An interesting concept.
I just felt like the writing was a bit immature, even for YA. I follow the author on IG, she is incredibly funny and creative and I feel like that just didn't translate that well here.
Also, the names of the characters could be...improved.
Overall, an okay book but I don't think I would re-read

Ledge was bloody exceptional.

It's been a while since I was so completely absorbed with a new book world but when I read this one I fell into the story, I swear I could feel the frost! Okay, that last bit is a wee bit dramatic but regardless the point stands, it is a great book.

Am I very impatiently waiting until book 2 is released next September and did I utter a few curse words at the cliffhanger at the end? Yup.

The main characters were proper badasses, and the side characters were totally loveable.

3.5✰ // i was very conflicted over how to rate this book. there were aspects of Ledge that i found i was very fond of (who doesn’t love a main character with an axe and a frigid mountain setting ??); yet at times, i felt the pacing was a bit odd, and i didn’t feel quite as unenthusiastic toward the latter part of the book, as the plot seemed to play out pretty predictably…. that was until the very end which completely caught me off guard (like okay cliff-hanger ?!?!?!?!). i’m very interested to see how the story advances as the series progresses.
overall, i think this book would be great for anyone that enjoyed acotar and other high-fantasy-like books.

thank you so much to Angry Robot Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable read. I liked the characters and storyline was very interesting. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

I actually ended up buying the physical version of this book. It was a wonderful fantasy read. I am very impressed by Stacey's writing!

Is this a debut book? I couldn’t tell. The world building was top tier, except I could have done with just a wee bit more on the description of the MMC. I seriously need people to go read this and make fan art so I can see how close what was in my head matches what everyone else saw too. But, all that aside, the chapters were short and very easy to digest. The world building happened when and how I needed to easily keep up, and the story moved along very smoothly. Not gonna give spoilers, but I am not gonna get over that ending anytime soon. Yes, I know this book just came out but I need the next one asap!!! Great job.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an ARC copy of this book.

I have been following Stacey for a while on Instagram and love her 'turning my husband into a fictional character' videos...always make me laugh. So I had to pick up her debut novel and I am really glad I did. It is a great start to a series (need to do more research into how many books there will be) this left on a great cliffhanger.

This was a great read, hooked from the beginning and it was such a fresh idea! Like nothing I have ever read before, which is soooo refreshing. Yes, it had a fierce female lead. Yes, it had a slow burn...enemies to lovers romance. Yes, it had a broody male with wings 😉 Yes, it had fantasy elements to it with backstabbing, secrets, plotting, betrayal, etc. but honestly the story was just something so new! Well done Stacey!

I think the only thing that kept it from being 5 star, was sometimes the book stagnated a little and the pace fell.

I would really recommend this if you enjoy authors like Raven Kennedy, Miranda Lynn, Ivy Asher...!

I keep wavering between 2 and 3 stars for this one - it's fast paced, not too complicated in its world building, and about 1/3 of the way through the book we get dual POVs for Dawsyn and Ryon. Sadly, those things are also part of way I didn't fully enjoy Ledge.

Worldbuilding: Okay, yes I know not every fantasy needs a fully fleshed political/religious/magic system to work. HOWEVER. It's distracting when modern vernacular enters fantasy without explanation (at least once a character says something like "fucking hell" which is... not the linguistic vibe of the rest of the book? Or indicative of any type of religious/magic belief?

Secondly, we know that the people on the Ledge pretty much only believe in survival, but what about the villagers we meet later? Hell, what do the Glacians stand for, other than capitalism but make it literal human souls? (that would have been a fantastic commentary by the way, but went so under-utilized.)

Dual POV: I actually really liked that we got both Dawsyn and Ryon's POVs, but I also feel like I really was just glad not to be in Dawsyn's inner monologue the whole time. Maybe it's just me being picky after reading multiple fantasies with a Very Strong Female MC that can totally take out 5 of the strongest, full-blooded, very scary, supernatural creatures, but it's cool because everyone underestimated her. With Ryon, I also go back to the "what does he believe in" thing from before. He might have the clearest motivations of any of the characters, but some of his decisions I could not fathom the thought process behind them. (view spoiler)

I did think the pacing was pretty good. It took me some time to get into but at about the 50 page mark I just started flying through it. Ledge is a book that I think I liked...? I'm not completely sure that even the ending will get me to continue with the second book, but we'll see. I'm leaving this at 3 stars, I definitely think there is an audience for this book (obviously from what I can tell of other reviews) but I don't think I'm that audience.

This is a solid debut novel! I wish we got a little more depth and tension in all aspects: characters, world building, romance, and plot. But as a debut novel, this was still a solid read. The cliffhanger literally had me rereading the page and saying, “wait, wtf??”

Maybe more of a 3.75⭐️

Was feeling pretty middle of the road for the most part but I’m a slut for a cliff hanger ending

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be finishing this book.

I got about halfway through and have decided it's not really for me. The world building is lacking, and the plot seems to exist entirely for the enemies to lovers arc (which itself was not a smooth nor believable arc).

In two pages of text, Ryon called Dawsyn 'girl' five times. It was too repetitive, and half the instances of 'girl' still would have got the point across, and still would have been irksome to Dawsyn (but less irksome to the reader).

The characters were not fleshed out as much as I would have liked, and the travel from place to place felt too short.

I can see the potential, however, and will continue watching Stacey -- perhaps the next series will appeal to me more! I can see the hundreds of good reviews on GoodReads, however, and as a bookseller I can be unbiased. I know which of my readers will enjoy this book and can happily handsell it to those who will enjoy it better than I did.

A valiant effort for Stacey's first book.
However, I found myself stalling so many times. I couldn't get past certain things. If you're after a book that ticks all of the trope and fantasy boxes then this will be for you. Will I read the second book? Most likely, the read wasn't great, but it certainly wasn't bad.

Thank you ANGRY ROBOT and Stacey McEwan for the opportunity to read and review LEDGE. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review and here it is:
In a sentence, I don’t understand the hype. Harsh maybe, but my disappointment was sharp. I'd been so looking forward to this.

The cover was intriguing, the synopsis promising. The beginning was even riveting! At first. But at 48% I was done. Why? Because I felt the author was just too busy checking boxes than actually interested in telling a good story and fleshing out the characters. Also, I just don’t like Dawsyn. She’s a half-starved waif (been one her whole life), raised basically on the precipice of death, literally, sometimes resorting to eating bark off trees. She’s a carver. A woodcutter. Yet apparently she’s also a warrior capable of storming a palace and besting a guard singlehanded? COME ON! I might have forgiven her these supposed mortal super powers if she’d been in possession of a personality. But she's...prickly. And not in a good way. She’s frankly more turned on by her ax than the supposed love interest, Ryon. I didn’t much care for him either. Unlike Dawsyn, his personality wasn't that of a withered cactus. But he WAS a bag of yawns. At least likably dull, though.

Look, overall, the writing is pretty good. Even very good at times. I found the third person present tense a bit jarring at first, but eventually I got into it. It did seem to keep me a little removed from the characters. It might not have been so noticeable had the characters not been so one dimensional. So flavorless. Writing style alone is like good bread without butter. I NEEDED the butter, and it just wasn't there.

Sad to say I DNF. But I'm sure, since Dawsyn is so amazing and strong, she’ll single-handedly save the day. Unfortunately I don’t care enough to sit around and watch her do it. She’s got no vulnerability that I empathized with, even the fact that her whole family is dead should have inspired something in me but the girl is like the cold barren ice she grew up on.

Good luck next time Stacey Mcewan. Ledge was all squeeze and no juice.

Dawsyn is one of the many who live on 'the Ledge'. Life on the ledge is hard because it is a frozen wasteland on the mountain face and the only way off is a vast chasm that separates them and the kingdom of the Glacians, a kingdom of winged creatures. The Glacians deliver small amounts of supplies that the people of the ledge receive and fight over, in exchange for the occasional sacrifice. Dawsyn is one of the chosen sacrifices and she discovers what happens to the others before her and who she really is.

This book was really entertaining, and you get a good picture of who Dawsyn is and the world she lives in. I felt like it was a very interesting and quick read. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

I absolutely loved Ledge! The characters were so descriptive, and the story was immersive. This is a fantastic book, and I am extremely eager to read the second!

I love Stacey McEwan's online presence, so I was super excited to receive this ARC. That being said, I had several slumps reading this book where I really contemplated not finishing. The plot straddles dystopian and high fantasy without really leaning into either, and I wish that the characters were more complex. The romance felt forced at times from sheer proximity, and the third person POV made me feel too removed from the story.

Despite all of that, the creativity of this novel was stunning, and it certainly sets itself apart from the usual fae / vampire fantasy books in the market. As a debut, it will certainly be something to look back on as McEwan grows her writing career.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved the world, the setting and the idea of the Ledge; a civilisation trapped on a ledge between a vast chasm and a sheer mountain face with no escape. These people know nothing about the outside world or an alternative life. They lead a freezing cold and miserable existence fighting for scraps of food and waiting for their turn to be taken by one of the winged Glacians who come to make their choice every season. I liked the author’s writing style and there are some lovely detailed descriptions of the world. The opening scene amidst a frigid forest landscape immediately drew me into the story and I could feel every moment of the intense cold Dawsyn was feeling.

Dawsyn’s character is brilliant, she’s strong, determined and fearless. She’s a fighter and has absolutely no problem defending herself with her skilful axe wielding. Those first few moments of Dawsyn experiencing the real world were heart wrenching, the author brought forth Dawysn’s emotion seeing grass and sea for the first time and you really feel for her. The love interest is Ryon, a winged half Glacian. I adored their banter and interactions and this is a worthy enemies to lovers romance.

This isn’t the most complex of fantasies, but there are plenty of plot twists and turns and action scenes which makes for a compelling and entertaining read. I do hope to learn more about the world and Glacians in the next books. The ending is an absolute shocker and I’m very much looking forward to seeing where the next instalment takes us.

Thank you to the publisher for the Netgalley eARC.

I enjoyed this book and getting to know the characters in it. The ending was a big cliffhanger so be aware! I am waiting on a second book.

I have followed Stacey McEwan on Instagram for awhile and I was so thrilled to recieve an ARC of this book. The setting of the ledge was such a unique story that I was instantly hooked. The world building is quick and easy to understand. I couldn't read it fast enough. The book ends on a major cliffhanger and I cannot wait for the next one due in September 2023. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Angry Robot books for an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Ledge is the debut novel in the Glacians trilogy by Stacy McEwan. This book starts off really strong. I loved the environment of the Ledge, like the literal ledge that the MC lives on. I thought the world building here was great and I loved how tough Dawsyn was, especially since she was surviving on her own. The premise of the book is that the only way off of the ledge is if you get selected by the terrible winged ice monsters that are essentially farming the humans there(This had me thinking maybe the author was trying to say something about how terrible the meat industry is, but I as a vegetarian that could just be me projecting). I thought this was interesting because it makes you question what would you prefer? A life of hardship and cold on the ledge or the unknown fate of those that are chosen. Dawsyn ends up getting chosen and this triggers the rest of the story. Dawsyn is very tough, which makes sense since she grew up in such a harsh place, but I didn’t love that she was constantly getting herself into situations that she had to be saved from, and she is saved every time. At the start of the book, Dawsyn has no one helping her and I feel like something of her character strength got lost after she leaves the ledge. I think this is due in part to the creation of the romance between Dawsyn and the love interest Ryon and I wish there was a way to make it so their relationship didn’t take away from Dawsyn’s self-sufficiency. The middle of this book was problematic for me. It might be because I found the beginning so strong, but the middle dragged for me, to the point where I almost lost interest in finishing. Thankfully the ending really picked it back up, the pacing found its footing again, and I honestly didn’t see that twist coming at the end. I think this was a good debut novel from a writer I heard about on Tiktok and will be interested in finding out where Dawsyn’s story goes.