On the Edge

The Edge, Book 1

By: Ilona Andrews

Narrated by: Renée Raudman

Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, between the world of the Broken (where people drive cars, shop at Wal-Mart, and magic is a fairy tale) and the Weird (where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny). Only Edgers like Rose can easily travel from one world to the next, but they never truly belong in either. Rose thought if she practiced her magic, she could build a better life for herself. But things didn't turn out how she planned, and now she works a minimum wage, off-the-books job in the Broken just to survive.

Then Declan Camarine, a blueblood noble straight out of the deepest part of the Weird, comes into her life, determined to have her (and her power). But when a terrible danger invades the Edge from the Weird, a flood of creatures hungry for magic, Declan and Rose must work together to destroy them - or they'll devour the Edge and everyone in it.

Spend some more time on The Edge.

©2009 Andrew Gordon and Ilona Gordon (P)2009 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"[E]ngaging urban fantasy....Andrews has created a complex plot and convincing characters that will keep the pages turning." ( Publishers Weekly)

Great alternative for PNR fans wanting more action

In a lot of ways this book felt like the Fantasy equivalent of Paranormal Romance; it’s less action-y than Ilona Andrews’ KATE DANIELS series, but the sex scenes are not left to the imagination (unlike in Urban Fantasy) and the strong world-building continues to be at the forefront of their writing. The romance is as far from insta-love as you can get which is a definite plus, and the ending was satisfying, although I was hoping for a second installment before jumping to another couple because I felt the HEA was somewhat incomplete.

Many of my fellow readers struggled with the backwoods aspect of this story, but personally, I found Rose very relatable. Being a bit of a hick myself, I appreciated the country bumpkin humour and the Edgers “different” way of doing things. I liked the well thought out explanations for Drayton’s mistrust of men, and the courtship challenges made for one of the more interesting wooing pursuits that I have ever read. Rose’s dedication to her brothers, her mad flash skills, and snark made her the perfect heroine for this tale. Her strong personality helped dull the aristocratic high-handedness of the story, and the women-are-possessions mentality became almost comical when applied to Drayton.

THE EDGE universe was amazing, as expected. I enjoyed learning all of the ins and outs of the Broken, the Edge, and the Weird. The magical rules are as complex as in the KATE DANIELS novels, but this is in no way a spin-off of the latter which means there’s a whole new set of intricacies to grasp—all the better in my opinion, because Andrews’ world-building is the reason why I keep coming back for more. I loved learning about the bizarre creatures, the inner workings of blueblood society, and the various supernatural abilities of the characters. Georgie and Jack were adorable, and I’d be interested in learning more about William who, as it turns out, is the male lead of book 2. The plot wasn’t overly complicated, but still detailed enough to hold my interest.

Renée Raudman continues to be one of my favourite narrators; her passion and intensity really shine through in this audiobook, and I had no problem with equating her to Rose Drayton even though she’s been the voice of KATE DANIELS inside my head for six installments now. Her character voices are distinct and she mirrors the pacing of the writing well. Raudman definitely has a knack for portraying strong female protagonists!

ON THE EDGE demonstrates Ilona Andrews’ versatility as an author(s), and is a great alternative for Paranormal Romance lovers looking for a bit more action in their reads.

Refreshing

I read and listen to a lot of books and usually stick to the genres that keep my personal interest. The problem with that is after so many books you really notice how similar, unoriginal, most book are. The more books I go through the harder it is for me to remember what an individual book was about, or I finding myself telling someone something funny I read and I can’t remember who said it or what book it was from. But, this book was really refreshing. Normally I would have over looked it due to the horrible cover and the just ok summary but when I finally started to listen to it I couldn’t stop. This is a book I would listen to again and I will finish the series. I just hope the second book is as good as the first.

Powerful Punch of Wit

I listened to the audio sample and had to buy it after I heard, "Kids, get the guns, we're going to Wal-Mart." I about died! That statement fit in with the the story, but it was such a tongue-in-cheek line that I fell in love with this book.

I was not disappointed when I finished listening to this audibook in four days. There was enough tension, there was enough adventure and there were hilarious points along the way as well.

The narrator is excellent with her voices, each one consistently identified throughout and great detail to the context of the words spoken. She even made it sound like she was eating when a character was talking during a meal.

There were a couple of characters I didn't care for, but they didn't stop me from the story. And I wish the ending was a little longer in the storyline for Rose and Declan.

All in all, this is a great production and I hope the second book continues the wonderful storyline.

Wow...wow...what?

Brilliant start. Really, brilliantly engaging and hooky. Loved the narrator's grasp of the characters' voices with the exception of the villain. Huh? Really? The husband/wife team did a great job with everything except the villain. His motivation was sketchy and underdeveloped. I didn't understand the "why" of it all. Loved Declan but got tired of his "broad shoulders" and "green eyes". Found his elven description with long gold hair at the beginning of the book much more engaging - and more interesting. The villain's motivation was never clear. WHY did he feel the need to come to the Edge? Surely he could have found more magic to consume in the Wierd, no? I listened to the book twice and could never understand his motivation. Besides, the narrator made him sound like a complete puss. "I just want a taste of the boy...hmmm...?"
Please!
Love the world,love the unique concept,and love most of the characters. Just make the villain a true villain and you've got a movie deal!

Very Disappointing

On the surface, this book seemed very promising. The premise was very good, parallel worlds, one in which magic does not work and the other where it is the driving force.... oh, and one that sits between the two. Lots of possibilities!

Even at the beginning, the writing was good and the narrator did a fair job of infusing each character personality.

Then in the middle of the thing it turned into "chick porn" full of heaving bosoms and.... well, more descriptive.... uh.... descriptions.

This was not what I signed on for.

Once the gears were shifted from fantasy to romance novel all kinds of things go wrong. We have a guy whose shoulders are so broad the slight girl behind the wheel of a pickup is nearly crowded out the door. And his eyes! His eyes are.... what color were they? Oh, yes. Green. Very green. Deep green. There are more mentions of his green eyes than there are of his name. Green eye's and nothing but shoulders..... with green eyes embedded somewhere in them.

There are so many cliches that the author feels compelled to answer several of them with, "Of course he was...." Or maybe they weren't cliches until they were used so often that they actually became cliches over the course of the book.

I really like genre blending, but if one of them is something I detest I'd like a little warning up front. I won't read another book in the series and I will be trading this one in. If I can remember the author's name I won't purchase another one of her books.

Not what I expected, but pretty darn good anyway

I loved the Magic series and was looking forward to this book. While it wasn't what I had expected, I found myself enjoying the characters and the way the authors put you into the scenes so that you could feel the air. I loved the boys Jack and Georgie and Rose's love and commitment to them. I also enoyed this story as it at times felt like a historical romances that I used to read in high school. The strong rugged hero, Declan, and the not so much damsel in distress, Rose.
This book has all the classic good vs evil, with all kinds of twists. Throw in the crazy animals and grandparents and it is a good listen. Like I said in the title, I liked it.

1 ½ stars. A romance novel with lots of magic.

I just couldn’t get into it. I wanted it to be over. It felt like some kids were sitting in their secret clubhouse, making up a story about magic characters, trying to wow each other. I’m not sure what the problem was. One dimensional characters? Things we’ve heard before? It’s set in North America in a time similar to current day, but there are lords and earls - an English regency setting. Rose works as a cleaning lady and has magic ability. Declan is an earl who has magic ability. He meets Rose when he visits her town. The major plot is evil Casshorn and his hounds are killing innocent people. Declan and Rose want to stop Casshorn.

I wasn’t pulled into the main character Rose. She reminded me of a TV sitcom character. At times she sounded like a smartalecky snippy sarcastic teenager. Her dialogue sounded like teen speak with taunting, arguments, and ending conversations with both sides saying “fine.” Other times she sounded like a typical parent raising her brothers with predictable dialogue.

The narrator Renee Raudman:
Think of a child or teen saying “nya, nya, nya, so there.” That was the feeling the narrator gave to the following line “I’m going to kiss you because you saved my brother’s life.” It felt wrong. It should have been said softer. Many of Rose’s lines sounded more smartalecky and snippy than I would have liked. The narrator also spoke other character lines in ways that bothered me. For example “But I want my pint money, grandpa moaned.” The narrator read this line with a snarl not a moan. But even if there were a different narrator, the writing would not interest me.

There are several sections that “tell” the past rather than “show.” Those parts dragged. Someone asked Rose why she loved X. Rose said “because he makes me laugh.” I thought I never heard him doing that. The author used more cliches than I cared for.

I enjoyed the characters and events during the last 15 minutes. I also enjoyed the sound of two names. I’m spelling them phonetically, Eleonahray and Adreeangleeah.

A Very Entertaining Listen

Very different twist on the paranormal/fantasy genre. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I wished the Weird had been developed more, however a very entertaining story. The female lead stay true to her tough girl facade but with a heart. The male lead wasn't overly demanding or brutish in his behavior. I would recommend, it is worth a credit.

The narrator did a fantastic job!

contemporary humor with a regency hero

I have exhausted the fantasy/paranormal romance genre and all the books are just bleeding together so it was refreshing to have something NEW and FUN with endearing characters in this little family like Jack... the authors must have kids. I actually went back to my Audible library and lowered my ratings on previous books in comparison to this one.

Loved It

Any additional comments?

Great narration. I like to list this first as it can make or break a story.

Loved this story. Easy listerning and very entertaining. Will be impatiently waiting for any new books in audio from this author.

I really enjoy it when readers with similar reading interests list their favourite authors and series. It really helps me find new authors too follow. Mine are Charlaine Harris, Jeaniene Frost, Jennifer Estep, Faith Hunter, Molly Harper, Ilona Andrews, Kresley Cole, Deborah Harkness, Nalini Singh, Coreene Callahan and Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Happy Reading

Brilliant a witty and romantic supernatural story

I really enjoy the books by lona Andrews ( a husband and wife writing team). After reading all the books in the Kate daniels series I thought I would try this and once again it has proved to be the right choice. The narrator is excellent, she reads each character with exactly right amount of feeling, as if she knows them personally. The story itsself actually made me laugh out loud at some the witty remarks, which just goes to show how excellent the narrator is.

entertaining

I found this book an entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable listen. The author has a vivid imagination and a lively writing style. The interaction and chemestry between Rose and Decklan is brilliantly done. The story is gripping and well narrated. A great listen for lovers of romantic fantasy.

Romantic & action packed

Between our world 'the broken' and the world of magic 'the weird' is 'the edge'. The world is fascinating and the characters more complex than they appear in the beginning. Pretty much everyone has a back story that isn't quite what you expect. The writing is less assured than Ilona Andrews' later works (which I read first). Well worth a read, and interesting to see how writing craft has grown. Renee Raudman, as usual, injects humor and irony nicely and makes sure you can tell all the characters apart.

great

these books from the edge are gritty and well worth the read, the characters are complex and interesting

Excellent story

Thoroughly enjoyed this story and can recommend others to listen to it.. can’t wait fi part 2

Brilliant story and performance

What made the experience of listening to On the Edge the most enjoyable?

The story was face paced and the narration was fantastic!

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the characters, the world and the narration.

Any additional comments?

I had read Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series and wasn't sure about starting this new series, but absolutely loved it! It's fresh, creative and full of twists and turns. Renee does an amazing job, as always.

good read

loved book but didnt like the narrators "male" voice. would have been better without changing tones.

A fabulous action romance

What made the experience of listening to On the Edge the most enjoyable?

I really enjoy the easy reading/ listening of there books, because it is written with both a female and male perspective. As a couple they work together harnessing each others ability like very modern couples

What did you like best about this story?

The action, magic and the ability to make it hard to put down the book till complete, My favourite part is her assumptions and how wrong she is about them.... a little like myself mmmm

What does Renée Raudman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

she is a fabulous reader, easy to listen to her voice along with her pronouncement of words.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

it made me laugh and cry with happiness and sadness.....

Completely forgettable

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Possibly someone who is into all the cliches of romance novels. The ones where the man is a hulking, yet caring warrior and the woman is a plucky and stubborn survivor who goes her own way.

Would you ever listen to anything by Ilona Andrews again?

No, I got so bored that I actually forgot to finish listening to this book and didn't even realize it. I would listen, but then find that my mind had wandered and I had missed 45 minutes of the story, but I didn't really care. I just stopped listening one day and then never went back to it. I'm assuming it ends happily, with the warrior guy taking the woman (I don't remember their names anymore) and her brothers back to his kingdom. It's that kind of a book.

What does Renée Raudman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

there was nothing wrong with the narrator, but nothing in particular to distinguish her either.

Any additional comments?

This book was just not interesting. Cliched and boring.

Good book by the Kate Daniels team

I bought this book after listening to Illona Andrews' Kate Daniels series. I love those books so much. I've listened to the entire set many times and read them in paperback too, so when I learned of the Edge series AND that it was read by the same narrator (Renee Raudman) it was a no brainer to buy it.



Renee Raudman is THE best narrator for Illona's work, especially the Kate Daniels series. She brings the world to life with her character voices and emotions. Just fabulous. I give this series four stars because no matter how good this series is, it cannot beat Kate Daniels.