This is a reread review.
Overall, I enjoyed On the Edge. I think the strongest parts were the world-building bits. I think the characters were alright, even if I really, really wanted to smack Rose, Declan, and William upside the head a few times. I loathed every part of the romance aspect here, which I will be ranting about. But overall, it was kinda fun and interesting.
To get this out of the way: I absolutely hate the way the romance here went. I'm not a big fan of romance to begin with and this one started with a big dollop of coercion. Big, giant, red flag of "I win three challenges and you get to come marry me." Whether or not Declan has a penchant for allowing "people to arrive at the wrong conclusions and doesn't bother to correct them" or not, it's gross. Also, that kind of a trait in anyone is super annoying and doesn't bode well for the future relationship, in all honesty. The fact that Declan keeps Rose out of the actual loop for so long is also really annoying. He absolutely deserved every bit of what she threw at him during their big argument. From the William angle of things... he really doesn't portray much of a personality until after the twist happens. Even then, it's obvious his trauma colors what personality he does have, so having him be a potential romantic interest for two seconds was... bleh.
I liked certain aspects of Declan's character more than I liked Declan, really. He's big and gorgeous and good with kids and willing to put up with Rose's spiky personality... but he's also manipulative and secretive and I hate that. I think the way he help Georgie was neat and clever.
Rose has her own share of issues, not that they're not earned. I think having then reiterated time and again was a little lazy, but I'm also not sure how else we would have understood that Declan knew what was going on with her... I also noticed we saw very little aftermath of that, but told there were lots of past and current issues, which include Rose's isolation from her community. Mostly what we get from Rose is her single-motherhood. She's definitely focused on her brothers more than she's focused on anything else and it shows.
But yeah, the world-building of On the Edge is really the stand-out here. We get a good picture of The Edge and a little less about The Weird, but I found all of it pretty stellar. I think getting Declan's story was a little late to the party and would have preferred he told Rose anything... but getting the magic lessons from him and his not-a-computer setup was neat. I enjoy the alternate history of The Weird vs The Broken. Alternate Earth histories are pretty fun when done well. This definitely was. I want more.
Favorite Lines
"The first rule of etiquette a boy learns when he's about to enter society is that civility is due to all women. No provocation, no matter how unjust and rudely delivered, can validate a an who fails to treat a woman with anything less than utmost courtesy." - Declan
"It's generally advisable to keep the people you attempt to rescue alive." - Declan
"The point of being a professional soldier is so civilians don't have to fight. We do the things we do so people like you can go to sleep safe." - Declan
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