Thistle Down

In this flimsy paranormal romance, Thistle Down, a pixie exiled into a human body, rejoins her onetime playmate, Dusty Carrick, now in her mid-20s. Thistle inflicts pixie chaos on Dusty, her older brother, and their friend Chase, making them face their long-buried feelings and dreams. Adding in a former bully turned real estate developer, a vengeful faery/pixie hybrid, an overprotective mother, and a climactic fund-raising Masque Ball makes for a frantic week for Dusty, who finds love and learns to trust after a lifetime of avoidance. Radford (the Dragon Nimbus novels) strives to provide smalltown charm dusted with pixie sparkles, but the locals alternate between knowing everything and nothing about each other, and the 20-somethings seem less mature than the teenagers they supposedly mentor. At the end, Thistle is left stranded, and so is the reader. (June)