Reviewer: Holly On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
Series: The Edge #1
Also in this series: Bayou Moon, On the Edge (The Edge, #1), Bayou Moon (The Edge, #2)
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: September 29th 2009
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 336
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Series Rating:
Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, between the world of the Broken (where people drive cars, shop at Wal-Mart, and magic is a fairy tale) and the Weird (where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny). Only Edgers like Rose can easily travel from one world to the next, but they never truly belong in either.
Rose thought if she practiced her magic, she could build a better life for herself. But things didn’t turn out how she planned, and now she works a minimum wage, off the books job in the Broken just to survive. Then Declan Camarine, a blueblood noble straight out of the deepest part of the Weird, comes into her life, determined to have her (and her power).
But when a terrible danger invades the Edge from the Weird, a flood of creatures hungry for magic, Declan and Rose must work together to destroy them—or they’ll devour the Edge and everyone in it.
There’s a note from the author at the front of this book. She talks about how she came to write it and publish it, but says she didn’t know what to call it. Is it UF, Fantasy…what? Her editor didn’t know how to classify it, and neither did her readers. I can’t say I know, either. It’s kind of Kate Daniels meets Harry Potter, except not. I don’t know how to classify it, but On the Edge was a gripping read.
Whatever else I can say about Andrews, these books are imaginative as hell. The beginning was a bit slow for me, but I can’t deny the world pulled me in. Rose and her brothers, Jack and Georgie, her grandmother and the other Edgers, all came to life. Declan was something of an enigma early on, but he was fully fleshed out before long, too.
I really connected with Rose. She’s doing her best to raise her brothers and keep food on the table, despite some pretty big obstacles. She was just a real woman, down on her luck but making do as best she could. There were times both she and Declan frustrated me, but I enjoyed getting to know them both and watching their romance progress.
The action and adventure in this novel really stand out. I couldn’t wait to find out what was going on and why Declan was being so secretive, who was responsible for the sudden evil power surge, how Gerogie and Jack’s powers were going to develop and how the romance between Rose and Declan was going to progress. The Edge really came to life, and the horrors of it were creepy and chilling. I loved it.
Action, adventure, creep, gore, humor and romance – this novel has it all.
3.75 out of 5
Yes, I liked this, too. This and the fourth book were my favorites in the series.
As with all of Ilona’s series, this one keeps getting better. My favorite was the second book, Bayou Moon, featuring William, with the third book, Fate’s Edge, not far behind. The only thing I didn’t like is that there is a significant amount of violence in all of the books.
By the way, are you following The Innkeeper Chronicles? It’s a free serial on their blog. They are now on the third book with the first two having been completed and released for purchase. The reason I ask is that they’ve said over and over that they weren’t going to do a spinoff featuring the kids in the Edge series, however, they’ve made George an important supporting character in the second book, Sweep In Peace.
I haven’t read the Innkeeper series yet. I have the first book in my TBR pile. I’m going to bump it up.
jenm, I read the first of the Innkeeper Chronicles and enjoyed it. I need to get caught up. I had heard that George featured in the serial; it would be fun to see him as an adult.
So far I’ve only read the first two. I plan to read the others…soon? I love how immersive the world is.