Unlike most urban fantasy novels where there is one world or multiple world that you have to rip through or fall into, Illona Andrews sees the Edge. A wide boundary where halflings live. These are the people who are not just Broken (everyday people) and not just Weird (fully magical), but a bastardized mix of the two and Rose is the most powerful of them all. That has made her very desirable as a brood mare to the nobels of the Weird. All Rose wants is to keep her young brothers safe and clothed and put food on the table. When yet another Weird nobel comes seeking her hand in marriage she gives him three challenges to complete before she will go off beyond the edge with him.

But, darker things are stirring and people are dying. Declan has not come to the edge to seek a bride but to kill Casshorn and stop the black beasts from destroying the Edge and then crossing over to the Weird. Rose must learn to trust someone if she hopes to save her family.

This book gives all it promises and more. While reading it feels like a cross between your favorite fantasy novels like Hitchhikers Guide, movies like the Princess Bride, and Labyrinth all rolled into one, it sets itself out as different, almost a gateway to pure fantasy. The book jacket is no where indicative of how good this book is. The publisher should rethink the cover, but you should not rethinking picking up this title and reading it cover to cover.