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A review by mermaird
The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles
3.0
I made three mistakes when I chose to read The Edge of Everything. Firstly, I judged the book by its cover. It made me think that I'm diving into a contemporary romance. Secondly, I did not bother to read the synopsis on Goodreads. Big Mistake. I got so confused and almost freaked out when I realised that this is no ordinary love story—it involved inhuman supernatural elements that came from Hell. And thirdly, I didn't bother to check whether this one is a standalone or a series. I had thought it was a standalone, yet I was proved to be wrong.
The story revolves around Zoe's family, who recently just lost their father. During one blizzard, while the mother was stuck in the traffic, Zoe's little brother had ventured a little too far from their home. Scared of losing another family, Zoe went out to look for Jonah. The search didn't went well, and when their lives were at risk by a stranger who wanted to murder them, a man suddenly appeared out-of-nowhere to save the day. Because the man had no name, Zoe decided to name him X, and then things got worse when they learned the truth about X's life.
Okay, let me get this straight. If you were on the verge of losing your life to a stranger, and then another stranger of the same gender pops in to "save" the day, would you actually trust the second stranger blindly? Not, maybe not. But Zoe did. From the first moment of their meeting, Zoe was having little-to-none wariness over this new stranger, who does not appear to look normal, and even has the quest to kill a man. Say, would you give your full trust to a bounty hunter? I doubt it.
Yet, that did not seem to be the case for our Zoe here. In the first half of the book, I truly loved Zoe. She seems to be this strong girl that will do anything for her family, and she does not give a damn to other people; she had her own thoughts. And I adored her for that. But I guess the insta-love probably ruined everything. In less than a day, Zoe got so drawn towards X that it seemed almost ridiculous, now that I think of it. X returned her feelings silently, and from his perspective, I'm not surprised that he's attracted to her. In his situation, she would be the nicest thing to ever happen to him. But after loving Zoe's headstrong character, her "I'll-do-anything-for-him" attitude irks me a little.
X warned her that it would be dangerous if he stayed, but Zoe and Jonah (oh sweet little, Jonah) insisted, despite the mother constantly telling them that X should not be trusted. I got so baffled that Zoe kept on wanting him, even when clearly he's not a normal human being and he may bring danger to the whole family. I'm normally okay with insta-love, but there has to be a valid reason for it. I could not see the reason how both of them are so in love with each other. Love does not need a reason, of course, but let's keep it realistic, there HAS to be something.
And who even names a person, X? It made the character sound more shady than he already is. Is it that hard to come up with a proper name, like Henry or even John? Oh well, putting the weird name aside, I had no hate towards X. He's simply... different? I have no idea how to describe him; at some point, he is rather cute for someone who actually came from the Lowlands, but on other times, I just wish he would stay in his own world for good. His birth seems to be as shady as the name given by Zoe, which did not make me like him more than I already can. Both Zoe and X are okay characters, but not more than that.
I probably could enjoy this story more thanks to Jonah, and X's friends in Lowlands, Banger and Ripper. Especially Ripper. Other than that, it was not as good as I hoped it will be, like when I saw the cover. I could see the twist coming at the end, and I could not believe that there had to be a second book over this. It could have ended with just one book. The story had a potential for something bigger, but I didn't end up loving it. Jeff Giles way of writing is just not for me. I'll probably only try to read the second book for Ripper's sake.
The story revolves around Zoe's family, who recently just lost their father. During one blizzard, while the mother was stuck in the traffic, Zoe's little brother had ventured a little too far from their home. Scared of losing another family, Zoe went out to look for Jonah. The search didn't went well, and when their lives were at risk by a stranger who wanted to murder them, a man suddenly appeared out-of-nowhere to save the day. Because the man had no name, Zoe decided to name him X, and then things got worse when they learned the truth about X's life.
Okay, let me get this straight. If you were on the verge of losing your life to a stranger, and then another stranger of the same gender pops in to "save" the day, would you actually trust the second stranger blindly? Not, maybe not. But Zoe did. From the first moment of their meeting, Zoe was having little-to-none wariness over this new stranger, who does not appear to look normal, and even has the quest to kill a man. Say, would you give your full trust to a bounty hunter? I doubt it.
Yet, that did not seem to be the case for our Zoe here. In the first half of the book, I truly loved Zoe. She seems to be this strong girl that will do anything for her family, and she does not give a damn to other people; she had her own thoughts. And I adored her for that. But I guess the insta-love probably ruined everything. In less than a day, Zoe got so drawn towards X that it seemed almost ridiculous, now that I think of it. X returned her feelings silently, and from his perspective, I'm not surprised that he's attracted to her. In his situation, she would be the nicest thing to ever happen to him. But after loving Zoe's headstrong character, her "I'll-do-anything-for-him" attitude irks me a little.
X warned her that it would be dangerous if he stayed, but Zoe and Jonah (oh sweet little, Jonah) insisted, despite the mother constantly telling them that X should not be trusted. I got so baffled that Zoe kept on wanting him, even when clearly he's not a normal human being and he may bring danger to the whole family. I'm normally okay with insta-love, but there has to be a valid reason for it. I could not see the reason how both of them are so in love with each other. Love does not need a reason, of course, but let's keep it realistic, there HAS to be something.
And who even names a person, X? It made the character sound more shady than he already is. Is it that hard to come up with a proper name, like Henry or even John? Oh well, putting the weird name aside, I had no hate towards X. He's simply... different? I have no idea how to describe him; at some point, he is rather cute for someone who actually came from the Lowlands, but on other times, I just wish he would stay in his own world for good. His birth seems to be as shady as the name given by Zoe, which did not make me like him more than I already can. Both Zoe and X are okay characters, but not more than that.
I probably could enjoy this story more thanks to Jonah, and X's friends in Lowlands, Banger and Ripper. Especially Ripper. Other than that, it was not as good as I hoped it will be, like when I saw the cover. I could see the twist coming at the end, and I could not believe that there had to be a second book over this. It could have ended with just one book. The story had a potential for something bigger, but I didn't end up loving it. Jeff Giles way of writing is just not for me. I'll probably only try to read the second book for Ripper's sake.