There are some enchanting moments in this novel that made it worth reading. However, I was baffled by the generally orgasmatic response of many readers. Looking through the negative reviews it seems that this novel promises many things and only partially delivers. Unlike Lacey (another reviewer) I did not want more of the other world, but reading her review helped me appreciate that part of my disappointment with the novel is my own damn fault. So let's forget about the book I wanted to read and actually talk about the book that Graham Joyce wrote. 
 This is not a love story; it is somewhat confusing to me whether Joyce thought he was writing a book about romantic love all along or whether... (view spoiler)[ that was a device that he threw in at the end to wrap things up. Either way, the turn in the last quarter of the novel feels forced and not at all convincing. (hide spoiler)] 
 I appreciated the parallels between the other world creatures and the teenage boy (unrestrained violence and boners, poorly thought-out quests in the name of unspecified ideals) but was irritated that this part of the plot was so tightly sewn together in the end. Perhaps the character of... (view spoiler)[ Mrs Larwood (hide spoiler)]... was supposed to echo the moral of a fable, but rather than provide insight into what this story was all about she just provided a clear path to an exit for the writer and reader alike.