Unabridged Andra

Happy Thursday everybody! It's been an excellent week here at Unabridged Andra's! Mostly because I finally found my copy of Shatter Me that I thought was lost forever in the black hole that is my basement! YESH!!! Though slightly dingy and dusty from it's ordeal, I can now begin reading one of (what is supposed to be) the best books of last year! Wohoo!!! Also, Today marks a great day in the world of books. It is the day that I review Shadow's Edge by Jami Gray! I love that this series is so original in it's core paranormal elements. The name Kyn for the fey is definitely one I haven't heard before and I would be interested to learn more about why Gray chose to call them that. I also like the division between the four different species of magical beings. Wraiths, shifters, Magi(witches and warlocks) and Half-demons are all staples to paranormal and Urban Fantasy genres, but Jami makes them come alive in new and unique ways that bend my imagination in ways I haven't felt for a long time! I've got a few FABULOUS things for you today. One is, of course, my review of Shadow's Edge...if you're tired of the chatter you can just scroll down now...But THEN you would miss the awesomesauce excerpt that I'm allowed to feature here today!! *cheers*

Walking into the dim house, Raine braced herself for the smell which usually accompanied a violent death. She knew that smell. It was distinctive. It reminded a person of raw meat,coppery blood. A scent warning you that whatever you found, it wasn’t going to be recognizable.

She was a few steps behind the two men and coming down the short entry way when she realized there was no odor. No blood, no raw meat. She let out the breath she was holding. Yet,there were spine tingling traces of magic raising bumps along her skin as she drew closer to the front room.

Two agents passed her, heading out of the house, small evidence bags in their gloved hands.Osborn stopped just to the left of the entry way to the front room. In the middle of the opening,Gavin came to a halt blocking Raine’s view. She stepped around to his right and came to an abrupt stop, puzzled.

Bane Mayson was sprawled on the faded green couch under the picture window. At first glance the scene didn’t make sense. There were no visible wounds, no horrific mutilations, nothing to show how he died. Just the skitter of magic down her spine, making the deceptively calm scene in front of her much more ominous.

“Can you give a positive ID?” Osborn’s rough voice pulled her gaze back to him. He was looking at Gavin who wasn’t answering. She tilted her head to find out why then realized Gavin was looking at her.

“What?” she asked.

“I’ve never met him,” he said blandly. “Just spoke to him on the phone.”

“Oh.” A little disconcerted, she turned back to the waiting agent. “Yes, that’s Bane Mayson.”

Doesn't that just make you wanna run out and grab a copy?? WELL one lucky commenter will be given a FREE copy! So tell me what you think! What are you excited for? Have you read anything by Jami Gray before? Let us know!  And for those of you who want even MORE details, here's my review!  

Title: Shadow's Edge
Author: Jami Gray
Series: Kyn Chronicles #1
Pages: 312
Publisher: Black Opal Books 
Date Published: October 29, 2011
Format: E- ARC

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Source: Provided by author for Blog Tour!

Synopsis:

Everyone fears what hunts in the shadows—especially the monsters…It takes a monster to hunt one, and for Raine McCord, forged in the maelstrom of magic and science, she’s the one for the job. In a world where the supernatural live in a shadowy existence with the mundane, a series of disappearances and deaths threatens the secrecy of her kind and indicates someone knows the monsters are alive and kicking. Partnering up with the sexy and tantalizing Gavin Durand proves to be a challenge as dangerous as the prey she hunts.When the trail points back to the foundation which warped Raine’s magic as a child, her torturous past raises its ugly head. Gavin and Raine sift through a maze of lies, murder and betrayal to discover not only each other, but the emerging threat to them and the entire magical community.

My Review:

Raine was an interesting character. In the beginning I wasn't too keen on her. Not for any big flaws or anything, but just because she lacked a lot of description at first. Yet what I saw as a failure to flesh out Raine in the beginning actually turned out to be a plus. You don't actually need a lot of initial description because throughout the book you really start to understand who Raine is through her actions rather than some boring descriptive paragraphs. I think AUTHOR did an amazing job at showing us what makes Raine tick instead of just telling us like other authors would do. Raine's personality swings around a lot and I am not really clear if her bipolar-osity is a Wraith trait or one that is unique to Raine, but she gets a lot of credit in my book for simply being sane still. As a child, Raine was experimented on (a-la Wolverine from the X-Men style) and still bears the scars on her body from the horrors inflicted upon her. Not to mention the mental scars of losing her mother to the same horrific experiments. So...Raine is the perfect combination of a tragic twisted past, kick-ass weapons skills, snark, and general bad-assery to make for a great main character!

I loved that the plot was so convoluted and multi-layered. You never know quite where the plot is heading despite lots of clues and misdirections. There are multiple investigations going on, that may or may not be tied together, as well as the bigger mystery of what happened to Raine when she was being experimented on. The only thing that bugged me was that at certain times, we would find out that Raine knew something and just didn't mention it to us. We are supposed to be in her head, and know all that she knows...when we find out down the road that she was keeping information from us, it makes her untrustworthy and makes you feel like you spent the entire book being lied to. I just don't understand keeping info from the reader. In a first person novel, the reader should know everything that the MC knows...it doesn't matter if the MC hides info from the other characters, but if she hides it from me, I just get mad. Still...there was a lot of really great things happening plot-wise so I always felt entertained. Maybe in the next book we won't have any of this secretiveness, but keep all of the awesome twists and turns. 

I also have mixed feelings about the romance in the book. Gavin is for SURE sexayyy and fine beyond belief, but I'm not sure I'm good with Raine and his relationship. I loved how in the beginning of the novel they approached each other tentatively but flirtatiously. I really felt like I was falling for them right along with the couple. Then Gavin got SUPER pissed when he found out Raine was keeping her deepest darkest secret. I'm sorry...but if you have a deep dark secret, you don't share it with every guy you meet, or even every guy you date. It's typically something so big, so bad...that you don't share it until you're absolutely 100% positive that you have found your best friend and/or soul mate...so why is Gavin so mad at her when they aren't even officially dating? I was flustered at how Gavin ran hot one moment and cold the next...it really turned me off and changed my mind as to liking him as a love interest. 

Overall, Shadow's Edge was a really great take on the Urban Fantasy genre. I loved the different types of Kyn and that everything was so un-traditional when it came to the magic and supernatural elements in the book. Despite my own personal irritations with the characters, they were fully fleshed out and now that I really think about it, they seem like stronger, better characters for a lot of their flaws. I can't wait to read book two because it's indubitably going to be fabulous! 

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