Down among the sticks and bones by Seanan McGuire

Kindle Edition, 190 pages
Published June 13th 2017 by Tor.com
Series: Wayward Children #2
Fantasy novella
Own

Wohoo, free!! Thak you TOR.

I Liked book 1, and I liked this one. This one happens before book 1, and I had honestly forgotten what happened in that novella.

Jacqueline grows up a princess, Jillian grows up a tomboy, and they both start to chafe at the roles given by their parents. They are twins, yet so different.

Jack and Jill went up a hill, and all fell apart...

I liked where they ended up, it was dark. There are doors, and all those lost children around the world, might have fallen through those doors. And the other side is not always or ever pleasant.

Great novella! I need more

Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

This is the story of what happened first…

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got.

They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.

They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.

Audio: The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire

Narrated by: Robinette Kowal

Series: October Daye, Book 13

Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 10-22-19

Language: English

Publisher: Audible Studios
Uran fantasy
To review

My first Toby in audio! And omg, yes it worked great! I did feel like the last book was a filler, but this one was great, was it the audio? Maybe, or maybe because things started to happen again.

The Sea witch are calling all selkies to a final judgement, and in the last book Toby's daughter became one. So stakes are high.

Let's get back to the audio thing. I really enjoyed Robinette's narration. I might not have been the fondest of Tybalt, but then I guess I pictured him in another way (sexier *cough*) and now he was just so old timey, but hey I even grew to like it, because it is Tybalt after all. And the Luideag was very rough sounding, but still she almost brought tears to my eyes at one point. She put in so much emotion. All the feels. And Toby was just right. SO yes, great narration.

Back to the story. The selkies are scared. Duchess Dianda is in trouble when her brother comes sniffing around. Toby is in danger, as always (and omg, poor Toby!). I am disliking her daughter now, I get it, sure be angry, but Gillian is just cruel, so cruel.

A lot is happening and I could not stop listening. I have no idea how many hours I listened to today, it was a lot I tell you. A lot! I will definitely do the next on in audio. Everything is even greater in audio.

Hundreds of years ago, the Selkies made a deal with the sea witch: they would have the sea for as long as she allowed it, and when the time came, she would call in all their debts at once. Many people assumed that day would never come. Those people were wrong.

When the Luidaeg—October "Toby" Daye's oldest and most dangerous ally—tells her the time has come for the Selkies to fulfill their side of the bargain, and that Toby must be a part of the process, Toby can't refuse. Literally. The Selkies aren't the only ones in debt to the Luidaeg, and Toby has to pay what she owes like anyone else. They will travel to the fabled Duchy of Ships and call a convocation of the Selkies, telling them to come and meet the Luidaeg's price...or face the consequences.

Of course, nothing is that simple. When Dianda Lorden's brother appears to arrest Dianda for treason against the Undersea, when a Selkie woman is stripped of her skin and then murdered, when everything is falling apart, that's when Toby will have to answer the real question of the hour.

Night and Silence by Seanan McGuire

I love these, but I also want them to end, I fear the day they will drag. I did like this one but at the same time it did feel like  a filler for the next book. I fear fillers...

Toby's daughter is missing, they are on the case.

Tybalt is still suffering after the ordeals in the last books.

You know what, book 12. They save the day. There are consequences. There is a big secret coming out.

I liked it, I always do.

Blurb

In the aftermath of Amandine's latest betrayal, October "Toby" Daye's fragile self-made family is on the verge of coming apart at the seams. Jazz can't sleep, Sylvester doesn't want to see her, and worst of all, Tybalt has withdrawn from her entirely, retreating into the Court of Cats as he tries to recover from his abduction. Toby is floundering, unable to help the people she loves most heal. She needs a distraction. She needs a quest.

What she doesn't need is the abduction of her estranged human daughter, Gillian. What she doesn't need is to be accused of kidnapping her own child by her ex-boyfriend and his new wife, who seems to be harboring secrets of her own. There's no question of whether she'll take the case. The only question is whether she's emotionally prepared to survive it.

Signs of Faerie's involvement are everywhere, and it's going to take all Toby's nerve and all her allies to get her through this web of old secrets, older hatreds, and new deceits. If she can't find Gillian before time runs out, her own child will pay the price.

Two questions remain: Who in Faerie remembered Gillian existed? And what do they stand to gain?

No matter how this ends, Toby's life will never be the same. 

Mass Market Paperback, 403 pages
Published August 27th 2019 by Daw Books (first published September 4th 2018)
Series: October Daye #12, October Daye Chronological Order #12
Urban fantasy
Own

The Brightest Fell - Seanan McGuire

Mass Market Paperback, 354 pages

Published August 28th 2018 by Daw Books (first published September 5th 2017)

Series: October Daye #11

UF

Own

My Thoughts:
I loved this book. She was back on her A game! I kind of feel I should give it a 5. Right! I mean I could not put it down. I made time for me to read it when I should have done other things cos I HAD TO FINISH! SO I am gonna be freaking nice, 5!

Gosh I love this series. Toby rocks!
F her mum!

She is sent on a quest with an enemy (whom I grew to understand.) And well I just could not put the book down. It was so exciting.

And I do want an end now, no more books. I love this series but I am always afraid it will start to stagnate. And I really want to see if they can bring Faery back and what happens if the big guys come back.

Great installment in this series!

Synopsis:

Things are slow, and October "Toby" Daye couldn't be happier about that. The elf-shot cure has been approved, Arden Windermere is settling into her position as Queen in the Mists, and Toby doesn't have anything demanding her attention except for wedding planning and spending time with her family.

Maybe she should have realized that it was too good to last.

When Toby's mother, Amandine, appears on her doorstep with a demand for help, refusing her seems like the right thing to do...until Amandine starts taking hostages, and everything changes. Now Toby doesn't have a choice about whether or not she does as her mother asks. Not with Jazz and Tybalt's lives hanging in the balance. But who could possibly help her find a pureblood she's never met, one who's been missing for over a hundred years?

Enter Simon Torquill, elf-shot enemy turned awakened, uneasy ally. Together, the two of them must try to solve one of the greatest mysteries in the Mists: what happened to Amandine's oldest daughter, August, who disappeared in 1906.

This is one missing person case Toby can't afford to get wrong. (less)

Every Heart a doorway and TMST: Do you find it is easier to read and review books that you have picked up on your own?

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children

No Solicitations

No Visitors

No Guests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost. 

My thoughts:

When I saw this one was free from TOR I went all omg, now now now! I do like MacGuire's books but I had not read this one. It was a novella. I had doubts. But fear not, she is a wonderful writer after all and this was just up my alley.

Nancy comes to a home for well, troubled teens. Her parent's put her there to get better, but the home is not really for that. The women helping them knows very well they are not crazy. They have all been to different worlds. Now they need to learn with the loss of those worlds and being in the real world.

Now this was fascinating. All these worlds, so many worlds! All these kids stumbling in and then out of them. The loss they need to deal with then.

As for the School. Well sinister things are afoot. Nancy are thrown in the middle of things and a good story unfolds.

A really good novella.

Cover
nice

Kindle Edition, 176 pages
Published April 5th 2016 by Tor.com
Wayward Children #1
Paranormal
Novella

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings where Rainy discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.

This week's conversation starter: 

July 18th: Do you find it is easier to read and review books that you have picked up on your own? 

Honestly, sometimes it is the exact opposite. Because books I have bought, received or picked up at the library, well I have a low tolerance with those at times. I find it easy to dnf them. To just let them go. While when it comes to review books I try harder to read them.

Books I have picked up on my own, right, so higher tolerance for dnf.

When it comes to books I buy I spend a lot of time investigating them so to say. When it comes to library books I just pick books and yes that might be why I dnf a lot. They are not always for me.

Review books comes first, so I would not say I have it easier to read my own books. They come second, that is if it is not books I really really want. And those I usually get for xmas or my bday. Yes I do not buy books whenever. I  wait for xmas and my bday ;)

When it comes to reviews, well I review everything that I read. So it does not matter what it is.

I guess my question is no? Since everything is equally easy to read and review.

Luci on April 30th. He was NOT amused

Once Broken Faith - Seanan McGuire

Politics have never been October “Toby” Daye’s strong suit. When she traveled to the Kingdom of Silences to prevent them from going to war with her home, the Kingdom of the Mists, she wasn’t expecting to return with a cure for elf-shot and a whole new set of political headaches. 

Now the events she unwittingly set in motion could change the balance of modern Faerie forever, and she has been ordered to appear before a historic convocation of monarchs, hosted by Queen Windermere in the Mists and overseen by the High King and Queen themselves.

Naturally, things have barely gotten underway when the first dead body shows up. As the only changeling in attendance, Toby is already the target of suspicion and hostility. Now she needs to find a killer before they can strike again—and with the doors locked to keep the guilty from escaping, no one is safe.

As danger draws ever closer to her allies and the people she loves best, Toby will have to race against time to prevent the total political destabilization of the West Coast and to get the convocation back on track…and if she fails, the cure for elf-shot may be buried forever, along with the victims she was too slow to save.

My thoughts:

I do love these, and they are still good. Of course, I do want them to end soon cos I fear that it will go down like so many other series, but before that....

Time for the nobles to gather and talk about the cure for Elf-shot. And Toby has to be there cos she does have a hand in a lot.

There will be dangers as not everyone wants the cure to be around. A bit of heartache and the usual Toby adventures as she tries to find answers.

I really do not have a lot to say. It is book 10, I have said it all before...

Conclusion:

Another good addition to the series. I look forward to the next one.

Cover

Ok

Mass Market Paperback, 1st, 420 pages
Published September 6th 2016 by DAW
October Daye, #10
Urban fantasy
Own

A red-rose chain - Seanan McGuire

Things are looking up. For the first time in what feels like years, October “Toby” Daye has been able to pause long enough to take a breath and look at her life—and she likes what she sees. She has friends. She has allies. She has a squire to train and a King of Cats to love, and maybe, just maybe, she can let her guard down for a change.

Or not. When Queen Windermere’s seneschal is elf-shot and thrown into an enchanted sleep by agents from the neighboring Kingdom of Silences, Toby finds herself in a role she never expected to play: that of a diplomat. She must travel to Portland, Oregon, to convince King Rhys of Silences not to go to war against the Mists. But nothing is that simple, and what October finds in Silences is worse than she would ever have imagined.

How far will Toby go when lives are on the line, and when allies both old and new are threatened by a force she had never expected to face again? How much is October willing to give up, and how much is she willing to change? In Faerie, what’s past is never really gone.

It’s just waiting for an opportunity to pounce. 

My thoughts:

I still devour these in a day. I got home, I opened my parcel and started to read. I did not put it down until I was done.

An old bitch is back. And Silence has declared war on Mist. Ugh, King Rhys was a real piece. I wanted to kick him where it hurts.

Toby gets sent to his court to broker a peace deal. HA. Yes you who know her know that is the worst idea. She knows it's a bad idea, everyone know it's a bad idea. But she does her best, together with Quentin, May and Tybalt (still adore him, does he get better with each book? Awwww)

There will be drama, action, and lots of blood. Lots of blood. I do not really have a lot to say. I love this series. It's fun and Toby is awesome.

Conclusion:

A year until the next book, sigh.

Cover

cool

Mass Market Paperback, 368 pages
Published September 1st 2015 by DAW
October Daye #9
Urban fantasy
Own

The Winter Long - Seanan McGuire

Toby thought she understood her own past; she thought she knew the score.

She was wrong.

It's time to learn the truth.

My thoughts:

I do love Toby. That's all.

But must I say more?! This is book 8, I am sure I have said it all. Cried poor Toby! Talked about how hot Tybalt is. Talked about how cool the world is. Talked again about poor Toby, and just talked in general about how awesome it is.

Here again I thirst for answers! I need them, I need them now. Sure we learn who big bad was. But what I want to know is, let's see, her grandmother is. There is something strange there. First we learn about her mother, her grandfather, well now I want more. I guess it will come.

So, what can I say without spoiling things? Toby is in danger as always. She kicks ass as always. She learns new truths. The end. Awesome.

Conclusion:

Read it in an evening. For once you start you can't stop.

Cover

Good

Paperback, 358 pages
Published September 2nd 2014 by DAW
October Daye #8
Urban fantasy
Own

----------------

I am the most forgetful person ever! I am over at Felicia's blog and talking about why I love libraries.

Review: A kiss for Midwinter - Courtney Milan + Seanan Mcguire short

Miss Lydia Charingford is always cheerful, and never more so than at Christmas time. But no matter how hard she smiles, she can't forget the youthful mistake that could have ruined her reputation. Even though the worst of her indiscretion was kept secret, one other person knows the truth of those dark days: the sarcastic Doctor Jonas Grantham. She wants nothing to do with him...or the butterflies that take flight in her stomach every time he looks her way.

Jonas Grantham has a secret, too: He's been in love with Lydia for more than a year. This winter, he's determined to conquer her dislike and win her for his own. It all starts with a wager and a kiss...

My thoughts:

I am not a big a fan as two people I know, you know who you both are...but I did love one of her novellas. Then I read a book that was rather meh, and now I read this one and it was good. Very strange, I usually do not like novellas.

I like how she takes things a bit darker. Lydia has made her mistakes in the past and paid for it. Jonas falls in love with her but the past is there ever present.

It was short (but not too short). The story felt fleshed out and they had time to fall for each other and I enjoyed the tale. It does make me want to try more by her again.

ebook, 121 pages
Published December 18th 2012 (first published December 16th 2012)
Brothers Sinister #1.5
Historical romance
Own

For ten years, the young King of Cats known throughout the Kingdom of Londinium as Tybalt—once known to family and friends as "Rand," a gentle Prince who had never aspired to the throne—had ruled his Kingdom alone, refusing to let any other of his kind enter the city while it is in his care. But even a King can get lonely...

When Tybalt meets a Selkie stranger named Dylan, it seems almost inevitable that they should become entangled with each other—the lonely King and the man without friends or family in London were virtually designed to be together. But sadly, designs can only hold for as long as they are left alone, and when the Undersea inevitably arrives looking for their missing son, Tybalt will have to choose. His Kingdom, or Dylan?

Either way, he loses.

A short, under 30 pages, story about how Tybalt meets Dylan. They become friends and we get to see how lonely poor Tybalt was in London during those years.

A nice little story that showed another story of Tybalt.

ebook
Published September 18th 2013
October Daye 0.2
Own

Review: In Sea-salt tears - Seanan McGuire

Free to download in Mobi, ePub and PDF.

It was 1972, and a teenage girl named Elizabeth Ryan thought that her world was coming to an end. Elizabeth was the daughter of two Selkies, you see, and she had just been passed up for a skin. But then a mysterious cousin who calls herself Annie appears, and Elizabeth finds other things to think about...

It can be easy to forget that worlds don't wait for heroes before they begin. It can be easy to forget that things happened before the lights came up and the story started. This is one of those things that happened: this is one of those tales that slipped through the cracks. It is the story of a girl named Elizabeth, and a girl named Annie, and what they were to one another, in the sight and sounding of the sea.

Maybe it isn't fair. But fairy tales never really are.

Thoughts:

This was a sad short story. No happy ending here, but that depends on how you see it and what you want.

I liked it and the selkie stories are always sad in this universe. They are not the happiest of fairies...at all.

Love and loss and making choices is what it was about

ebook, 24 pages
Published August 23rd 2012
Got at http://www.seananmcguire.com/tobyshorts.php
October Daye #5.1
Urban fantasy

I also realised that  I never said anything about the short story at the end of Chimes of Midnight. We get to see October make the Choice and I liked the way it was shown. I do like Luidaeg, but then  I love them all

Review: Midnight Blue-Light Special - Seanan McGuire

The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity--and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and when her work with the cryptid community took her to Manhattan, she thought she would finally be free to pursue competition-level dance in earnest. It didn't quite work out that way...

But now, with the snake cult that was killing virgins all over Manhattan finally taken care of, Verity is ready to settle down for some serious ballroom dancing—until her on-again, off-again, semi-boyfriend Dominic De Luca, a member of the monster-hunting Covenant of St. George, informs her that the Covenant is on their way to assess the city's readiness for a cryptid purge. With everything and everyone she loves on the line, there's no way Verity can take that lying down.

My thoughts:

I will always just compare these with the Toby books, cos they are just not as good. They are still good, just not AS good.

Here Verity fights the wicked Covenant, Sarah has her own POV for a time, lots of cool cryptids, Dominic has to make up his mind where he belongs and the MICE! Yes I adore the talking Mice.

So there is action, a bit of romance/drama and just life in general for a woman saving good guys and hunting baddies.

I was a bit disappointed at the end, not cos of the book, but because I read that book 3 will be about Alex. Who we have only heard about so far. So no more Verity, I guess this was goodbye. I only hope he has some mice too ;)

Cover:

Ok

InCryptid #2
Urban fantasy
Mass Market Paperback, 328 pagesPublished March 5th 2013 by DAW
Own

Review: Discount Armageddon - Seanan McGuire

Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night... The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity-and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. Sounds pretty simple, right? It would be, if it weren't for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family's old enemies, the Covenant of St. George. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed. To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, and someone's spreading rumors about a dragon sleeping underneath the city..

My thoughts:

A new series by McGuire, and of course I had to read it. But that also means that I compare it to her October series. It was good, but so far not as strong. Still will I buy book 2? Of course!

In this world there are monsters of every sort, but humans do not know. Who does know is The Covenant, a bunch of creepy fanatics who thinks it's God's Will that all monsters are killed. Whether they are cute innocent talking mice or monsters that do kill. But that does not matter as Cryptids (the monsters) are not meant to be. I like good bad guys, and creepy religious fanatics makes for good baddies. And I can hate them as much as I want.

On to our heroine, Verity Price. Whose family left the Covenant to protect innocent cryptids. She is a ballroom dancer (and bwt the costume she has on makes sense when you learn more about her job). She is kick-ass, nice, smart and has a home filled with mice. Oh I loved the mice! 

Her friend and cousin is a telepath (comes in handy), she meets a cute buy who is Covenant and who means to kill every cryptid in NYC (not good). Someone is killing cryptids and the chase is on. Non stop action, a tiny bit of passion and there you have it, our story.

Conclusion:

A nice beginning to a new series.

Cover

Awesome

Series: InCryptid #1
Genre: urban Fantasy
Pages: 352
Published: 2012 by Daw
Source: own

Review: Ashes of Honor - Seanan McGuire

Toby’s not ready to get back to work, but now she must search

for a powerful changeling with the potential to destroy all of Faerie. She quickly finds herself drawn into a web of kidnappings, political intrigues, and attempted assassinations. Toby must travel farther than ever before—and what she’ll find might not be what she expected.

My thoughts:

What to say..I have always loved Tybalt but now I love him even more. He has my heart and he is my favorite m of ale character the year.

" When you turn from me, it hurts. When you think badly of me, I think badly of myself. When you do stupid, suicidal things, I want to slap you upside the head and demand to know how you can be so brilliant and so blind at the same time.” Tybalt’s expression was calm. “If that’s not love, what is it?” 

Awww, be still my heart. Oh Tybalt how I love you. Yes this could be one review praising Tybalt to the skies. But I will try to tell you a few other things too.

Toby is looking for a teen tearing holes into fairie. All could collapse and Toby will be hurt like never before. She also throws herself into battle as she is still missing Connor, but she is getting over it too.

It was a great book, action filled and something nice on the horizon. But blood flows, a lot.

Conclusion:

I recommend this series to all and I can't wait for the next book.

Cover:

Good

Series: October Daye #6
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 353
Published: 2012 by Daw
Source: My own

Review: One Salt Sea - Seanan McGuire

One Salt Sea - Seanan McGuire

October "Toby" Daye is settling into her new role as Countess of Goldengreen. She's actually dating again, and she's taken on Quentin as her squire. So, of course, it's time for things to take a turn for the worse.

Someone has kidnapped the sons of the regent of the Undersea Duchy of Saltmist. To prevent a war between land and sea, Toby must find the missing boys and prove the Queen of the Mists was not behind their abduction. Toby's search will take her from the streets of San Francisco to the lands beneath the waves, and her deadline is firm: she must find the boys in three days' time, or all of the Mists will pay the price. But someone is determined to stop her-and whoever it is isn't playing by Oberon's Laws...

My thoughts:

I am still loving this series. Toby was as kick-ass as usual and Tybalt, well I love cats! And the scene where he was on the car seat as a cat, lol, yes she should take him on.

The action was ever present as always. War is brewing and she needs to find missing kids. Danger, the sea witch, "mermaids", and dealing with her new life after finding out what her mum really is. Not to mention flirting and kissing with Connor now when he is not with that horrid wife of his. The wife I swore over in the last book as she is diabolical. But as for Connor as a person, eh, no team Connor for me. I want the kitty!

Conclusion:

I have said all the same things before so I will not make this long. At the end I wanted book 6 at once! It did not end with a cliffie but I just crave more as this series keeps on being strong.

Cover:

Cool

Series: October Daye #5
Pages: 354
Published: 2011 by DAW
Source: Own

Review: Late Eclipses - Seanan McGuire

October "Toby" Daye is half-human, half-fae-the only changeling who's earned knighthood. But when someone begins targeting her nearest and dearest, it becomes clear that Toby is being set up to take the fall for everything that's happening.

My thoughts:

First of all I just have to get this off my chest; Raysel! You fucking bitch!!! *screams* Honestly it was painful to read the book this time cos I just wanted to go over and slap Raysel and then leave her to rot. I always did hate that bitch but here it got even worse. At the moment she is one of my most hated characters of all time.

*breathes in and out* I am trying to calm down but this book took it out of me. At one time I almost cried too, I seriously hate a few people in this series. They are not evil, they are despicable. Poor poor Toby. *screams a bit more*

I started this book, I smiled at a point, and then I came to that point where I no longer could put it down. Where I wanted to scream and rage against injustice. Where it just got so freaking good that I could almost not hold on. You know when it comes to the point where it is just too good, too exciting, and it feels like you can't breathe.

I think I am too worked up to write a review...a few thoughts then. I still love Tybalt, hello cat, duh, I love those. Sure Connor is nice, but..but...May her fetch is just too fun. Exciting things are going on as Toby tries to figure out who is going after her friends. Revelations are made about her past, still one piece is missing and I want to know. Perhaps in the next book.

*swears over Raysel, the evil bitch again* then again, it's not her fault that she is fucked up. See, I did finally calm down.

Conclusion:

Yes do read this series! Recommended, and I am glad I have book 5, but I will wait a while since book 6 is coming first this fall.

Cover:

The dress and the jacket, yup, just like she was. even a pointy ear.

Series: October Daye #4
Genre: Urban fantasy
Pages: 372
Published: 2011 by DAW
Source: my own

Review: An artificial night - Seanan McGuire

October "Toby" Daye is a changeling-half human and half fae-and the only one who has earned knighthood. Now she must take on a nightmarish new challenge. Someone is stealing the children of the fae as well as mortal children, and all signs point to Blind Michael. Toby has no choice but to track the villain down-even when there are only three magical roads by which to reach Blind Michael's realm, home of the Wild Hunt-and no road may be taken more than once. If Toby cannot escape with the children, she will fall prey to the Wild Hunt and Blind Michael's inescapable power.

Series: October Daye #3, Genre: urban fantasy, Pages: 368, Published: 2010 by DAW, Source: Bookshelf

My thoughts:

This world just keeps getting cooler, though it did make me think too. All the fairies are so Celtic and created there. But how about the kitsune..are the Japanese fairies created by old ones back there or is the whole fairy world just Celtic? It does make me wonder. Perhaps we will find out one day.

Toby is searching for missing kids in this one as Blind Michael and the Wild Hunt is on the move. I also learn a bit more about fairie and the first ones and the more I know, the more I want to know even more. The world is good, the fairies wicked and good. And Toby is always in the danger of loosing her life. The poor woman takes on jobs too big for her.

Tybalt is back and as I love cats I love him, he is the king of cats after all. But he is a bit shifty. As for other love interest, there is always Connor, whose wife (she is one crazy woman) wants to Kill Toby. Poor Toby again as she can't even have her old friends back.

The story throws a few twists and turns and it's a hard book to put down. 

I accidentally read a spoiler for book 4 ;) Nothing that said something, just what would happen and that made me go omg. I want that book. I am always on the look for more answers when it comes to this series. So now I can't wait to read book 4.

Conclusion:

A cool UF series that I recommend.

Cover:

Works

Review: A Local Habitation - Seanan McGuire

October “Toby” Daye is a changeling, the daughter of Amandine of the fae and a mortal man. Like her mother, she is gifted in blood magic, able to read what has happened to a person through a mere taste of blood. 

Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, most changelings are second-class children of Faerie spending their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Toby is the only changeling who has earned knighthood, and she re-earns that position every day, undertaking assignments for her liege, Sylvester, the Duke of the Shadowed Hills.

Now Sylvester has asked her to go to the County of Tamed Lightning to make sure that all is well with his niece, Countess January O’Leary, whom he has not been able to contact.  For Tamed Lightning has somehow been cut off from the other domains, and now someone has begun to murder January’s key people. If Toby can’t find and stop the killer soon, she may well become the next victim….

Series: October Daye #2, Genre: Urban Fantasy, Pages: 377, Published: 2010, Publisher: DAW, Source: Bought

My thoughts:

It's Friday and I will try to make it short, you know I always say this but never quite managing making it really short ;=)

Anyway, yay, one more October Daye book for me to read. I really liked book 1 and wanted to read more. The series is just so dark and she doesn't always save the day at the first try. People die, as seen in book 1. I also like the world, the fairies are all around us, in our world, in the Summerlands, always hiding. A great world, and a great heroine. Poor Toby, will she talk to her mum again? What about that which she left behind 14 years ago? That breaks my heart and makes me wonder.

Back to this book. She is sent to find out why Duke Sylvester's niece is not answering his calls. A mystery she has to solve if she wants to live. This would be the only negative things about the book, 95% of the book takes place at an office building over a few days. I do like a good change of scenario, so that does not make this book as good as book 1.

As for romance, Connor..but I do not like him, he should know better. He belongs to someone else, someone who would kill poor Toby. Therefore I love Tybalt. One: He is a cat! I love cats. Two: Well he is a cat, duh, I love them. So that pretty much brought me over to this team. And he is all mysterious and weird.

And look, this is not short... Ok I can't make it truly short, oh well.

Conclusion:

Thanks to a contest win I got book 3, since, well I need to read more. A recommended serie. 

Cover:

Ok.

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My Flash fic

Review: Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire

Series: October Daye #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 346
Published: 2009
Publisher: DAW
Source: Bought

October "Toby" Daye, a changeling who is half human and half fae, has been an outsider from birth. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the Faerie world, retreating to a "normal" life. Unfortunately for her, the Faerie world has other ideas... 

The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening's dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby must resume her former position as knight errant and renew old alliances. As she steps back into fae society, dealing with a cast of characters not entirely good or evil, she realizes that more than her own life will be forfeited if she cannot find Evening's killer.

My thoughts:

It was one of those books I couldn't put it down books and suddenly I have yet another series to read.

It was my kind of UF, a rich setting, lots of fairy history and a heroine I liked from the start. And what a beginning, poor Toby. About Toby, I liked how she is getting caught up in the fairy world again, and these are fairies as they should be. Some nice (if you can call it that), and many nasty ones. Everyone wants something in this world. A favour for a favour. So yes I like this broken heroine. 

It was a nice mystery too about who killed the Countess and Toby has a lot of detective work to do if she will find the killer, before she is killed herself. Action, treachery, something is rotten in fairyland. 

I am not going to mention it now, but something broke me a bit and I hope Toby can sort that out. She has lost so much. 

A nice bunch of side characters too in this one. Devin, who I would not trust because of the way he used her when she was younger. But she has feelings since he saved her. Tybalt, oh I loved him, but then i really like cats and he is the king of cats shifters. Old friends, new friends, and the question of whom to trust. 

And of course me wondering who might be the romance interest *fingers crossed for my guy*. 

Conclusion:

Yes I want book 2, so this is another series I recommend. Dark Uf like it should be.

Cover:

Her face looks a bit weird