Book Review :: Ledge by Stacey McEwan

Ledge by Stacey McEwan
ISBN: 1915202175
Series: The Glacian Trilogy #1
Also in this series: Chasm, Valley
on 30 November 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 370
Goodreads

After being randomly selected as a human sacrifice, instead of death, Dawsyn finds herself on a quest to save her people from their icy prison...

In a place known as the Ledge, a civilization is trapped by a vast chasm and sheer mountain face. There is no way for anyone to escape the frozen wasteland without befalling a deathly drop. They know nothing of the outside world except that it is where the Glacians reside – mystical and vicious winged creatures who bring meagre rations in exchange for a periodic human sacrifice.

Dawsyn, ax wielder and only remaining member of her family, has so far avoided the annual culling, but her luck has run out. She is chosen and ripped from her icy home, the only world she knows. No one knows what will happen to her on the other side, least of all Dawsyn. Murdered? Enslaved? Worse? Fortunately, a half-Glacian called Ryon offers to help them both escape, but how can she trust one of the very creatures that plagued her life? Dawsyn is a survivor, and she is not afraid to cut anyone down to live.

Last updated on 5 October 2024

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What is Ledge by Stacey McEwan about?

Ledge by Stacey McEwan begins on the Ledge, a narrow strip of land jutting out from a cliff, the mountain face going straight up behind and a deep, uncrossable chasm in front. Dawsyn lives on the Ledge, she always has. And while her family has long since gone, she works hard to keep herself alive in the bitter cold. But every season, without fail, they come: the Glacians. Winged human-like creatures descend from the sky and take someone from the Ledge, a human sacrifice. No one knows what happens to them, but they can guess.

This year, Dawyson is chosen. And while she thinks death is imminent, she discovers that there is more to these monsters and their ways than they ever thought. More to who they are, why they take people every season, why the ledge people are stuck on the mountain. And more about who she is, and her past.

When Dawyon’s life is on the line, she has to make a choice: give in to the depths of a magical pool which will suck away her soul, or take her chances on the mountain and run for her life. Thankfully, Ryon, a half-Glacian, steps into her when she’s partway down the mountain – he should, she killed two Glacians already. But can she really trust him?

What I thought of Ledge

I didn’t know what to expect from Ledge and I’m going to be honest with you and say I read this book because of Instagram/TikTok. (I’m not really active on TikTok – I have it for promoting my blog coaching, but not for things like books.) I follow Stacey McEwan and really enjoy her Reels and posts, so when I realised she had written a book (nay, two with a third on the way!), I was intrigued.

And the concept sounded really cool, and definitely something that was unique to me.

Some things I really liked: The characters. Surprisingly, I quite liked Dawsyn and her feistiness. She is strong because she’s had to be, she’s sort of vibes grown-up-with-wolves vibe, a little feral but for good reasons: she’s seen her family and other people in her Ledge village be dragged away for her entire life. She was funny at times, too, she was cautious when she needed to be, and full guns blazing at other times. Also, she has an axe. And that’s cool.

Ryon is your classic broody male lead, adamant he’s going to help Dawysn (though his motives are sus to her, as they should be), and eventually we get a few chapters from his perspective, which gives you more insight into who he is as a character.

“Perhaps souls like theirs can only wander so far before they collide.”

I don’t want to give too much away, but there is a point in the story where there are some more characters who become more involved, and they are brilliant. I really liked them, all quite different to each other, one in particular with a bunch of sass, which we love.

Moving on from characters, I also enjoyed the concept, as I mentioned before. However I will say that the time on the Ledge is less than I was anticipating. It’s more of a ‘introduce us to the concept and the backstory’ than ‘spend more time here and then leave’ type of situation. But I do think it worked for the story; it’s still a tale about the Ledge and why the people are there to begin with, how they got there, why the Glacians up the mountain are taking them, how to save the people etc. I think the backstory could be been fleshed out a little more, though we may get some more of that in book two.

Some things that I didn’t enjoy as much: I’m slightly torn on a few things. The way that McEwan has written Ledge was not enjoyable for me to read; I didn’t love her writing style much at all. And it’s written in the third person present tense which I haaaaate. It throws me every single time and I can never quite get used to it. However! I think it was cold and harsh, and written like that for a reason, and I felt as though it did fit the rest of the themes and the plot. So didn’t love the writing style, but understand it at the same time.

“She has learned the might of silence. It is the prelude to fear. It is the absence of company. It is the moment before the monster takes you into his claws. She abhors it.”

The other thing that I wasn’t so keen on was their enemies-to-lovers trope. Surely that’s not a spoiler because you know from the description that that is coming, right? 👀 The enemies part of their relationships was excellent and I liked their exchanges and banter and witty remarks. But then I’m not sure how I feel about their ‘lovers’ relationship. It felt a little bit flat.

Overall thoughts on Ledge

As you can see, I gave Ledge by Stacey McEwan 4 stars, because, despite the few things that I didn’t love about the story (the writing was the main thing, actually), I did really enjoy this fantasy story, and I’m looking forward to picking up book two in The Glacian Trilogy, Chasm. 

Have you read Ledge? What did you think?