Cerise Mar and her clan are cash poor but land rich, claiming a large swathe of the Mire, the Edge swamplands. When her parents vanish, her clan’s long-time rivals are suspect. But all is not as it seems. Two nations of the Weird are waging a cold war fought by feint and espionage, and their conflict is about to spill over into the Edge-and Cerise’s life.
Bayou Moon
By ilonaandrews
Second in a four book series. Can be read individually but better in order.
Back in the Edge, but in the dark, lush, and dangerous place known as the Mire with a chilling villain, a clan of crazy swamp folks, and William the changeling wolf. I doesn’t get much better, right?
Bayou Moon is book two of the Edge series. It works best following book one since the hero, William, and some of the minor characters along with the world of The Edge was introduced earlier.
Loved going forward with the next installment of the series and oh hallelujah that it was William’s story. That was one of the points about the first book left outstanding. William was the unrequited lover- the one not chosen. He’s had a tough life as has his heroine, Cerise Mar. I found this book darker and grittier than the first book. There are a few moments with clashes with the villains, Spider and the other members of The Hand and also isolated scenes that had me a little squeamish. Not that I had any desire to set the book aside. Nope, I was all in.
There is so much going on in Bayou Moon- romance, intrigue, action, and that is paired with a solid world, plot, and characters.
I spent a lot of the book uneasy knowing that William was keeping secrets because he is working in espionage for his government and knowing that right or wrong motives, Cerise would struggle when the truth came out. They were antagonistic, then flirty, good fight partners, and oh so sizzling with chemistry. I loved this pair more than Declan and Rose in book one.
The setting, editions to the lore of the Edge, and the mysterious quality in tone were also great.
As to the audio, Renee Raudman really knocked ’em dead with her command of the large cast of characters. She did great with the swamp people accents and she came up with one spinetingling one that hit high on the creepy villain factor for Spider. She continues to amaze.
As soon as this one finished, I was itching to reach for the next installment. William’s story with Cerise was all that I could hope for. I whole-heartedly recommend this paranormal romance series and do yourself a solid and get it in audio format if you can.
In this second story of the Edge, Cerise Mar and her family live in the Mire, a swampland located between the Broken’s Louisiana and the Weird, a land of magic users. William, the changling soldier we met in the first book, is convinced by the Weird’s spy organization, the Mirror, to travel to the Mire to put a stop to an evil spy group called the Hand, which is from an opposing country in the Weird. The Hand uses magic to alter their physical being, giving them enhanced strength, senses and abilities. They’ve come to the Mire after a device they believe will make them invincible and they don’t care what it takes to acquire it. As William travels into the Mire, he and Cerise form an uneasy alliance to fight the Hand’s agents they encounter. The Hand kidnaps Cerise’s parents and uses an old family enemy against the Mars. Cerise realizes they will have to rally her whole family against the threat, no matter what it takes, if they are to have any peace in their home again. I enjoyed the high level of action in this one, and with so many different strange creatures that live in the Mire, as well as the Hand’s altered agents, there is plenty for William, Cerise, and the rest of the Mars to go up against. The final battle was a nail biter, and although there was a high cost to the family, I thought the conclusion was satisfying, even as it left more to be done in the future.
Ilona Andrews is always a great read.
Audiobook review: Liam’s story is exciting, adventurous, heart wrenching and warming, and hot! Adventure cravers will like this story a lot! Great world and character building along with an awesome storyline and plot! Ms. Raudman did a fantastic job narrating as always!