The Ledge exists as a shelf between a sheer obsidian rock face and a deadly chasm. Trapped there two generations ago by the Glacians, a cold-loving race of flying, taloned terrors, Dawsyn's people eke out a meager, and frequently violent, living from the few things that survive the constant winter and the rare drop of scraps from their captors. Twice a year the Glacians steal away humans from the Ledge, though for exactly what fate no one knows. When Dawsyn is taken, she expects to be killed and perhaps eaten. The true danger is more existentially horrifying. She escapes with the help of half-Glacian Ryon, who carries his own grudges and secrets. In the tradition of hate at first sight, a relationship begun with threats and mistrust becomes much more intimate. As they grow closer, they must figure out how to save the humans, defeat the Glacians, and uncover decades of old treachery. This is the first in a planned trilogy so expect to see more of Dawsyn Sabar's righteous anger and survival skills.

DEBUT Dawsyn Sabar is the last of her family, with the rest of her "den of girls" succumbing to the harsh life on The Ledge. Dawsyn's life is plagued by the ice, the threat of falling into the chasm surrounding the mountain peak, and the beasts known as the Glacians, who pick off villagers as human sacrifices. When Dawsyn is carried off to the Glacian ice prison, she is given a terrible choice and chances survival down the mountain in hopes of escape. Using her wits and skills with an axe to claw her way down the mountain and through the Glacians in her path, Dawsyn will learn there is much more going on than anyone realized. With the help of a surprisingly handsome half-Glacian, Dawsyn will try to rectify all the wrongs perpetrated against her family and her village. VERDICT McEwan, a popular figure on BookTok, has written an ambitious fantasy debut. The plot and worldbuilding are thoroughly fleshed out and make this novel a great start to the "Glacian Trilogy."--Jen Funk

McEwan debuts and launches her Glacian Trilogy series with a gritty fantasy of betrayal and vengeance set against a clever bit of worldbuilding. In a human village controlled by the winged Glacians and trapped on a sliver of land between an unclimbable cliff and a bottomless chasm, Dawsyn Sabar struggles to hold onto her family's tiny allotment and to grab her share of supplies when they are dropped onto the Ledge by the Glacians, who often "cull" their human herd. When Dawsyn herself is selected, the Glacians give her a choice: allow them to mystically steal her soul, turning her docile, or retain her personhood and allow them to hunt her for sport. She chooses the later. With the aid of rebel half-human Ryon, she escapes the Glacian's mountain prison and discovers the secrets behind the exile that put her village at the mercy of the Glacians in the first place. McEwan follows a well-worn "slap/kiss" path as Dawsyn and Ryon grow closer, but she stokes the flames of Dawsyn's anger nicely and holds focus on the thirst for revenge and the bitterness of betrayal, right to the cliffhanger ending. Readers looking for a bloody Kill Bill fairy tale (and not a "Beauty and the Beast" charmer) will be more than satisfied. Agent: Amy Collins, Talcott Notch Literary. (July)