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On The Edge by Ilona Andrews is fantastical look at a world that is like ours, but not. There are three parallel worlds described within the book, where magic doesn’t exist, The Broken, where our heroine works and sometimes shops at a local Wal-Mart. Another is The Weird, where aristocrats who wield powerful magic live and rule, but where there are similarities (though warped) of the The Broken. And last, The Edge, a place that inhabits the space between the two, where our heroine lives with her two younger brothers and where others of their kind live as well, those who can wield magic, but not strongly-straddling both worlds.
In On The Edge, Rose Drayton is doing her best to care for her two younger brothers, one a changling and the other a necromancer. She works a hard job in The Broken, but believes it’s honest work. She’s had many disappointments in her life, believing her power would have opened many doors for her. Instead it brought heartache and treachery to her instead. Now, with battle lines drawn between her, her family and the rest of the world, she is unprepared for the horrible monsters that are invading her home, The Edge. Unprepared for dealing with them and their lust for power she is surprised and even more unprepared for the powerful aristocrat, Declan Camarine, who has come to The Edge seeking the evil that is manufacturing the horrible creatures. Before everything is said and done, he’ll do his best to defeat the evil and possess Rose.
The author(s) draw this reader in with a complexity and yet fascinating look at the different worlds and the magic within them. Rose is a sympathetic and strong woman who has closed her heart off in order to protect herself and her family. She is determined her brothers will have the chance she never had, at a future she no longer allows herself to dream of. Delcan is at first rather boorish, but the author(s) draw out his reasoning, making his character slightly more charitable, even as his protectiveness and gentleness with Rose’s brothers touches your heart, and hers. The evil and it’s malevolent presence is described with somewhat sinister detail allowing a vivid picture of insanity within pure evil. The secondary characters are fleshed out and sympathetic. One character in particular caught my attention and I am hopeful the next Edge book will feature him. Pretty please? There is some discussion as to whether this book is Fantasy or Paranormal. I place it firmly in Fantasy with it’s tale of magic and monsters. This was my first book by the husband/wife team comprising Ilona Andrews, but it won’t be my last. I think I’ll try (and most likely enjoy) a book from their other series, a Kate Daniels book. *G*
The next Edge book is due to be released September 2010 and is yet un-titled.
You may find more about the author(s) and their books here: www.ilona-andrews.com
Soulless by Gail Carriger is my first foray into the Steampunk genre and I now know that I’ll be seeking out more to try. This isn’t going to be my usual review. Mostly because as this WAS my first Steampunk read I am unsure how to approach a review. The alternate history, Victorian Era, romance, early machines such as the Dirigible and even the characters themselves were a wonderful mix of ideas and ideals.
Miss Alexia Tarabotti is not the normal Victorian Bluestocking. She is also a spinster and a preternatural. Meaning she has no soul and has the ability to negate other supernatural creatures, making her able to turn werewolves and vampires human as long as they remain within her touch. At a Ball she is accosted by a newly made Vampire who has no idea of the social niceties he has broken, nor exactly WHAT Alexia is. When Alexia accidentally kills him before gaining any information on the creature, she is swept into a mystery with the very handsome, quite eligible, Investigator of all things supernatural, Lord Conall Maccon. Never the mind that he is a werewolf himself and that he and Alexia share verbal barbs that may hide an attraction that soon comes forward. Lord Maccon is determined that Alexia is not only in danger, but a danger to herself because she insists on interfering in his investigation. And he happens to be correct! The two must not only solve the mystery of the disappearing vampires and werewolves, but what to do of the attraction neither is able to deny any longer and bring both to a satisfying conclusion. Do not be deterred, there is, of course with all the books I choose to read, a HEA. Getting there is not only fun, but a fantastic tale!
I adore the character of Alexia, she is a strong, opinionated woman whose intelligence and wit is a a burst of brightness in the coldness of London Society. Lord Maccon plays the Alpha with gruffness and seems genuinely befuddled in his handling of his attraction to Alexia. The secondary characters are charming -Ivy , Professor Lyall, Lord Akeldama and even the silent Floote. Alexia’s family seem a necessary foil to her intelligence and give credence to her long suffering delusions that she is nothing but an unwanted Spinster among her family. I wanted to smack her mother, the author brought her foolishness to life so well. I look forward to the next book in this delightful series titled Changeless, due for publication May 2010.
You may find more information about this book and it’s author at: http://www.gailcarriger.com
