The Edge of Heaven [Paperback]

Teresa Hill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2002

To Rye, the postcard-perfect town of Baxter, Ohio, is like something out of a dream. So, too, is Emma McRae. She seems to trust him completely-and he decides not to reveal the real reason he turned up at her door.

"A talent to be reckoned with." (Romantic Times)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Ordinarily, Emma McRae finds her adoptive parents' home in Baxter, Ohio, comfortable and reassuring, but on this Christmas break from college she's got more on her mind than cookies and presents. Her boyfriend, Mark, has started acting strangely, and to make matters worse, he's started making threatening calls to her in Ohio. Meanwhile, her parents have gone to Cleveland to help a relative, leaving her all alone, until a handsome stranger, Rye, shows up at her doorstep. He claims to have business with Emma's adoptive father but won't give any details. Rye is anxious to leave the house so he doesn't arouse Emma's curiosity, but when he witnesses one of Mark's calls, he can't leave her, knowing how scared she is. Rye stays in town for a few days to make sure nothing happens to her, and Emma welcomes his company, if only she could keep her hands off him. Hill's romance makes for good steamy entertainment. Alexandra Shrake
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Onyx (April 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451410343
• ISBN-13: 978-0451410344
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,253,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in the bluegrass region of Central Kentucky, Teresa Hill grew up thinking there would be nothing better in the world than being a writer, not so surprising given the public library in her town was in an old church building, complete with beautiful stained glass windows. Books seemed, if not holy, at least spiritual, comforting and a way to travel the world and enjoy adventure after adventure.
She adored the Boxcar Children and Island of the Blue Dolphin, loving the idea of living on her own at a young age. Little Women was glorious, although she never quite accepted the fact that Jo and Laurie didn't end up together. And The Outsiders by S. E. Hilton shocked her by being not only a great stories, but also being written by someone in her teens!
Prior to that, she'd been sure writers were old, gray and impossibly wise, living in castle-like splender and seclusion, as befitted such extraordinary creatures.
Then she discovered romance! Actually, historical fiction with a nice dose of romance, in the adult fiction section of the old church turned library. Victoria Holt under her pseudonym Jean Plaidy, writing about the Kings of England and their wives, but with a decidedly romantic bent.
And that was it. She was hooked. She wanted to become a romance writer.
Now, she lives in the shadows of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, with a very understanding husband, two children, two dogs and two cats. She has written thirty books under her real name and previously under the pseudonym Sally Tyler Hayes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, July 11, 2011

By 

S. Richards (Deep South) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Edge of Heaven (Paperback)

This book is what I look for in an older man/younger woman romance, but it has so much more than only that theme or that taboo. It is just a wonderfully written and touching romance, in every way. I just now finished it, crying a little and really feeling as if I've been put through every emotion, from sadness to joy, from frustration to hope.

I devoured this book, every beautiful, poignant moment in it. You already know the blurb and, from another review, who Rye will turn out to be. This is where the taboo aspect and the conflict of the story come in: Rye is Sam's long-lost brother, and Sam is Emma's adoptive father. On top of that, Rye is 33 years old and Emma 18 when they first meet.

Now for some people, the age of the heroine may be a deal breaker, but don't let that put you off. It is so not seedy or dirty or wrong. It's really quite touching the love she feels for this older man. Given her past, Emma is an old soul, and on so many levels, she sees and understands all the deep, lonely, and sad places in Rye. For Rye, who has a shameful and painful past, Emma is everything good and innocent and right in the world. He desperately wants her but feels so unworthy of her.

If ever a man was in need of redemptive love, Rye is that man. I loved him. He is that hero you fall in love with. You can totally see how Emma would lose her heart to him. He is the protector, he is that lost, injured soul, and he is that hero who is strong but needy and vulnerable. If you want a hero who risks his own future for the safety of the heroine; if you want a hero who waits for the heroine, a hero who wants only her and no one else; if you want a hero who believes he's not good enough even to touch the heroine, you will love Rye.

After waiting over two years for Emma, Rye is ready to have his deepest desire and greatest longing. He's tired of wanting and loving her from afar. He knows he doesn't deserve her, but once Emma tells him her heart is his and always has been, he can't deny himself any longer. Rye tells Sam, "There may be a better man than I am out there somewhere for her. But there's no one who's ever going to love her as much as I do... She's it for me. The only woman I will ever love."

I love when a hero longs for love, desperately wanting it with everything in him. And when he gets it, he cherishes it and will never let it go. What a damn fine hero; Rye's it for me. And what a romance, a true romance. It is touching, sexy, and deep in story and character. It's bittersweet, full of longing and emotion, and just plain romantic.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars strong romantic suspense, March 26, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Edge of Heaven (Paperback)

He waited for this moment for most of his life, but now that he apparently found his older brother Sam in Baxter, Ohio, Rye McRae hesitates, not sure of the reception he will receive. As he watches the house with a hope of finding family love inside, Emma McRae returns home from college. Her boyfriend Mark abused her so Emma fled to the sanctuary of her adopted parents' home. However, Sam and Rachel leave town to help a pregnant relative before Emma can explain her plight.

Rye finally finds the courage to knock, but an answering Emma thinks he is seeking a job with Sam. He fails to tell her his identity claiming only to be a friend of her adopted father. As Mark begins to stalk Emma, Rye intercedes to keep her safe and that leads to Rye getting into trouble with the law. Still Rye will risk jail to keep Emma safe, not just because she is family, but because he loves her with all his heart.

Known for her engaging novels that hook the reader from start to finish (see UNBREAK MY HEART), Teresa Hill provides another strong tale that sub-genre fans will complete in one sitting. The story line is loaded with action and the characters are fully developed though the audience needs to accept Emma, recovering from an abusive relationship, taking a stranger into her home. Still, Ms. Hill provides her fans with a strong romantic suspense that takes the reader to THE EDGE OF HEAVEN.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I fell in love with this story!, October 11, 2004

By 

Grace (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Edge of Heaven (Paperback)

This was my first T Hill book and I wasn't sure what to expect. I started the book while on a trip and couldn't put it down. I read the book in one night. I loved the characters! I loved the setting. I didn't want the book to end.

I'm now hooked on Teresa Hill books.