Alice's Review: Shadow's Edge by J.T. Geissinger

Released: 12th June 2012
Paperback: 359 pages
Price: $7.16/12.96
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Source: ARC from author
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Night Prowler
Series Order:
1. Shadow's Edge
2. TBA
Summary:

Deep within the primeval forests of southern England, a race of beautiful, savage shape-shifters lives hidden from the everyday world. Bound together by ancient bloodlines and a ruthless code of secrecy that punishes traitors with death, the Ikati send their leader Leander on a mission to capture one raised outside the tribe before she can expose their secret. When Leander tracks the unsuspecting outsider to Southern California, the hardened warrior is prepared for a fight—but not for the effect the sensual young beauty has on his heart.

Jenna spent her childhood in hiding, on the run from someone—or something—her parents refused to discuss. She trusts no one, not since her father’s mysterious disappearance, not since her mother’s sudden death, and definitely not since she began exhibiting strange, superhuman abilities. When handsome, enigmatic Leander appears, promising answers to the mysteries that shroud her past, she knows she shouldn’t trust him either. But their connection is undeniable, and as powerful as the enemy hell-bent on destroying every one of their kind…

My Rating:

My Opinion: I was excited to read this book because it sounded promising. I sped through it (I finished it in one day!) and I thought it was a bit anti-climatic. Maybe a bit too obvious in its plot and ending. The novel starts off with a few news articles written about the Ikati, the cat shape-shifters and then continues on to Jenna walking around in a supermarket and then spotting Leander watching her.

I won't get into the plot because I honestly didn't think it was fantastic; it's predictable and didn't surprise me and I continued on because I knew there would be a happy ending. This is definitely a light read, without too many tense moments. I think the blurb made it out to be a lot more dramatic than it was.

I did like Jenna. She's assertive and strong and manages to hold her own against Leander and the Ikati leaders. I liked that she had the confidence to stand up for herself and get what she wanted. What I didn't like was how she made some stupid decisions, like trying to rescue a young Ikati woman by herself before she even learnt how to control her powers! She gained nothing from this and got herself captured and hurt and that was totally avoidable in my opinion! I know some people would consider her actions noble, but I think it was impulsive and stupid.

I didn't feel any particular like for Leander. I was a bit meh - he seems like a nice enough guy and he's definitely checked all the boxers on the 'Handsome, Mysterious, Sexy Stranger' list that qualify him to be a suitable love interest. I thought that these two fell in love too quickly, despite any 'strong connection' that they may have. They didn't interact enough with each other for me to easily believe they had something other than chemistry.

One of the things I loved was the mythology. I love shape-shifter novels because of the huge variety of mythology in them - all the different lore never gets old and it's so interesting reading about authors' takes on it. This contained a lot of cat stuff, which is cool because I love cats and there aren't enough novels written about them, in my opinion.

My verdict: This is a book that sits solidly on a bench in between boring and amazing - it wasn't anything special apart from its fantastic and interesting take on feline shapeshifters.