3.5 stars

I’ve been finding and losing the scrap of paper with this title written on it for several years—tucking it away, forgetting about it, finding it again, this recommendation I wanted to get to but never when the scrap of paper emerged again to remind me to read it. Well, scrap of paper, I don’t know where you are right now, but when I find you again, you’re going in the recycle bin—tra-la!

I really liked the setting of this book, a tourist attraction in Maine, located at a gate between worlds. I was worried at first the main character Kate might be one of those martyr types who wallows in self-recrimination and pushes everyone away, but I was glad it wasn’t too long before she got over that bit of nonsense. I love the community that welcomes her back (even though she doesn’t expect them to) and the different supernatural creatures and folk who cross her path. I’m especially fond of Borgen and Mr. Ignat. There were some good twists I didn’t see coming. I had made some smug (incorrect) predictions, and I was glad to be surprised instead. I’m not sure I understand what happened to the baddie at the end, but I imagine the next book will touch on that. This is the first in a trilogy, and I liked it enough to read the next.

Random observation: there are a ton of apostrophes in this book, like noticeably A Lot. Many many contractions and shortened words, so many I’m thinking about them enough to talk about them in a review. I got used to it, but the one thing that puzzled the heck out of me was when she put an apostrophe at the beginning of the word “way,” like in a phrase like, “There are ‘way more apostrophes in this book than any other book in the world.” I don’t know what letter that apostrophe is standing in for. If someone can tell me, I’ll give you a prize. ( )

Makes me think of:
Dar Williamson-The ocean
Marit Bergman-Out on the piers

Kate Archer is returning to her seaside hometown after her grandmother fails to return her calls and no one seems to know where she went. This would have anyone worried but the implications of her being missing are far more difficult since she is also the Guardian of Archers Beach.



Archers beach is a seaside resort but its also place where the mundane meet the magical and both sides manage to come together and live more or less harmoniously. But it does need its Guardian to take care of the land.



Kate investigates and learns her grandmother might have gone in search of something important that couldnt possibly exist anymore.



Waiting and hoping for her grandmother to return she agrees to take charge of the carousel her grandmother owns wich means more than just keeping up repairs and taking ticket fees. The carousel is in fact a magical prison for criminals who now inhabits the carousels wooden creatures.



It probably doesnt help matters that Kate is punishing herself for something that happened in the past by refusing to use her innate magic wich is slowly killing her and then when she ends up on the bad side of a shady buisnessman its not only the disappearance of her grandmother she has to sort out.



She finds herself fighting mundane criminals and magical villains who wouldnt hesitate to kill and hurt innocent people to see their goals fulfilled.



And then there is the mysterious Borgan who she might be able to put her trust in...



This was a wonderful book-a true gem. If you have ever found yourself standing by the sea or a lake looking out to the horizon and just felt the calm that is the atmosphere of this book. I cant describe it any other way. As opposed to an urban fantasy I guess this book can be categorized as rural fantasy.



It all just came alive to me,the setting and the characters felt real and not made out of some generic mold just something very special.



If you were expecting a tough heroine who can kickdrop a guy you will probably end up disappointed in this book because altough Kate is quite a capable person she prefers to figure out things instead of going all action-y as her first response.

Mind you she is no pushover and she has some trust issues but you are never annoyed at her hoping she would just snap out it instead feeling you can understand why she is the way she is.

Likewise if you are looking for a fullblown romance-... this isnt your book.but Kate does build a meaningful connection with someone that in future books could come to be realized.

I loved those scenes with that person :) They were so beautiful.

The pace of the book was very slow paced,not in a bad way but instead of having it all thrown at you all at once it slowly unfolds and brings the reader along for the ride. Thats not to say it doesnt have fastpaced and exciting bits in there too though but i I felt that contrasting the calmer scenes with those dramatic ones were a good move of the author.

There are a lot of complex things going on in this book but somehow it all came together in the end.

And just as big part of the plot is Kate finally coming to terms with painful memories from her past and becoming a stronger person for it.


This was one of my favorite books of 2011 and I was very happy to learn there would be a sequel to it (wich I hope to Review soon.)
( )

Kate Archer has, reluctantly, come home to Archer's Beach after ten years away because her grandmother is missing. Their family owns the carousel at the local seasonal amusement park, and if someone doesn't pay the rent soon, they risk losing everything.

When Kate returns to the town and the house, she finds her grandmother has left her a package. There's a letter to Kate, and papers deeding over the carousel, the house, and the land. "The land," in this case, means a great deal more than just the land. Coming home, especially in the absence of her grandmother, means taking up her role as the Guardian of the Land.

And as it happens, a spirit of great power, from the world Kate was born in, has turned his attentions to Archer's Beach, in this, the last and least of the Six Worlds.

And Kate renounced her powers, responsibilities, and ties to the Land ten years ago, when she left, pursuing a self-imposed punishment. She's dying.

This is a nicely presented contemporary fantasy. I love Kate, Borgan, and the land spirits that have been waiting for Kate's return. The town and its inhabitants keep getting more and more interesting as the book progresses.

And there's a nice payoff in the end.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Audible in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Magnificent. I didn't review it the first time I read it, but on this reread - I picked it up, intending to read a chapter or two with dinner. 3 hours later, I blinked my way out of Archer's Beach, reveling in a magnificent story and spectacular language. I like Kate; Borgan...well. He kind of annoys me, the way he unnecessarily hides stuff from Kate. But he is a good guy, in several senses of the word. All the characters (and some of them are real characters!) are well fleshed-out - not completely known (what's Bob? What's up with Gaby?) but definitely people, with their own trajectories just incidentally intersecting the story we're following. Lots (and lots, and lots) of secrets, mysteries, tricks, plots...very few lies, though, for various reasons. Archer's Beach, as a concept and a place, is fascinating - the interactions of humans and not, the power(s) laid in in various places, and the amusement park - both just as an amusement park (neat!) and as a place of power. There are still unanswered questions at the end, but most of them are of the "but why did they do that?" variety - filling in the blanks, though we know more or less what happened in the past and what that led to. I have the next book (yay!) - this reread was in preparation for that. ( )

It seemed as though this was a sequel to another story that had already set the stage and that the reader was expected to understand more than was explained. Fun for the local setting. ( )