Product Description
It takes a strong woman to keep the peace in a city of endless night. . . .
Deep beneath Underground, a cunning bid for power and revenge has begun—one that threatens to make Atlanta the new battleground in the ultimate confrontation between good and evil. The powers of hellish Charbydon have the upper hand after plunging the city into primordial night. And under the cover of darkness, a serial killer targets the most powerful Elysians in the city, the angelic Adonai. For Detective Charlie Madigan and her siren partner Hank, tracking deadly predators is all in a day’s work . . . but this case will test the limits of their strength and friendship as it draws them into a deadly world of power plays, ancient myths, explosive secrets, and a race against time that risks all that Charlie holds dear.
Jennifer Sicurella @ 6:04 am
The Darkest Edge of Dawn continues soon after The Better Part of Darkness. Atlanta is still experiencing the 24 hour darkness and officials have begun to worry what will happen to the city if it continues much longer.
Adonai are being killed. When the killer has trouble accessing more, they focus on killing high-level mages. These are not just random murders and it’s up to Charlie and Hank to kind the killer before the Druid King attempts to exact his own vengeance.
Charlie continues to be one of my favorite urban fantasy heroines. She’s juggling work and single motherhood and she’s lonely for love. The revenant inhabiting her ex-husband’s body isn’t a option, so where’s a girl to turn? There’s a lot of sexual tension brewing between Charlie and Hank, her siren partner. And it looks like Hank’s single again since Zara couldn’t handle his being stuck with the permanent voice mod.
The biggest question in The Darkest Edge of Dawn is what is Charlie turning into? The repercussions of saving her daughter’s life in the last book go well beyond the darkness. Her very DNA appears to be changing and with it, she’s gaining extraordinary powers. Seeing her attempt to learn to wield those powers is very interesting, as is the hypothesizing about what’s happening. Charlie isn’t the only one changing though. Emma’s growing up and it’s bringing about a lot of unexpected changes. And Bryn’s addiction to ash is woven into the story nicely, bring a lot of change about for her as well.
The Darkest Edge of Dawn is very good. I didn’t love it quite as much as I loved The Better Part of Darkness, but that would have been a very difficult feat seeing that I loved the first one immensely. My usual complaint of wanting more action in a book is not applicable here. There may actually be too much action in this book. Or maybe I just love Charlie’s take-no-crap attitude so much that I wish there had been more talking and thinking on her part and a little less kicking, punching and mystery solving. Either way, The Darkest Edge of Dawn is a major thrill ride with a heroine you can’t help but love.
Abigail @ 7:28 am
Review courtesy of [...]
What do you do when your first book is one of the most highly praised urban fantasy debuts of the year? If you’re Kelly Gay, you follow up The Better Part of Darkness with THE DARKEST EDGE OF DAWN and force reviewers everywhere to try and find a better way to describe amazing.
The Better Part of Darkness was one of my favorite reads last year as it introduced me to a very unique paranormal world, or should I say three worlds, with a Greek mythology twist that included my favorite male character of the year: a male siren cop named Hank. In THE DARKEST EDGE OF DAWN, Kelly more fully explores the mystery surrounding Charlie’s ongoing transformation, the secret history of both Elysian and Charbydon, even more repercussions from the off-world drug Ash, not to mention the permanent darkness that now encompasses all of Atlanta.
My only complaints with THE DARKEST EDGE OF DAWN are almost exactly the same as my complaints with The Better Part of Darkness: pacing problems and not enough Hank. This time, I found the first quarter of the book to be a bit sluggish in terms of getting the story going and a little Hank-lite, but once the main plot kicked in and Hank started looking at Charlie in a very confusing way, THE DARKEST EDGE OF DAWN was, for lack of a better word, amazing!
The possibility of a relationship between Charlie and her partner Hank was only barely hinted at in the previous book. I was hoping for something significantly more than hints in THE DARKEST EDGE OF DAWN and Kelly delivered. I don’t want to give anything away, but Hank doesn’t know the meaning of the word subtle and there are several scenes between him and Charlie that are far from professional.
Strong characters, a believable world, and solid romantic tension. That’s what I want in an urban fantasy and that’s what Kelly continues to deliver in her gritty, creative, and infinitely readable Charlie Madigan series. The Better Part of Darkness was excellent and THE DARKEST EDGE OF DAWN is even better. I can’t imagine the goodness in store with the next book in this series.
Sexual Content: References to sex. References to homosexuality. A scene of semi graphic sensuality.
BookNerd Extraordinaire @ 9:29 am
A superb follow up to Kelly Gay’s first book, Better Part of Darkness (see my review here ), The Darkest Edge of Dawn doesn’t let the fans of the first book down.
Charlie Madigan and her siren partner, Hank are back and better than ever. Spicier, deadlier and toss in some necromancy, and you have the recipe for a damn good read. All the characters and story lines of the first book are brought over to the follow up with much more complex and pressing issues and intensity. Charlie is dealing with more emotionally and physically as her body is in a able with her mixed dna, emotions with her daughter, her ex, the spirit living in his body, and so much more. I definitely recommend this series to fans of Dark Urban Fantasy. One big recommendation? Read the first two in a row. Darkest Edge of Dawn is definitely not a stand alone book. I read the first one and it took me a bit to catch up and remember some of the details of The Better Part of Darkness.
The Charlie Madigan series is a MUST read for Dark Urban Fantasy Fans.
Nicola Mattos @ 9:38 am
4.5 Stars
The Darkest Edge of Dawn steams with a ferocious intensity as Kelly Gay outdoes herself in this remarkable sequel to The Better Part of Darkness. She has pulled out all the stops this time, capably molding her world with a sense of certainty that can only come from fully realizing the hurdle of a first novel and deviously plotting a strategy to surpass it.
Gay has infused Dawn with more desire, conflict, history and whetted our appetites for more. Definitely more. And she has done it with a steady hand, and confidant plot building. Tasty morsels are rampant in this worthy sequel. Get ready to bunker down and lick your lips as you start flipping each and every delicious page.
When we last left off with Charlie Madigan, she had a few startling revelations to deal with…her half Charbydon and half Elysian DNA, the ushering in of the darkness over Atlanta, the destruction of the ash lab and Mynogan. Emma’s rescue, and the formation of a sub unit of the ITF on the mysterious fifth floor.
This time in The Darkest Edge of Dawn, two months have elapsed. Charlie and Hank are up against a group determined to wrest away the Charbydon darkness that was cast over Atlanta, and instead, bring Elysian light to its skies. If it were a simple spell casting, then they’d have an easy time of it. But the foes they face and the entity they plan to raise from the dead will force Charlie to plumb the depths of her new power and reveal her genetic legacy to her enemies.
It has now turned into a full-scale tug of war over the elements and powers as the two rival forces battle it out. Hank and Charlie have to get to the bottom of the latest string of Adonai deaths and they only have a week to do it or war will break out between Pendaran, The Druid King and Grigori Tennin. Will darkness or light reign over the skies of Atlanta? Adonai bodies are piling up-fast and that biting suspense keeps the pages turning.
Gay has allowed us to peer further into the looking glass of her creation-the elusive history of both Charbydon and Elysian races…their intriguing history, the myths of the Old Lore and the followers of a sect determined to bring back the old ways. The stunning truth of the origin of all three races is revealed.
The pull between Hank and Charlie’s can only be described as gravitational force that has gone off the charts…and Gay has written a scene between the two of them that had my jaw dropping and my pulse racing. I had to pick my jaw off the floor! That teaser alone is definitely worth five stars in my book. Enough to have me making cartoon dust trails to the bookstore when #3 hits the shelves!
The best part about Dawn is the realization that Charlie is much more than half Charbydon and Elysian. With her ancestry straddling both races, and her genes manipulated to some unknown end, it appears that Carreg and Mynogan had more in mind when they brought her back to life. Could they have been intent on resurrecting an entity or deity to be reckoned with? Perhaps. To what purpose? One wonders.
Gay has rich content in which to weave #3 and with the myths of the Old Lore now firmly in place, Gay has hinted at a few possible avenues to take, and has further laid the foundation for her next book. I anticipate that it will be even more exciting and riveting than the previous two-especially with the cliffhanger we’ve been handed with Hank and Charlie. Phew! Scorching!
A Fiendishly Bookish Review (and one grumpy cat)
Brenda Casto @ 9:52 am
This book was my first foray into urban fiction and I must say that I am totally hooked! With kick butt action this is one of those stories that you read so quickly that your finished long before you want to be.
I didn’t read the first book in this series and it took me a bit to figure out backgrounds of the characters but after a few chapters I was given enough info to follow this story easily.
I loved the protagonist in this story, Charlie is a very strong character but has vulnerabilities just like the rest of us, she is a single mom with ex-hubby issues that makes her character very easy to relate to, and who knows about the relationship between her and Hank, heck he’s funny and sexy with an unpredictable edginess, whats not to love?
I loved when the hell hound attacked Hank early in the book and then turns on Charlie, but instead of attacking her it actually starts licking and drooling all over her because it smelled her hell hound , Brimstone on her and then making sure the hell hound was returned to Charbydon instead of being destroyed showed Charlie’s softer side.
A book with hell hounds, sirens, nymphs, and necromancers raising the dead all I can say is I loved it, and for anyone who likes edgy, fast paced,urban fantasies with unstoppable action pick up this book you won’t regret it!
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher for review but in no way does that alter my opinion of this book!