This book really deserves three and a half stars. While I enjoyed this novel, it didn't live up to Gaiman's potential. The lyricism and enchanted storytelling I've come to expect from him fell flat. There was too much "I did this", "then this happened". I suppose my biggest peeve with this story is that it reads like a children's story that someone tried to turn into an adult novel for marketing purposes. Perhaps if I hadn't expecting an adult level novel I would have enjoyed this better.