"The cold is not alive. Stay the Frost. Watch the chasm."

I flew though this.
It had me captivated from the first page, I needed to know what was going to happen.

I loved the band of misfit at the Tavern, I really enjoyed the snippets of their lives.

The ending was an amazing twist! I didn't see it coming

I would have liked more history of the Glacians.
The plot felt a little back and forth and I would have liked to feel more of a connection with Dawsyn and Ryon.
I would have thought Dawsyn being on the Ledge would have have been more weak than she was.

Special thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review

I originally requested this eARC because I watch the author on TikTok and because I could tell from her content that she’s very smart and super funny, I has great hope that I would enjoy her first novel. I wasn’t wrong. The plot is super unique (in my opinion) and world building was really good. It took me quite a while to really get into the story and care about the characters, but by the very end I knew I’d be interested in reading more of this story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

I received this copy from netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I had read the synopsis and was intrigued by it instantly. Going in with no expectations except curiosity. I’ll say this- if I had to live on the Ledge, I’d have lost my mind long ago. Such a bleak life and landscape would have been the end of me. Dawsyn is sharp tongued, quick to anger, fast, strong and something I wish I could be. She is resourceful, unwilling to give up and will fight until the bitter end. When she is chosen to go to Glacia her story truly begins. She can go into the pool of Iskra or run the slopes to freedom, no one ever makes it that far. She chooses the slopes. Ryon, a half glacian hears this and throws in hed like to be a part of the chase for her. For sport. However those are not his true motives at all. Following this story bloom slowly between them was slow but so worth it in the end. The balance between them, the slow burn, it came together nicely. However, there will obviously be a second book because the way it ENDED was NOT okay. So I’ll be sitting her impatiently waiting and worrying about Ryon.

Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for providing the ARC.

I started this book a bit skeptical. I saw the mixed reviews and generally with fantasy books, it really needs to have a good hook for me to get into it. When I was abour 20% through the book, I was still a bit skeptical - I was enjoying it, but it was a fairly passive interest.

As the story went on, I found myself getting sucked into the story that McEwan crafted. While it seemed very stereotypical of most books in this genre - the plot twists seem very cookie cutter, I found the characters of Dawsyn and Ryon to be interesting enough that I wanted to know more about their story.

I will say that I am irrationally angry by the cliffhanger ending. I personally believe that cliffhangers are generally pretty lazy, used only to ensure that the readership sticks around for the second book. Not sure if it was done intentionally by the author or later by the publisher, but I am not super enthused by the shock value it produced.

Overall, a good read from a debut author.

I'm a little bit wary of TikTok books now, having been burned before. But this one 100% lived up to the hype. THe writing style took me a bit to get in to, but over this book is fast paced, harsh, and steamy, with a really unique and interesting world. I am eagerly anticipating the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Angry Robot for the digital ARC it has not affected my honest review.

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book, the story idea was intriguing but I didn't enjoy the lead character at all. Additionally, the style of writing wasn't for me. DNF at 45%.

Ho opinioni contrastanti su questo libro.
Perchè parte col botto e finisce con un cliffanger da denuncia, ma nel mezzo è un su e giù che mi ha fatto rallentare la lettura più del dovuto.
Il libro all'inizio ci mostra questo altopiano (da cui il libro prende il titolo) dove sono segregati un gruppo di umani, che devono sopravvivere con quel poco che gli viene concesso dai loro aguzzini (i Glacians) e difendendosi anche da loro stessi, perchè non è raro che chi è più forte ammazzi un altro umano per togliergli del cibo o della legna, e che un paio di volte l'anno vengono selezionati e portati via da queste creature per andare incontro alla morte.
La protagonista, Dawsyn, rimasta l'ultima della sua famiglia viene selezionata e una volta nel palazzo di queste creature, gli viene data la possibilità di sfuggire alla morte, se riuscirà a scappare all'inseguimento di alcuni guerrieri e a scendere giù dalla montagna.
Dawsyn ce la mette tutta, ma viene fortunatamente aiutata da Ryon, un mezzo Glacian, che ha degli obbiettivi tutti suoi.
La loro discesa dalla montagna, prende la maggior parte dell'inizio del libro e una volta raggiunto il primo villaggio di umani la lettura inizia a farsi un poco noiosa, proprio perchè la protagonista non sa che fare adesso che è libera e che sta scoprendo un mondo che non aveva mai visto. Ma anche molte altre verità col passare dei giorni vengono alla luce e il desiderio di vendetta si fa sempre più forte.
In questa parte del libro inoltre la relazione tra i due protagonisti si fa sempre più turbulenta e sebbene all'inizio Ryon continuasse a rifiutare le avance di Dawsyn, ad un certo punto cedono entrambi alla passione e i due sembrano non volersi mai staccare l'uno dall'altro, tanto che ho pensato che fosse cambiato il genere del libro (passando dal fantasy all'erotica)...
Fortunatamente la storia torna in carreggiata e i due organizzano un piano per operare la loro vendetta, e l'ho trovato alquanto ben scritto ed epico!
Il finale mi ha lasciata senza parole e non trovare un capitolo dopo quella scena è stato senz'altro un colpo basso da parte dell'autrice!
Per quanto riguarda la storia quindi l'ho trovata tutto sommato buona e ben scritta, scorrevole, ma l'intreccio ha degli alti e bassi che mi hanno annoiata e che allungano troppo la lettura.
I personaggi e le ambientazioni sono ben descritti e li ho trovati molto interessanti (anche se trovo che sia improbabile che nessuno conosca la navigazione e non abbia esplorato i mari attorno all'isola del regno).

Non pensavo che l'avrei detto, ma dopo quel finale voglio assolutamente sapere come andrà avanti la storia, maledizione!

Voglio ringraziare Netgalley per avermi permesso di leggere questo libro in anteprima!
______________________________________________________

I have mixed opinions on this book.
Because it starts with a bang and ends with a cliffanger from denunciation, but in the middle it is an up and down that made me slow down the reading more than necessary.
The book at the beginning shows us this ledge (from which the book takes its title) where a group of humans are segregated, who must survive with the little that is granted to them by their tormentors (the Glacians), and also defend themselves from eachothers, because it is not uncommon for those who are stronger to kill another human to take away food or wood, and that a couple of times a year they are selected and taken away by these creatures to meet their death.
The protagonist, Dawsyn, who is the last of her family, is selected and once in the palace of these creatures, she is given the opportunity to escape death, if she manages to escape in pursuit of some warriors and descend down the mountain.
Dawsyn tries hard, but is fortunately helped by Ryon, a half Glacian, who has his own goals for helping her.
Their descent from the mountain takes most of the beginning of the book and once they reach the first village of humans the reading starts to get a little boring, just because the protagonist does not know what to do now that she is free and she is discovering a world she had never seen. But also many other truths come to light as the days go by and the desire for revenge grows stronger and stronger.
In this part of the book the relationship between the two protagonists becomes more and more turbulent and although at first Ryon continued to reject Dawsyn's advances, at a certain point they both give in to passion and the two seem never to want to break away from each other, so much that I thought that the genre of the book had changed (passing from fantasy to erotica) ...
Luckily the story gets back on track and the two come up with a plan to operate their revenge, and I found it quite well written and epic!
The ending left me speechless and not finding a chapter after that scene was certainly a low blow by the author!
As for the story, I found it good and well written, smooth, but the plot has ups and downs that bored me and that lengthen the reading too much.
The characters and settings are well described and I found them very interesting (although I find it unlikely that anyone knows about navigation and hasn't explored the seas around the kingdom's island).

I didn't think I was going to say that, but after that ending I definitely want to know how the story is going to go, damn it!

I want to thank Netgalley for letting me preview this book!

3.5 stars
I give the author major points for the uniqueness of this plot. Fantastical flying Glacians and trapped humans on the edge of an ice shelf not something you read about everyday. That being said, I didn't care for the instalove enemies to lovers. It just didn't feel genuine to me and I wish the romance aspect was a little more fleshed out.

Thank Angry Robot for a chance to review this arc.

What an interesting tale. I loved every word. The descriptions were so that I could feel the cold and see the events unfolding. I loved the characters and the development of the story as a whole. It would be great for fans of several popular movies and series. I look for this one to be a hit!

HAVE TO WAIT A YEAR FOR THE NEXT BOOK? AFTER THAT ENDING?? 🫠 4.5 rounded up.

You ever read a book, a first in a series, get hit with a KILLER cliff hanger and then realize that the next book doesn’t come out…for another year? Yeah same 🫠🫠🫠

This is a super digestible fantasy with some enemies to lovers romance and an absolutely badass heroine. The world building was both detailed and easy to follow, which imagery that was so descriptive that I felt like I was ON the Ledge.

Honestly what clinched this for me was the ending. It was a solid 3.5/4 star review, but then the ending took a twist that I have really high hopes for the second book.

There were some details that could have been more fleshed out and I would have loved to see some expansion on the war scenes. The romance between Dawsyn and Royn felt a little bit rushed? And I definitely could have used some more angst between the two of them (not as much ‘enemies’ and a little bit too much insta love).

All this to say, I think book two is going to be great in a way that I cannot explain. It is less than 300 pages so it is a quick read and isn’t long enough to give me everything I need, but y’all I really can’t explain my excitement for book two

I was so excited for Ledge after hearing about it and following Stacey on TikTok, and it did not disappoint. She creates an extraordinary world with dynamic characters and I can't wait to see what she does next!

Stacey McEwan outdid herself!

Ledge was such a wonderful read, the characters and plot were excellently written & as a reader you could really feel all the emotion behind Stacey's writing!

I was very intrigued by the unique premise of Ledge and I'll tell you what friends... It absolutely did not disappoint 😍

This was such a refreshing read! I hope everyone loves it as much as I did!! ❄️

Dawsyn is angry. She’s living a life of pain, loss and unfairness. However, that is the only world she knows of. The Ledge. People die of the cold, of starvation and from falling of the ledge. The danger is everywhere, in the people close to her, in the environment she lives in and the world outside the Ledge.

This is a survival story about Dawsyn and how she discovers secrets about her life and about the world around her. I was fully immersed in the story after just a few pages. The story was action packed and had loveable and fun characters. Dawsyn was a fun, smart, independent and badass fmc. Also, *If you like mysterious men with wings, this story is for you* lol.

The book was dark at times but also had light moments which was a nice balance. It also had some romance and spicy moments.

I really enjoyed the book and I’m waiting impatiently for the sequel.

Ledge follows Dawsyn, a young women who has grown up in a remote community called The Ledge - who live in fear of winged creatures who periodically swoop in and snatch people who are never seen again.

Dawsyn is such a strong protagonist - fierce, independent and an all-round badass. I loved her! Though, to be honest, I found myself invested in many of the characters - notably Ryan (oh, be still my beating heart), Ezra and Salem. It's a real strength of Stacey's to have such great characters alongside a fast paced plot that had me guessing throughout - and the ending ! Argh, what an ending!!

There was sauce, adventure, hope, heartbreak - ah, just read it!

Ledge is a great debut novel by booktok influencer Stacey McEwan. While I was sold on the descriptions I had read and heard, I was initially skeptical about how much I would actually enjoy this book. However, I really enjoyed the world that Ledge introduces and of course it contains some of my favorite tropes (enemies to lovers, one bed, and more!). While this is the first book in a trilogy, and a debut novel, it shows promise for the rest of the series to continue to improve as the series really finds its footing. I loved the banter between the characters, although there were times where I could actually hear the author's voice and personality coming through in the dialogue. This did not bother me, but it was just an interesting effect from having watched so many of Stacey's videos previously. Overall I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to read book two because holy cliffhanger!!!!

Although it took me a little bit of time to get acclimated to the cadence and style of this author’s writing, I really enjoyed the book. The plot had familiar aspects, yet still had a spin on things that kept it from being too similar to popular new adult, fantasy, romance novels. It has some of the tried and true tropes of enemies-to-lovers, human-girl-with-incredible-strength, and a fun cast of side characters. But I think the thing that sets this book apart from others is that there seems to be a truly healthy relationship between the FMC and MMC where he respects her strength and the ability to make her own decisions. I didn’t love the cliff-hanger ending because I know it will be a while before I can read the rest of the story. Hopefully the next two books in the series will shine as brightly as the first.

This one had a great premise and it has a lot of positive reviews but it did not work for me. I think my biggest issue was I just didn't connect with or like the main character. She didn't have a lot of depth and just felt flat to me. There were also things that I felt like didn't make a lot of sense. The climate they lived in didn't really lend itself to well trained fighters and yet that is what the main character claimed to be. The rest of the story fell along familiar ya lines but had too much sex and adult language to fall into the ya category. Overall this one really didn't work for me.

This book was not for me. I did not like the first-person perspective the prose were written in. I found them confusing and very hard to follow. Even though I have ready countless books in first person, this one specifically was strangely written. I had to reread multiple passages to make sure I was understanding the story properly. I will not be posting this to Goodreads, because I really like Stacey and hope her next work benefits from more experience. I have gotten so used to seeing Stacey's hilarious Tiktok videos, that reading such a bleak story was a bit jarring. I hope her next book infuses more humor in the dialogue.

I had high hopes for this one, but it never really got there.

- The world building is severely lacking. We don't get much of an understanding of current state, let alone how they got to be there.

- Our understanding of the Glacian race is so minimal that I couldn't imagine or understand them at all.

- The storyline feels derivative of every other fantasy trilogy coming out these days.

- Ryon screams knock-off of Rowan from the Sarah J Maas Throne of Glass series

- Ryon keeps calling Dawsyn "girl" and it was driving me NUTS

- Plot often doesn't make sense / characters do illogical things considering the circumstances they're in

There are better fantasy series out there. Skip this one.

Dawsyn lives in a coldness and is lifted from the abyss and taken to the Glacians. She makes her escape aided by Ryon a half blood glacian. Together begrudgingly they make plans to take down the glacian kingdom.
I am not a fantasy reader at all and this was out of my comfort zone and I loved it. I need the next part tomorrow please!
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.