Edge of Hunger
5 Stars

Synopsis: Constantly on edge with the darkness that lives within him, Ian Buchanan only wants to lead a normal life, but then Molly Stratton arrives on his doorstep with a message from Ian's deceased mother and nothing will ever be normal again. Now, Ian and Molly find themselves sharing the same intense and sensual nightmares, and soon discover that they are the prey to an unspeakably evil creature bent on their destruction.

Review:
Intense and exciting from the first pages. The plot is intriguing and the characters compelling.

The world building is comprehensive and absorbing with a unique mythology involving original creatures uncommon in existing paranormal romance. The precise details regarding Ian’s true nature and that of the creature stalking him are revealed as the story progresses and there are enticing hints of an all-encompassing battle to come between the forces of good and evil.

The writing is descriptive and well-paced. However, there is some repetitious word usage, such as variations of “rasp” and “rasping” but this does not distract from the storytelling.

Ian is a perfectly flawed and tortured hero who has a difficult time coming to terms with his identity and abilities. Some readers may find him terse and uncaring, however, in my opinion, this only adds to his appeal and to the strength of his feelings for the heroine. Molly is strong and determined, and never allows Ian’s surliness to deter her in any way. Their chemistry is sizzling in its intensity, and their banter is one of the highlights of the book.

The secondary characters, most of whom form a secret society known as “The Watchmen”, are also appealing and will appear in the own books down the line. The villain is suitably despicable and the scenes told from his perspective serve well to ratchet up the tension and suspense. The final encounter between the hero and villain is one of the most exciting that I’ve read recently.

Overall, this is a thoroughly entertaining read that I found hard to put down and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. ( )

Ian Buchanan is a man conflicted about himself and about his past, his mother often told stories about a family legacy that sounded strange and the pressure to deal with some of his heritage gets to him so he runs away from home, after his mother dies he comes back to his home place, working as a contractor and having casual affairs because he can. He's been having strange dreams recently and when the object of his dreams appears in front of him he's surprised, however she makes him uneasy because she claims she has a message from his mother. He doesn't want to deal with this but he's going to have to.

It's an interesting read, a lot of this book is devoted to back-story and setting up the series, so I'm not going to judge the series yet (I do have book two waiting to be read). The idea of there being several races on earth and that one of them were evil and had to be put away is interesting but I have some issues with the idea of inherited evil. Not a bad story, but I need to read more before passing judgement ( )

Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Apr09

Yippee! Something new in the paranormal genre to read about--by yet another author who’s making the jump from small-press to mainstream publishing. Rhyannon Byrd’s first HQN Paranormal release is “Edge of Hunger” and after reading it, I’m just hungry for more.

Molly is a woman who is used to protecting herself from the scorn and disbelief of the rest of the world. When her latest ‘case’ won’t let her be, she accepts her ghostly task…find the ghost’s oldest son and convince him to listen to her because someone he cares for is in danger. Molly knew the job would be difficult. She also knew it might be dangerous. But she had no idea it would involve sex, blood, erotic dreams, and bite marks!!

Ian is a man who uses his imposing physical appearance to keep himself apart. He uses physical labor and ‘sex-only’ encounters to try and bury the hunger inside him. But lately, that’s not working so well and his dreams are becoming darker and even frighten him. So when his dreams suddenly incorporate the wacko psychic who won’t leave him alone, he’s not sure how to contain the feelings she seems to awaken in him. And when she shows up sporting the marks he put on her while dreaming…well, even Ian can admit this situation might just be a bit more than unusual.

I’ve been a big fan of Byrd’s erotic novels for a couple of years now. I can almost feel my fingers tingling as the passion transfers from the page to my brain. She’s done a great job here of portraying that passion with the growing sense of caring and love that’s a must for mainstream press. The story flew so smoothly I was almost surprised to realize I was nearing the end…and I didn’t want it to end! Another mark of a talented writer...and her characters?

Ah me, I came to care for Molly and her incredible patience, and Ian with his incredible stubbornness! I swear there were times I wanted to jump into the book and smack Ian upside the head! That was my only complaint with the book…Ian and his bullheaded determination to fight the obvious. Of course, without that the book would have been much shorter so I’ll mark that down as a needed plot contrivance; but I hope this doesn’t become a trademark for her heroes now.

The paranormal elements in this story are interesting and different from the normal werewolves, vampires, witches, etc available en masse today. Rhyannon Byrd hooked me with just enough information to make this tale work, yet it’s easy to tell there’s more new data to come. So I’ll be waiting impatiently for the next two scheduled releases in May and June where she continues this series with books about Ian’s sister and brother, respectively. If you’re looking for something new and hot in the paranormal romance genre, try “Edge of Hunger” in April 2009. I’m glad I did. ( )