A review by imme_van_gorp
Edge of the Wild by Lauren Gilley

3.5

I’m truly obsessed with my boy Oliver!! His sass kills me every time, and I just love how steadfast he can be despite him being technically “weak” or “soft”. I fully understand why Erik is completely obsessed with him, because he has totally charmed me as well.

My favourite part of their relationship was how dedicated they both were to each other. I genuinely believed they would have given up everything for the other, and that nothing could be more important to them than their love. 

Love. That was what he felt, he knew; the sort of slow-built, sustainable, devastating love he’d never hoped to have.

To see Erik be so scared of losing Oliver had me feeling flutters in my belly, and I wish we could have seen him completely fall apart over it. Don’t get me wrong, I adore how well they talked everything out and communicated openly, but I am a sucker for drama, so I would have appreciated a more severe blow-out between them when everything went down. There was still some angst between them, definitely, but I personally would have liked to see it be dragged out a bit more.

“I want to keep you safe. I don’t want to have dragged you through the wilderness, at the mercy of the clans, just to prove a political point. I don’t—I don’t want you to be cold, or sick, or miserable, or in danger of being eaten.” He shook his head, and his voice cracked. “I am afraid, every second, that you will decide none of this is worth it.”
“You’re afraid that I’ll decide none of this is worth what?” he asked, softly.
In the smallest voice that Oliver had ever heard from him, he whispered, “Me.”

That said, I do not feel a similar fondness towards either of his cousins, Tessa and Amelia, and I therefore dreaded their chapters. I was so much more interested in Oliver and Erik’s storyline, whether it was political or romantic, and I wish the whole book could have focused solely on them as the main characters.

Bjorn and Revna were, other than Erik and Ollie, the ones I felt most intrigued by. The way that man is completely whipped and constantly pining after her was making me swoon quite a bit. Especially since he has loved her for decades; unrequitedly, I might add! I definitely wouldn’t mind it if the next book will give them more page-time.

Bjorn’s love—and it could only be called that; deny it all she liked, she knew that was the emotion burning in his gaze—was a savage, nearly-violent thing. A starving, hungry, desperate love, one he kept in check, kept tamped down low, from sheer force of will.

Lastly, I just want to talk about how much I love the dragons!! It’s a particular weakness of mine when fantasy series have dragons that behave like loyal pets to their riders, and that’s exactly the vibe these dragons are giving to the Drakes from the get-go. I can’t wait to see how their dynamics will unfold.