reviews_and_ramblings | On The Ragged Edge Of The World by Jamie Craig

On the Ragged Edge of the World is the classical shapeshifter romance. Darren is a former shapeshifter hunter who got renegade after falling in love with an Alpha pack leader, Aden... in the novella that introduced this longer story, we read how they met, during an Halloween party where Darren was masked as a very sexy cat... woman! And so you have a little hint that despite being an hunter, Darren looks more like a pretty boy than a lethal killer. Not the easiest thing if you want to be accepted by the wolves of your man. Plus Darren's former work is not exactly top in the list of ideal work.

The story is a good mix of romance and adventure. Basically it's Darren the one who was tamed, and not Aden. Even before they met, Aden was sophisticated and cultured, he is an antique dealer, mostly books, and even if very handsome, and strong, he wears glasses and executive dresses. On the other hand Darren was a troubled teenager who was basically raised to be an hunter; the woman who did so is also the one who betrayed him, and so Darren is not exactly the most trusting man. But despite their difference, Darren and Aden think as once, and they are never in disagreement, above all in front of the pack. What I like of this couple is that it should be easy to create conflict, and angst, making them a trouble relationship, and instead that is never a problem. And as I said, Aden, who should be the lethal one, after all is the more stable and quite, and instead who always gets in trouble is Darren.

There is a bit of play of the small and cute man stereotype (Darren), who can take down the big bad wolf, and I'm sure that Darren plays the submissive role in front of the pack, but deep inside he considers himself at the same level of Aden, even if never once he let it out with Aden. All in all Aden is not a real "big bad wolf", and sincerely I didn't find in him the blood thirst or the forceful behavior that often I found in similar characters. Probably this is the most interesting thing of all the book: the preamble of the story is quite common, and also the plot, but what makes the book different, are its characters, and the more lethal men (or women) are not the one who look like that.

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/RaggedEdgeWorld.html

Series:
1) Trick Of Silver (Calendar Boys - October): http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/418621.html
2) On The Ragged Edge Of The World

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle