Edge of the Falls by Nazarea AndrewsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Summary from GoodReads
In a world torn apart by science and war, an outcast finds love with a beast.
Sabah has lived outside the Commission’s control her entire life. But as she approaches the age of Majority, her guardian pushes her to make a choice: life in the wild with a boy she barely knows, or a place in the nearby City with Berg, the boy she’s known since childhood.
But when Arjun, a monster created by scientists, saves her life, everything Sabah knows begins to change. Hidden away from her life and family, Sabah finds herself trusting the beast when he tells her secrets and more—falling in love with a creature she’s spent a lifetime fearing.
But in a world where control is everything, and life is something you fight for—can a love that defies society survive?
BUY ON AMAZON (click the cover)
REVIEW
When I first discovered that this author had written a sci-fi retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" I didn't bother with the summary! I dove straight into the story.
Here's what I discovered. After a nuclear destruction, the world has changed so drastically in way which reminded me the "Under the Never Sky" series. Sabah and Berg live inside the mansion of the Mistress, a woman with secrets who rules over their lives as also the lives of other smaller children.
Their world is also plagued by ban-wolves, fire lizards and creatures which seem to look like dragons.
When Sabah finds out that one of the ban-wolves, Arjun, is more than the beast the rulers, the Commission, believe, she will become torn between her life and the possibilities od being free.
Nazarea Andrews creates a dangerous, yet beautiful world with pieces of information being revealed over the story. We see everything from Sabah's point of view which also was the main reason I didn't gave my ultimate 5 stars. Sabah has many responsibilities and always feels torn between her duties and her feelings. Many times she questions herself to the point of being tiring as a character.
She quickly becomes a bargaining way for the wolves but her desicions especially towards the end of the book were too drastic for my liking. Of course she made me happy as a reader in the end.
I really liked Arjun. He is the definition of a "Beast" who has a gentle heart, is caring for his pack and for Sabah to the point of pushing her away for her own good. The story doesn't offers much from his point of view and I would love to 'hear' his voice in the next books.
There are more to tell, I am sure. For Nazarea Andrews, I don't believe it will be something she won't overcome. I only hope that she will make Sabah stronger in the sequel both as a girl and as a character.
About the author:
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Four months have passed
since the shadow stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since
his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded
and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying
body through the rift, and into Black London.In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games—an extravagant international competition of magic, meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries—a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.
But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again—meaning that another London must fall
