A weird book. It's awfully choppy - I suspect because the two authors wrote separate parts and then they figured out the connecting bits. It's not even as "simple" as Tiger Burning Bright - there are more viewpoints here. Every other person seems to be planning to betray someone (the plots within plots get seriously ridiculous at a couple points), and the ones who aren't planning to betray behave very stupidly (Ok, Jay-jay and Sophie have a better excuse than most, their behavior is almost reasonable for a couple female tourists in a (very) strange land). And despite all that, it's a good book and one I think I'd like to reread, later on. Jay-jay and Sophie both find a way out, past the disasters that have bound them - Jay-jay finds someone (lots of someones, actually) who wants her for herself and respects what she is, while Sophie finally moves past the grief and guilt that she was hiding in and finds her way back to her proper life. Their reactions to the magic are really amusing. And so is the book, when it starts being a smartass. Overall - not a favorite, but a very rich story; I suspect it will reward rereading. Preferably before I've entirely forgotten it, this time (I did read it before, but didn't remember anything - not the plotting, not who was on which side, not the end...). ( )

Es gibt Täler in den Alpen, in denen man besser keinen Urlaub machen sollte! Jayjay Bennington und Sophie Cortiss sind Freundinnen von Kindesbeinen an. In jedem Jahr unternehmen sie eine gemeinsame Reise. Beim Stöbern in einer Buchhandlung fällt Jayjay ein seltsames Buch in die Hände, von dem sie sich magisch angezogen fühlt: ein Reiseführer über Glenraven, ein kleines, verträumtes Land 'irgendwo in den Alpen', ein Ort, wo angeblich die 'Zeit stehengeblieben ist'. Jayjay ist begeistert, Sophie skeptisch, ist Glenraven doch in keinem Atlas verzeichnet. Und das ist kein Wunder, denn Glenraven ist tatsächlich ein verwunschenes Tal, das nur alle 400 Jahre auftaucht und sehnlich auf den Erlöser wartet, der es von einem unheiligen, düsteren Fluch befreit ...

This was actually a pretty good book considering that I just gave it away. We have a decent protagonist- nothing special, but she's spunky, who goes to an interesting world, and, though she doesn't have the faintest idea what's going on at first, goes on a decent adventure, and hooks up with a great male protagonist. It's a good read, and I'd recommend it, but it's not an absolute must-read. ( )