Review: an engaging read, short but with depth, including a dark and delish hero
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 9, 2012
I'm unfamiliar with this author, and I was really surprised at the depth she put into this short story. Right from the beginning, I could see how well-put together this story is, lots of descriptive detail, dynamic character and easy dialogue. I love short stories, and it's not that easy to take short fiction and pack it with substance and intrigue. This story is short but layered; there's some darkness to it, some magic and fantasy, and some seduction and scheming.The story is told in first-person from the POV of Sir Dardanus, but what makes that unique for me is that he's really an anti-hero, "a bastard and ne'er-do-well, a murderer and a seducer of women." Just what won't this man do in order to get what he desires? Even at the end, I was still a bit uncertain about what he'd actually do, and with the way the author left the final page, I have to wonder how or if this romance will continue. I choose to see hope and promise there, mixed with the darkness.This isn't a sweet, happy romance, Dardanus and his intentions a little too dark and moody for that. Also, I wouldn't say that this story is overly erotic (and I do think it needed to be more erotic in that detail), but certain aspects of the story do hold some sex appeal for me: the domination and surrender, the dark and complex hero, even the slightly rough sex scene and the tension behind it. Combined with the author's skill, all of those things produce an engaging short read and a hero who knows how to leave his mark. I want more of him.The Knife's Edge ends at location 366; the rest of the download is excerpts fromThe Fever and the FuryandPoisoned Kisses: Poisoned Kisses\Midnight Medusa (Harlequin Nocturne).