2.5 Stars

Well, I guess I have put this off long enough.
I love [a:J.T. Geissinger|5865943|J.T. Geissinger|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1638221541p2/5865943.jpg]. Absolutely crazy about her writing. But this book? Not so much.
I think this is her 1st published book. It's from 2012. It's definitely NOT her best writing.
In fact, I would say it is her worst. I'm hoping that the series will get better as I read it. I bought them all and I really need it to get tons better.

Every physical movement someone makes is extensively over described.
So is every scenic detail. Including every rug, room, floor, table.
Every facial feature.
Every thought.
This happens constantly throughout the story. In fact, every page. Filled with descriptions.
It slowed the story down to a snails pace. It definitely got on my nerves and kept me from connecting with the characters and the world build.
Heck, it was so pervasive I'm surprised we weren't told what kind of toilet paper was used and how it felt on your ass!

There were a lot of things I didn't understand.
I think it's weird that even the smallest of injuries can keep them from shifting. That really didn't make sense to me. A big injury, I could understand that.

I really don't understand their reasons for killing her father. I know what we are told about The Law, but! Their reasons and the descriptions of him, didn't add up for me.

I don't understand Jenna at all. I liked Leander. Don't hate Jenna, just don't get her. Why is she ALWAYS so stubbornly quite about what she is. What she can do. She refuses to tell him anything but expects him to tell her everything. Ugh. She's a bitch. A snooty, snotty Bitch. And I think she came off a bit TSTL many times. That annoyed me.

So far my favorite character in this book is Morgan. And while she is just a major side character in this book, she is the mfc in book #2.

You probably don't understand why I was so upset that I was disappointed in this book. But you can compare it to when your a kid and you find out there Santa Claus isn't real.
I wanted to love this book. PNR is my top favorite genre, but it is really hard to find awesome books in it. So I'm devastated that this was so bad.

Oh, btw, the steamy sex scenes were 'Okay'. Nothing like what she writes now. But Okay.

I almost forgot about something else. The timeline. It was really hard to tell 'When' this was taking place. Sometimes if felt historical. Sometimes contemporary.
Confusing. ( )

Sweet story of a girl lost to her heritage and then found. ( )

This one started off a little slower than I liked, but once it hooked me, it had me. The writer creates vivid descriptions that stay with you long after you have stopped reading for the night. I am looking forward to the next book in the series! ( )

I really enjoyed this book. Not that I haven't loved the books I've read recently, but they were full of rip-roaring action, guns, and fight scenes. Don't get me wrong, I love that stuff. This book was a lovely shift though (pun possibly intended). It was focused. More predator stilled for the hunt than frantic clawing sprint. I can get lost in either frame of mind. I just do so love a subtle tightening of emotion, an anguished held breath. It stays with me longer than a quick punch to the gut. Nice work Geissinger. ( )

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! ( )