This book was brilliant! (Seanan's work and my tastes don't always get along—see my ongoing attempts to get into urban fantasy before getting halfway through a book and remembering I hate it—but omg this!)
The story itself was one of those narratives that are blindingly obvious once someone writes them, but also wonderfully innovative. And the characters are gorgeous and their heartbreak is real. But its also a great mediation on fantasy as escapism and what escapism and going home means.
The end...argh, I don't know what to do with the end. I understand why it frustrates, but at the same time, I can't think of a way to have done it better.

The point of the book was never to validate staying in the real world and just going on as best you can. The point was to validate the pain and experiences of having been elsewhere. The door had to open again and it had to open at the moment Nancy accepted staying in the real world because second best was the best she could have. There is no other happy ending that matches the rules of the halls of the dead. So it was abrupt, but in retrospect, it worked perfectly
Anyway, yes, this book was gorgeous.