Janice Y. (jai) reviewed on 2/3/2007 + 310 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 5

Piper Pied is an unpublished writer and wanderer who belongs to an eccentric family. When she is the first to throw dirt on grandmother Dickerson's grave, Piper inherits the house, a place crowded with books from floor to ceiling, lots of dust, and otherworldly neighbors. Piper finds out about the neighbors when she walks into the kitchen the first morning to find a handsome young elf sitting at the table. He claims that Grandmother Dickerson's death was murder, not old age and wants Piper to help him find clues to solve the mystery. He shows Piper that he is not just some nut by taking her out her back door which has a gate to Fairy. Probably the most interesting part of the novel was the concept of how Fairy affected the Real World and vice versa, and how books written in the Real World affected Fairy. It was an intruiging and often confusing concept as time and space seemed to warp as the characters affected the worlds around them. This is the author's first novel, and she has an easy, smooth writing style, but I found that the character's fell a little flat. Aerlvarim the elf is pretty and naive, and the dwarf, wizard and fairies are painted with quick, broad strokes - I know superficial details but not much about their past, their lives, or any really deep emotions. The mystery was a little too easy to solve since there were very little suspects to choose from. The descriptions of Piper's attraction to the elf seemed to linger on an embarrassingly long time. I've had enough about his dark red hair and nice body. Overall I would recommend this if you are in the mood for a quick afternoon read with light contemporary fantasy and romance.

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