On Eels: A Reveiw of Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

This was an important book. It's book number 112 in 2012 for me, the last book I needed to finish to complete my year long goal. It's less impressive in that, by the end, I had to declare it a 3 star book.

William is a shapeshifter and a loner, but he's reluctantly talked into a quest to track down Spider, a ruthlessly villainous villain. This puts him in league with Cerise, who's parents have been taken by the Spider. Before Cerise can track down her parents, she must end a family feud that's stood for three generations, and take back a house that belonged to her grandparents.

So, yeah, 3 stars. It's a bit odd, because I sing the praises of Ilona Andrews often and loudly when it comes to the Kate Daniels books, and even Andrea's book, but I think it's now safe to say that I don't care for The Edge series nearly as much. What's missing here? Well, I think it's partly to do with world build and partly to do with plot. But, let's start with what I did like.

I liked William and Cerise. William has a social awkwardness and vulnerability about him that I found charming. It really fit his status as a shapeshifter who has been shunned more often than not. I also really liked Cerise--I liked her toughness and her loyalty and her way of viewing the world. The tow have excellent chemistry. I think it's safe to say that Andrews writes characters you want to embrace. Even the secondary characters are appealing.

The world building, while better than a lot of the sludge we see on the UF market now, is still not as strong as the Kate Daniels books. Perhaps it's unfair to compare the two, but that's reality. With Kate's Atlanta, I have a really clear idea about the rules and how things work, and what the organizations are and where loyalties lie. And the way magic works in that universe is so freaking clever. The Edge, on the other hand, feels a lot more vague and less inspired. I'm not that clear on who belongs where and why, and I can't say I'm motivated to figure it out. I'm not really sure, for example, if William's shapeshifting is based on magic or nature or some hybrid of the two, and I don't know why he's able to work in magic free Broken if he is indeed magical.

The plot has it's merits, and it's passably interesting on the surface, but as the story proceeds I found that many stretches were decidedly meh. Things I felt were really interesting--Cerise's grandfather and his life restoring formula, for one--got very little page time. Things I don't care about, like the family feud, went on and on. As a result, for much of the book my enjoyment level was at or just above neutral, with a few periods of outright frustration.

All told, while it's still an above average book, I must honestly admit that there are better books out there. I cautiously recommend this one, but I highly recommend the Kate Daniels books. 3 stars. 

A Review of On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniel's series is perhaps my favorite ongoing series right now--it's at least in the top five. That sort of standard was a lot for this book to live up to and...well...

On the Edge is set in a very different universe. In this world, there is a dimension known as "The Broken", which is essentially our world--no magic, just ordinary people. Then there's "The Weird", where everything runs on magic. Between the two, there's the Edge, land of outcast who don't quite fit anywhere. Here, we meet Rose, an Edger with unusually strong magic. She's been pursued all of her adult life, by men who would sell her or use her to breed magic babies. Rose has two younger brothers to protect, in addition to keeping herself safe. So when Declan shows up on her doorstep, claiming he wants to protect her, Rose is naturally suspicious and hostile...despite her attraction to him.

Positive Comments:

I wasn't that engaged by the large, overarching plot of this novel. Instead, I became fascinated with the minutia of the story. I was interested in the magic Rose possesses and how it works. I wanted to visit more of the Edge and the Weird. I was engaged with what was going on with the kids. Jack and Georgie, Rose's brothers, are a far cry from the useless plot moppets I expected. I was especially impressed with the subplot involving Georgie's ability to bring things back to life, at the expense of his own health.

Declan and Rose...Rose and Declan....They had their moments. The dialogue was great. These two had enough chemistry to justify calling this book a novel with strong romantic elements--though not necessarily a romance novel.

Critical Comment:

So here's the thing...remember that overarching plot I mentioned? My attempt to explain to you, and to myself, why I didn't like it are probably going to be laughable, but here goes:

--Declan shows up on Rose's doorstep and seems to want to marry her or make her his mistress for a thousand wrong reasons. At this point, I'm mad at the book and worried that the two might form a marriage of convenience or some ridiculous thing.
--Rose agrees to  give Declan three challenges, and if he succeeds at them, she'll cooperate with him. At this point, I'm intrigued. I figure, okay, he can do these challenges, they can fall in love for real over the course of them, and I'll be happy.
--But guess what? There's a much bigger problem going on, and that problem is monster dogs eating people, and that kind of takes over the book.

I don't think the big monster plot was necessary. I just...I didn't care. I wanted more relationship building, and more character development, and more of the boys and their antics, and more of just about everything else. Especially relationship development. I wanted to see more of Rose and Declan together, working out their differences, figuring out where they fit in each others' lives.

Recommendation:

If you like urban fantasy, especially if you enjoy a good monster hunt, you'll enjoy this book. I would recommend it, to a lesser extent, to casual fans of paranormal romance. This book was good, but it didn't have the magic of the Kate Daniels books. 3.5 stars.
Buy from Amazon: On the Edge