At the Edge by Angie Skelhorn – Double Review & Giveaway

Author: Angie Skelhorn
Title: At the Edge
Published On: Oct 1 2014
Publisher: Eternal Press
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal

I received this book for free from Tour Host in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SYNOPSIS

There is support from the unseen to guide our lives on Earth.

Carm, a wholesome farm girl, marries her first love and then abandons everything she knows. After six weeks of marriage, a devastating storm kills her husband, widowing her. In a strange city, torn by her loss—young, scared, and with no resources she lives a life she wasn't ready for. Her emotions fall extremely low. To make it comfortable to live in her own skin, she self-medicates with drugs and alcohol. She is pushed to the edge as her relationships become tremulous.

Haunted by her deceased husband and introduced to a witch, Gretchen, she sees past the darkness. Carm discovers, with the aid of witchcraft, how to accept the past, celebrate the present, and anticipate the future.

   Carm sat in silence, focusing on what Gretchen had to say.

     “Don’t get stuck in that which weighs you down. Be resourceful. You can tackle what it is that bothers you by making a choice. I feel quite sure you know the answer to your problems. It’s just that you don’t like the solution,” she said, looking at Carm.

    Carm looked at the ground, shuffling her feet in the dirty melting snow, listening.

    “Right now, you are confused with alternative choices, or you hope there is another solution you haven’t thought of. Rather than dwell on your problem, make a decision, stick to it, and move forward.”

    “It’s as simple as all that.” Carm smirked.

     “The solution can be if you want it to be,” Gretchen said with a serious expression. “Once you realize that a change is needed, all one can do is make a choice. Life is what you make it. Choices lead you to where you are from, where you are now, and to where you are headed.”

     Carm pushed a strand of hair from her eyes. ”I have few choices,” she replied in a low voice.

     “Going home would transform your situation. The move might help put your life back in order. I’m sure your family is worried…helpless not knowing where you are or how to find you. Make contact, Carm. I’m sure they want to hear from you.”

     “I don’t want to return.” She sighed, looking at the snow nestling on the branches stripped of leaves, the colored lights, holly, and other Christmas decorations on the storefronts and lamp posts. “I’m here now, and my husband is gone.”

 

     Gretchen shook her head. “All we have is a brief moment in time with the people we love. The loss of friends, lovers, and family is a part of life. No matter how often you felt you were ready to give up in the past, you managed to move forward. The choices you make now will decide your future. You have youth on your side. You have the time to make the changes that will shape your life for the better.”

     Carm looked around the park. People passed by and glanced at Gretchen’s winter Gothic wear. The black cape, red satin lining, pointy black boots, and teased hair attracted attention. Carm inhaled a lungful of smoke, turning toward Gretchen. She pressed her leather-gloved fingertips into her temple, staring forward in a profound, trance-like condition. Her next words startled Carm.

     “Your husband died quickly. His death came unexpectedly. One minute, he was here. The next, he was gone.”

     Carm coughed, choking on the smoke she had inhaled. Her eyes widened. Gretchen continued to intercept the information.

[usr 3.5] I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I dove into this book completely blind, I hadn’t even read the synopsis when I started so I had no idea what to expect. The beginning of the story had me hooked right away! A tragic and heartbreaking start, the introduction of a wicked villain, and the start of some very bad decisions on the part of poor Carm had me “At the Edge” myself! The rest of the story unfortunately isn’t able to keep up the momentum from the beginning and ends up more like a stone skipping across a lake, just kind of skip skip skimming along the top of the deeper story that it could have gone into. I wish this was longer, and went deeper into the drama and low points so that the better moments would have more of an impact. That being said, I still didn’t want to put it down! I had to find out where the story was going to go!

[usr 3] This was an interesting book! I thought it was a good story, but it felt dragged out to me. The beginning of the the book was gripping. It was one of those feelings where you feel like you are brought in to the middle of a story. But in this book, it’s in a good way. It holds you on the edge of your seat, wondering what is going on, and what happened. It jerks at your emotions, but then it kind of levels out and flatlines.

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