Anne's Reviews > On the Edge

If I were the kind of person who DNFs books rather easily, and If I hadn't been a huge fan of the Andrews' Kate Daniels series, I would have given up on this one after Declan showed up.
He kind of pops up on her property and threatens to steal her away to be his woman.
For me to even attempt to like a story with forced marriage (or whatever he had in mind), it has to be set waaaaaaaaaay back in medieval times. But since I trusted the authors, I decided to keep reading.
And I'm glad I did.
Don't worry, there's a good (non-rapey) explanation for Declan's atrocious behavior!



The story?
Well, Rose lives in The Edge. Which, kind of reminded me of a backward swampy voodoish area.
No offense to anyone who lives in a backward swampy voodoo part of the country.



There's magic there, but not as much as there is in The Wild.
Now, the Wild is where all of the powerful magic users live. They don't have technology there, but they do have laws and a justice system. Which is more than the people in the Edge have.



And then there's The Broken.
That's where we, and the People Of Walmart live. And Walmart is almost a character in this novel because it's Rose's go-to place to shop for everything. Seriously, poor chick spends almost as much time there in this book as I do in real life.
Speaking of, would it KILL them to put a few more cashiers on during the day?! I'm not getting any younger standing in this line. It's like, 50 deep, and wrapping around into the frozen foods section!
Don't worry Walmart, those of us who are perpetually broke will continue to flock to your doors, standing side by side with the unwashed masses in order to take advantage of your unbeatable low prices. Oh, and for the prompt & friendly customer service...



Ugh. Where was I?
Ok, yes. The Broken.
Rose has the ability (like most folks who live in the Edge) to go back and forth between the two places, so she supports her two young brothers by working (under the table) in our world.
If it sucks so bad in Swampland, why don't the people who live there just head on over to the magical (and clean) Wild?
I'm glad you asked!
Most of the Edgers don't have enough magic to cross over into that...dimension, I guess you would call it.
So, they're stuck in Hillbillyville.
Anyway, Rose is trying to eek (yes, eek, not eke. She's frigging scared shitless, Tadiana) out an existence, while staying under the radar, because she has some powerful mojo that makes her a target. More specifically, unscrupulous families want her for a broodmare.
Ewww, right?
And that's where the story starts out. But there's a whole lot more to this one than just that.
A villain from the Wild is on the loose in the Edge, there's a feral shapeshifter hunting in the area, and lots of backwoods politics being played by the people in Rose's small town. Plus, she's got to come up with a way to get rid of her unwanted suitor, before he clubs her over the head and drags her back to his cave.
Except things aren't always what they seem...

If you like urban fantasy, or you're looking for something to read while you're waiting for the next Kate Daniels book to come out, give this one a shot.