mitabird
Written on Dec 6, 2020
Step into a whole new world in the first Novel of the Edge from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Kate Daniels series.
The Edge lies between worlds, on the border between the Broken, where people 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...
Rose Drayton thought if she practiced her magic, she could build a better life for herself. But things didn’t turn out the way she’d planned, and now she works an 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 Rose (and her power).
But when a flood of creatures hungry for magic invade the Edge, Declan and Rose must overcome their differences and work together to destroy them—or the beasts will devour the Edge and everyone in it...
- ISBN10 1101140372
- ISBN13 9781101140376
- Publish Date 29 September 2009
- Publish Status Active
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Imprint Ace Books
- Format eBook
- Pages 336
- Language English
Reviews
booksandcats
Written on Feb 10, 2020
I kind of didn't like Rose and Declan together. I stand by my thought midway through the book that Rose could do better. He is so often arrogant, he doesn't seem to see what her life was like, he is cocky, always so sure that he will win her (except a few scenes that made me like him a lot more) and seems to think that he can waltz into her life, take over, "rescue" her (against her will) and she should be thankful for it and fall for him. And just to be clear, I get that in many Fantasy-Romance novels the male lead is this powerful, arrogant Alpha-Male kind of figure. And Ilona Andrews have nailed it so many times, with Rogan, Curran etc. I just don't think I like Declan as much.
Maybe my expectations were just too high. I know this is one of the earlier books and I can see how much the two authors have grown since writing this. I think if they took this idea (a brilliant idea btw) today, and wrote more or less the same story again, I would love it a lot more. The basic ingredients for an amazing story are all there, it just didn't fit right together for me to really love it. Still a good read and entertaining.
jamiereadthis
Written on Jun 10, 2019
2. Really not into abs and possessiveness.
3. I’m just not big on the Prince Charming/Cinderella/fairy tale trope no matter the guise.
4. It felt like Bon Temps, but different, but I like Bon Temps better?
5. I’m glad the rest of the series isn’t about Declan and Rose. The characters surrounding them (Georgie! Jack, William…) are already more interesting so that makes me more interested to see where the series goes.
Linda
Written on Apr 22, 2019
The overall plot and the story also appealed to me on every level. I'm so happy I get to binge now!
Rowena
Written on Mar 14, 2018
Full review to come.
Melanie
Written on Dec 2, 2016
EBookObsessed
Written on Sep 5, 2016
Rose is an Edger. The only magic Rose has is called flashing. She can make a whip of magic like lightning. The more powerful your flash, the lighter the color. Rose practiced and practiced and thought everyone would be excited when she proved she could flash bright white. She was surprised when her family took her, ran home and barricaded the family in the house behind the magical wards. Rose never realized her impressive power painted a target on her forehead. Once word got out about Rose, the bluebloods from the Weird flocked for a chance to use the Edger girl as a brood-mare for their family lines. A few resorted to trying to kidnap her and even slavers tried to grab her to sell to the highest bidder.
After flashing and killing a few of the more dangerous attackers, Rose was finally let alone to go about her life in the Edge. Rose has spirit and works hard at a lousy job in the Broken in order to take care of her two younger brothers. Twelve-year-old Georgie is a necromancer and ten-year-old Jack is a changeling. The family is living an average Edger life until Lord Declan Camarine comes calling.
Rose tries to shoo him off but ends up making a bargain instead. Dangerous creatures have started showing up in the woods around Rose’s home and Declan will protect her brothers, if Rose will give him three tasks to complete. If he completes the tasks, Declan wins Rose and she will go with him to the Weird.
Rose has no love for the bluebloods and has no intention of losing, but she could use the help protecting her brothers. She doesn’t want to be Declan’s possession and doesn’t trust that he will take care of her brothers and not turn them into servants and slaves. As this is a romance, the more time Rose and Declan spend and work together, the closer they grow. Declan drops the haughty blueblood facade and realizes that while Rose might not have the manners and breeding of a blueblood, her strength, her wit and her loyalty to her family more than makes up for that.
Except, just when Rose drops her guard around Declan and believes things might just work out for them, she finds out there is more to Declan’s sudden appearance at her door than going home with an Edger bride. Her trust in him is shattered but they still need to work together to protect her family and the rest of the Edge from a dark menace that wants to absorb all the magic that surrounds the Edgers.
After the initial meeting of Declan, I couldn’t imagine how he could be the hero of this story since he was a pompous jerk, but like, Rose we start to like him once he shows himself to be a brave and caring man. He knows that his omission of the truth has lost him Rose’s trust, but by the end it is no longer about winning a bride but a matter of keeping Rose with him forever.
The magic and world building is different from the Kate Daniels series, and the Innkeeper Chronicles series, but if you like either or both of those, you will definitely enjoy this one as well. The only disappointment is that Rose, Declan, Georgie and Jack were such great characters, but the other three books in the series focuses on different main characters. It would have been interesting to read more of life in the Weird. Of course, the series is called The Edge, but you know what I mean.
Narrator Renee Raudman does a great job it is is a bit distracting that they use for for all the different series. Rose is the same voice as Kate Daniels and Declan was a combination of Curran and Lord Arland (The Innkeeper Chronicles).
MurderByDeath
Written on Jun 2, 2016
I love the Kate Daniels series and the synopsis for this one sounded pretty good; a place where two worlds overlapped - an in-between space only certain people could live. Intriguing.
But... no. The writing is solid, descriptive, evocative. But this is much more a paranormal romance than an urban fantasy and animal cruelty is just treated too casually for me; it's not graphic, but it's prevalent.
This is also a book that would lose a lot of readers in the first half, especially those with low tolerance for male posturing and non-consent (no rape, to be clear, just the whole "I will have you! crap). Andrews' here is a bit too clever for their own good (what is the proper pronoun usage for 2 people writing under 1 name?!?): a lot of readers won't have the tolerance to stick around and discover just how wrong perceptions are in the first half of the book.
Overall, I'm not sorry I read it, but I won't read it again and I won't read the second book (I think there's a second book...). I'll stick with Kate and Curran.
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Mar 12, 2016
- Rose Drayton our protagonist is a kick-ass, snarky and I loved her. Picture Kate Daniels minus the sword. She lives in the Edge, and has some unique magical powers, which of course cause her problems. For example, her boyfriend tried to sell her! Rose is raising her two younger brothers in what we know as the south. One might define them as rednecks. Food, clothing and other expenses are a struggle, and I had to admire Rose for providing for them all.
- The world building as I have come to expect from Andrews was spectacular. Rose and her family live in the Edge a place between the Broken (our world) and the Weird, a place where magic exists. Edgers have some magic and most are very poor. Rose actually works in the Broken as a cleaner and I loved how Andrews captured the south. As I closed my eyes and listened to Renee Raudman narrate I could see Rose’s home in vivid detail.
- The characters!! I absolutely love the characters Ilona Andrews create. Rose is snarky; her brothers are curious children who made me laugh as I felt for Rose. The connection between the Sweep in Peace and The Edge characters made me cry. Declan, a Blue Nobleman from the Weird was swoony, even if at first I wanted to shoot him. Rose’s grandmother was a hoot and her brothers have some interesting abilities.
- The romance was brilliant. This was slow burning haters to lovers’ romance filled with snark, bickering and a surprising amount of heat. Rose and Declan’s interaction and bickering had me laughing aloud even as the chemistry between them curled my toes. Watching their relationship turn to passion was deliciously wonderful to witness.
On the Edge was a rich, unique story. I quickly slipping into the world and immediately downloaded the next audiobook. Declan shows up at the edge of Rose’s wards to wed Rose. Things get heated and Rose agrees to go with him if he can complete three challenges. The challenges and a threat from creatures hinting in the Edge forest kept things interesting.
Amanda
Written on May 18, 2012
Declan is naughty. I just reread the last few pages of this book before I started by review, and that’s what I thought upon finishing. It has little bearing on this review, though. Well, unless you like your heroes a little naughty, then it means everything! Okay. Right. Moving on.
I had very few expectations going into On the Edge, other than it was an Ilona Andrews book. And other than being written by Ilona Andrews and there being some kind of magic, there doesn’t appear to be many similarities. Well, except that the book is awesome. But, that’s not really where I was going with that. The point here is that the Kate Daniels and Edge series are very very different from each other. And I liked that. I didn’t even realize that this series was a PNR until I had finished this book and went in search of the synopsis for the next book and realized there was a different couple. I mean, yes, On the Edge is most definitely a PNR. DEFINITELY. I just was on my own little planet and wanted more of Rose and Declan, I think.
Though there is still a lot left to learn about this world, I felt that the differences between the Broken, the Edge, and the Weird were pretty well covered. I am eager to learn more about the various types of magic and paranormal creatures there are. I found the Edge to be haunting: this place where people don’t belong in either the Broken or the Weird, where there is no justice or assistance — just people barely scraping by and surviving to the best of their abilities. I felt for Rose, and I admired her determination to take care of her brothers and her home. Declan was a very enigmatic character who was difficult to figure at first, but I slowly came to love him, too. And did I mention he’s naughty? Wickedly so.
I read On the Edge in a single day, so you know it was something that held my interest easily. Some of the Weird information overloaded my brain (as most title heavy worlds do), so I generally just give up on trying to understand it, and just go with it on the assumption that I’ll figure it out later. That kind of thing never really bothers me. The romance between Rose and Declan was fun, like a dance, and first appearances are deceiving (which is all I will say, since anything else would be akin to spoiling something). Overall, On the Edge was a very fun and satisfying book, one that I wouldn’t mind rereading in the future.