Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The Edge of Always (Edge #2) by J. A. Redmerski


From Amazon.com

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...

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**SPOILER Warning** While I try my hardest not to include spoilers in my reviews, this is the second book in the series & it would be hard to discuss this book without referencing events from the first book. If you haven't yet read The Edge of Never, then you might not want to read further.  If you would like to read an excerpt from the book, please scroll down to my post from November 5th.


In The Edge of Never we met Camryn & Andrew as they both were facing personal crisis & doubt. They were running away from reality. They each boarded a Greyhound bus without knowing where they were going or what they were looking for. What they found was each other & a hope they didn’t know existed. So many stories end there. We get to see the courtship & the promise of happy ever after, but the story stops right as life together (and all of the challenges that go along with it) begins. The Edge of Always takes us into that life.

The Edge of Never is the type of story that I think most readers who enjoy this genre could pick up & be taken away right from the start. You feel Andrew’s charm from his first word, and you hurt & heal with both he & Camryn through each phase of their journey. For me, it connected on another level as well. This past summer, my husband & I quit our jobs to drive around the eastern half of the United States. We had been dreaming of this type of trip for years, but it never felt like a reality.  While on a 12 hour road trip to New Mexico for my grandmother's funeral, we started planning to actually take the leap of faith & follow our dreams. Right as we were preparing to tell everyone that we were leaving, I started reading Camryn & Andrew’s story. Where they were in a different place in life than we were, I loved following along with their journey as I was planning my own, and I even found myself taking notes…Do we want to plan out every stop of the way?  Where will we stay?  Do we have a spare tire in case of a flat???

It felt even more appropriate to end my year of travel with The Edge of Always. We pick up with their story just a few months after we last saw them. They are engaged & everything seems to be going perfectly.  However, when life takes an unexpected turn, they are forced to make choices that they had been avoiding. The main one being the big question we all face at some time (and sometimes several times)…What do we do with our life?  A longing to see the world mixed with a fear of settling down into a life they hate leads them back to the road in search of the answer.  

I read several reviews that stated that they felt this book was an unnecessary continuation. That may be true if the only thing you are looking for in a story is the mind-blowing excitement & heat of a new relationship with the promise of a lifetime of the same, but in my mind, reading a good book is like spending time with friends. I re-read when I want to hang out with old friends, but rarely do I get the chance to see what they have done with their lives. The Edge of Always gave me that chance. I got to spend more time with old friends but get to hear the tales of their life after the honeymoon ended. I thought it was a sweet story of life & hope, and I would recommend it to anyone who can appreciate life after the "happy ever after".

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This giveaway is sponsored by the publisher.  The winners will be announced & prizes supplied directly from them at the end of the giveaway period.