I just finished reading Borderline, the first book in the Arcadia Project series, by Mishell Baker.

This book has been on my radar for a while. I’m pretty sure that the first time I heard about it was on Upgrade #174, recommended by Jason Snell. It kept popping up here and there since, and I finally picked up the audiobook.

I outline all of the above for an important reason; I enjoyed this book tremendously, but I think my enjoyment was somewhat lessened by the book being overhyped. It was a very good story, and I’m thoroughly looking forward to reading the rest of the Arcadia Project series, but I went in with the wrong mindset. I spent the first half of the book feeling mildly disappointed. I did eventually reset my expectations, and doing so made a huge difference to my enjoyment. By the end, I was hungry for more of the universe Mishell Baker introduces and the characters that inhabit it.

If you’re a fan of fantasy in general, and/or urban fantasy in particular, I definitely recommend this unique take on the genre.