Audiobook review: Fate’s Edge by Ilona Andrews
The third Edge story, Fate’s Edge, features Kaldar Mar, the swindling, grifting cousin of Cerise, the previous book’s heroine. The story is set two years after the second book, with Kaldar working for the Adrianglian spy network, the Mirror, hoping to exact revenge on Spider and the Hand for killing his family. He’s been recruited to recover a valuable stolen artifact, which should give him the opportunity for which he’s been waiting.
Once again, this is a re-read for me, but I honestly could not recall a single thing that happened, so I enjoyed “starting fresh.” I am still enjoying the unique and interesting mythology and find the world and magic fascinating. While each story is a standalone romance with its own adventure, there is an overall urban fantasy arc. Although new characters are introduced in each title, previous characters are brought forward and sometimes play key roles.
Kaldar and Audrey are con artists, working both the enemy to gain back possession of a stolen artifact, but also each other. They play games, hiding their true feelings in an effort not to get conned and hurt. Maybe because I’m older now or maybe because times are different from when I first read the book, but it really bothered me the number of times Kaldar kissed Audrey without her consent. And the path to “I love you” is far too quick. The pair work well, but the overall romance wasn’t great.
As with the previous books, I felt Fate’s Edge was a bit too long. And in this case, it was because there are plots within plots and so many detours. For example, the pair has to steal money from a slaver to get in good with a preacher, so that they could rob him and exchange that item for an invitation to the bad guy’s auction, in order to get back the item stolen in the first place. *phew* I became tired of all of the layers of subterfuge. Yet, once the layers began to peel away, the story at the core was rather intense and exciting.
Narration: Fate’s Edge is shared via the third person POV; primarily that of Kaldar, Audrey, and Jack, but there are also sections from other side characters. Raudman attempts to give each character a unique, age-appropriate voice. She works in accents, attitude, and emotion to keep the listener engaged. Males are slightly deeper. Some characters sound similar, but not so much to be confusing. Raudman successfully adds vocal twists to the paranormal creatures, making them each unique.
Fate’s Edge, like the previous stories in the series, is a wild, exciting adventure, shared from multiple point-of-views and wrapped in layers of intricate detail. While the book suffered a little under the weight of its own rather lengthy tale, the story is interesting and the narration is wonderful. While I would classify the book as a romance, it is light and not the primary focus of the story.
My Ratings
Story: B-
Narration: A
Jen
About the Book:
Audrey Callahan left behind her life in the Edge, and she’s determined to stay on the straight and narrow. But when her brother gets into hot water, the former thief takes on one last heist and finds herself matching wits with a jack of all trades…
Kaldar Mar—a gambler, lawyer, thief, and spy—expects his latest assignment tracking down a stolen item to be a piece of cake, until Audrey shows up. But when the item falls into the hands of a lethal criminal, Kaldar realizes that in order to finish the job, he’s going to need Audrey’s help…
Author: Ilona Andrews
Narrator: Renee Raudman
Series: The Edge #3
Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
Audiobook Release Date: November 29, 2011
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
Source: purchased
Audio Speed: 1.45x
Reviews in the Series:
The Edge series reviews
