Shadow's Edge (A Night Prowler Novel) [Kindle Edition]

Jenna has spent her whole life on the run but was never really told what she was running from. Her father vanished when she was a young child and since her mother's death all she has wanted is to settle down and find somewhere to call home. When the mysterious Leander arrives on scene she knows she should be hiding from him but he promises to answer her questions about her family and the strange abilities that she has had since childhood. Can she trust this stranger or should she have listened to the warnings her parents gave her? Now she is trapped in his world and told that she must obey the rules of the Ikati but can she find a way to be free?

I read a lot of paranormal romance stories and love coming across different shape shifters so I was very keen to read J.T. Geissinger's debut novel. Although I have come across cat shifters before I was very pleased that the author has put her own spin on things and Shadow's Edge is the start of a promising new series. I really loved finding out about the history of the Ikati who have links back to ancient Egypt when cats were worshipped as gods. Also as a Brit I loved the fact that the Ikati compound is hidden away in the New Forest - I'm sure anyone who has ever been there would have no problem with the idea that a secret community is hidden deep in the forest where no one ever ventures. It's nice to read a story set in the UK that doesn't focus on London and instead takes you out into the countryside and I felt the author did a great job of describing the area for us.

I don't want to give too much away about the story so I'm not going to go into detail about the abilities that Jenna, Leander and the other Ikati have but I really enjoyed discovering them and I liked the way that everyone seems to have a unique ability alongside the common ones that most of them share. I loved the way the author describes the way they see and smell their surroundings, I don't think I've come across a novel where that much detail is included before (and I don't mean that in a negative way because it never overtook the story - just complimented it).

Jenna was a great character who had a lot of inner strength and although she was completely out of her depth in the world she was dragged into she wasn't going to sit back and accept everything she was told. I appreciated the fact that she stood up for herself, especially against all the male alphas who were trying to control her. Things do develop fairly quickly between her and Leander but because I was able to feel the connection between them I didn't have a problem with that. Leander was everything you'd expect from an alpha male - he is controlling, dominant, pushy and protective of his family and his pack. However, he also knew when to back off and give Jenna some space and towards the end of the book he showed his true worth by letting her take control of the situation.

Shadow's Edge was a great start to the series and an impressive debut from J.T. Geissinger. I'm looking forward to learning more about the Ikati and I'll be first in the queue to pick up a copy of Edge of Oblivion when it is released later this year. Recommended for paranormal romance fans who are looking for cat shifters with a difference.

If you loved every second of the Twilight saga, then stop reading this review immediately and go click on the `Add to Basket' button. If I know you, please let me know that you have done this, so I can cut all ties with you and publicly ostracise you.

If, however, like me you were living in constant hope that the immensely irritating lead character would die very, very soon in some very, very painful way, then you should probably avoid this book like the last kebab in the shop at closing time.

The book could have made a decent short story, but removing the long-winded and incredibly repetitive descriptions of the main protagonists' incredible beauty and perfection, and the tedious playground-level misunderstandings would have left the author with maybe one chapter's worth of material where anything actually happens.

There seems to be a formula to these types of books nowadays. Take one lonely girl / woman with amazing latent powers, who has no inkling of how amazingly beautiful she really is. Throw in an incredibly attractive boy / man with superpowers of some description, and then have the girl / woman simper along through the whole book not actually doing anything, but constantly having to be rescued by the aforementioned Captain Awesome.

There should probably be some other amazing boy / man who also likes the girl / woman, which will allow the writer to ramp up the `love triangle' angle.
Make sure that the girl / woman is appropriately laden with angst and guilt and confusion and a constant `he loves me, he loves me not' series of (really pathetic and annoying) misunderstandings so that neither party knows the other is totally in love with them.

Gradually let the girl / woman start to exhibit some of her latent powers, to everybody's great amazement. Near the end of the story, make sure she does something amazing so everyone can stand around and go, "Holy crispy crap! Did you see that? She must be... `The One'!"

Have all the misunderstandings cleared up in the last few pages so they can go off and live happily ever after - or until the sequel, when more annoying stuff happens.

Rest assured, I will be far more wary of new books recommended to me by Amazon. I've been caught out far too often lately.

Her writing is poetic, sharp, erotic, and so very emotive.
It is a shifter novel, with an interesting and well thought out history, dating back to ancient Egyptians and of course, with Egyptians, it is based around cats - black panthers, but is actually very different to Rachel Vincent's 'Stray' novels or Kelly Armstrong's novels. There is an originality to a familiar theme that is equally enjoyable to those like myself, who avidly read this genre.
The female protagonist Jenna, in my opinion is extremely likeable and one can only empathise with her loneliness and difficult life. Raised initially by her mother and father, but constantly on the move, she discovers after the disappearance of her devoted father, that she cannot trust anyone. This isolated life is emphasised by her mother's advice of when she feels threatened to run away.
However, when she first encounters Leander she does not run, but decides instead to face him head on. The story unfolds with Jenna finally being given the answers she desires, and also solving the puzzle of her 'otherness'. Geissinger's writing is thoroughly enjoyable, capturing emotions so well. I was so moved by Jenna's memories of her father and the deep loss she feels. Jenna's response to Leander and the pack she becomes part of is understandable too; her fear of becoming involved, of opening up and letting anyone close, pitted against her attraction to the man who is tied so closely to her, is portrayed so well within Geissingers writing. Her descriptions have such a sensual depth to them, employing sight and scent, taste and tactile experiences beautifully. It is of course an adult novel, however although her writing is erotic, it is not erotica, it fits with the characters and does not actually rule the novel, the plot and characters definitely rule here and I look forward getting to know them better and to reading the sequel.