(DNF) REVIEW • Fooled By Promise of Bounty Hunters (The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles)

[note note_color=”#e1e0e5″ text_color=”#ffffff”]The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles • January 31, 2017 • Bloomsbury USA Childrens
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It’s been a shattering year for seventeen-year-old Zoe, who’s still reeling from her father’s shockingly sudden death in a caving accident and her neighbors’ mysterious disappearance from their own home. Then on a terrifying sub-zero, blizzardy night in Montana, she and her brother are brutally attacked in a cabin in the woods–only to be rescued by a mysterious bounty hunter they call X.

X is no ordinary bounty hunter. He is from a hell called the Lowlands, sent to claim the soul of Zoe’s evil attacker and others like him. Forbidden to reveal himself to anyone other than his victims, X casts aside the Lowlands’ rules for Zoe. As X and Zoe learn more about their different worlds, they begin to question the past, their fate, and their future. But escaping the Lowlands and the ties that bind X might mean the ultimate sacrifice for both of them.[/note]

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from Bloomsbury for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “Zoe met X on a Sunday in February, when there was a storm on its way from Canada and the sky was so dark it looked like someone was closing a giant coffin lid over Montana.”

DNF-ed at Chapter 8

I should’ve known that anything that features a lot of snow will fill me up with boredom and lull me into a deep sleep. The Edge of Everything seemed promising—it had bounty hunters! I admit, I did not read this synopsis thoroughly. Any promise of bounty hunters, I’m immediately onboard, and boy, what a mistake to board this train towards the Lowlands. 

Why The Edge of Everything Didn’t Work For Me 

• It started off slow. 

Snow, snow everywhere. I was annoyed having to spend what felt like forever in the snow with Zoe as she trekked through a blizzard to find her missing brother in the woods. Nothing exciting was happening. It was just her walking and reflecting on her life and how it led her to that moment. Where is all the action? And when the action did happen, I just didn’t care. Major yawn.

• Holy instant romance, no thanks.

*sigh* Yeah, no thanks. Yes, teenagers do fall in love very fast, but that doesn’t mean I like reading about it. I didn’t like how it happened, and it also doesn’t help that I don’t like the characters right from the bat.

• Writing was a lot of telling and not showing.

The writing was so much telling. I didn’t feel like the writing left us with a lot to imagine for ourselves. Descriptions were lackluster or nonexistent. These characters are like someone was trying to write teenagers, but failing badly. It felt super awkward being inside of Zoe’s head because of that. The world building of the Lowlands was a disappointment; I wanted it to captivate me when I learned about it, but learning about it was listening to a boring lecture.

• All the characters are boring. 

That has to do with the way the characters are written. The writing didn’t do a good job of making me connect with any of them.

• The way X speaks is super awkward.

I know he’s from the Lowlands, so he’s not going to speak like everybody else, but geeeeez, he speaks and thinks is so awkward. I just wanted him to stop everything he’s thinking or saying, and go away. The writing did not work with X at all. 

Should you read The Edge of Everything? No, don’t be fooled by promises of bounty hunters because The Edge of Everything is not good. The only reason I can think of that readers may enjoy is learning about the Lowlands, but if you value writing that shows instead of tells and really captures your attention instantly, The Edge of Everything is not it.