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

by J. A. Redmerski

[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.