I write series, so of course,
I read series. In fact, if an author hasn’t written a series, I don’t know much
about them. I will read a stand-alone book, if it’s from an author I fell in
love with while reading their series.
I discovered this husband/wife writing team by doing a
google search for a new paranormal romance series. I knew nothing about them.
The first series I encountered, which still has at least one book to go, is
Hidden Legacy. I’m not a big first-person point of view fan, but let me tell
you, these two are AMAZING, and by chapter three, I was hooked. I literally
went and bought every title they’d written over the course of a week. I’m
pretty sure like most of their fans, I’m a little obsessed with their work.
They haven’t written anything that’s let me down yet (thank you!). If anything,
I just want more of some of their shorter stories, or more of the unbelievable
worlds they’ve briefly introduced their readers to.
The Edge series is one of
their very few titles that are all in third person point of view. They have a
handful of others, but this entire series is third person.
The Edge series is a fantasy/paranormal/romance/suspense
and is 4 books.
I loved this series so much it’s on my current to-read list
again, after I’m done with Patricia Briggs. A little tip before I dive into the
titles – read this series first BEFORE you read their Innkeeper Chronicles
series, as it has crossover characters. I did not know this and had read the
Innkeeper Chronicles first and ended up going back and rereading it all again
just so I could see the characters as they’ve grown. I was a little frustrated
and wished they’d let you know to hey, maybe check out The Edge series first,
the reading experience will be a lot more fun if you do… Author notes go a long
way. So, if you’re reading this, start your Ilona Andrews journey HERE. 😊
The Edge world is really unique and so creative. A strip of
land that exists between two parallel universes (Earth, The Edge, The Weird)
and ties them together. The less magic you have, the easier it is to journey
between the two realms. If you’re very powerful, the trip could kill you. Those
who have been kicked out of the magical world live in this in-between state,
eeking out a living in our world and trying to lay low. This is a running
series that you will need to read all the titles in order for them to make
complete sense and paint the fullest picture, especially where the younger
characters come into play.
The first book, On the Edge, takes place in The Edge,
with short visits to our world’s realm. Magic plays a large part and our
heroine, Rose, forms a small love triangle between two men – a noble magic
user, Declan, and a werewolf, William, who is the magic user’s friend. I really
liked William, and he really liked Rose, so it was a little heartbreaking to
watch their relationship play out. Rose has two young brother’s that she’s
raising and they are hilarious. They play an important role in books 3 and 4,
and seeing Declan interact with them in book 1 and teach them things Rose
couldn’t, was really fun. The action was pretty non-stop and their attraction
was a slow- slow burn. While the attraction was there and enjoyable, it was
rarely acted on, so be prepared for more action/suspense with romance as a side
plot with this title.
The second book, Bayou Moon, is William’s book and
introduces the Mar family that will roll out the rest of the series. This book
takes place mostly in The Edge, with a few small scenes in our world. Cherise,
the heroine, comes from a very eccentric family that William gets pulled into.
Their reaction to him, and he to them, is hilarious. Cherise fights a losing
battle with her attraction to William and their romance is a lot more prevalent
than the romance in book one. However, there are no fully realized intimacy
scenes in this book, they cut to the next scene, which was a bit disappointing,
and I’m not sure why since the rest of the series does not follow this model.
The story was still amazing, the chemistry was there and the read was fun. I
enjoyed the progression of the series plot and the battles the family had to
face and address together.
The third book, Fate’s Edge, is Kaldar Mar’s book,
and his heroine Audrey, and they have to work together to find a stolen
artifact that threatens life on our side of the universe. This book takes place
on our side, and in The Weird. Audrey and Kaldar end up getting stuck with
Rose’s two little brothers, which is kind of hysterical because Kaldar is NOT
responsible. He’s a roll with the punches kind of guy and being responsible for
two kids is not something he takes highly to, but he does it anyway. The
romance in this was on-par with book two.
The fourth, and final book, Steel’s Edge, is Richard
Mar’s book, and is definitely the darkest title in the series. A lot things are
addressed that have been hinted at or building for the entire series. Most of
this book takes place in The Weird. Charlotte, the heroine, can heal, or
destroy, and she has to be very careful which decision she makes, as one will
destroy her. Richard is on a mission to find and destroy slavers, and he
doesn’t care what he has to do to accomplish his goal. This book was
bittersweet, with lots of emotion, lots of sadness, lots of heart-break. But
also, a lot of love and support between all the characters in the series to
this point. The chemistry between Richard and Charlotte is established early
since they have so much they have to do together, and decisions that affect
them both, as a unit. The romance was deeper in this story, by necessity, but
not any hotter than the rest of the series.
All in all, The Edge will hook you from book one and likely
lead to binge reading. Amazing fantasy world building, with paranormal shifters
and lots of fast paced action and suspense, sprinkled with enough romance to
keep us romance junkies happy. Since the series isn’t labeled a romance, I
suppose I just need to be happy with that, which I am. 😊
Sarah
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