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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
3 stars★★★
☞ Trigger warnings:
Spoiler
abusive upbringing, mentions of child abuse, captivity, indentured servitude, kidnapping, poverty themes, death & attempted murder, blood & gore, drugging, torture, war themes, body modifications & human experimentation, animal attack & death, necromancy.☁︎ Synopsis ☁︎
Cerise Mar has got a lot on her plate. Her family are poor, in a long-standing, deadly generational fued and to top it off her parents have been up and vanished. It is up to Cerise to be the leader of her clan, find her parents and end this fued once and for all. Also William, the changeling solider is thrust into her life and they have to work together to figure out what the hell is going on in her swamp.
☁︎ Review ☁︎
I thought it was funny that this book was set in a swamp. All the mud, the humidity and the dangers lurking in the waters made for a great setting and interesting storytelling when enemies and foreigners try to go through the land. Using the land against the enemy with guerrilla warfare tactics was great to read about and I wished more books incorporated the land and the characters knowledge of the land more.
I was also happily surprised to read of the ancient magic the land and the characters held and their deep respect for it.
I loved Cerise the second she showed up on the page. She was snarky, interesting and had the families weight and pressure placed on her shoulders. She was bold, smart and stood up against her family who at times were not very pleasant to her.
There should have been more of Kaldar. I loved him and of course he is Cerise's favourite cousin (but I doubt I will read his book though lol whoops). I loved how big and boistours the Mar family was and how everyone who was born or married into the family was welcome no matter the circumstances or differences.
Lark and Gaston broke my heart and I wish there was more sister bonding between Cerise and Lark. William took a while for me to connect with but he was cute, socially stunted and took things to literally which made me love hime when he got confused or misunderstood. His relationship with the kids was so touching and I loved him double for it.
Spider is a good villain. He was psychopathic and was the worst type of person who goes above and beyond for what they think is right. I wish there were more chapters on him and his thoughts, on how he interacts with his team and why they all have such a deep seated fear for the guy.
Spoiler
I'm disappointed he survived and I assume continues into the other books. Like William had such a grudge and a weird connection with this guy that felt personal and heartbreaking. They are similar to a certain extent. They understood each other and each others motives. They were like perfect archenemies. For him to survive felt like a cop-out so they can continue the story. Let William win and then have like a colleague of Spider be the antagonist for the next book.☁︎ Questions/Issues ☁︎
Where the book fell short was the above spoiler, and the
☀︎ Also there was moments of slut-shaming from William (that Cerise didn't call out) that made me ick.
☀︎ I didn't like the epilogue. I know its an unpopular opinion but William owes the Mirror nothing. He should have not said yes to that deal.
☀︎ Clara made me so mad I needed to give myself time-out. Fuck Clara (and poor Gaston that lil baby)
☀︎ I saw the twist of who the betrayer was and I wish it was spicier. Fell flat tbh.
☀︎ It felt too long. Like there was stuff that could have been cut and big climax scenes that should have been stuck together to make it more impactful.
☀︎ The whole Gramps twist. wtf was that??? Why??? wtf??? If you took that bit out it would make little difference with only a few changes to the end. Gramps... WTF??? Get a normal hobby like gardening or woodworking!! You know what they say about idle hands and the devil... Gramps was too idle in the swamp with apparently too little supervision.
☀︎ Also on the note on Grandparents, I didn't like how Grandma was pushed to the side with little mention. Like what were her feelings of leaving high society and being exiled to a swamp. Raising your children in a difficult environment where everything and everyone will kill you. Like it felt centred around Gramps and his dirty dealings but what was Grandma doing when Gramps was tinkering? Did she know? Suspect? Turn a blind eye? Like I felt let down by that.
Anyways my main take-away is that I wanna read more books set in swamps.
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3.5 stars. I'm definitely in the minority on this one. While I thought this book was better than "On the Edge," I still found it to be overly long and boring in many places. I did like William, but Cerise, not so much. Lucky for me, there were many more likable supporting characters, like Lark, Kaldar, and Gaston. I'll likely read the next one, I just don't think it's as good as the Kate Daniels series, one of my all-time favorites.
Ilona Andrews has to be my between my most favorite authors because I’ve yet to read one of her books and rate it under four stars. I absolutely love this woman. No wait, let me rephrase. I absolutely love this team (since Mr. Gordon is helping with the books as well).
As you probably know, I am not a Romance chick. I actually can say that I kind of hate the Romance genre. I can count on one hand the total number of Romance books I actually liked. But The Edge, my friends… this is the way I like my Romance.
Now yes, I am aware that The Edge novels are not really Romance novels, but a mix of Romance and Urban Fantasy, the latter being a dominant force. And yes, this is why I love them in the first place. Romance books bore the crap out of me because they have no plot. Most of the time. They are cheesy, most of them are porn. They are shallow. They are idiotic. Meh. But when the Romance element is a small part of the novel I am happy because I don’t have to focus on how much each character wants to get in the other one’s pants. They have more important problems to think about. And then when a romantic moment comes I savor it because it’s like a breath of fresh air on a hot summer day. Yes, I am cheesy. I know. Shut up.
So yeah, that’s why I love The Edge so much. I wish I could find more novels like this one. If you guys have any recommendations please feel free to write them in the comments section. Fat Kitty will be very happy.
Review also posted on
As you probably know, I am not a Romance chick. I actually can say that I kind of hate the Romance genre. I can count on one hand the total number of Romance books I actually liked. But The Edge, my friends… this is the way I like my Romance.
Now yes, I am aware that The Edge novels are not really Romance novels, but a mix of Romance and Urban Fantasy, the latter being a dominant force. And yes, this is why I love them in the first place. Romance books bore the crap out of me because they have no plot. Most of the time. They are cheesy, most of them are porn. They are shallow. They are idiotic. Meh. But when the Romance element is a small part of the novel I am happy because I don’t have to focus on how much each character wants to get in the other one’s pants. They have more important problems to think about. And then when a romantic moment comes I savor it because it’s like a breath of fresh air on a hot summer day. Yes, I am cheesy. I know. Shut up.
So yeah, that’s why I love The Edge so much. I wish I could find more novels like this one. If you guys have any recommendations please feel free to write them in the comments section. Fat Kitty will be very happy.
Review also posted on
This was a great addition to the series and I was happy to see William get his own story.
Cerise was a good female MC and the perfect mate for William. I really loved most of her family, they were great side characters.
This is a pretty good paranormal series.
Cerise was a good female MC and the perfect mate for William. I really loved most of her family, they were great side characters.
This is a pretty good paranormal series.
This series is not working for me. I adored Kate Daniels but these characters take way too much effort. I liked the Heroine okay but the hero
Got on my damn nerves.
Got on my damn nerves.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Abandonment
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Slavery, Cannibalism
The husband and wife team Ilona Andrews never cease to amaze me! Everything that I have read by them is amazing. Bayou moon is no exception! William is the werewolf friend/enemy of Declan from The Edge. He was given away at birth to the countries home for changelings until he was joined in the military. He has never had a family and always wanted one. During a mission for he Mirror he meets Cerise, a tough as nails heroine from the Mire swamp. Her family was outrageous, and only added to story. Can't wait for the next book to come out!
Love everything Ilona Andrews has written and her Edge series is not exception.