The Edge of the Blade

November 28, 2016
In Kennedy’s second Uncharted Realms fantasy romance (after The Pages of the Mind), warrior Jepp struggles with her new diplomatic assignment to patriarchal Dasnaria while fighting her attraction to powerful Dasnarian general Kral. He insists that their recent one-night stand gives him rights over her; Jepp vehemently disagrees. As they battle through desperate encounters with vicious magical creatures, however, bantering and sexual play gradually bring Jepp and Kral closer emotionally. Kral is confined by an unconsummated royal marriage, and Jepp fears that their cultural conflicts mean they have no future together. After an exceedingly long trip to Dasnaria, the two are separated and Jepp’s mission takes center stage. Jepp connects with Dasnarian women, both servants and royalty, who help her out, but she needs to be reunited with Kral to succeed against overwhelming odds and new challenges. Kral is a boring avatar of his oppressively sexist culture, and his eventual changes of heart are unconvincing; Jepp is much more interesting and well-developed. Satisfying quantities of action spur the plot forward, creating new conflicts for future volumes.

December 1, 2016
Kennedy (Pages of the Mind, 2016) continues the Uncharted Realms series with Jepp, a member of the queen's guard more comfortable on a mission than in society, being named as an ambassador. Luckily, Jepp has Prince Kral, once her lover, to help her along. Jepp's view of how women are to behave clashes with the norms of the Dasnaria hierarchy. She chafes under Dasnarian restrictions until she is summarily banished from court. She just wants to sleep with whomever she wants, whenever she wants. And she wants Kralagain. That's not too much to ask, is it? Despite her ejection and reluctance to embrace her new role, Jepp ultimately takes to it in her own way, earning respect from the royal family. Fantasy adventure, snarky dialogue, and hot sex help Jepp find her way back to her beloved queen for her next assignment. Readers new to Kennedy's series will do well to read it from the beginning, though this book can be enjoyed as a stand-alone.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)