Shadow's Edge [Format Kindle]

Wow hands down a great read. This author writes very poetically. She has a way of elegantly and colorfully describing the scenes. She also does an excellent job of poetically describing what the characters are feeling. Here's an exert: "She had forgotten sweetness, had forgotten what it was like to be touched and held and cherished, and it opened something in her, it melted her like sunlight on snow." Wow, I couldn't help but fall in love with her writing. Her characters are written with passion and you can't help but get swept up into the storyline.

Jenna is a strong willed character but yet you see her vulnerabilities. The author does a great job with drawing you into Jenna's emotions. When she's in pain, you feel her pain and when she stands strong and determined, you can't help but cheer her on. Of coarse the hero, Leander, is strong, handsome and mysterious. You get wrap up into his choices. You are rooting for him to get the girl then you are angry at him for being an idiot. It's an emotional roller coaster. You can't help but fall in love with him.

I stayed up into the wee hours of morning unable to put the book down. It was glued to my hands. I even shed some tears. It's been a while since I've read a book that had me so emotionally invested that I was sad to see it end. I sure hope Ms. Geissinger writes more stories of the Ikati. I want to read about the future changes the Ikati will face. I'd even like to see the characters, Morgan and Christian, get their own books.

If you love paranormal romance with some mystery and adventure and characters that seem to leap off the page and pull you in, then I highly recommended Shadows' Edge!

The plot was very interesting, and I think this is a must read for urban fantasy lovers. The story line is not really unique, but I think the details and the different elements that the author used to build up the story, really made it her own.

The author has a real gift with words. Her descriptions are amazing, almost poetic. However, she does have an issue with characterization. I had a hard time being emotionally invested in the fate of the characters. You knew who they were, knew the story, but just didn't really connect. It could've been better, but as it stands, it was very good.

I am always leery when an author sends me an email asking if I will review their book. I am just not always sure if it is something that will fit in with my style and I do get some very strange requests at times. However, when J.T. approached me about Shadow's Edge I read the summary and was very intrigued. It sounded like it fit in perfectly with the genres I love to read so I agreed to review it.

I am so glad I trusted my gut with this book, because it was awesome! It is a new take on shifters and the mythology was fascinating. The shifters in this world are called Ikati and have been around for centuries. They can shift, usually into some animal form, but have many other talents as well. Some of them can change into mist, others can use their powers of suggestion to persuade people to do something and the list continues from there. I liked the new twists added to the shifter mythology and enjoyed all of the information we were supplied about them.

Jenna was a great character, she has been alone so long though that she does not trust anyone. And while she does feel something right away for Leander, she does take the time to try to sort through those feelings and make sense of the new emotions pouring through her. She wants to trust him, but a lifetime of running has kept her guarding her heart. She did get in a couple of really clever jabs in on Leander and I love that she did not just fall into his arms without establishing her own boundaries first. Here is one example that I found highly amusing, Keep in mind I am just showing some of the scene not the whole thing. Leander has just ordered a very expensive wine from the place Jenna works in.

"Yes," Jenna said acidly, "it suits you perfectly. The '61 Latour is the ultimate penis wine."....

"Really?" He said, controlled and calm. "How very amusing. Pray do enlighten me."...

"I call them the penis wines," Jenna replied, keeping the same tone of lightly contemptuous civility though her blood was boiling. She knew there would be hell to pay for this, knew her job was most likely kaput, but for the moment she could care less.

"They are the ridiculously expensive wines purchased as a show of masculinity by a certain species or men--excuse me, males--who have no real appreciation for their value but feel the pathetic need to display their tale feathers."

Her small smile grew larger as his disappeared altogether. "I think a man secure in his masculinity would choose something a little more...substantial, shall we say. A little less showy."

I mean come on? How could you not love a girl with a sharp tongue who calls it like it is?

Leander was someone I instantly liked. As the alpha, he has had to put others first and makes decisions based on what is good for the whole group. He is set in his ways, but Jenna is pushing his boundaries and making him question the world he has grown up in. He may be all alpha male, but he does respect Jenna's wishes and tries to take things slow with her while acclimating her to his world and the idea of being with him.

The secondary characters stood out as well. Leander's brother Christian tried to stay in the background, but his comments and actions leapt off the page whenever he appeared. He is the second son, so he has resigned to always being second best and I felt for him. I wanted someone to be there to comfort him. I am eager to get in his head at some point and hope we get a book from his point of view in the future. The other character I really enjoyed was Morgan. Being a woman within the Ikati society is not easy and she has made some tough choices because of how her life has played out. She was very upbeat when we first meet her and she had me laughing out loud at multiple points during the story. I am keeping fingers crossed that we get to see more of her as well.

Overall, I loved this book. We get a lot of information about the Ikati society and how it works, but got some great action in there as well. There is tension with the villain, between Leander and Jenna and within the Ikati themselves. The mythology is something we are familiar with, but it had just enough twists to keep it interesting and refreshing. I would highly recommend this book to any lover of paranormal romance. It is one I stayed up long past the time I should have gone to bed because I just had to know what was going to happen. I cannot wait for the next installment in this series!