn't enjoy the writing of The Mayfair Moon, I was happy to learn I did like the writing here. I think she pretty much fixed all the problems I previously had with her writing :>
What I did notice is that she has a unique style. This is a road trip story, but you don't get much descriptions. The only thing really detailed are posters; how one sits, lies, walks. You can literally see how they do those things in your head, making a perfect picture of the characters. You can tell a lot about people from the way their body moves, and I thought it was quite incredible here.

If you love New Adult, wonderful romance, well fleshed out characters and wonderful plots - this book's for you!

For this review and more, pop by my blog - Drugs Called Books

January 2013 read:
100.0% "My god, this book made me cry!!! ~sniff sniff~
J.A Redmerski, you are a cruel woman indeed! But I still love this book 3
5 stars!"

[blackbibliophile]

***STANDING OVATION*** I almost shed a tear near the end. Me, the emotionally unavailable one.
BRAVO, REDMERSKI! BRAVO!!

[Ashley]

BookNook —; Young Adult book reviews

The biggest mistake I made with The Edge of Never was reading it on an airplane. I was okay for the first half of the book, but once I hit the 50% mark, things got embarrassing. When I reached the hot sex scene, I was giggling, blushing, tingling, squirming, and desperately trying to hide my Kindle from wandering eyes. When I got to the end of the book, I was fighting back tears and hiding behind my Kindle so that the people sitting next to me wouldn't see my watering eyes. When I burst out into giggles, everyone stared at me. And nobody gets it. Nobody gets how books like The Edge of Never are so awesome that they can make you crazy in public.

"I don't think you ever really fall out of love with someone. I think when you fall in love, like true love, it's love for life. All the rest is just experience and delusions."
—Andrew, The Edge of Never by J.A. Rredmerski

It's safe to say that The Edge of Never was everything I hoped it would be and more! It's heartbreaking, it's romantic, it's wild, it's spontaneous, and Andrew is all kinds of sexy!! Oh, and this book is fucking hilarious. Period. I have 20 "pages" of highlights on my Kindle—almost all of which are funny lines or scenes that made me laugh out loud! The rest are sweet, meaningful quotes that had me pondering everything from true love, to fate, to the meaning of life.

I know I touched on this before, but I have to say it again: ANDREW IS HOT! He's so sweet, so swoony, so bad boy-esque, and the perfect book boyfriend! I love how he had a bit of bad boy in him—tattoos and a protective streak that got a little violent—but for the most part he was just a really sweet guy. A lot of books these days have a guy who's mostly that violent, scary, one night stand bad boy, with a tiny bit of sweetness, but Andrew was the other way around. He was mostly the sweet, philosophical (without being cheesy), live-in-the-moment kind of guy, but had a tiny bit of that bad boy in him. This made him the PERFECT book boyfriend! Not like those too controlling, annoying jerk faces. Sometimes I love those guys too, but Andrew was more than just a thrilling bad boy. He was actually boyfriend material! Or, hell—husband material.

"If you were to let me fuck you, you would have to let me own you."
—Andrew, The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski

The romance in this book is very, very slow building, hot, passionate, and will rock your world! I mean, they do fall in love kind of quickly, since they meet on a road trip and that's their romance, but it doesn't feel quick at all. It's 426 pages of indifference, interest, friendship, slow building trust, hesitant more-than-friendship, and finally, a full-powered knock-you-over head-over-heels ROMANCE! The progression from strangers, to acquaintances, to friends, to lovers is FABULOUS! You will love every second of it. I was mentally screaming, cheering for them, and egging them on. It was epic.

And those sex scenes... YEESHH!! Honestly, there weren't as many sex scenes as I thought there would be, but the ones that were there were positively delicious. I kept glancing around the airplane to see if people could tell I was reading some epic hotness dripping with lust. I was all self-conscious about it. WAS I SMILING TOO MUCH?? DID I LOOK HORNY?? COULD PEOPLE TELL??

Also, I had no idea that we would get to read from BOTH characters' points of view. That was awesome! I loved getting inside Andrew's head. Of course, Camryn was great too, but there's something really mysterious about a boy's mind.. since I'm not a boy, and all that. But both characters were brilliant narrators!

I really love the way the plot line tined into the characters. Camryn and Andrew are both on the run. They're trying to escape their lives and run away from the difficulties, and they're doing it in the form of a road trip! There was something so sweet about them helping each other along the way and experiencing new things together. Through the road trip experiences, they pushed each other to the edge, did things they never thought they'd get the chance to do, and came out better for it.

"There's no such thing as a bad bus ride when you're in the company of something beautiful."
—Camryn, The Edge of Never, J.A. Redmerski

The Edge of Never is beyond powerful. It's so full of love, loss, hope, desperation, and an insanely sweet and hilarious romance. As much as it's about a heart-stopping romance, The Edge of Never is also about finding yourself, learning how to live, not being afraid to speak your mind, and overcoming traumas from your past. I just loved how Andrew and Camryn changed and empowered each other. There was never a dull moment in this story—especially in the second half—and the ending will make you cry, smile, and jump for joy!

» Read an Excerpt «

[Kelly]

Ohh, I'm so emotional. No words can do this book justice.

[leelu92]

I was quite worried that this wouldn't live up to the hype. It totally lived up to the hype. I was riveted by this book, I loved Cam and Andrew and I loved their story. I would really love to read more about them. I laughed and I cried and that's a good thing.