Strangehold: Crossroads of Worlds, Book 1

Sears’s page-turning debut is a contemporary fantasy in which human magic-wielders (or casters) and magical fae live among mortals. Both are aware of portals, or “feygates” to the faery world “underhill,” from the world “overhill” (Earth). Caster Morgan Tenpenny lives on the border of Georgia and Alabama, while her sister Gwen lives underhill with her faery husband and their two daughters. Faeries and casters maintain an uneasy truce, but when a mysterious, fatal disease spreads among casters, the gates to underhill are abruptly and inexplicably sealed. After Gwen contacts Morgan and asks her to take the girls to overhill to protect them from what’s happening in underhill, Morgan searches for a way to reach them, and for the source of the disease, with help from a handsome faery named Falcon who’s been trapped overhill. Together, they find a hidden gate in Atlanta that leads to a magical, in-between region called Strangehold. The worldbuilding comes rapidly, but the author balances it with solid characters and skillful descriptions (“She looked carved from moonlight”). These elements, combined with a bit of romance, will enchant fantasy fans. (BookLife)