The Rainbow Abyss and The Magicians of Night by Barbara Hambly

Eh, we all get an urge to write crack I guess (and sometimes it's an awfully good idea). I love her other fantasy and recommend it wholeheartedly but this didn't quite work for me.

Magical fantasy world cross-over with Nazi Germany.

and I didn't have to get in the pond once.

 A lot of digging, two wheelbarrows, a spray gun, one brother, his girlfriend, two moms, me, my Papa, 262 plants and a crap-load of mulch later the back is starting to look like someone loves it again. Everything except the big green thing in the front had died.