Phantom Pains

Starred review from January 30, 2017
Picking up four months after the end of Borderline, Baker once again immerses readers in a modern-day fantastical Los Angeles, blurring the line between perception and reality with breathtaking ease. Many of Hollywood’s biggest stars and directors are secretly paired with fairy Echoes, who boost the humans’ creativity in exchange for a taste of mortal life and talents. Series protagonist Millie, a would-be filmmaker, has developed coping strategies for her physical and mental disabilities that prove surprisingly useful for dealing with these supernatural entities. Seeking independence, she pulls away from the Arcadia Project, the quasi-official bridge between humans and fairies, and gets a job at Valiant Studios, her own apartment, and a workable therapeutic routine. But her friendship with her former boss, Caryl, and the potential of a relationship with her own Echo, Claybriar, keep pulling her back into the project’s realm of influence. The continued struggle between the Seelie and Unseelie fairy courts is echoed in the ripples caused by the climax of the first book, and, when a new threat looms, Millie must untangle fairy and human secrets before both Earth and Arcadia are irreparably damaged. Baker has a wonderfully subtle touch with delicate emotional, psychological, and romantic elements, and she builds a solid foundation of complex and interesting characterization upon which she layers heart-pounding action and a brilliantly twisty plot. Each word is deliberately chosen for maximum effect. Everything readers think they know about both worlds will be upended by this enthralling installment. Agent: Rachel Kory, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary.

Starred review from February 15, 2017

Four months ago, Millie Roper, a brain-damaged double amputee with borderline personality disorder, left the Arcadia Project, which oversees relations between Hollywood and the fairy world, after her partner Teo was killed by a fey countess. Now working for Valmont Studios, she is brought back to the scene of the crime by her former boss, Caryl, where she is confronted by Teo's ghost. Even more shocking to Millie is Caryl's insistence that ghosts don't exist. Although reluctant to deal with the Project again, she agrees to recount her experience to agents at the national headquarters. But during her visit, an agent is murdered and Caryl is implicated in the crime. Millie knows that Caryl is innocent, but the Project expects swift--and severe--justice to be served. Millie must not only save Caryl from an awful fate but also discover the culprit behind a plot to destroy both worlds. VERDICT This follow-up to Borderline keeps the emotional punches from Baker's resilient protagonist coming. Millie's disabilities are not hindrances; they enhance her thoughts and actions. Readers invested in the first book won't be disappointed.--KC

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2017
The follow-up to Baker's imaginative first entry in the Arcadia Project series, Borderline (2016), finds Millie Roper with a steady job working as the assistant to a movie producer. She's out at the Arcadia Project, but not for long; Stage 13 at the studio where she works still bears the marks of the supernatural showdown that ousted Millie. When Millie's old boss, Caryl, shows up to investigate, the two discover the ghost of Millie's former partner on the stage, an impossibility, Caryl claims, since ghosts aren't real. But it's only the tip of the iceberg, Millie discovers: soon Caryl has been arrested for the murder of a fellow Arcadia Project official, and Millie and her fey counterpart, the appealing Claybriar, have to summon the Unseelie king in the hopes of clearing Caryl. When they discover what's really afoot on Stage 13, they realize there's a major threat to the Seelie realm. In her second outing, Baker expands on the rich world she created and adds new dimension to Millie, who remains a thoroughly appealing and complex heroine.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)