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dith_kusu's review
4.0
3.75 stars. I liked yet simultaneously was not completely all in for this lyrical, not quite giving all the details writing style, I didn't know how to better describe it. We're kind of just dropped into this world the characters inhabit and just follow them right away in what they're doing at the moment, the whole environment that they're in is not fully explored.
I would've liked more scenes on how Shay is this I'm assuming pretty successful musician in this successful band, his indie music style and concerts with his bandmates, more on how Ollie is doing this Sky documentary tracing Shay's genealogy, which I didn't fully grasp why he would be touring with them showing Shay bits and pieces of his ancestors out of order, and be filming himself without a camera crew, so on.
I liked Shay and Ollie together, but at the same time there's just something that kept me from being completely engaged with the couple and their surroundings. As background for the characters, it was important to know that Shay was exploring his genetic roots after not really wondering about his biological family, and Ollie's past was compelling, him being this cute-nerdy BBC reporter but he'd been through this traumatic car accident and was still dealing with PTSD from his burns and is insecure about his severe scarring on his body, that they both helped each other. There was just too much of those details though, I felt, and less of their connecting and love story beyond their sleeping together during junctures of the band's tour.
Shay's family history elaborations were interesting-ish, I guess it was a tool to help the two bond and fall in love but especially since the reader gets all this info including how he had extended family and it doesn't really lead anywhere, I didn't see much point of the heavy focus on this aspect. (Apparently the author has books with the family as characters in it, so this is loosely connected in a Garrett Leigh crossover universe)
One thing I liked here is that the couple being gay isn't a big social issue or conflict in the stories- that's already accepted and we're moving on more to their internal issues and their dynamic while falling in love. I appreciated that.
I would've liked more scenes on how Shay is this I'm assuming pretty successful musician in this successful band, his indie music style and concerts with his bandmates, more on how Ollie is doing this Sky documentary tracing Shay's genealogy, which I didn't fully grasp why he would be touring with them showing Shay bits and pieces of his ancestors out of order, and be filming himself without a camera crew, so on.
I liked Shay and Ollie together, but at the same time there's just something that kept me from being completely engaged with the couple and their surroundings. As background for the characters, it was important to know that Shay was exploring his genetic roots after not really wondering about his biological family, and Ollie's past was compelling, him being this cute-nerdy BBC reporter but he'd been through this traumatic car accident and was still dealing with PTSD from his burns and is insecure about his severe scarring on his body, that they both helped each other. There was just too much of those details though, I felt, and less of their connecting and love story beyond their sleeping together during junctures of the band's tour.
Shay's family history elaborations were interesting-ish, I guess it was a tool to help the two bond and fall in love but especially since the reader gets all this info including how he had extended family and it doesn't really lead anywhere, I didn't see much point of the heavy focus on this aspect. (Apparently the author has books with the family as characters in it, so this is loosely connected in a Garrett Leigh crossover universe)
One thing I liked here is that the couple being gay isn't a big social issue or conflict in the stories- that's already accepted and we're moving on more to their internal issues and their dynamic while falling in love. I appreciated that.
cadiva's review
5.0
Garrett Leigh understands the human psyche and I'm so glad she went ahead and published this book independently after the whole Dreamspinner debacle (Google it, it's too complicated to summarise here).
In The Edge of the World we get two protagonists who each have complications in their lives which mean it's not an every day boy meets boy, boy falls for boy, boys stroll off into the sunset together narrative (although don't worry, there's definitely a HEA but this is set mostly in England, it rains a lot
In The Edge of the World we get two protagonists who each have complications in their lives which mean it's not an every day boy meets boy, boy falls for boy, boys stroll off into the sunset together narrative (although don't worry, there's definitely a HEA but this is set mostly in England, it rains a lot
dithkusu's review
4.0
3.75 stars. I liked yet simultaneously was not completely all in for this lyrical, not quite giving all the details writing style, I didn't know how to better describe it. We're kind of just dropped into this world the characters inhabit and just follow them right away in what they're doing at the moment, the whole environment that they're in is not fully explored.
I would've liked more scenes on how Shay is this I'm assuming pretty successful musician in this successful band, his indie music style and concerts with his bandmates, more on how Ollie is doing this Sky documentary tracing Shay's genealogy, which I didn't fully grasp why he would be touring with them showing Shay bits and pieces of his ancestors out of order, and be filming himself without a camera crew, so on.
I liked Shay and Ollie together, but at the same time there's just something that kept me from being completely engaged with the couple and their surroundings. As background for the characters, it was important to know that Shay was exploring his genetic roots after not really wondering about his biological family, and Ollie's past was compelling, him being this cute-nerdy BBC reporter but he'd been through this traumatic car accident and was still dealing with PTSD from his burns and is insecure about his severe scarring on his body, that they both helped each other. There was just too much of those details though, I felt, and less of their connecting and love story beyond their sleeping together during junctures of the band's tour.
Shay's family history elaborations were interesting-ish, I guess it was a tool to help the two bond and fall in love but especially since the reader gets all this info including how he had extended family and it doesn't really lead anywhere, I didn't see much point of the heavy focus on this aspect. (Apparently the author has books with the family as characters in it, so this is loosely connected in a Garrett Leigh crossover universe)
One thing I liked here is that the couple being gay isn't a big social issue or conflict in the stories- that's already accepted and we're moving on more to their internal issues and their dynamic while falling in love. I appreciated that.
I would've liked more scenes on how Shay is this I'm assuming pretty successful musician in this successful band, his indie music style and concerts with his bandmates, more on how Ollie is doing this Sky documentary tracing Shay's genealogy, which I didn't fully grasp why he would be touring with them showing Shay bits and pieces of his ancestors out of order, and be filming himself without a camera crew, so on.
I liked Shay and Ollie together, but at the same time there's just something that kept me from being completely engaged with the couple and their surroundings. As background for the characters, it was important to know that Shay was exploring his genetic roots after not really wondering about his biological family, and Ollie's past was compelling, him being this cute-nerdy BBC reporter but he'd been through this traumatic car accident and was still dealing with PTSD from his burns and is insecure about his severe scarring on his body, that they both helped each other. There was just too much of those details though, I felt, and less of their connecting and love story beyond their sleeping together during junctures of the band's tour.
Shay's family history elaborations were interesting-ish, I guess it was a tool to help the two bond and fall in love but especially since the reader gets all this info including how he had extended family and it doesn't really lead anywhere, I didn't see much point of the heavy focus on this aspect. (Apparently the author has books with the family as characters in it, so this is loosely connected in a Garrett Leigh crossover universe)
One thing I liked here is that the couple being gay isn't a big social issue or conflict in the stories- that's already accepted and we're moving on more to their internal issues and their dynamic while falling in love. I appreciated that.
prgchrqltma's review
4.0
Sweet contemporary. Rock star who has diabetes. Documentary film maker who was in a car crash. There is music and tasty descriptions of polish food.
steiner's review
3.0
I have rounded up because the writing was good but the romance was lacking sizzle. There was so much angst that it didn't really make sense for them to get together. The background story about the ancestry wasn't gripping.
knrt_17's review
5.0
I love this author’s work. This is a mm contemporary story set in the UK. Musician Shay and film maker Ollie are both broken souls. They find each other and the road to love is rough. Excellent writing and story telling. This author is an auto buy for me.
karentje's review
4.0
3.5 stars
This was a mellow hurt/comfort story with a very promising premise, up and coming rock star falls for the reporter digging into his past while hiding secrets of his own. I had trouble connecting to the story and the MC’s though. It just wasn’t completely clear to me why exactly they fell for each other and Ollie is less than straightforward in his dealings with Shay. I understand why it’s hard for him to be open and vulnerable, but I wasn’t enamored of the mixed signals he kept sending Shay’s way. He didn’t always seem to grasp how his decisions impacted the other man. The research into Shay’s past didn’t feel very relevant to the story and though it ended in something of a shocking revelation … even that fell a little flat. An okay read, but I’ve come to expect more from this author.
Narration: Dan Calley did a great job with his performance of this story, and drew me in more than I’d have been by just reading the book. I really like the timbre of his voice, the accents and his interpretation of the characters. He made the MC’s sound very genuine and authentic.
This was a mellow hurt/comfort story with a very promising premise, up and coming rock star falls for the reporter digging into his past while hiding secrets of his own. I had trouble connecting to the story and the MC’s though. It just wasn’t completely clear to me why exactly they fell for each other and Ollie is less than straightforward in his dealings with Shay. I understand why it’s hard for him to be open and vulnerable, but I wasn’t enamored of the mixed signals he kept sending Shay’s way. He didn’t always seem to grasp how his decisions impacted the other man. The research into Shay’s past didn’t feel very relevant to the story and though it ended in something of a shocking revelation … even that fell a little flat. An okay read, but I’ve come to expect more from this author.
Narration: Dan Calley did a great job with his performance of this story, and drew me in more than I’d have been by just reading the book. I really like the timbre of his voice, the accents and his interpretation of the characters. He made the MC’s sound very genuine and authentic.
caithh's review
4.0
Wow, it's been a while since I've read a Garrett Leigh book. So, I was not expecting how heavy this book ended up being. Both characters suffered from illnesses, Shay diabetes, and Ollie PTSD plus others that are revealed in the book. Ollie's life and thoughts were truly ruled by his suffering. It was nice to his growth throughout the book.
This isn't a sweet book, it's hard and heavy and a little angsty. But as is always the case with Leigh, their love story is beautiful, and watching (reading) it blossom was an absolute treat.
This isn't a sweet book, it's hard and heavy and a little angsty. But as is always the case with Leigh, their love story is beautiful, and watching (reading) it blossom was an absolute treat.