Borderline by Mishell Baker

[anarresa]

Borderline
by Mishell Baker
3 stars

I picked this up expecting a standard urban fantasy, including the female protagonist to be a "strong woman." It is and she is. Fairies interact with our world, a group of humans "in the know" try to keep their presence a secret, magic is used but not without cost. Good guys and bad guys fight it out, friends become enemies and enemies become friends, it's all good fun and set in flashy Hollywood to boot.

The interesting twist is the cast of characters. The fey lend their creative magic to the humans they bond with, so far here in LA they're all movie makers. High-profile, beautiful people. The humans who are the field agents maintaining fey secrecy are all mentally ill to some degree. The main character, Millie, is a former film student with borderline personality disorder and is recruited from a rehab facility after losing her legs in a suicide attempt. There are several agents working in pairs on individual projects but living together in the same house. There is certainly conflict. The rule of the house is not to ask personal questions so the various characters are developed slowly. Millie is the focus but for a first novel in the series Baker takes time with the side characters as well. Millie is the most developed, of course. Baker also seems to have done some psychological research so describes Millie's illness in some detail. The reader is kept in the story because the description comes through Millie assessing her feelings to apply a coping strategy from therapy. I enjoyed this book enough to try some more.

[Hebah]

This one has been on my TBR since it came out. I need to get around to reading it.

[Cheryl]

Borderline does sound a bit like War for the Oaks which I just enjoyed.