ON THE EDGE by Ilona Andrews was well written and interesting; a brilliant read and a definite keeper

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. That means we receive a small commission at no cost to you from any purchases you make through these links.

Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, an intersection between the Broken, where there is no magic, and the Weird, where magic infuses the very air. Edger life though is hard, Rose looks after her two brothers, each having there own unique magic skills and has to work hard to make ends meet. But things rapidly change when a noble from the Weird appears before her house, supposedly to marry her. But bluebloods have brought nothing but trouble to Rose and they are not to be trusted, even if he does seem decent and honorable, not to mention gorgeous. But there are also strange and sinister happenings in the Edge, evil hounds keep attacking the Edgers their hunger for flesh and magic insatiable. For her and her family to survive Rose may have to try and trust the infuriating blueblood.

As a massive fan of the Kate Daniel series by Ilona Andrews, this book immediately went on my must-buy ASAP list. I was not disappointed, the elements that make me love the Kate Daniel’s series are all present: great characters, humour, romance, action, magic and a fascinating new world to explore.

The world that has been created definitely needs a mention, I really liked the idea of the two parallel worlds crossing with only a few residents at either side knowing of the other. The crossing of these two “dimensions” creates the Edge, where there is some magic, but nothing like the Weird. This book explored the Edge and all its residents, showing a small almost lawless country half steeped in magic where the people eck out a hard existence. I hope in the next book that it will show more of the Weird (the Broken is basically our world) as from the brief glimpses you get of it through Declan, it seems like a great place to set a book.

As for Rose and Declan, the two main characters, I really liked them, especially Rose. You see most the book from her perspective and can’t help but admire her grit and determination to survive and look after her brothers. Declan, was of course, arrogant and gorgeous, making him irresistible, and together Rose and Declan made a great couple and some of the best and funnier parts of the book was when they were sparking off each other.

“I’ve never created a riot before. I did cause a brawl at the last formal. A large number of young women there actually arrived with the expectation of seducing me into matrimony, and a couple of their mothers came to blows. It was hilari—I mean, dreadful. Simply dreadful.”

However, the two characters who really stuck with me were Rose’s little brothers, Jack and Georgie, they were quite simply adorable! They were loveable and it was funny and sweet seeing their little boy logic, and I hope they appear in future books.

“Georgie, stop trying to resurrect the shoes. They were never alive in the first place.”

Another factor I enjoyed about this book, is that although I have classed this as a paranormal romance, mainly because of the HEA, it is written like an urban fantasy. It had the romance throughout but it didn’t over power the general story, this meant that the plot element was very strong and didn’t come off as being a by-product of the romance. It was more the other way around. The plot itself, although not overly complicated was interesting, well paced and was a great vehicle to explain magic and how it worked in this world.

This book was well written and interesting; a brilliant read and a definite keeper. I would highly recommend this one to anyone looking for maybe a romantic fantasy, PNR and UF book, and of course any Ilona Andrew’s fans!

Read More

• Books by Ilona Andrews
• Reviews of The Edge series
• Books with magic!
• Find the perfect book for your mood