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JenniferLane

Jennifer Lane Books

Hi, I'm Jen, a psychologist/author (psycho author) in Columbus, Ohio. I write romantic suspense for adults and new adults. And I'm a voracious reader of romance and fiction. I love laughing, swimming, volleyball, and Grumpy Cat.

Currently reading

Standing at the Crossroads: Next Steps for High-Achieving Women
Patricia J. Ohlott, Marian N. Ruderman
The Space Between
Victoria H. Smith
Chasing Hope
Kathryn Cushman
The Edge of Never - J.A. Redmerski The Edge of a Good Read

Friends who enjoy the New Adult genre recommended this book to me, and when I saw The Edge of Never top the Kindle bestseller charts, I decided to give it a try. I'd heard there was a surprising twist, which made me think of the great suspense novel [b:Gone Girl|8442457|Gone Girl|Gillian Flynn|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1339602131s/8442457.jpg|13306276]. But my expectation of an amazing page-turner didn't quite pan out.

This is a pure romance story, not suspense. And it took reading about 85% of the novel before the "twist" occurred, which made me impatient.

Camryn hasn't had much luck in love or life. Her high school boyfriend Ian died in a drunk-driving accident, her brother is in prison for drunk driving, and her best-friend Natalie's boyfriend just made the moves on Camryn. When Camryn tells Natalie about her cheating boyfriend, Natalie stops talking to her.

I know Camryn was hurting and not feeling much direction in her life, but I didn't get a clear sense of why she decides to head out on the open road, boarding a bus cross country. A young man hops on her bus and a friendship begins between Camryn and the enigmatic Andrew. Can she trust Andrew? Is it possible to fall in love again after her first love died?

There are some sweet moments in the story but I didn't really feel drawn into their romance. I did enjoy Camryn and Andrew's banter at times, like when they're in the drug store within earshot of an elderly couple:

Andrew says causally, without lowering his voice, "Babe, did you find that yeast infection stuff?"
My eyes spring open and I freeze in front of the Tylenol.
He removes a small box of Advil from the shelf.
The couple pretends not to have heard what he said, but I know they heard him.
"I mean are you even sure that's what's causing the itch?" he goes on and I'm literally melting from the heat in my face.
The couple does glance over this time, covertly.
Andrew is grinning his ass off at me from the side, pretending to be reading labels.
"Yeah, baby I found it," I say as casually as he had. "What about you? Did you see if they have extra-small sized condoms?"


Ha ha! I also liked when Andrew refused to minimize her heartache compared to his by saying "Pain is pain." I've used that line many times as a psychologist and I found that sentiment to be very wise.

I love supporting indie authors and the fact that J.A. Redmerski self-published this novel made it more appealing to me. Unfortunately, I found the published version too long and meandering (in need of some serious editorial tightening), and an abundance of typos. For the #1 Kindle download, I expected more.

I know this novel has received glowing reviews so if you're a contemporary romance fan then check it out for yourself.