I stumbled across this book purely by accident, thanks to Amazon's recommendation features. I wasn't looking for it, but when I saw it had werewolves I ordered it. I have previously enjoyed gay romances with werewolves by Kate Steele and others, but the two authors who are Jamie Craig tend to have a sharper edge to their work. Their novella, "February: Mine" is a prime example where vampires take BDSM to a dark place.

This story has the edge I like, but also a strong, sometimes borderline sappy, romance. Darren was an agent for Argenti, an organization that hunts and kills rogue werewolves. Aden is a pack alpha. When the novel opens, they are already a couple. Another reviewer mentioned that this novel is a "sequel" to the novella "Calendar Boys--October: Trick Of Silver". I didn't know about that story at all, and I didn't notice anything "missing" from this book so it most definitely stands alone. (However, I enjoyed it so much I intend to get the novella so I can see how Darren and Aden met!) Darren is persona non grata in Argenti these days, but a fellow agent/friend has come to warn him about trouble brewing around Aden's pack. Readers will learn it's being instigated by a former lover of Aden which sets the stage for the plot, but doesn't go into the overused cliché of it causing angst in the relationship.

Though the underlying conspiracy isn't deep, it was very enjoyable because of the world-building done by the authors. Readers are given just enough information about Argenti, pack politics and werewolves in general to make everything seem real. Secondary characters don't get a lot of development, but they aren't just two-dimensional cardboard cut-outs either. Darren isn't accepted among Aden's pack yet because they see him as an enemy that hunted them (which he was) and he's not a wolf. He earns respect in a brutal, exciting fight giving the entire story a mafia feel which I liked. I also really enjoyed Aden and Darren's relationship. Though Aden is the typical alpha male (pun intended!) and wants to protect his mate, he also respects Darren and sees him as an equal partner. Their banter is lively and fun, though the use of endearments like "gorgeous" gets a little annoying after a while. Both characters are likeable, and I found myself rooting for them.

The sex was frequent, explicit and interesting. Aden and Darren are just starting to play with some BDSM elements, though this is far from a standard BDSM story, and it shakes it up. Also, the authors throw some tender, and intense scenes at the end when they reveal just how much Aden loves Darren and see him as a true equal (and not just a bottom!) Overall, and excellent book that I hope becomes a series. I'd love to see other characters in this world get their own stories. ( )

On the Ragged Edge of the World is the classical shapeshifter romance. Darren is a former shapeshifter hunter who got renegade after falling in love with an Alpha pack leader, Aden... in the novella that introduced this longer story, we read how they met, during an Halloween party where Darren was masked as a very sexy cat... woman! And so you have a little hint that despite being an hunter, Darren looks more like a pretty boy than a lethal killer. Not the easiest thing if you want to be accepted by the wolves of your man. Plus Darren's former work is not exactly top in the list of ideal work.

The story is a good mix of romance and adventure. Basically it's Darren the one who was tamed, and not Aden. Even before they met, Aden was sophisticated and cultured, he is an antique dealer, mostly books, and even if very handsome, and strong, he wears glasses and executive dresses. On the other hand Darren was a troubled teenager who was basically raised to be an hunter; the woman who did so is also the one who betrayed him, and so Darren is not exactly the most trusting man. But despite their difference, Darren and Aden think as once, and they are never in disagreement, above all in front of the pack. What I like of this couple is that it should be easy to create conflict, and angst, making them a trouble relationship, and instead that is never a problem. And as I said, Aden, who should be the lethal one, after all is the more stable and quite, and instead who always gets in trouble is Darren.

There is a bit of play of the small and cute man stereotype (Darren), who can take down the big bad wolf, and I'm sure that Darren plays the submissive role in front of the pack, but deep inside he considers himself at the same level of Aden, even if never once he let it out with Aden. All in all Aden is not a real "big bad wolf", and sincerely I didn't find in him the blood thirst or the forceful behavior that often I found in similar characters. Probably this is the most interesting thing of all the book: the preamble of the story is quite common, and also the plot, but what makes the book different, are its characters, and the more lethal men (or women) are not the one who look like that.

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