Author: Angie Skelhorn
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: New Adult/Paranormal
Publisher: Eternal Press
Release Date: Oct 1 2014
Edition/Formats Available In: eBook & Print
Goodreads: Add to TBR List
Purchase Links: Amazon | Amazon Print
Blurb/Synopsis: There is support from the unseen to guide our lives on Earth.
Carm, a wholesome farm girl, marries her first love and then abandons everything she knows. After six weeks of marriage, a devastating storm kills her husband, widowing her. In a strange city, torn by her loss—young, scared, and with no resources she lives a life she wasn't ready for. Her emotions fall extremely low. To make it comfortable to live in her own skin, she self-medicates with drugs and alcohol. She is pushed to the edge as her relationships become tremulous.
Haunted by her deceased husband and introduced to a witch, Gretchen, she sees past the darkness. Carm discovers, with the aid of witchcraft, how to accept the past, celebrate the present, and anticipate the future.
Blurb/Synopsis: There is support from the unseen to guide our lives on Earth.
Carm, a wholesome farm girl, marries her first love and then abandons everything she knows. After six weeks of marriage, a devastating storm kills her husband, widowing her. In a strange city, torn by her loss—young, scared, and with no resources she lives a life she wasn't ready for. Her emotions fall extremely low. To make it comfortable to live in her own skin, she self-medicates with drugs and alcohol. She is pushed to the edge as her relationships become tremulous.
Haunted by her deceased husband and introduced to a witch, Gretchen, she sees past the darkness. Carm discovers, with the aid of witchcraft, how to accept the past, celebrate the present, and anticipate the future.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the author, editor, publisher, or Promo Host. This is my honest opinion about this book and I did not receive any monetary compensation for writing this review nor was I obligated to write a positive one.
Carm neither saw nor heard her.
“It’s a lovely day,” she said a little
louder.
Carm stopped in her tracks. She spun round
and looked down at Gretchen in her pitch-black witches’ wear, resting on the
park bench in the shade of a large oak tree.
“I’d like to talk to you,” she said with a
smile.
Carm, her skin clammy, tensed up. She was
tingling inside from the drugs she had taken. She gave Gretchen a sharp look,
waving her hand to dismiss her invite, and said, “I need to get going.”
“You look a bit peaked and pale.”
“I was up
until four this morning, and I’m tired,” she said jerkily.
“Please, join me.” Gretchen beckoned her to
sit beside her.
Carm shifted her feet, ignoring her invite.
“You look very anxious,” she said,
concerned.
Carm stood motionless as smoke drifted from
her cigarette, staring at her. “I want to go and take a nap.”
“You need only to stay a few minutes.”
Carm hesitated and then said, “All right. I
will give you five minutes.” She sat down on the bench and hunched her
shoulders as she attempted to gather her scattered thoughts.
They sat for a while before Gretchen’s eyes
rested on her. She finally said, “You can connect with earth’s energy to
cleanse and refresh your entire body.”
“I’m fine. I just need some rest,” Carm
said grimly. Her other reason was more obscured.
“You can call upon the earth’s energies for
power any time you feel fatigued.”
Carm impatiently looked in the distance
beyond the park’s perimeter. She could see people going about their business
and vehicles clogging the streets.
“The planet is a giant grid of invisible
energy that has an enormous influence on us, and we can connect to these
energies.”
Carm, annoyed, squirmed in her seat.
“How?”
Gretchen smiled as she looked around the
park. “You only need to look at nature to discover peace and tranquil wonders,
even though there are disturbances and violent commotion.” She leaned toward
Carm. “Every earthly thing, great or small, has a purpose in the scheme of
things.” Gretchen sat back on the bench. She crossed her legs like a lady.
“There is unity, an arrangement of all the parts of earth—time, place, and act
fitting together to form a connected whole, and there is a trend toward
healing.”
Carm sniffed loudly. She nodded as if to
say ‘I understand’, glancing at Gretchen.
Gretchen said quietly, “The trend of Nature
is toward perfection and completion. In the winter, the trees are stripped of
their leaves, but within a few months, the leaves are renewed, and after that,
flowers and fruits appear. The winter earth tends to become in bloom in the spring.
As long as our earth continues in the same place in the universe, seedtime and
harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease.”
Gretchen paused and turned slightly toward
Carm. “You are part of nature—the natural order of things. You are composed of
the essential qualities of life—chemistry, the sun, and water. There is a
natural power at work in our bodies, minds, hearts, and spirits which tend
toward healing and wholeness. Isn’t it rather wonderful to know you are part of
nature, and you can tap into the energy to regenerate?”
Carm was listening but did not respond.
Gretchen pointed to a spot on the green
grass and said, “Grass is a very magical herbage. In early earth, grass brought
life from the oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams to dry dirt.”
Carm glanced involuntarily toward the green
carpeted earth. She sniffed loudly.
“Please, stretch out on the ground. I
would like to show you how to connect with cosmic and earth energies anytime,
for cleansing and re-energizing.”
Carm squirmed a little, annoyed by her
suggestion, and said simply, “No, I don’t think so.”
“Please try,” she pressured.
My Rant: At the Edge made me weep from the beginning of the story. The Author expelled so much emotion through her writing. Carm story was devastating. You feel so much loss and you are so deeply drawn into her sadness. How do you make it through life when you loose everything that means something to you. I couldn't answer that question. In the midst of her tragedy she meets a friend that gives her the basic essential to move on. It i easy to completely feel num to life but watching Carm get through the most intense part of her life inspires me. Boy I did not know what I was getting into when i began to read Carms story but I will confess that this book was helping me get through a tragedy of my own. This book was really hard on me because i was reading it on my mother birthday. My mother past last February, but her birthday was yesterday. I felt what Carm was feeling because I could relate to the loss. But watching Carm pick up the pieces is what inspired me. At the Edge was such an emotional roller- coaster but it teaches us that when you are so caught up you can miss the most important things in life. Picking up the pieces and rebuilding your life takes courage and the author captured that courage. I am a fan of Angie Skelhorn and this book just made me more of fan. Although i received a copy for free, I bought aa copy from amazon to have in my collection. At the Edge will be placed on my 2015 favorite books listed and I look forward to other books from Ms. Skelhorn.
My Recommendation:
I rated this book 4 out of 5 Purple Rant Hearts and I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a really great New Adult/Paranormal Adventure.
My interests include tarot, and other forms of divination, astrology, spirituality, mythology and harness racing. I gear my writing toward Witchcraft and Spiritualism. I've been published in Circle Sanctuary Magazine and online at Witchvox, Witches and Pagans and Global Goddess. My paranormal, magic and realism book Severed Ties - Publisher, Damnation Books- book launched December 2012.
I'm delighted to announce my contemporary women's fiction book At the Edge is published by Eternal Press.
http://eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781629291499
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Thank you so much Crystal for taking part in the RBTL At the Edge blog tour. I must admit I am pleased to know someone found the characters likable and that they can reach them physically, intellectually and emotionally. Smiles and Sunshine :)
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