The Edge of Everything is a gritty ya urban fantasy, incorporating elements of fairytales, gore and suspense. This novel is really promising, and there were many things I really loved about it. The grittiness, the moral dilemmas, the twists and turns...Personally, however, I felt as though this book was somewhat underdeveloped. insta love abounds.

Some interesting premises such as X's job as a bounty- hunter collecting the souls of unpunished criminals. The Lowlands, X's origin, are intriguing and more focus here would have been welcome. The story was let down by the insta-love between the two protagonists, a bug- near if mine with weaker YA books. It stalls the characterisation, the plot and the worldbuilding by descending into angsty, overblown adolescent infatuation. Many of the traits intended to orientate Zoe as a teenager are too rooted in an identifiable time circa 2000 in a way that made the novel feel dated and written by someone outside the target audience.

I honestly didn't know what to think of this book. I mean I liked the premise of the book but for me it just wasn't executed very well and I couldn't get into it. As I said its a shame as I was looking forward to it.

3.5 Stars

Like many of my other recent reads, The Edge of Everything was a book that I requested on Netgalley around a year ago and had yet to get to.
In the mood for an adventure-story, I borrowed the book from the library (along with its sequel) and got to it right away.

I remember at the time of its release/just before, this book was receiving a mixture of praise and then following that praise, the typical ‘too-hyped’ train.
I went into this book without much thought at all. I couldn’t remember for the life of me what this book was about, so I was blind as a bat, really.
I think however, the author-praises and such on the front and back cover were quite off-putting though. Particularly with Peter Jackson leading that praise-train. I was ready for a Bilbo-Baggins adventure, but it was more of a magical-realism thing?
In that way I guess I found myself being a little disappointed because I was expecting almost a different genre entirely.

I was intrigued however. It wasn’t a bad story by any means, and I was certainly captivated...but it wasn’t really my thing. I just don’t think that enough happened for me to go all surprised-Pikachu about.

I will be returning for the sequel however.

The Edge of Everything is one of the most emotionally shocking novels I've read this year. I absolutely loved it, so much that I can't form the proper words to describe just how good this book was!

Thoughtful and exciting to read. It does take a while to get into but once you are, you're hooked! It is incredibly unique - adventure-driven with twists and turns and some adorable romance.

I was drawn in to this one by the absolutely GORGEOUS cover and then the blurb, and it did not disappoint. Thoughtful but exciting. Great read!

I really enjoyed this book it took me a little bit to get into it but one I was in I was hooked. I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel.
This book felt unique like nothing I had read before it was shocking and had me on the edge of my seat. I’m dying to see what’s next for these characters and the story line.

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Abi Dobson <Abi-56@hotmail.com>
Fri 03/08/2018 22:28
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Abi Dobson (Abi-56@hotmail.com);
Opposite Worlds collide in this supernatural “Romeo and Juliet – esque” love story, when Zoe (your typical teenage girl) who is struggling with the loss of her father crosses paths with X.

X is no ordinary teenager, he is conscripted to hunt and capture the souls of the evil, and upon doing so, must return them (and himself) back to the Lowlands; a supernatural prison.

The Edge of Everything is a supernatural, contemporary novel that keeps you wanting more.

The World building was extraordinary, and I especially loved the description of the Lowlands and the people housed within it. Giles has a way with words that fully immerses you, and makes you experience a whole range of emotions.

I loved the mix of characters and diversity portrayed in this novel; the bond shared between Zoe and her little brother, Jonah, was especially lovely, and this bond is almost reflected between X and Ripper (albeit in a twisted kind of way!).

I found I actually enjoyed the secondary characters more than the main characters and felt without them the story would have been very bland and similar to so many other stories. Saying that, Zoe and her family were so relatable, it was actually nice to see a somewhat normal family dynamic.

It made me laugh.

I experienced the grief that Zoe and her family did

And at times it sent a chill up my spine!

I will definitely be picking up The Brink of Darkness to find out what happens next!

This book was sooooo good, I really enjoyed reading it. Of all the books Ive read that i got of netgalley this is my favourite(thank u for sending it to me). The story was so good and i could not put this book down. Zoe and X were such interesting characters. X was so loyal and sweet while i found Zoe funny at times and her little brother was so cute. I love the ideas in this book about the lowlands qnd the lords and the way the story switched from zoe and x pov so you never missed anything that was going on with the characters. All in all this was a really good book and i have already purchased the second one.😊 4.5 stars

This book is written in a beautiful, lyrical way. It dances accross the page and allows you to create the world in your own mind.
The protagonists were a little... cliche, for me. But I can appreciate them and that there will be a lot of interest and compassion for them.

I think the book is a mix of two different genres that don't really go together well. The first half of the book was really good but the second half was so boring and predictable. However I liked the characters and although I don't like the ending it does set up well for the next book.

Honestly I lost interest in this book, it didn't capture my attention like I was hoping unfortunately.

I’ve got to say – I had no idea this was written by a man, and I never would have known! Writing from the perspective of a teenage girl isn’t easy even if you are a teenage girl, and though there were a few times I wasn’t sure Zoe was really authentic, I think Giles deserves a nod for doing a pretty decent job.

I liked this book from the beginning. As you can already tell, for the most part I found Zoe to be believable. I can’t stress how important that is to me. Even if the story is amazing, I can’t stick with it if I don’t feel like the lead character(s) is real.

I think character is what really helps this novel to stick together. The premise is good and somewhat original, but it does have a familiar taste which isn’t as exciting as it could be. The brooding mysterious guy, the independent teenage girl, some heartache which has to be overcome… we’ve all seen this structure before, but what I like about The Edge of Everything is the dressing on top of the structure.

The novel centers around Zoe, a teenager in a single-parent family whose father died in a caving accident. This family structure was a great idea not only for pushing the plot along, but as a reason why Zoe seems more motivated and mature than her peers. Without her family’s reliance on her, I’m not so sure I would have liked her at all. She has a tendency to take action without thinking, and if it weren’t for her younger brother I’m quite sure she would have done a lot more stupid and hurtful things over the course of this story. The relationship between herself and Jonah was really important for showing how loving, kind, and sometimes ferocious, Zoe is; the very reasons X is drawn to her.

Giles has great skill in toeing the line between revealing enough to keep the reader engaged, whilst maintaining mystery about both the world and the characters he has created. I am actually most interested in Xs story, with or without Zoe. She is a great anchor for his actions, but I’m not sure she’s strictly necessary for a great story. X’s world, and why he is stuck there, is fascinating. I suspect we actually learn very little in this first book, though there are some lovely teases as to where the story could go. The relationship between X and Ripper is particularly engaging, so I’d love to see this explored further.

I’d recommend this book if you want a bit of escapism with enough heart to give it more punch than your traditional teen fantasy.

You can connect with Jeff Giles on twitter and be sure to look out for The Brink of Darkness, coming to book stores on 10th July!

This series has a lot of potential and I really liked it but just needed to be more fleshed out in certain areas. The writing was good and the characters were likeable so I can't wait to read the sequel.

The best thing about this book was the snarky teen protagonist, Zoe. I enjoyed her viewpoint immensely. That said I think I was just not quite in the target audience for this one. It had a good plot and was well written but it just didn't do it for me. I would still recommend it for other readers of this genre because even though I didn't form a deep emotional connection, I can see lots of teen readers coming into my library who would love it.

This book is lovely. The family dynamics were not only heart-wrenching but also felt truly authentic. I was really impressed with the character developments but slightly disappointed that the plot development was not as rich as the characters. Overall an enjoyable read that really tugged that my heart strings.

When I read the synopsis, it sounded intriguing and so I had to read it. And it was...interesting. The concept, the the world building, the mystery, the snarky dialogue were fantastic! I enjoyed the latter the most - the comic relief made me like the book more, it was a wonderful juxtaposition of hell and humour that was ridiculous, but incredibly enjoyable. The characters did this so well.

The plot consisted of many questions that left me wondering and intrigued. So much mystery. Another great thing about this book was that I was pulled into all the intrigue, set on a journey to satiate my curiosity. And it did precisely that. By the end of it, there were many questions answered - many unanswered, but I assumed that they would be covered in the sequel - and I was happy with the way the plot unfolded.

The characters were alright, and I liked the strong sense of family. What I didn't feel particularly convinced about was the romance. I don't /hate/ insta-love, but on rare occasions it does impress me. But I didn't really enjoy X and Zoe - it didn't feel like there was any chemistry between them and they happened so fast, it was difficult to root for them.

I think the plot was too slow to unfold, the romance too quick to happen. There is enough of this book to keep me interested, but I'm not too keen on the characters.

( I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)

3.5 stars

The Edge of Everything follows Zoe who is caught in a blizzard when searching for her brother and it’s then that she meets X a mysterious stranger who helps her out of danger and their two worlds collide. This was an interesting read with many elements which I really enjoyed. I loved the setting particularly when we were reading from X’s perspective and the plot was unique.

I like the strong theme of family in this book and there were some twists and turns which I wasn’t expecting. I was also pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy this read was as it was nicely paced. However something I struggled with in this book was the love story. Whilst I liked the characters in the story I personally don’t enjoy insta love and I felt like this happened very quickly in the book which made it difficult for me to root for them to be together and generally found the love story less interesting as the world and overall plot. However it was a quick, easy and enjoyable read and I would recommend.

Meinung
"The Edge of Everything" von Jeff Giles ist mir dank des wundervollen Covers ins Auge gefallen, auch wenn ich mir unter dem Inhalt nicht sonderlich etwas vorstellen konnte. (Der englische Klappentext hat mich erst sogar vermuten lassen, es handele sich um eine Dystopie. Mann, ich hätte gar nicht falscher liegen können.) Ich musste es einfach haben und habe es auch innerhalb weniger Tage verschlungen.

Keine Überraschung, denn das Buch besitzt einen sehr angenehmen, flüssigen Schreibstil, der aber doch auch sehr außergewöhnlich ist. Ich kann mir nicht wirklich vorstellen, wie man das Buch mit diesem Stil übersetzen sollte (Von einer möglichen Übersetzung weiß ich übrigens nichts), denn obwohl es auf English gepasst und dem Buch etwas Besonderes verliehen hat, ist der Stil sehr erklärend, was mich im Deutschen meist stört.

Darüber hinaus sprechen die Figuren allesamt in einem etwas gewöhnungsbedürftigen Dialekt mit Slang-Begriffen, die auch ich als erfahrene Englischsprecherin nur aus dem Kontext aufgeschnappt habe. Am Anfang kann der Stil daher etwas befremdlich wirken, aber sobald man sich daran gewöhnt hat, erkennt man das Besondere.

Und besonders geht es auch mit der Handlung von "The Edge of Everything" weiter. So dreht sich das Buch nämlich um Zoe, ein ganz normales Mädchen aus Montana, das es gerade nicht sonderlich einfach hat. Und um X. X hat eigentlich keinen Namen, denn er stammt aus den sogenannten Lowlands, die in dieser Reihe mit der Hölle gleichzusetzen ist. Seine Aufgabe ist es, die Seelen all jener einzufangen, die Schlimmes getan und es verdient haben, in die Hölle zu kommen. Er ist also eine Art Kopfgeldjäger. Dabei hat er selbst niemals ein solches Schicksal verdient.

Bei einer Mission trifft er auf Zoe, die ihn bittet sein Opfer zu verschonen und obwohl er das nie in Erwägung gezogen hätte, tut er es. Für sie. Und damit tritt er eine Welle los. Denn so schön die Zeit sein mag, die er mit Zoe verbringen und ihr näherkommen kann, so rufen die Lowlands doch weiterhin nach ihm.

Das Schicksal trennt die beiden, aus einem Handlungsstrang werden zwei. Zwei Geschichten, die zusammengehören und doch getrennt erzählt werden müssen, um Sinn zu ergeben. Zoes bleibt nicht etwa zurück und wartet auf X, nein, sie stellt Nachforschungen an. Will mehr über den Tod ihres Vaters wissen. Und X, der sucht verzweifelt nach einem Weg zurück. Nur entkommt niemand den Lowlands.

An dieser Stelle sei zugegeben: Die Liebesgeschichte zwischen den beiden kommt in meinen Augen ein wenig zu plötzlich, die Gefühle mögen am Anfang langsam gekommen sein, doch mit einem Mal - puff, ist es die echte, wahre Liebe, die allem trotzt. Das hat mich ein wenig gestört, doch gegen Ende hin hatte sich dieser Kritikpunkt wieder in Luft aufgelöst, einfach weil diese Liebesgeschichte gleichzeitig so herzerwärmend wie auch herzzerstörend ist. Da lassen wir solche Kleinigkeiten gerne mal durchgehen.

"The Edge of Everything" erzählt aber nicht einfach nur eine Liebesgeschichte, sondern beschäftigt sich auch mehr wichtigen Themen. So ist einige zentrale Fragen, die immer wieder auftaucht: Was muss ein Mensch tun, um ein Schicksal in der Hölle verdient zu haben? Ist es Gerechtigkeit, diese Menschen für ihre Taten zu bestrafen oder sind wir dann auch nicht besser? Sollten wir nicht lieber vergeben, weil es das Menschlichere ist, was man tun könnte?

Diese Fragen müssen sich Zoe und X stellen und man merkt direkt, dass eine eindeutige Antwort darauf nicht möglich ist. Dass sich ihre Ansichten über das Buch hinweg verschieben. Und das ist auch gut so.

Die beiden scheinen zunächst krasse Gegenteile. Während Zoe ein größtenteils glückliches Leben hatte und von ihrer Familie geliebt wurde, hat X den Großteils seines Lebens in den Lowlands verbracht. Er weiß nicht, was es heißt zu vertrauen oder gar zu lieben. Als die beiden aufeinandertreffen, ist es, als würden zwei Puzzleteile auf einmal zusammenpassen. Sie vervollständigen sich auf eine sehr subtile Art und Weise, die dem Leser erst gegen Ende des Buches so richtig bewusst wird. Weil beide sich dadurch auch verändern. Ich für meinen Teil habe Zoe und X beide in mein Herz geschlossen und freue mich nun darauf, wie ihre Geschichte weitergeht.

Mein kleiner Liebling, das muss ich hier noch erwähnen, bleibt allerdings Jonah. Zoes achtjähriger Bruder ist einfach so liebenswert, dass man gar nicht anders kann, als sich in den kleinen Racker zu verlieben.

Fazit
"The Edge of Everything" ist nicht nur einfach ein Jugendbuch. Es ist eine wundervolle Liebesgeschichte, die gleichzeitig spannend und außergewöhnlich erzählt wird und sich darüber hinaus mit sehr vielen tiefgründigen und wichtigen Themen beschäftigt.