Review: On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

Rose always recognized the precise moment when she passed into the Broken. First, anxiety stabbed right through her chest, followed by an instant of intense vertigo, and then pain. It was as if the shiver of magic, the warm spark that existed somewhere inside her, died during the crossing. The pain lasted only a blink, but she always dreaded it. It left her feeling incomplete. Broken. That's how the name for the magic-less dimension had come about. [pg 7]

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
ACE Fantasy, 2009
Fantasy, 309 pgs

After finishing the first four books of the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye just yet. My husband recommended I read On the Edge by the same author. Although set in a different world, the premise of On the Edge intrigued me. The Edge is that in-between place between the Broken (our world) and the Weird (the magical one). Rose was born and raised in The Edge and had lived a hard life. After her mother's death and her father ran off for adventure, Rose is left to care for her two young brothers, one of whom is a changeling and the other a necromancer. Rose has her own power, one that has brought her nothing but grief over the years, especially when it comes to love. In walks Declan Carmarine, a blueblood from the Weird. He challenges Rose, asking her to give him three challenges, and if he wins, he wins her. Rose is determined to stump him and make him leave empty handed. As if that isn't enough, an evil has come to the Edge and is threatening to destroy it.

While On the Edge has an obvious romantic component at its core, the story of this small community of people and their daily struggles, both with magic and without, as well as the mystery, finding the source of the evil and the attempt to rid the area of was what drew me in. As someone who prefers any sort of book to be light on the romance and heavy in other areas, I thought there was a nice balance of the two.

Rose is a strong heroine and yet vulnerable. She is softer than Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels from her other series. You don't often run into heroines in urban fantasy series that are acting as single mothers, and so having Rose caring for her two young brothers who have special needs added an extra layer of complexity--and heart--to the novel.

The mix of the ordinary versus the fantastical was well played in the novel. It was very believable and well thought out. The authors, a husband and wife team, have proven yet again that they have a gift for world building. I look forward to the next book set in this world, Bayou Moon, which features a minor but significant character from On the Edge.

Rating: (Good +)

Ilona Andrews is a husband and wife writing team. For more information about the authors and their books, visit their website.

Source: Copy of On the Edge was provided by the author for review.

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