Bayou Moon–Ilona Andrews

Book:  Bayou Moon (Book 2: The Edge)
Author: Ilona Andrews
Publisher: Ace Fantasy
447 pages
My Rating:



Cerise Mar lives with her family in an area of The Edge called The Mire. The family owns a lot of land but doesn’t have any money to their name. They also have an ongoing feud with a rival family, The Sheeriles. When Cerise’s mother and father are kidnapped and the Sheeriles family takes over a chunk of the Mars land, Cerise is thrust into the unenviable position of head of the family. She must figure out how to find and get her parents back from whoever kidnapped them, and also take her family’s land back from the Sheeriles. William, a soldier from The Weird who is a changeling enters the picture and decides to help Cerise on her quest to find her parents and get revenge on whomever kidnapped them. His reasons for helping Cerise are not entirely what they seem. A tangled web of adventure and cunning enemies ensues and leaves the entire Mars clan and William in danger.

A few months ago I reviewed On the Edge, Book 1 of the The Edge series. In it I said I thought it was ok, but did not live up to the awesome Kate Daniels series also written by Ilona Andrews. Well, hold on to your seats because Bayou Moon was SO much better! I kind of knew it was going to be as soon as I realized that William was one of the main characters in the book because he was by far my favorite from On the Edge. There was a roughness and sense of honesty about him that made him a very sympathetic character in the first book. I was not let down in this book at all. William brought all his awesomeness to the table, and Cerise is just as tough as Kate Daniels. Between the two of them they made this book an extremely fun read.

Cerise is such a no-nonsense character. She is tough as nails and has a mouth to match. She’s a very strong woman which I really enjoy in books. I don’t think there is enough of them in novels (although I do recognize the need for all kinds of characters in fiction). She and William exchange some witty banter and Cerise shows that she’s no slouch in fights. She is smart, tenacious, and a good leader for her family as well. What’s not to like?!

The plot of Bayou Moon was also more engaging than the first book. There was much more action and less fairytale romance. Both Cerise and William are shaped by their pasts and both are less than perfect. I like flawed characters because they are usually inevitably more likable. There is also a very insidious antagonist named Spider who kept me turning the pages. Spider and William have a storied history so the entire book builds up the suspense and climax fairly well.  There is more fighting, more witty banter, and good depth to the characters. All of these things combined to form a really fun and engaging read. The fun and fast pace was exactly what I needed! It was definitely worth reading On the Edge just to get to Bayou Moon, and I’m looking forward to the next installment of the series.




*Notice of Disclosure: I received this book for review from Penguin Books.


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