Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

June 9th, 2016 Kimberly Review 60 Comments

9th Jun
Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews
Bayou Moon
by Ilona Andrews
Series: The Edge #2
Narrator: Renée Raudman
Length: 15 hours and 32 minutes
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Heat Level: One FlameOne FlameOne Flame
Narration: 5 cups

The Edge lies between worlds, on the border between the Broken, where people shop at Walmart and magic is a fairytale–and the Weird, where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny…

Cerise Mar and her unruly clan are cash poor but land rich, claiming a large swathe of the Mire, the Edge swamplands between the state of Louisiana and the Weird. When her parents vanish, her clan’s long-time rivals are suspect number one.

But all is not as it seems. Two nations of the Weird are waging a cold war fought by feint and espionage, and their conflict is about to spill over into the Edge—and Cerise’s life . William, a changeling soldier who left behind the politics of the Weird, has been forced back into service to track down a rival nation’s spymaster.

When William’s and Cerise’s missions lead them to cross paths, sparks fly—but they’ll have to work together if they want to succeed…and survive.

urban howlinggood magical

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews is the second book in the urban fantasy series The Edge. I have been listening to the series on audio and was eager to return. Two years have passed since the ending of the first book and we get a new couple and tale in this strange land known as the Edge.

The Andrews are such a talented writing team and the fifteen some odd hours of listening I did flew by in a wink. The Edge is a world that lies between the Broken (our world) and the Weird (a place where the supernatural dwell). We met William in the first book and I was delighted to see this was his story. William is a blue blood and wolf. He has been dealt a nasty hand of cards as far as his life goes and he spends his time working construction in the Broken and collecting action figures. When a representative from the Mirror shows up on his doorstep with horrifying images of changeling children being slaughter by his nemesis Spider, an agent for the Hand, William agrees to travel to the Mire. There undercover he will collect the object Spider is seeking. Fun right? The Mire located in the swamp regions is dank, mysterious and dark. Oh lord the creatures that dwell there! *shivers*

William is a bit of an odd duck. He is a geeky changeling and I adored his quirky mannerism. As he travels to the Mire, he loses his guide and meets up with Cerise Mar. Cerise is desperate to return to the Mire to handle a situation involving an eighty-year-old feud between her clan and the Sherrile clan. The problem this time involves a Sherrile taking up residence in her grandfather’s cabin. To top it off Cerise’s parents are missing. To say that poor Cerise is a nervous wreck would be an understatement. We soon learn the Hand is involved and William and Cerise suddenly find themselves working together.

The interaction between William and Cerise was fantastic. Their interaction is filled with snark, battles and silly moments that eventually leads to romance. The way William reacted to the smell of her hair had me laughing aloud. This was a slow building relationship, complicated by his undercover assignment and changeling personality. Toss in the events surrounded the feuding families not to mention the Hand and their relationship was chaos. I loved it every blasted moment.

The secondary characters and little side threads in Bayou Moon were well-developed and brought the swamp and its people to life. The Mar clan was delightful, crazy and sometimes I laughed so hard I had tears. Williams’s reaction to this clan moved me, and only made me fall harder. Cerise is fearless, despite her worries and quickly steps up to lead her clan. The villains are ruthless killing machines who will send shivers down your spine. The vivid images surrounding the battles were incredible. I loved the details even if at times I did not know whether to vomit or cheer at how freaky it was. If you love well developed world’s prepare to drool.

Despite how dark, violent and gritty the story became Andrews  balanced things out with humor. They made the swamp humorous, and side threads like those regarding a hideous Eel are reasons why this writing team blows me away every dang time.

Renee Raudman narrates as she does all of the Andrews’ books and I adored listening. Her voice is soothing, perfectly pitched and she changes up her tone for each character. I love the many voices and feel she only enhances my experience.

Bayou Moon delivered an epic tale filled with creeptastic battles, hilarious moments and delightful swoons. Ilona Andrews continues to impress and delight me.

Listen to sample: Bayou Moon

Quotes from Bayou Moon

“William leaned forward and pointed at the river. “I don’t know why you rolled in spaghetti sauce,” he said in a confidential voice. “I don’t really care. But that water over there won’t hurt you. Try washing it off.”
She stuck her tongue out.
“Maybe after you’re clean,” he said.
Her eyes widened. She stared at him for a long moment. A little crazy spark lit up in her dark irises.
She raised her finger, licked it, and rubbed some dirt off her forehead.
Now what?
The girl showed him her stained finger and reached toward him slowly, aiming for his face.
“No,” William said. “Bad hobo.”

“Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
Every time I look at you, I have to put a leash on myself. “No.”

“Why couldn’t she have gotten another Edger or some dimwit from the Broken for a passenger? No, she got Lord Leather Pants here.”

“Oh, Gods.”
His eyes shone with want and predatory satisfaction. “The name’s William. It’s a common mistake.”

 

Audiobook review of Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews (Edge #2) Share on X
Photo of kimbacaffeinate
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

Related Posts

60 Responses to “Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews”

  1. Tanya

    I’ve got the first two for this series on Audible, but you think the Innkeeper Chronicles should go first? Well I’m off to grab those as well! I love the writing of these two and will listen to whatever they have!

  2. Lekeisha

    After I finish Burn for Me, I may start this series, or the Innkeeper Chronicles. Great review!

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Some of the characters in the Edge series (4 boos) appear in the Innkeeper Chronicles. So I recommend these first, than IC.

  3. Tanya

    I just used a couple of credits to download these first two books. After your review I am so anxious to start them. I love the way Ilona Andrews writes and Renee Raudman is absolutely amazing! This is going to be such a fun ride!

  4. Kris

    I’ve been seeing the name Ilona Andrews around a lot in the past year. I really need to check out their work! Not to mention that you hit upon points that I love in UFs. Any recommendations on where to start?

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Ooo you have never tried her Kris? I love love love her books. I prefer audio, and the Kate Daniels series is my favorite..although I will warn you book one was rough.

  5. Lorna

    Still have only read one by these authors. One of these days I may try a different series by them. I am wondering about his reaction to the smell of her hair? *Ha!*

  6. Cyn

    Yay, more of The Edge! It’s so weird and delightful. I love the sounds of William and Cerise. I don’t know why I haven’t finished this series yet, definitely need to fix that asap! Glad you’re loving this series, Kim! Great review (:

  8. Sophia Rose

    I really need to get caught up on the other series on my shelf so I can jump into something new from Ilona Andrews. You do tempt me to break my own rule because I can see this other series is fantastic.

  9. Debbie Haupt

    Oh I know you love this author team and I’ve been seeing reviews of their books everywhere, guess its a sign READ ME! 🙂 And from your rare 5 rating I think this time I’ll take the hint LOL

  11. Angela Adams

    “Bayou Moon delivered an epic tale filled with creeptastic battles, hilarious moments and delightful swoons” — a little bit of everything (yay!). Thanks for the post.

  12. Candace

    I’m looking forward to listening to this series in the future. I’m glad you enjoyed!

  15. Katherine

    I’ve been wanting to try Illona Andrews for awhile and I like that this series is fairly new so I don’t have a bunch of backlist to work through. This sounds like a serious adventure and both the main characters sound really unique but in a relatable way. I’ll have to find the first one in this series and I’m really excited about getting to this one!

  16. Tyler H. Jolley

    I’ve definitely gotten used to seeing Ilona Lewis on your blog. I’d never heard of them until here, I really like reading the reviews.

  17. Angela

    This is a fun series. I love the world, characters, and everything about it. I wish it was more then 4 books. Glad to see you loved this novel. Thank’s for the review.

  18. Leona

    I didn’t know that Ilona Andrews was a writing team let alone a husband and wife team, that’s so cool! I think once I finish Clean Sweep I think Im going to try this series. Glad you enjoyed this read 🙂

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Ha..that is what made me listen to these. Characters in Sweep in Peace are from this world! Yes how cool is that about them being husband and wife 🙂

  19. Dani Chapman

    Ilona Andrews is on my need to start reading list. I see her books everywhere and keep meaning to start one but just haven’t found the time.

    Thanks for the great review!

  20. kindlemom1

    I seriously had no plans at all to read this series (to start yet another one) but you are so making me want to now . Darn you Kim. 😛

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I am at 82 % on the final book and will soon be jonesing for any Andrews’ read. I may break down and read all of the novellas in the KD series to hold me over till the next audio!

  22. Angela

    I’ve not heard of this author or series but now I’m eager to read it. It definitely sounds like something I would like and I love that the romance was slow building.

  23. Lexxie

    Oh 5 coffee cups, Kim? This is the one Andrews series I haven’t gotten to yet – but I have a feeling I’m going to have to change that very soon. I love their writing, and if your rating is anything to go by (which I know it is;) ) I’m going to love The Edge!

  24. Melanie Simmons

    I so miss this series. It was a fun one. I’m so amazed at the creatures that Ilona Andrews can conjure up in their minds. I agree with your description of them, whether to vomit or cheer. They are unique, that is for sure. Each of their series has their own unique creatures and I love them for that. I also love the snark and side characters. It is all the little details that they include that make these stories so much fun. I love Renee Raudman to. I can’t imagine reading an Ilona Andrews story any more. I must have Renee read them to me. 🙂 Great review. Thanks for letting me revisit this story through your eyes.

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I am at 82% of the final book in this series. I am running out of her books to listen to. I may need to read all of the novellas out there now..LOL

      • Melanie Simmons

        They have a fun Sci-Fi series called Kinsmen. I think it is only available as ebooks. I remember really enjoying them when I read them several years ago. You should give them a try. There are only two books out. They are really short though. The first book is called Silent Blade.

        • kimbacaffeinate

          I will take a look. I wish they would do a novella collection for KD on audio. I have been holding off thinking maybe they would when the series ended.

          • Melanie Simmons

            I wish they would too. I would also love to see all the Curran POV’s put on audio also, but they probably wouldn’t use Raudman for those, based on the Derek book. 🙁

  25. Jenny

    I need to get caught up on this series Kim! I read the first book and really enjoyed it, but never made it to this one for some reason. SHAME ON ME! I love everything this pair writes, so I need to make time for these books:) Glad 15 hours of listening time flew right on by!

  26. melliane

    I love the books by the authors but I confess that I haven’t tried this series yet despite the fact that I have book 1! I need to do that!

  27. Nick

    I like that this series is a companion series, Kim. You know I enjoy this duo, so I have this series on my list. I’m excited to meet William. He seems such atypical UF/PNR hero. It’s refreshing! And I love that it has humor even though it’s dark. Humor is the only way I can get through a dark book like this one.
    Lovely review, Kim!

  28. Mary Kirkland

    Ok, wow this sounds like a book I might like. I’ve read a few of her books and I liked them and the world description and storyline sounds fascinating.