Publisher: Ace
Publication date: September 29th 2009
My rating: 4.5 stars
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.
On the Edge was a unique gem from the
amazing husband and wife writing team, Ilona Andrews. If you’re looking for a strong female character,
clever banter, and romance that builds to a slow burn, look no further. Their
Kate Daniels series won me over as a fan, and this story only increased my love
of their writing.
Rose lives in the Edge,
a world in between the Broken: our
normal world, and the Weird: a world
where magic dominates. She lives with
her two younger brothers, having to take over the role of parent since her
mother died and her father took off.
Rose makes barely enough money in the Broken to care for their needs,
and she struggles to keep her brothers behaving while trying to provide.
Behaving takes special restraint when you have magic powers like Rose’s little
brothers do. Rose is also gifted
magically, not that this has made much of a difference in her life so far,
other than make her a target for unwanted advances.
Enter Declan, an aristocrat from the Weird. He shows up
demanding things of Rose and with his striking green eyes and looks that make
any girl go weak in the knees he might be hard to refuse, but Rose is not about
to lie down and take anything from him. Least
of all his bossing around! But there’s
something in the Edge killing, and it seems Declan and Rose must work together
to defeat the threat.
This was such a strange and different story, in the very best
way. The magic and world described felt
like no other I’ve read about. Granted,
I haven’t read very many Urban Fantasy novels but this was definitely unique to
me, yet easy to grasp. One thing I’ve
noticed about Ilona Andrews’ writing is that they do not mire their stories
down with endless descriptions that make your eyes glaze over in boredom. Rather, they give you just enough to set the
world up perfectly. This was the case
with On the Edge.
Another area where this story shines is in the smart and
witty banter. Both Rose and Declan are
strong characters so when they come together there is a wonderful push and pull
between them that will have you cracking up:
“If you touch me, I’ll hit you with this chair,” she ground
out.
“I had no idea you enjoyed rough courtship,” he said with a
straight face. “It was never my particular favorite, but I’ll do my best to
play along, provided I’ll get you in the end.”
Rose opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
“Yes!”
“If you kiss me, I promise to be quiet for a very long time.”
Many exchanges like this had me laughing throughout the
story.
Rose is a wonderfully crafted heroine. There is no
frustrating or stupid decision making, no whining that make you grit your
teeth. Just a woman that works with what she has and tries to get by. This woman is not without defenses either,
she has some pretty cool powers. There’s
also a sweet side to this story: Rose’s relationship with her younger brothers. She was so caring always putting their needs
ahead of her own. The boys as well as
Rose’s grandmother were well fleshed-out secondary characters that you grow to
love.
This is a first in a series but this story wraps up nicely,
and the next one focuses on another secondary character. I have to say you really can’t go wrong with
Ilona Andrews. So far I’ve loved everything they’ve written.
10 comments:
I feel like I have been seeing their author name for so long but I am still yet to read anything by them. It would be good to start this new series, I'm happy that there's no cliffhanger, too!
I must proudly say that I'm getting better and better with UF. I haven't read many UF books but now I'm going to fix that. I haven't seen this book around but it sounds really good. Who knows maybe I'll be obsessed with UF soon :D Great review Rachel :)
I'm so glad you enjoyed this one, Rachel! I couldn't get enough of Declan and Rose and what you said about Ilona Andrews giving you just enough, but not too much, information? Spot-on! It's one of the things I love best about their writing style and unique realms. I loved the second book just as much as this one, so I can't wait to see what you make of it!(:
This is a fantastic review, it makes me really impatient to read this book! Unfortunately if the libraries don't have it in then it'll be a while before I can buy it :(
I'm not the biggest fan of paranormal romance, but Ilona and Gordon were somewhere betwene UF and PNR in this series and that made it more interesting for me. In my humble opinion, the secnd book is even better.
Great review, Rachel. I'm glad you enjoyed.
Paranormal hasn't been my thing for a while but oh, this one sounds intriguing! Great review, Rachel :D
Universe, I get it. You want me to read Ilona Andrews. This is the third post I've read about Ilona Andrews this week but the first one about On the Edge -- and it sounds so good! What do you think, Rachel -- start with Kate Daniels or this one?
-Maggie
I'd go with Kate Daniels first, Maggie. I LOVE that series. Be aware that the books get better as you go. Enjoy! :)
Ooh, this book sounds fabulous! I'm so glad Rose is not whiny or annoying. Headstrong characters are my absolute favorite. The romance and world-building in this book sound incredible. This is actually the first I've heard of Iliona Andrews... I'll have to keep my eye out for her books! Lovely review, Rachel!
this is an awesome review you got me hook on reading this and I can't stop having llona Andrews novels
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