Book Review of Shadow’s Edge by J.T. Geissinger

Title: Shadow’s Edge

Author: J.T. Geissinger

Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance

Release Date: June 12th, 2012

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…

Summary from Amazon

My Review:I am always leery when an author sends me an email asking if I will review their book. I am just not always sure if it is something that will fit in with my style and I do get some very strange requests at times. However, when J.T. approached me about Shadow’s Edge I read the summary and was very intrigued. It sounded like it fit in perfectly with the genres I love to read so I agreed to review it.

I am so glad I trusted my gut with this book, because it was awesome! It is a new take on shifters and the mythology was fascinating. The shifters in this world are called Ikati and have been around for centuries. They can shift, usually into some animal form, but have many other talents as well. Some of them can change into mist, others can use their powers of suggestion to persuade people to do something and the list continues from there. I liked the new twists added to the shifter mythology and enjoyed all of the information we were supplied about them.

Jenna was a great character, she has been alone so long though that she does not trust anyone. And while she does feel something right away for Leander, she does take the time to try to sort through those feelings and make sense of the new emotions pouring through her. She wants to trust him, but a lifetime of running has kept her guarding her heart. She did get in a couple of really clever jabs in on Leander and I love that she did not just fall into his arms without establishing her own boundaries first. Here is one example that I found highly amusing, Keep in mind I am just showing some of the scene not the whole thing. Leander has just ordered a very expensive wine from the place Jenna works in.

“Yes,” Jenna said acidly, “it suits you perfectly. The ’61 Latour is the ultimate penis wine.”….

“Really?” He said, controlled and calm. “How very amusing. Pray do enlighten me.”…

“I call them the penis wines,” Jenna replied, keeping the same tone of lightly contemptuous civility though her blood was boiling. She knew there would be hell to pay for this, knew her job was most likely kaput, but for the moment she could care less.

“They are the ridiculously expensive wines purchased as a show of masculinity by a certain species or men—excuse me, males—who have no real appreciation for their value but feel the pathetic need to display their tale feathers.”

Her small smile grew larger as his disappeared altogether. “I think a man secure in his masculinity would choose something a little more…substantial, shall we say. A little less showy.”

I mean come on? How could you not love a girl with a sharp tongue who calls it like it is?

Leander was someone I instantly liked. As the alpha, he has had to put others first and makes decisions based on what is good for the whole group. He is set in his ways, but Jenna is pushing his boundaries and making him question the world he has grown up in. He may be all alpha male, but he does respect Jenna’s wishes and tries to take things slow with her while acclimating her to his world and the idea of being with him.

The secondary characters stood out as well. Leander’s brother Christian tried to stay in the background, but his comments and actions leapt off the page whenever he appeared. He is the second son, so he has resigned to always being second best and I felt for him. I wanted someone to be there to comfort him. I am eager to get in his head at some point and hope we get a book from his point of view in the future. The other character I really enjoyed was Morgan. Being a woman within the Ikati society is not easy and she has made some tough choices because of how her life has played out. She was very upbeat when we first meet her and she had me laughing out loud at multiple points during the story. I am keeping fingers crossed that we get to see more of her as well.

Overall, I loved this book. We get a lot of information about the Ikati society and how it works, but got some great action in there as well. There is tension with the villain, between Leander and Jenna and within the Ikati themselves. The mythology is something we are familiar with, but it had just enough twists to keep it interesting and refreshing. I would highly recommend this book to any lover of paranormal romance. It is one I stayed up long past the time I should have gone to bed because I just had to know what was going to happen. I cannot wait for the next installment in this series!

FTC: I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.