On the Edge

After reading Susan Kearney's contribution to The Hope Chest anthology, which included an excerpt for her book, On the Edge, I decided to buy it. I read it this week: 3.5 out of 5.

For as long as she can remember, Kaylin Ashcroft's dreams have come true. If she dreams about a friend breaking an arm in a car accident, it occurs. Unfortunately, her dreams don't provide all the answers--when she dreams about an event, she doesn't get all of the details, such as when, where, and in some cases, who.

For this reason, she was doubly devastated when her sister, Jenna, was kidnapped. For several years after the kidnapping, Kaylin tried to focus her dreams so she could help identify the kidnapper or provide clues that could help find Jenna. It hasn't worked, and Kaylin has given up hoping she'll dream anything useful. Enter Shane Lynch.

Shane was hired by Kaylin's father to help her bring the details to the surface. Shane's particular talent is with identifying auras and projecting emotions. He believes he can help Kaylin remain calm and stay dreaming long enough to get answers.

The premise sounds intriguing, and it is--in fact, the paranormal aspects are the best aspect of the book. Shane and Kaylin themselves are less interesting. I felt like I had read versions of them before. The prophetic dreaming and aura identifying may be different, but Kaylin and Shane seem like people I've read about in a dozen other romantic suspense novels.

I was initially frustrated by the fact that we get glimpses of Jenna throughout the story, so we know what happened to her. This removes some of the suspense. Once I got to the end of the book, however, I understood why Kearney did it this way. It avoided an awkward data dump at the end.

There is a secondary romance that I found a bit puzzling. The male character in that scenario is portrayed in such a way that it's unclear whether he's being protective or secretive.

In any case, I was glad I tried the book, but I enjoyed "Tomorrow's Promise" from The Hope Chest more, in spite of its improbable plot.

Alyssa