Review: The Edge of the Blade by Jeffe Kennedy

The Edge of the Blade
Author: Jeffe Kennedy
Reviewers: Gikany and Una
Rating: B

What We’re Talking About:

Since meeting Jepp in The Twelve Kingdoms series, Gikany and Una have been eager to experience her happily ever after.  After The Pages of the Mind, we were intrigued to see how Jepp would handle going from bodyguard and warrior, to spy and diplomat.  Overall we liked her story even though it was more of a cerebral than an emotional journey.

Gikany and Una love this world, especially as the series has expanded to include other kingdoms and cultures.  Although we were given a glimpse of the Dasanarian culture in previous books, it is nothing like being immersed in it.  Considering the heavily male dominated culture, Jepp is completely and utterly the wrong choice for a diplomat.  Despite being an excessively skilled and talented scout and soldier, she is not subtle.  However, Ursula chose her for a reason (most likely guided by her Dasanarian consort, Harlan) and had quite possibly planned to use her as a backup if Daphne failed.  Jepp is a clever woman, and is able to complete her mission, even though it does not go as she anticipated.  As the novel closed, we were surprised by the turn of events are eager to see what happens next.

We did have trouble connecting with Kral, Jepp’s lover.  He is most definitely a product of his upbringing and culture.  Although, if his brother Harlan could change, we had hope he could as well.  Even though Ms. Kennedy redeems him by the end, we never felt the emotional connection between Jepp and Kral.  Although the emotional connection wasn’t there for us, seeing the cultural differences and watching a man realize the glaring flaws of his culture was gripping.  Despite loving Jepp because she was so different from the women of his culture, Kral still seemed to (until the VERY end) want to place her into a slot of his world.  This is something that would have made Jepp utterly miserable.

Although The Edge of the Blade started a tad slowly, it was a rocking roller coaster by the end.  The overall story, and the cultural and political storylines were gripping even if the emotional connection for the reader between Jepp and Kral was muted.  We continue to love this series and look forward to the next book.

Our Rating:  B, Liked It

About the Book:

A HAWK’S PLEDGE 

“The Twelve Kingdoms rest uneasy under their new High Queen, reeling from civil war and unchecked magics. Few remember that other powers once tested their borders until a troop of foreign warriors emerges with a challenge . . .” 

Jepp has been the heart of the queen s elite guard, her Hawks, since long before war split her homeland. But the ease and grace that come to her naturally in fighting leathers disappears when battles turn to politics. When a scouting party arrives from far-away Dasnaria, bearing veiled threats and subtle bluffs, Jepp is happy to let her queen puzzle them out while she samples the pleasures of their prince s bed. 

But the cultural norms allow that a Dasnarian woman may be wife or bed-slave, never her own leader and Jepp s light use of Prince Kral has sparked a diplomatic crisis. Banished from court, she soon becomes the only envoy to Kral s strange and dangerous country, with little to rely on but her wits, her knives and the smolder of anger and attraction that burns between her and him . . .

Release Date: December 27, 2016
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Company
Series: The Uncharted Realms #2 (The Twelve Kingdoms #5)
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Format(s): Paperback (400 pages), e-book
Book Source: Publisher/NetGalley

Purchase Info:
Amazon

Reviews in the Series:
The Mark of the Tala by Jeffe Kennedy (The Twelve Kingdoms #1)
The Tears of the Rose by Jeffe Kennedy (The Twelve Kingdoms #2)
The Talon of the Hawk by Jeffe Kennedy (The Twelve Kingdoms #3)
“Heart’s Blood” by Jeffe Kennedy (Dark Secrets Anthology) (Twelve Kingdoms world)
“The Crown of the Queen” (The Twelve Kingdoms #3.5)
The Pages of the Mind by Jeffe Kennedy (The Twelve Kingdoms #4/Uncharted Realms #1)