Edged Blade

You know when something is painful to watch, but you do it anyway and you know it's needed, but you HURT for the person all the same. That's pretty much how I felt at the beginning of this book. The events in book 2 shattered Kit and it was a slow, heartbreaking journey in book 3 as she put herself back together and learned to trust again. Now she's ready to move forward, but those around her are trying SO HARD not to hurt her it's almost holding her back.

*sniffles a little at Damon's fears and his obvious love for his mate*

I LOVED that Kit was the one to push. Where book 3 had her friends pushing her to draw her back into the world, she's the one putting herself out there now. She's the one asking for more. She's the one ready to move forward. That she was able to interact with vampires without going into a panic attack said a lot about how far she's come.

As painful as what was done to her was, I'm thoroughly enjoying watching her pick up the pieces and see that she's far stronger than she ever thought she was.

As for the case she dives into in this book, the answers Kit finds only pose more questions. There's a lot of world out there and plenty of terrible people (human and non-human alike) are skulking about waiting to pounce.

I'm seriously tempted to go back to the beginning and have my heart ripped out all over again (not literally!) because these books make me feel SO MANY THINGS. *slow thumbs up*

Full review near the end of January...

4.5 very strong stars. Now this is UF the way it's meant to be written, and EDGED BLADE is the best book of the ‘Colbana Files’ series so far. Great wordbuilding, nonhuman characters that are not stock stereotypes, and a really good storyline.

Kit is finally getting back on track with her life and her romance with Damon, alpha of the cat clan, after her horrific captivity and torture. Her good friend, the warrior witch Justin, has pulled her into his current case. He is investigating the disappearance of stray nonhumans, and needs Kit’s particular skill set to help in his search.

The story kept my full attention from beginning to the (unfortunate) cliffhanger ending. Must have the next book now! The twist at the end, and finding out the secret of ‘Blackstone’ has me dying for the next book. I also really enjoyed the unique take J. C. Daniels has on shifters, vamps, and witches. I'm now looking at all three types of nonhumans in a new light. It's like a breath of fresh air in a set-in-its-way UF genre.

This is a UF series I'm really enjoying, and is getting better by the book...

Edged Blade: Colbana Files, J.C. Daniels Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi, Romance

I love this series, but felt the last book didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Kit was still healing and keeping Damon at arms length, and I missed their connection, even though I understood why she was like this. She’d gone through an incredibly traumatic time, and its not something to snap out of quickly – for some people they'd never get past it but Kit has a serious underlying strength, and I was convinced she would recover – or at least find herself anew. Things are looking up now for her and Damon, they’ve got closer though he’s still holding himself back, treating her cautiously but its reached the point where she’s ready for more – she just needs to convince him she’s ready, that she won’t break. Hurrah – I so love them as a couple. Justin – he’s a good friend to her, former lover and still has feelings so it’s understandable that he’s not best buds with Damon. He’s got a job on and needs Kit’s help. They team up and once again are plunged into danger, with the job covering not just witches disappearing, but others right across the supernatural types. Its a serious problem, but getting information from the different groups is hard, they're not known for sharing info. They need to this time though, and as the bodies start to stack up, the dangers grow closer and there are some real surprises in store. Once again Kit is in the position of working for and with Supernaturals, while not belonging to any particular group. Damon had made her part of the cat clan but she’s not a cat, so can’t take part in everything. There’s an old lover of Damon’s too on the scene, she left the pack after differences with the old Alpha and now Damon is back she makes it clear she’s keen to get close to him again, and sneers at Kit reminding her she isn’t a cat and thus a true part of the clan. I love that kind of conflict and it gave a solid and interesting slant to the story.
Once again magic plays a strong part, with secrets coming out slowly, but as more is revealed its clear the problem is huge, and has been going on far longer than was first thought. To me Kit’s the perfect person to get involved, she’s worked with and for most of the different supernatural groups, and has a measure of trust from them so is able to obtain info they wouldn’t necessarily share with a different group. There’s more too for us as readers to learn about this world. Kit’s is still without her magic that connected her to her sword and to other weapons, where they “sang” to her and responded to her on an internal level, after the horrific experiences with vampire Jude, but it seems to me that maybe – just maybe – time may help heal that too. I hope so because its an integral part of who she is and adds to her special qualities. Its clear at the end of this book that thought the initial problem is resolved, its a part of something far wider and greater than expected, and its going to continue in future books, bringing in some very important and unexpected characters. I loved this one – a real five star read and one for the keepers file. Stars: Five, a gripping read, solid story and it was great to be back with Kit, Damon and Co. I just wish it wasn’t so long between books....
ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers