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Balanced On The Blade's Edge (2014)

by Lindsay Buroker(Favorite Author)

4.03 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Smashwords Edition

series

Dragon Blood

review 1: Lindsay Buroker is an expert in writing charming heroes and heroines, witty and funny dialogue and break-neck adventure. Balanced on the Blade's Edge is a perfect example. The world building and character depth here is much lighter compared to The Emperor's Edge series but it has the same type of fast action and suspense. It overrides one's sensibilities to keep turning the pages and find out what happens next. A light escapist fast, fun read.If you are a fan of Buroker, I highly recommend this!
review 2: This author's work never disappoints me. This is just another one of her great stories set in an interesting world with realistic characters and an engaging plot. I've been happily following the adventures of the characters in her Emperor's Edge series, and I'... morem just as happy to meet the new ones in BoTBE. The new admiral, Ridge Zirkander is now one of my favorite male characters in any of Ms. Buroker's books. In the beginning, he reminded me of Maverick in the Top Gun movie, but he gains dimension as the story goes along. He's charming and attractive, and he's not afraid to do the right thing even if it spells trouble for his career. That's how he ends up getting relegated to the Ice Mountains, charged with the task of overseeing a mine full of prisoners. The MC, Sardelle, is a fiesty lady who is the lone survivor of an attack on her city (now the Ice Mountain region) which left her in a type of hibernation state for three hundred years. She wakes up in the mine to find that the town she grew up in was turned into a prison and that this modern world despises magic and anyone who practices it. This is bad news for her as she just happens to be a mage. Her dear friend, Jaxi, who died at an adolescent age, but whose essence was contained in a sword, is the only one who knows of Sardelle's magical powers. She, or the sword that contains her, is buried in the rubble of the fatal attack. Sardelle and Jaxi are bonded, which allows them to communicate telepathically. Jaxi is a great character. Ms. Buroker did a wonderful job of imbuing a character, who cannot actually physically do anything, with so much (snarky!) personality! Sardelle pretends to be one of the prisoners, which is the only way to explain her sudden presence there. Despite her best efforts, her magical tricks to create a (false) record of her history and crime raise suspicion in Ridge's eyes. But there is an instant attraction between Sardelle and Ridge that takes precedence. Their romance blossoms quickly, but that is true for countless romances, and is not unheard of in real life. I've come to expect it in the romance genre, and sometimes the story wouldn't work if the romance took a little more time to grow and develop. Unlike some other reviewers, for me, that did not take away from the story at all. Though when I think of Ms. Buroker, I think of steampunk, this book was marketed as a romance so I expected some romance. And I got some! Mission accomplished, I say. Despite the strong connection Sardelle and Ridge have, Sardelle cannot be sure that he wouldn't carry out his professional duty if he knew what she truly was. And despite the horrible consequences that loom for her if her powers are discovered, more than once she uses them to save the lives of people who would persecute her. When her tricks raise too much suspicion for some of Ridge's cohorts to ignore, she knows she needs to free Jaxi and leave this place and Ridge, as heartbreaking as it will be, and it could very well mean she will never see him again. Though the romantic aspects of this book are a small departure from Ms. Buroker's usual fare, the writing is as enjoyable and intelligent as everything else I've read of hers, though I have yet to be fortunate enough to read them all. The pace was great, and as ever, she sprinkles humor into the action and serious danger. Fans of her entertaining, intelligent writing style will love this book! less

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