Elfland

by Freda Warrington

Overall, I thought this was an interesting way to mix the world of fantasy with the modern world. The lines between what makes a being human or a fairy are blurry and blurrable (at least from the fairy side). An Aetherial being (as they are called in the book) can blend in with humans no problem – their true selves only show in other realms or to other Aetherials. They can also choose to reject their otherworldly side and forget about their race’s history and powers, and become essentially human – as a few characters in the book attempt to do. The way Aetherials can slip ‘sideways’ between different realms/dimensions – intentionally or accidentally – was a bit of a new twist, too. No stone circles or travelling west into twilight necessary. And I like a good romance storyline with occasional sex scenes as well as the next woman, so a few bonus points for that.

My major beef with this book, though, is unfortunately it’s largest action-driven plot point – Lawrence Wilder and the mysterious threat from beyond the Gates. Even by the end, it is not really clearly explained why, if the threat has always been there from the beginning of creation, it is only awakening now. There’s some vague mention about Lawrence’s nightmares having had something to do with it, possibly creating it, but that doesn’t jive with the story that it was always there. But the more character-driven side of the ending (namely, Rose’s storyline) was very satisfactory, so I found myself able to overlook the bit about Lawrence and still have the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from finishing a good book.

I give it 3.5/5 stars.