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Okay, so it's not high art; the settings are not ingenious; and the plots are thoroughly predictable. So why is it that my heart leaps with glee every time a new book by Rosemary Edghill is released? Well, that's a good question. Having recently read The Cloak of Night and Daggers (the sixth of Edghill's books I've devoured), I think I've finally got it narrowed down to two simple elements.

First of all, her books are fun, pure and simple. They move along at a rollicksome pace and always have an underlying sense of humour. You get the impression that the author really enjoyed writing them, and, for me, that's a big factor in how much I in turn enjoy reading them.

Second, the characters. Edghill's characters always have a little bit of the misfit about them, and they grapple with bizarre situations with an odd mixture of gusto, disbelief, and resignation. This, combined with an ever-present sense of humour, makes them very likeable. They're people I don't mind spending several evenings with. In fact, it's because of the characters that I don't seem to mind the predictability of the plots. I know where they are going to go, but I still want to see how they get there.

The Cloak of Night and Daggers makes no exception to these elements and I think I enjoyed it as much as I did the first two in this series. I still find it rather humourous that Elfame (as the elf world is called in this series) is running rampant with displaced human librarians with hero complexes, but it's all part of the fun. This book is perhaps a little shorter on action than the first two, but it introduces several new characters to liven things up a bit.

This series is definitely worth the read if you are looking to escape into some pure entertainment. The series title is The Twelve Treasures, which leaves me wondering if there are going to be twelve books. I'm generally one of those people who won't read any series with more than four books, but in this case I think I'd make an exception.

Margo has always been drawn toward fantasy and, at the age of 5, decided to fill her life with it by pursuing a career as a professional actress. Aside from theatre (and her husband), Margo's passion has been for books. Her interests are diverse and eclectic, but the bulk fall within the realm of speculative fiction. She tells us that her backlog has reached 200 books and she's ready to win the lottery and retire.