Ilona Andrews

[Maze353]

Magic Rises is slated to come out in July 2013. Another long wait....  

[NightIntent]

Bummer! The next Edge book comes out next week, though! (I think. Basically a week. The following Tuesday.) Same day as Cold Days! I'm relatively excited for the Edge book, even though I haven't bothered to find out who its focused on or anything.

Way more excited for Dresden, but that's for another thread. <.<  

[Maze353]

Ilona Andrews

Charlotte de Ney is as noble as they come, a blueblood straight out of the Weird. But even though she possesses rare magical healing abilities, her life has brought her nothing but pain. After her marriage crumbles, she flees to the Edge to build a new home for herself. Until Richard Mar is brought to her for treatment, and Charlotte's life is turned upside down once again.

Richard is a swordsman without peer, future head of his large and rambunctious Edger clan - and he's on a clandestine quest to wipe out slavers trafficking humans in the Weird. So when his presence leads his very dangerous enemies to Charlotte, she vows to help Richard destroy them. The slavers' operation, however, goes deeper than Richard knows, and even working together, Charlotte and Richard may not survive...

It sounds like another set up another "hate/distrust-to-love" story. stare It's a good thing the setting is so unique and these characters tend to be so likable, otherwise I wouldn't touch these books with a ten foot pole.  

[NightIntent]

Maze353

It sounds like another set up another "hate/distrust-to-love" story. stare It's a good thing the setting is so unique and these characters tend to be so likable, otherwise I wouldn't touch these books with a ten foot pole.

Well. It kind of sounds like it at least doesn't start with real hate, like most of the other ones. Just a closed-off noble.

I have to say, if I hadn't gotten involved with the Kate series first, I probably wouldn't even touch the Edge novels. The character descriptions sound so cliche and really, on the surface, most of her characters are cliches, kind of. But the way they're characterized and the interactions make them less cliche and way more likeable than I always expect them to be. But from that description... if I didn't know the author, I probably wouldn't buy the book.

We'll see what happens in it, I guess.  

[Maze353]

Read Steel's Edge, I forgot I pre-ordered the book. It was good, for a romance, I read it in one sitting. It is the last book in this story arc, but supposedly not the last Edge book.

I'll give it points for not have a hate-to-love relationship, for have Kaldar cameos (because he's great xd ), and for quoting the Princess Bride. Plus, I've always been fond of Healers who go to the dark side.  

[NightIntent]

Oh yeah, I forgot about this.... Eclipsed by Cold Days (which, by the way, READ IT NOW). XD I'll have to go grab it at some point.  

[NightIntent]

I finally remembered to go pick this up this afternoon. I just finished it. So good. The plot was excellent. I think this is probably my favorite Edge book. The romance was mostly believable, since they didn't start out hating each other. I have to say, all the flittering about they did ("Does he like me?" "Oh, there's no way she would like me!") was a little silly. But they got over it, so I guess it's fine. I really like Richard, and I liked the little bits and pieces we got of him in the other books, so I'm glad she chose to focus on him.

Charlotte was kind of a hard character for me to empathize with, though, right off the bat. The obsession with having children is, for me, a total... I can't think of the right word. It just made me want to not like her. By the end of the book, I was liking her a lot more (except for the fact that, outwardly, she was entirely too perfect and I wanted her to mess up more). Even her imperfections weren't that bad. I mean, really. Beautiful, the best healer of her generation, can potentially give people any disease she wants and kill them quickly or slowly, and super nice and clever to boot? I like characters with a few more at least somewhat debilitating flaws. I think I remember liking Cerese best of the Edge heroines.

There are also some things that I'm a bit confused about, mostly regarding the Broken. It's made abundantly clear that people with strong magic can't go from the Edge to the Broken. Richard can't make the trip, or else he'd die. If I remember correctly, he flashed blue in the last Edge book (now he flashes white, because he spent a lot of time in the Weird). If Rose flashed white in the Edge... how did she go so easily to and from the Broken? I feel like this was probably an oversight from being the beginning of a series and still in the process of world-building, and I'm totally overthinking this, but that just kept popping up in my thoughts as I read the book and they mentioned (repeatedly) that going to the Broken could be deadly if one possessed too-strong magic.

Clearly I need to not type up posts in the middle of the night. XD I get much too nit-picky and rambly.

My biggest question, however, was not addressed:
Was Richard able to change his face back, or does he have to stay looking like another person for the rest of his life? How awkward would that be? rofl From the way the surgery was mentioned in the book, I'm guessing he'll be stuck with it forever.

And I'll stop there.  

[NightIntent]

Just looked at amazon and the next Kate book comes out on July 30th. gonk  

[Maze353]

I know that has to be so awkward for him and all his family and friends.

I didn't like the part where Richard freaked out over Charlotte dancing with Brennan and then had to rappel down to her window and get all possessive and about how she let Brennan touch her. That seemed way too staged and just ridiculous. They're undercover and you're going to blow years of work because your jealous that her cover is working?

NightIntent

Just looked at amazon and the next Kate book comes out on July 30th. gonk

Dang stare  

[NightIntent]

Yeha, that was about the silliest part in the whole book. I guess they had to have some sort of scene where they officially professed their love for each other? Weird.

I just noticed that you posted about the Kate book's release date at the top of the page. That's what I get for going all rambly in the middle of the night.... rofl  

[Maze353]

What these people can't confess in a normal manner?

I find the possessiveness these dudes have very irritating. They freak out whenever another dude interacts with their girlfriend. Curran can't even have some stand too close to Kate. It makes them seem clingy and insecure and it goes against the Alpha male Andrews is trying to portray. A true Alpha male would want people to look at his other half so they could see how desirable he/she is. And they'd never consider that their partner would want to leave them, they're so awesome.  

[NightIntent]

Yeah, really. It just makes the whole character seem less real. And honestly, isn't that kind of how abusive relationships start?

I like the plots of the books and all, but the relationships kinda suck.  

[Maze353]

Yes. I think that's why I get so hung up on this. These people are supposed to be in a relationship with his/her soulmate but none of these are healthy relationships. Curran even stalked Kate and had people to help him do it! That is not ok! burning_eyes


It's kind of depressing and a bit sickening how popular this type of relationship has become. You see it in pretty much every supernatural story out there now. Just because someone is super-human it doesn't give them leave to act like a @$#!. Even the shape shifters. Animals don't even act like that.

Ok, I'm done...for now.  

[NightIntent]

Until the next book comes out and there's more weird relationship stuff. XD  

[Maze353]

True. And it won't really both me until a day or two after I read the book.