Ledge (The Glacian Trilogy #1)
Summary:
After being randomly selected as a human sacrifice, instead of death, Dawsyn finds herself on a quest to save her people from their icy prison...
In a place known as the Ledge, a civilization is trapped by a vast chasm and sheer mountain face. There is no way for anyone to escape the frozen wasteland without befalling a deathly drop. They know nothing of the outside world except that it is where the Glacians reside – mystical and vicious winged creatures who bring meagre rations in exchange for a periodic human sacrifice.
Dawsyn, ax wielder and only remaining member of her family, has so far avoided the annual culling, but her luck has run out. She is chosen and ripped from her icy home, the only world she knows. No one knows what will happen to her on the other side, least of all Dawsyn. Murdered? Enslaved? Worse
Fortunately, a half-Glacian called Ryon offers to help them both escape, but how can she trust one of the very creatures that plagued her life? Dawsyn is a survivor, and she is not afraid to cut anyone down to live.
With a slow-burning romance, high stakes and even higher rewards, this richly created new fantasy series by popular TikToker Stacey McEwan will keep you gripped to the very end. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
For those who have not experienced McEwan’s Instagram account and are big young adult readers, I highly recommend it for the laughs. Part of that humor is both the love, and sometimes frustrations, with stereotypes associated with the genre - and her book does fulfill many of those tropes. I cannot blame her for it, but I would say there are elements that did not work for me in “Ledge”. For one, the love interest Ryon comes across as both an insta-love and a slow burn which was an odd duality for a book. It’s like once they came around to it, the emotions were outsized for the previous experiences. I am not sure if that was a mood I was in while I was reading, but Ryon did not have much appeal to me and I didn’t feel I connected with him all that well.
Despite Ryon’s drawbacks I did love Dawsyn. She’s badass and determined to make waves. I think there is a lot of potential across the trilogy and am willing to forgive shortcomings of “Ledge” do continue with the series. For example, there were pacing elements for me that didn’t quite work for me. The high-action scenes seemed to go too quickly (particularly at the end) whereas some of the escape felt long. Looking forward to the next one and seeing McEwan’s growth as an author!
Warning: Contains repeated violence including attempted sexual assault.
Rating: 3 stars!
Who should read it? Fans of the genre who are willing to forgive a few shortcomings for a solid debut novel.
Want to read the whole series?
Chasm (The Glacian Trilogy #2)
Valley (The Glacian Trilogy #3)