Review: The Edge by Melissa A. Craven

THE EDGE
Author: Melissa A. Craven
Series: The Awakening (prequel)
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal
Release Date: September 19th 2015

Book Length: 209 pages
Publisher: Midnight Hour Studio (Thanks Melissa! <3)
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Alienated by everything that sets him apart, Aidan McBrien suffers in silence.

He is the most powerful Immortal of his generation, but he chooses to live behind a mask to protect himself, even from those he loves. They can never know how much he struggles just to get through each day, overwhelmed by the pain and loss of everyone around him. As he fights a constant battle to control the gifts that threaten to push him over the edge, he dreads the day his world will look to him to fulfill a prophecy that he doesn’t even believe in.

As Aidan’s equal, Allie Carmichael endures the same isolation, but in complete ignorance of her true nature. When she meets Gavin, Allie sees a tiny glimmer of the life she wants to live, and the person she wants to be, but her instincts tell her it will never work.

Allie and Aidan have led parallel lives on opposite ends of the earth, but their paths are about to converge. With others making decisions for them, will they ever truly understand the immeasurable power they posses, or the prophecy that might not be about Aidan after all?

Review

After the explosive start to Emerge: The Awakening, I was left with so many questions but The Edge brings answers to those nagging theories I had and so much more. Along with another gorgeous cover, being reunited with one awesome power duo and of course a healthy dose of Craven’s sneaky revelations that manage to turn the whole book on it’s side- this was one hell of a ride!

Usually prequels provide some useful insight to the past of certain characters or events and most of the time it’s perfectly fine to carry on with the series without having read the prequel. This is definitely not the case with The Edge and thank goodness for that, Craven answers questions and brings with it a whole new mini storyline alongside Aiden’s POV. The Edge is essential to the series, not only does it provide backstories for characters and more information on the future plot but it will also allow readers to slip seamlessly into Emerge (Book 1) with ease an without question. Well, not many.

Aiden is my favourite character; so I was thrilled to read from his POV, I’m totally Team Aiden when it comes to the Aiden & Allie drama and The Edge has only enhanced my obsession love for him. I loved getting to know Aiden before Allie, to witness what he went through being an all powerful Immortal and being able to see just how lonely and isolated he was from his friends and family. Aiden’s character development throughout the book was incredible, he continues to struggle as he did in Emerge but he’s truly a fighter. His strength, ambition and love for his friends and family was heart-warming, I loved seeing this new side to him.

I was pleasantly surprised to have some POV scenes from Allie near the end of the book. I did start to miss her so it was great to go back even further than was originally seen in Emerge. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it’s a must-read for fans of the series and I’m definitely going to be paying another visit to Emerge with my new founded knowledge.

Overall Melissa has produced another stunning book that highlights the values of family, friendship and hope. It’s also proved how much Aiden and Allie are perfect for each other, so they better get their acts together in Book Two because after The Edge, I’m more than ready for it!