The Edge of Never

    So, I was on a reading kick. I can read a book in a day when I'm on one. Sometimes I can read 2 or 3 if I've really nothing to do. I was on one, and then I started reading The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski. Sloooow down. It took me forever to finish. I started reading this on August 5th and I finished it today. I actually have two days late fine on this book because I couldn't finish it in time. Shall we get on with the rating?

Rating: 3/5 stars

Overview:
    Camryn is 20 years old. Apparently she is very mature for her age. However, the past year or so for her has sucked. She lost her boyfriend in a car accident, her brother lands in jail, her parents are divorced, she hates her job, yadda yadda. After a shitty night at a local club with her best friend Natalie, she basically decides to give up and run away from life. That's right, she (poorly) packs a bag and hops a bus to nowhere, telling no one, leaving all her responsibilities behind.Woo mature 20 year old.
    Andrew happens to be riding the same bus as Camryn. He's heading home to see his sick father before he dies. Like Camryn, he's also essentially running away from life at the moment. Naturally, these two hit it off, and of course it starts off reluctantly. Andrew spends his time watching over her because there is a creeper on the bus and he already feels very protective of her. Eventually they part ways and Camryn is left in the bus stop trying to decide where to go next. A heroic scene follows and, reunited, they decide to stay together for an "epic" road trip.
     Over the course of this road trip, they help each other overcome fears and emotions. Andrew challenges Camryn to live more "freely" than she had been and to realize internalized thoughts over her idealized dead boyfriend. Naturally, love happens even though neither of them can fall in love with the other. Of course, Andrew is hiding a massive game changing secret that can ruin absolutely everything.

Thoughts:
    The first half to almost three-fourths of this book is boring. It's like reading the boring bus trip you just took, which is even more boring than the actual trip. Yes, there were some cute moments. Some moments that were supposed to be rather emotional. There were typos and lines that made me say "seriously?". Such as, "in the eyes of men, he'd probably see her as my 'territory' now, my property." That is from a section where Andrew is the narrator, having to do with McCreeper. Overall, it was hard to keep reading.
    Once they've been on the road a bit, the book starts to pick up some. They have some fun, "give into their hearts" and learn new things about themselves. The sex scenes are better than some I've read, but not the best. On the plus side, they aren't on every single page once you get to them. The ending of the book does give your heartstrings a little tug, however while I wasn't 100% positive, I did kind of see it coming. This was one of the few times I think that a book should have ended differently, though the ending isn't horrible. The book isn't horrible. It simply wasn't my cup of tea and I'm glad I got it from the library instead of paying for it. In the back of this book, it actually states that it is a stand alone book. I think I have an older copy from the library because I have learned a sequel was published. It is not one I will add to my list, so my number gets to go down! This book is perfectly fine as a stand alone. This book gets better reviews than I gave it on Goodreads, so clearly it is liked. Just not by me, not completely.

Guess I better get reading,
Cho

The Butterfly Clues

Three books reviewed in 8 days! Can you tell I'm in a reading mood? I did go back and start the other Kate Ellison book, The Butterfly Clues, the day I finished the first. I think this is an author I will continue to enjoy reading.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Overview:
    "Lo" has issues. Legitimate psycho-social issues. Apparently, she's had them the majority of her life, but they've gotten worse since the death of her only sibling; a brother named Oren. Now, in addition to an obsession with numbers and patterns that have to be completed, she finds herself stealing things. Or saving them, if you want to think like her. The urge comes and she can't resist it.
    Not resisting the urge lands Lo in trouble. While searching for a new treasure she ends up outside the home of a girl, Sapphire, who ends up dead. She makes it home and, trying to forget the gunshots fired around her head, goes for her weekly trip to the flea market. There she comes across new treasures, which belong to the newly dead girl. It isn't long before she is obsessing over her death and finding herself back on the wrong side of town to find out more about her.
    Someone take notice of her snooping though, and the threat on her life becomes real. While trying to avoid death and discover what really happened to Sapphire, she befriends an artist, Flynt, who lives on the streets. He becomes her guide to "the wrong side of the tracks".  The threats on her life become more serious. Her trust in Flynt starts to waver. Family issues at home start to come to a head. What does Sapphire's death have to do with her dead brother? Read and find out!

Thoughts:
    I liked this book. This is the second book I've read by this author and I think I will continue to read things she puts out. She keeps me interested. That's clearly obvious since I read each book in one day. (I may not have put the reviews up immediately, but each only took a day to read.) My only complaints would have to be that there is a very clear repeating theme with her sex scenes(same thing in both books), which will get annoying quickly if it continues, and the ending of this book and the psycho-social issue. That's simply not how it works. However, that's the nurse in me being picky.
    The characters were interesting. I wanted more of a backstory for Flynt, and to know more about Oren. I think that there is another, mini book, about Sapphire that may give more information about Oren. I haven't actually looked into it. Lo is awkward, but not so much that she's annoying and pathetic. The scenery makes you think inner city, as it's supposed  to. This book is a standalone! Woo! You know I hate when books end up as series. (Not that all series are bad! However, all books do not need to be series.)

That's one more off the list! A lot more to go.

Better get to reading,
Cho

Notes from Ghost Town

While going through the library, Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison was actually the first book on my list that I picked up. This book is also not something I normally grab. It's a mystery with a bit of a ghost story. I'm trying to read things that are more outside of my fairytale and paranormal romance range, and I remembered that it looked good when I added it to my list. I was right!


Stars: 5/5
Overview:
    Olivia is an art student with a brilliant pianist best friend, Stern. Our story starts out with her preparing to return to art school with Stern's help. The two are realizing their feelings for each other have been evolving over the many years they've been friends. Before they can do anything about it, Stern is gone. Murdered. The suspect, Olivia's mother who is schizophrenic. Olivia's family and world are being torn apart. In addition to her now broken home, Olivia has stopped being able to see color. How can an artist who can't see color continue to paint and draw?
    The heartache doesn't stop there. Her father is already remarrying. She's moved from her family home, built by her father. And, to top it off, Olivia starts seeing Stern's ghost. Or does she? Schizophrenia is hereditary. Is she starting to lose her mind? The apparition of Stern tells her that her mother is innocent, but can't tell her anything other than that.
    Olivia is forced to fight with herself, the fear that she is "going crazy", just like her mother, and the possibility that she might be sane. She's falling in love all over again with a possible figment of her imagination. At the same time, a local private school hottie with close ties to her family is trying to catch her attention. With her paranoia growing, everyone telling her to let her mom and Stern go and the grief piling up inside her, what's a girl to do? Who can she trust? Is she really losing it?

Thoughts:
    I loved this book. So far, I've loved it more than anything I've read on the list. It kept me tied to it. I was walking into the hospital Belle style, not looking at anything but the pages as I made my way from my car to the floor I work on the night I started reading it. I finished it in two days, but only because I was working both nights and I do 12 hour shifts. Had I not been working and not needing to do homework/write a paper, I'd have finished this in hours. My co-workers were laughing at me.
    This book isn't perfect. I noticed continuation errors. The author would forget a character had done something and either re-do it or comment on how it hadn't been done. Things like that stick out in my head. It wasn't a huge issue. They were little things that I believe most people would over look. I actually came to like all the characters and I wasn't at all expecting the twist. While I knew it was coming, I didn't guess THAT would be it.
    I have another book by this author sitting in the pile at home and I think it will be the next one I start. Happily, this was a stand alone book! Score! The number on the list clicks down.

Still...

Guess I better get to reading,
Cho