As a reviewer, I get to a point with authors I love — and as much as I hate to segregate out certain authors, this is especially pronounced with genre authors who proudly inhabit a particular niche — where I can’t really go too deeply into what I love about their books without feeling like I am repeating myself. I talk about how and why they excel at characterization, the themes that they tend to explore really well, their excellent scene-setting, reliable pacing, and effective use of pathos.
And such is the case here. The final book in the Edge series, Ilona (+Gordon) Andrews delivers another satisfying romance between two passionate, talented magic users who, for one reason or another, feel at odds with the world and find solace and strength in each other. Their relationship is set against a backdrop of danger and intrigue, probably in no small part due to family drama that has lasted for generations.
In particular, Steel’s Edge features Charlotte de Ney, a blueblood Weird healer whose rare and exceptional talent positions her as one of Weird society’s VIPs. Internally, Charlotte is waiting for the other shoe to drop on her charmed life, because the balancing power to her healing ability is the ability to infect with deadly disease and kill. Of course, this is taboo, and the lack of balance has been known to take out healers in the past when the impulse to hurt becomes too intoxicating. Deeply concerned that her dark side is beginning to manifest, Charlotte takes refuge in the Edge where her powers are diminished, and there she meets several of the characters we know from previous books — Jack and George, their grandmother, and, finally, Richard Mar. We first met Richard in Bayou Moon as the reclusive cousin of Cerise, heroine of that book. Now, he’s head of the family, but he’s frequently aware from the Mire on a personal vendetta mission against the slave trade in the Weird. Richard and Charlotte both find themselves attributing personal tragedy to the slavers, so they take off together to find out who is at the top of the organization and bring them down.
I give this book five stars, so it should come as no surprise that I loved it. I found Charlotte’s story very interesting, and a somewhat welcome departure from Andrews’ typical heroines from inauspicious, usually impoverished backgrounds. I always love a tale of a heroine succeeding in the face of adversity, and especially Andrews’ brand, but I liked seeing them tackle the perspective of someone who is privileged but still has demons. It’s a nice reminder that urban fantasy heroines don’t necessarily have to be uncouth tomboys to be compelling or relate-able.
So, obviously, I recommend this book in addition to all other Ilonas.
