The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles - The book with two sides Contemporary and Fantasy

Book Synopsis

For the perfect love, what would you be willing to lose?
It’s been a shattering year for seventeen-year-old Zoe, who’s still reeling from her father's shockingly sudden death in a caving accident and her neighbors’ mysterious disappearance from their own home. Then on a terrifying sub-zero, blizzardy night in Montana, she and her brother are brutally attacked in a cabin in the woods—only to be rescued by a mysterious bounty hunter they call X.
X is no ordinary bounty hunter. He is from a hell called the Lowlands, sent to claim the soul of Zoe’s evil attacker and others like him. X is forbidden from revealing himself to anyone other than his prey, but he casts aside the Lowlands’ rules for Zoe. As they learn more about their colliding worlds, they begin to question the past, their fate, and their future. The Edge of Everything

 

My Opinion

3.75/5 starts.

This book stays at the edge of Contemporary and Fantasy (Paranormal). It was strange and a page turner. Jeff Giles succeeded to create something fresh and unique.

When the blurb came out about this book, a lot of people - including me - thought this was a contemporary novel. Wrong. Alright, half wrong. It is so much more than that.

You might want to read this book only for its beginning and end. There is so much tension and suspense that you want to grip something tightly. For a second, I got the impression I was reading a thriller/horror novel.

There are two worlds in this book-universe: our world and the Low Lands - kind of like a hell type of dimension. Our main characters are star crossed lovers from these two worlds, Zoe and X respectively. Their life stories are very interesting so I will let the book to tell you more about them.

The good romance loses same of its credibility due to the rushed start. It was like the author knew that they are going to be together and he was not quite sure how to deal with it so it happened quite fast. Don't get me wrong some moments felt real and genuine.

I feel like I am in minority because I preferred X's part of the story even though we still need to learn more about it. Zoe was a weird character and I mixed feelings about her. In one scene I was liking her and in the next I was despising her. She was not too considered and responsible at times. I grew more sympathetic towards her at the end of the book when things started to get resolved - somewhat.

I liked that the parent figure is not brushed off and be there just for show. That mother was involved. I am so glad. Lately, I see in a lot of YA books that the parent is portrayed as a villain or uncaring or dead or simply not there. And, my dear readers, I feel frustrated because it is not a good representation of how the parent-child relationship should be. In a lot of instances, I detected myself thinking, "That is not how my relationship with my parents is."  I am not saying that those instances are not real too... But as I got older, I realized these type of books can send a dangerous messages - directly or indirectly - to the younger audience. And it is not good. It took me a good junk of my life to realize that the adults in my life were also teenagers at some point.  (That is a lot of time of my life since I just reached adulthood. Adulthood such a weird word to say about myself when I do not feel like and adult at all.)

I was intrigued by the other bounty hunters (Banger and Ripper). I never thought I was going to feel sympathetic towards killers. I am telling you. This book is toying with your mind forcing you to see that things are not always black or white.

As a Minor Spoiler - How the heck did those dogs are still alive by the end of this book? Don't get it wrong, I am not complaining. It is just unbelievable among other things. - End Spoiler

Overall, this book was my cup of tea. Although, something was off and I cannot put my finger on it. I am looking forward to the next installment. I recommend this for its story arc which overshadows the annoying parts. In my opinion, it is something unique because it uses things we have read before but in an unexpected combination.

Give this book a try if you feel like it is something you would like to read.

This is my sole opinion. ^_^

 

Feel free to check out my post on The Edge of Everything - Booksplosion Book Pick and the book discussion, The Edge of Everything - Live Show, on polandbananasBOOKS YouTube channel.  

I would like to say thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Language: moderate
Sexual content: moderate
Violence: moderate to heavy
Drugs/Alcohol: mild