Rating: 
Summary: Delightful Read
Review: Similar to works by Charles De Lint, this book explores the entanglements of myth and reality. A girl inherits her great-aunt's house and discovers a door into the summerland. There she learns of an unpublished manuscript by her aunt which threatens the integrity of both worlds. While the writing never reaches the deep insights or the lyrical prose of De Lint's work, it has a simple freshness and likeable characters which make it a perfect weekend read.
Rating: 
Summary: Cavity-Inducing
Review: Sweet and quirky are two words that come to define this novel. On the plus side, the author's easy-to-read style made the book more endurable than it might otherwise have been. But eventually even the style grows old. Now, I was not expecting Shakespeare, just a light romance. But this was too light. Part of the problem comes from what others have said: its a small, small world which means the pool of suspects is even narrower. Another problem with this small world however is that it seems to lack balance. Every character - even the so-called normal characters - turn out to be quirky or colorful in their own ways. I began to wonder if the "real" world hadn't already disappeared since no one boring or dull or mediocre seemed to be left. The novel also needed more suspense. Yes, there were moments - esp. in the beginning - but they were few and far between. With a murderer on the loose, I expected more. That leaves the main characters. Piper is fine, but I kept expecting her to do more. Like others have said: she's so busy worrying about her relationship with the elf that little else gets her attention. And finally the elf. Had his moments, liked his look, but his naivety bordered on stupidity. However, despite all this, I will be following this author's work since she definitely showed unrealized promise in this first novel.
Rating:
Summary: devine
Review: this book is devine. It holds life like ours and the life of books. In this book holds love,lies,and magic all in one. the charecters are life like the description is specifically put to the challenge. reading the book u could find urself thinkin what happens to all the books published where do they go and in this book is filled with questions that need to be sought out throgh the book. the book has a lot to do with life and death too.
Rating: 
Summary: Blend of mystery, fantasy & a touch of romance. EXCELLENT
Review: This is the story of Piper Pied. She comes from a very eccentric family -- she seems to be the only stable member of that family. Upon the death of her Great Grandmother, she inherits her house and all her belongings. Most surprising of all, she inherits an entrance to Fairy. She meets an elf named Aelvarim who insists that her great grandmother's death wasn't due to natural causes, but murder. Thus begins Piper and Aelvarim's hunt for the true cause of her great grandmother's death. The mystery remains just that through most of the book, which I believe is the mark of a good mystery -- keeps you guessing. In the midst of that mystery you meet the colorful characters of Fairy -- some sweet, some malevolent. Woven through the story is a burgeoning love story. All of the mystery, fantasy & romance of the story culminates in a well depicted climax.This book was a very satisfying read. The characters were well developed and sympathetic, the plot was well paced and taught, the fantasy elements were colorful & very magical. I won't let my copy of this book go. Go buy your own, you'll be so glad you did!
Rating:
Summary: A delightful debut novel
Review: This was a pleasant and enjoyable read. I always like to see new additions to the modern-fantasy or urban-fantasy sub-genres, and I look forward to reading more books by Rebecca Lickiss. Modern fantasies seem to have as their standard main character someone who resists believing in magic, and Piper is definitely one of those--but you can't argue with an elf sitting at your kitchen table! This book was somewhat reminiscent of _The Sword of Maiden's Tears_ by Rosemary Edghill, but _Eccentric Circles_ is much more light-hearted, which made it easier to read. Does that mean I liked it less? By no means--I actually prefer Lickiss' book because of the light-heartedness. The characterization is good. The novel is populated with lots of quirky characters. The plot is fairly original, and the solution to the problem is original as well. Certain aspects of the plot (a writer to the rescue!) reminded me of Holly Lisle's _Minerva Wakes_, though I think Lickiss handled the ending much better. It was a one-sitting read, and doesn't deal much with "deep issues" though I would argue that accepting people for who they are, and embracing the differences between us, is deep enough to make this book more than a throw-away novel. In any case, I'm glad I read it, and I'll probably check it out from the library again, though I'm not inclined to buy it at this time. If you enjoyed the books I mentioned by Edghill or Lisle, you'll definitely like this one!
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting Light Read!
Review: While not exactly an engrossing tome of a fantasy novel such as I usually read, "Eccentric Circles" was a pleasant diversion and a great lighthearted read. It's nothing that will take your breath away or leave you panting for more, but it is a very enjoyable book, nonetheless.
Upon her grandmother's death, Piper Pied (who comes from a family with increasingly bad taste in names) inherits her relative's home, as well as the innumerable books inside it. The first visitor she has in her new home just happens to be a young male elf named Aelvarim who informs Piper that her grandmother was in fact murdered in order to create a rift between the world of humans and the world of Faerie.
For Piper, who wants nothing more than to have a normal life, these forays into the land of Faerie are amusing, but unimportant. Unimportant, that is, until the problems from the mythical world start leaking into the human world. Faced with the problem of the two worlds drifting away from each other permanently, Piper and Aelvarim must work together to save both worlds from the separation. As they work side by side, Piper finds herself attracted to the handsome elf, and this adds many a humorous episodes into the book.
Overall, I give the book 4 stars because it is charming and funny without being an epic saga, as some fantasy novels are wont to be. The foibles of Piper and her eccentric family, not to mention a woman-hating wizard and irksome faeries, will provide a brief entertaining escape for readers.
Rating: 
Summary: Pleasant but inconsequential first novel
Review: _Eccentric Circles_ is the story of Piper Pied, a twenty-something woman who has just inherited her great-grandmother's house. Piper has been drifting through life since college, trying to be "normal" despite her family's reputation for eccentricity, but never finding a good job or a good boyfriend. Then she wakes up after her first night in her new home to find an elf in the kitchen. It seems that her great-grandmother's house is a nexus between the real world and Faery (or Fairy as Lickiss spells it). The elf, Aelvarim, tells her that her great-grandmother was murdered by a denizen of Fairy, and that they must find the killer and set the story right, or the fabric of both Fairy and the Human world will be severely damaged. Piper assumes that he is a local nutjob, but he is very cute. So she goes along a bit, and soon finds herself meeting a grouchy wizard and a pleasant dwarf and a number of little, mischievous, fairies. She is eventually persuaded to go searching for a story her great-grandmother wrote -- if it can be found, and finished properly, the rift in Fairy might be healed. At the same time she is adjusting to her new job at the local bookstore, and fending off questions from her co-workers and her family about the cute guy with the pointed ears who is going around with her. Well, we can guess where this is going, and there really aren't any surprises along the way, and the mechanics of the plot resolution are a tad strained. But it is a pleasant, quick read, and the characters are fairly engaging. Nothing special, or worth going out of your way to read, but it passes the time well enough.
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