Brand new from the World Fantasy Award-winning author of Solstice Wood . Sealey Head is a small town on the edge of the ocean, a sleepy place where everyone hears the ringing of a bell no one can see. On the outskirts of town is an impressive estate, Aislinn House, where the aged Lady Eglantyne lies dying, and where the doors sometimes open not to its own dusty rooms, but to the wild majesty of a castle full of knights and princesses? The small seaside town of Sealey Head is home to a few families, an inn, and Aislinn House, an old mansion with a special power—its doors sometimes open onto the world of faerie, where princesses like young Ysabo occupy their time with a complex ritual and knights exist to marry the princesses. Each day at sunset, a bell sounds, heard by everyone, yet its whereabouts and the identity of its ringer remain unknown—until a few strangers arrive to unlock an ancient past. McKillip ( Song for the Basilisk ; Solstice Wood ) weaves elegant modern fairy tales from simple themes, drawing the mythical and everyday worlds into an enchanted union. Elegant, deceptively spare prose and well-developed characters make this a good choice for adult and YA fantasy collections. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. McKillip’s latest is an elegantly written alternate-worlds tale set in Sealey Head, a small ocean-side town that exists in two worlds, in both of which a bell peals as the sun sets. The magnificent Aislinn House is the focal point, a domicile whose doors sometimes open to rooms in a castle in which the young princess Ysabo is among the females sworn to carry out rigid, unexplainable rituals to keep the world from coming to an end. This-world events are having a devastating effect on the other Sealey Head. While carrying out her duties, Emma, housemaid at Aislinn House, frequently finds herself peering into the other world. She comes to know Ysabo, but neither can cross into the other’s world. Meanwhile, the bell has haunted Gwyneth as long as she can remember, and she writes stories that look at possible explanations for the mystery of the bell, which no one can see. McKillip’s knack for vividly portrayed characters and fairy-tale ambience is evident in a story that includes some appealing romance and humor. --Sally Estes Patricia A. McKillip is the award-winning author of numerous novels.