This is an effervescent fantasy, richly filled with wonders, humour, honor, love, and intelligence. Picked this book up from my local library at about 8pm and didn't put it down until I was finished. yep.. read all night. In fact I liked it so much I purchased the ebook from Baen.Com. This is the first Wen Spencer book I read and after reading it went and got her Ukiah Oregon Series from Fictionwise.com.

Set somewhat in the future, the world as we know it has changed and those old stories of elves and the fae have been found to be grounded in reality or rather alternate dimensions. These dimensions differ in the amount of residual magic that comprises the worlds. The Elfworld enjoys vast quantities of magic, but our world developed technology in the absence of magic and there is at least one other dimension that is heating up to create problems for both Elfworld and Earth.

In this time, a gate has been created that allows travel between the world of Humans and the Elves, but there was a glitch in the original gate, and a part of Pittsburgh now resides in the Elfworld dimension, while a bit of the Elfworld occupies the same space in the human dimension.

Enter Tinker, she's young, brilliant, owns her own junk yard and has lived her entire life in the sector of Pittsburg that resides in Elfworld and it turns out her genius is hereditary, as it was her murdered father who created the plans for the gate and his unfinished stolen plans that made the gate possible in the first place.

As the story opens, Tinker is working feverishly to get some vehicles moved with her magnetic crane before they throw the switch that will bring Pittsburgh back to earth when she sees something out of the corner or her eye. A magical monster and its chasing an Elf, an Elf she hasn't seen in 10 years. In the ensuing battle he saves her life and though she also saves his life it's not before he's gravely injured and when the gate goes down he can't access enough magic to heal himself.

With Windwolf's life in her hands, bad guys trying to kill them both and something big coming down Tinker must use all her resources to keep them both alive but the fun is just getting started and Tinker will learn just how many cultural nuances there are that she was blissfully unaware of and just how much trouble ignorance is about to get her into. Tinker will need to rely not only on her wits but on the trust, friendship and love between her, Windwolf and others to get them safely through the coming events, events that may well spell the downfall of both Elves and Humans.

This is a story of a strong, lovely, unassuming heroine, a sexy elf hero, honor, love and self sacrifice. It's also a story of betrayal and greed, but first and foremost it is a GREAT story in a fabulous alternate reality. I can't say enough about it. The sequel Wolf Who Rules is due out from Baen Books in April and I can honestly tell you I can hardly wait.. If you read no other fantasy this year. Pick this one!