On the Edge by Allison van DiepenPublished by: HarperCollins on November 25, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 304
Source: Edelweiss
Book Details
Rating: ★★★
From Allison van Diepen, author of Snitch and Street Pharm, comes a sexy, dangerous novel about a teen who witnesses a murder and gets caught up in the seedy world of Miami’s gangs.
Maddie Diaz never should have taken that shortcut through the park. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have seen two members of the Reyes gang attacking a homeless man. Now, as the only witness, she knows there’s a target on her back.
But when the Reyes jump her on the street, Maddie is protected by a second gang and their secretive leader, Lobo, who is determined to take down the Reyes himself. Lobo is mysterious and passionate, and Maddie begins to fall for him. But when they live this close to the edge, can their love survive?
On the Edge is a compelling story about fighting for what’s right and figuring out where you belong. The novel showcases a gritty, realistic voice and earth–shattering romance that will intrigue readers of Simone Elkeles and Paul Griffin and captivate fans of Allison van Diepen's other novels.
The gang and thrill part of On the Edge was pretty awesome. I loved the danger and how people were standing up to violence, gangs, and all that goes with them (drugs, sex trafficking, etc.). What I liked less was the romance.
I liked the romance in theory: gang leader falls for innocent girl. That’s hot! And parts of the romance were fun and sexy.. it just felt insta-lovey to me. They have like two dates and are practically in love with each other. The romance just blew right past me and I didn’t have time to catch up and fully get on board with it.
But the romance was my main problem with the book. Other than that, I liked the story a lot. The gang-related plot was horrific, but interesting. It was a lot of fun to read. The book also had some good characters. Some of the side ones may have been a bit hollow, but Maddie was a good main character. I like how she was determined to do the right thing.
On the Edge is different and is a good read. It stands out from a lot of other young adult books, even if just for the gangs and violence in the plot. It felt raw and real. The book’s only flaw was that it was only pretty good; it just wasn’t great or phenomenal. Maybe if the romance was more intense and shook me to my core (Pushing the Limits style) then I could have LOVED the book instead of liked it.. but oh well.
The Verdict
I was expecting so much more. Like you, I loved the danger and gang aspects of it, but the instalove almost ruined it….
Simone Elkeles did the danger/romance stories right.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy this one as much as you had hoped. That’s the way felt about the last book I read. This one is on my TBR and I’m not a fan of insta-love but I do think I’ll still give it a chance.
You know, as I was reading this review I actually got the feeling you didn’t like the book much at all. So I was surprised when I got to the end and you actually said it was pretty good. While it sounds like the book has a lot going for it, you’re kinda lukewarm opinion puts me off it a bit.