Rating: 4
Description: Princess Lenora lives in Gepeth, where everyone can change their surroundings to be whatever they want them to be...but no one ever does! All Lenora ever hears about is the Balance, and how she shouldn't have turned her father's hair green or made the chairs talk. Lenora takes refuge in her own made-up worlds, but now something seems to be going wrong with her powers. Things are getting out of control, and what does that strange red-haired boy she saw in a pool have to do with it? Prince Coren of Andilla has grown up around people who can read each other's minds and create whatever they want in their heads. The whole country lives inside their imaginations while the realm falls apart around them. Coren, who has vowed not to use his powers, is getting sick of lumpy beds and gruel, so when his parents suggest a marriage to a foreign princess in a land where no one can read minds, he doesn't think it's such a bad idea. But it turns out that that marriage is to Lenora, the notoriously reckless and headstrong Gepethian princess. On Coren and Lenora's wedding day, Lenora catches sight of a world in a pond, and she can't resist jumping right into it...taking Coren along for the ride. The world of Grag is run by a scheming man called Hevak, but Lenora is completely wom over by his slick charm, while Coren is wished right out of existence by Hevak's powers. Lenora will have to remember Coren and wish him back before he forgets who he is himself and is lost forever. What's more, Coren isn't the only one Hevak has ever wished out of existence, and multitudes of other people need their help as well.
Review: "Of Two Minds" is a completely original fantasy about two completely different characters. Coren is the shy, dependable sort (ironically red-haired) while Lenora is the outspoken hellion. The contrasts make their interactions very memorable. The different magical powers are interesting and, while still identifiably fantasy, unique. The plot has enough twists and turns to keep you interested, but it ends much too soon. This book is a good read, but it would have been much better if the plot had been fleshed out significantly.