And I'm in the middle of catching up with the reviews I really ought to have done a while ago.
I don't have anything else to say, so here's the review!
Enjoy!
The Edge of Everything (The Edge of Everything #1), by Jeff Giles
Title: The Edge of Everything
Author: Jeff Giles
Genre: Fantasy
Release date: 25th January, 2017
Pages: 357
Blurb: "She names him herself,
so it felt like he belonged to her.
X knows only obedience- he has seen only hatred.
Until one bright soul pierces the darkness...
Zoe rages against a world turning to ice.
Her father's body lies unrecovered in the
wilderness and nobody seems to care.
X and Zoe were never meant to meet.
But when their worlds collide, they dare to love...
They stand on the edge of everything
-and risk it all."
My Thoughts
I'm going to be blunt: when I heard about this book, I didn't like the sound of it. But swayed by the seemingly millions of positive reviews, I begrudgingly picked it up.
When I first heard about it, I assumed it was a cutesy contemporary about love that I wouldn't enjoy. But when I started reading it, I was taken completely off-guard by what it actually was, compared to what I had built up in my head. (Note that I'm not saying that I fell completely in love with it, I did have some issues with it, but lets not focus on those for the moment).
Now, what I did like. Although the starting was slow, unimaginably slow, once you got into the story and found out about the characters and the situation a bit more, it was really easy to become emotionally invested in the story, and Zoe's desperate search for her brother in what seemed like an impossible task.
During that time is when she meets the (then un-named) X, and from then on you see the two of them move past that onto a journey that they never imagined they could.
When they were together, they never once lost sight of who they were individually, which is actually really hard to do in real life, but it was good that Giles was able to distinguish them individually. The characters never shied away from what they had been feeling before they met.
Saying that, I had a couple of problems with this book: like how they fell completely and absolutely in love with each-other after just a few days!
Although they still kept part of themselves focused on what they were dealing with individually (like Zoe's father and neighbours just recently died, and what X was sent to do), their love became part of what distracted them from those things, even though it was only after a day or so of having met.
So the insta-love was something that I didn't like. But there were still a ton of things about this book that I absolutely loved. The backstory of X, for one. There was a part about halfway through the book that we got to meet the people that X was around, day to day, and the world that X had grown up in, was unique and I was totally emerged into the Underworld, and all that X had gone through growing up there.
The character development was flawless too, Zoe goes from somebody that is questioning every move she makes, after a major emotional block, she is trying her hardest to get back on her feet, if not for her, but her family too. She goes from that, to flying and travelling to a place she barely knows, with nothing but a goal. This was a bit of a drastic character development, but for the most part, it is smooth and colourful.
All in all, this was a thoroughly engaging read, and if you are thinking about picking it up after reading this review (or any of the millions of others that are currently on the internet) then go with the whim because life is about grabbing opportunities with both hands (even if it is about picking up a book with both hands). But I am so glad I read this, and you will be too.
I promise.
As for whether I will read the second book? Although I think the book had a nice wrap up and ending, I most certainly will pick it up when it comes out. Can't wait.
So that was my review of The Edge Of Everything (The Edge Of Everything #1), by Jeff Giles! I hope you enjoyed it, and let me know any of your thoughts in the comment below!
I am sorry I did not post this on Monday, but I will be definitely be posting on Friday (let me know if there is anything specific you want me to talk about, and I will!)
I hope you have a wonderful day, and I will see you on Friday!
Byeee!
-Abi xxxxx
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