Liviania’s review of On the Edge (The Edge, Book 1) by Ilona Andrews
Urban fantasy released by Ace 29 Sept 2009

You can barely take two steps in the urban fantasy pond before hearing a recommendation for Ilona Andrews (the penname of the eponymous Andrews and her husband Gordon). I recently managed to pick up the first two books in each of her series, Kate Daniels and the Edge, for cheap. (UBS are gold for trying out an author. Of course, once you get the cheap hit you’re stuck buying full price as soon as the next one comes out because you’ve been salivating for it.) I don’t think I’ll review Magic Bites since it’s been around for awhile, but here are my thoughts on On the Edge.

Andrews’s website states that people had trouble classifying On the Edge. I think this is because the general term for fantasy in a modern setting is “urban fantasy.” But the Edgers are not urban people. They live on the fringes of two civilizations, lawless, surviving through sheer grit. This is rural fantasy.

The Edge lies between the Broken (the fictional version of our world) and the Weird (typical fantasyland). Most people in the Broken and the Weird don’t know it exists. The Edgers have minor magic and can travel into either. Rose Drayton lives in the Edge but works as a cleaner in the Broken, the only job she can get as an illegal. But she needs to work, because she has two young brothers at home.

Rose is a fabulous heroine. Andrews could’ve easily turned her into the family martyr, but she isn’t. She thinks she’s given up her dreams to care for Georgie and Jack, but she’s really just put them on hold. (And she’s not doing it for no reason. She’s working hard to give Georgie and Jack the life their parents failed to give her.) Declan brings those hopes to the fore when he shows up determined to marry her. He’s a blueblood from the Weird and exactly what she’s been trying to escape. But she can’t help enjoying his company as they fight a threat to the Edge together. (Mostly, the threat serves to bring the characters together, which is perfectly fine. But the villain is a bit of a boring, doing it for the evil, insane sort of villain.)

Declan can be pompous, but he adjusts fairly well to the social rules of the Edge. The development of the Edge is where Andrews really shines. Andrews did well in creating a poor community where everyone survives by limiting retaliation (considering many Edgers have short tempers) and being willing to work as allies, despite past animosities, when the situation calls from it. There’s quite a bit of worldbuilding in addition to the plot and romance.

As more and more first books of a series end with sequel bait, I like that On the Edge is a self-contained adventure. I thought it was a standalone until I looked it up online, to be honest. I did hope it wasn’t, because William still needs a happy ending. (He has a tragic backstory. Total woobie. I can never resist a woobie.) On the Edge (and Magic Bites) definitely showed me why Andrews’s star is on the rise.

Grade: B+

Summary:

The Broken is a place where people shop at Wal-Mart and magic is nothing more than a fairy tale.

The Weird is a realm where blueblood aristocrats rule and the strength of your magic can change your destiny.

Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, the place between both worlds. A perilous existence indeed, made even more so by a flood of magic-hungry creatures bent on absolute destruction.

Read excerpts here.