ARC Review: Edge of Forever by Barbara Elsborg

From the blurb

When you stand on the edge, you might just find yourself falling.

Teaching Russians how to be cowboys? Levi thinks his father is joking when he tells him that’s what he wants him to do for the next six months. Working in the frozen desolation of southwest Russia he’ll earn enough to buy a new barn for their Montana ranch. But there’s a deeper agenda for sending him to the edge of nowhere. It will stop him sloping off on Saturday nights to gay bars and clubs for threesomes with strangers. 

Pasha finally pushes his father too far and is banished to a remote ranch in the middle of a snowy Russian winter. Stripped of all the trappings of his privileged Moscow lifestyle, he has nothing at his disposal but a suitcase of designer clothes and a whole lot of sass. Pasha hates the countryside, hates physical work, hates the cold and hates cows. But de-prived of money, phone, and access to anyone who might help him, he’s screwed and not in a good way. 

Levi’s counting down the days till he can return to the States and his Saturday night hook-ups. Then Pasha arrives at the ranch wearing eyeliner, retching every time he walks into a barn, and Levi is amused, irritated—and attracted. After a vicious attack on Pasha throws them into close quarters, both men are forced to re-evaluate not just who the other is, but whether they truly want to return to the lives they left behind. 

When you stand on the edge, you just might find yourself falling in love.

Heather's rating:







Russian cowboy, opposites-attract nirvana.

I had forgotten how much I truly love Barbara Elsborg but this book brought it right back. Edge of Forever is all that is good and special about Barbara Elsborg's writing, wrapped up in one glorious package.

If you haven't read this author before, you are in for a treat. Her books are a unique mix of really funny and really angsty, which is an unusual combination. I'll admit, sometimes her books veer too dark for me (and this book should have a *trigger warning* for sexual abuse of minors), but Edge of Forever really was a perfect balance of pain and pleasure.

What Barbara Elsborg does better than almost any other author is her absolutely dead-funny banter. This book is witty, and sarcastic, vulnerable, lovely Pasha was a perfect example of a Barbara Elsborg main character done right. I adored Pasha... like, REALLY loved him, and I loved his chemistry with Levi.



You should also know that the angst in this book is real and it will punch you in the guts. I struggled through a couple sections, but most of the book is focused on Pasha and Levi's relationship development in the cold, tough environment of the Russian wintery countryside. The details were lovely and real, and it made me want to ride horses and make out in the middle of a snowdrift (probably an idea that is better in my mind than in real life...).

From about 50% on, I couldn't put this book down. I sat for a VERY long time in my local coffee shop reading with tears in my eyes because my EMOTIONS were just overflowing. It isn't a sad or scary book, but the story will make you push with all your soul for these characters to get their HEA.

I loved the story from start to finish, and that epilogue made me *squee* out loud. I could have read a thousand pages of this couple and never get bored. A total winner.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

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Enjoy, my friends!