*ARC* The Edge of Always - Review

The Edge of Always (The Edge of Never #2)

By: J.A. Redmerski

Published: November 5, 2013

464 pages

Source: Netgalley ARC from publisher

(Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository)

Summary:

He was taking the long road. She was taking the road to nowhere. It just so happened that they led to the same place…

When everything falls apart, love remains . . .

THE EDGE OF ALWAYS

Camryn Bennett has never been happier. Five months after meeting on a Greyhound bus, she and her soul mate Andrew Parrish are engaged—and a wedding isn’t the only special event in their future. Nervous but excited, Camryn can’t wait to begin the rest of her life with Andrew – a man she knows in her heart will love her always. They have so much to look forward to—until tragedy blindsides them.

Andrew doesn’t understand how this could happen to them. He’s trying to move on, and thought Camryn was doing the same. But when Andrew discovers Camryn is secretly harboring a mountain of pain and attempting to numb it in damaging ways, there is nothing he won’t do to bring her back to life. Determined to prove that their love can survive anything, Andrew decides to take Camryn on a new journey filled with hope and passion. If only he can convince her to come along for the ride…

MY REVIEW:
I have to admit that at first I was irritated with the way the story was going.  Book two starts 5 months after Andrew and Camryn met on a greyhound bus.  I kept thinking "how do you go from being on cloud 9 in love with life and your soul mate and then all of a sudden turn to pills because you don't want to feel anything?" But I realize having never been where Camryn finds herself emotionally before myself that I couldn't judge her actions too harshly.

In book one I fell in love with the very unrealistic spontaneous road trip of two strangers that eventually led to a deep connection between two people as they experienced life together. If book two hadn't switched gears rather quickly with Andrew and Camryn back on the road again, which is where their relationship began and where they seem to thrive the most, then I probably would've not enjoyed it near as much.

By 70% through I was ready for the book to end. It just felt like they kept going in circles, with the same things happening or being afraid of the same things in book one. The feeling of repetitiveness was getting old. I'm all for a series versus a stand alone book but what I don't enjoy is a second, or third, or fourth book in a series that feels like it was just written to appease fans, to make more money, or to drag out a story line. Sure, there was more to Camryn and Andrew's story but the last 10-15% of the book was them talking in the past tense of how their story unfolded and then the epilogue was told from a third person's POV. It just all mostly felt unnecessary really. I would've been happy with their "happy ending" in book one, perhaps adding a few more crucial details, but not an entire second book. Unfortunately, I couldn't wait for it to end.

Where I loved book one and rated it 4.5 stars, book two fell way short of that rating for me. Having said that, theirs is truly a love story that will speak to the hearts of those of you who find spontaneity romantic.  I myself, truly enjoyed this aspect of their story.

Favorite Quotes:
"We can't control death," I say. "There's nothing either of us can do to avoid it or hold it off. All we can control is how we live our lives before it comes for us."

I guess sometimes the greatest memories are made in the most unlikely of places, further proof that spontaneity is more rewarding than a meticulously planned life. 

"You're everything to me, and I want you to stay strong and not let your fear of the past taint the path to our future."

Final Rating - 3 stars.

This review is part of the ARC Thursday feature on Words Fueled by Love.