I'm left yet again with a true sense of loss. Why do authors write such great first halves and such awful second halves? Who knows?. :-( Somehow at that point, I lost the storyline entirely. Sad to say, it was all downhill from there. I enjoyed each and every page until about the mid-point.

To this point the story was inventive, clever, and great fun. You'd have to jump off theīed, race back to pick it up, and then try to catch up to your bed again! What wonderful word pictures! I loved trying to picture how it all worked.Even though I knew logically that none of it was possible, it was still fun to imagine all of this activity and the sound of the grinding gears as everything moved around. And as you prepared for a good night's sleep, heaven forbid you should drop your clothing. As one arose in the morning, the bed would pass through the kitchen so you could just reach out for your cup of coffee and plate of breakfast.

I so loved this great castle the characters lived in, that was perched precariously on the border between two countries, in both yet in neither, with mechanisms that caused the walls, floors, and entire rooms to be in almost continuous motion. The first 200 pages or so I was absolutely *enthralled* with what promised to be a fascinating modern-day fairytale. Yet another example of a great five-star beginning, followed by a frustrating one- or two-star end.

Malamander book 5