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ricksilva's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
October "Toby" Daye, half-faerie and former PI, just wants to leave the hidden magical side of San Fransisco behind her. She lost everything in a job gone wrong. She failed her liege, and lost her family and fourteen years of her life.
But of course she gets pulled back into it all. Magically cursed into solving one more murder, she quickly discovers that she may be the next target of the killers, and is forced to question her old friends and allies, even as she renews her connections to the faerie realms.
October is a great throwback to the hardboiled detective icons of Mickey Spillane, with a bit of not-always-reliable magic, and a troubled past that she's in more than one form of denial about.
The worldbuilding is great, from the workings of magic to the fantasy version of San Fransisco layered on top of and in between what is visible to human eyes.
Plotwise the book does a nice job of planting all sorts of seeds, referencing past adventures and dropping hints of future intrigues, all while spinning an action-filled mystery with a solid share of tragedy, and the occasional glimmer of hope and wonder.
The one weakness of the story is the lack of agency of the protagonist, and this may to some extent have been intentionally thematically, but it still results in a story that is almost entirely reactive. Things happen to Toby, and the plot spirals out of her control, and then more things happen to her. And so on.
I'm hoping that this sets up a more proactive version of Toby as the series moves forward. Because there is a lot to like with these characters and this world.
But of course she gets pulled back into it all. Magically cursed into solving one more murder, she quickly discovers that she may be the next target of the killers, and is forced to question her old friends and allies, even as she renews her connections to the faerie realms.
October is a great throwback to the hardboiled detective icons of Mickey Spillane, with a bit of not-always-reliable magic, and a troubled past that she's in more than one form of denial about.
The worldbuilding is great, from the workings of magic to the fantasy version of San Fransisco layered on top of and in between what is visible to human eyes.
Plotwise the book does a nice job of planting all sorts of seeds, referencing past adventures and dropping hints of future intrigues, all while spinning an action-filled mystery with a solid share of tragedy, and the occasional glimmer of hope and wonder.
The one weakness of the story is the lack of agency of the protagonist, and this may to some extent have been intentionally thematically, but it still results in a story that is almost entirely reactive. Things happen to Toby, and the plot spirals out of her control, and then more things happen to her. And so on.
I'm hoping that this sets up a more proactive version of Toby as the series moves forward. Because there is a lot to like with these characters and this world.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Child death, Blood, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
rcd229's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shalini_gunnasan's review against another edition
3.0
I started this for bingo, else I might not have picked it up. I am glad I did. This was fun and I do look forward to more. There are interesting collisions of mortal world and faerie world. Even with the mortals wielding iron, it seems that the fae far outstrip humans in wealth and power, so why are they so terrified of humans? I hope this gets answered.
I only had two problems with it, which I hope shall be fixed in the future; 1) I hope the villain is not so transparent, and 2) please, no more love triangles, please let's just keep that peculiarity confined to the young adult books. Pick a man and have done with him.
I only had two problems with it, which I hope shall be fixed in the future; 1) I hope the villain is not so transparent, and 2) please, no more love triangles, please let's just keep that peculiarity confined to the young adult books. Pick a man and have done with him.
katyanaish's review against another edition
2.0
This is a tough one to rate.
I liked the world, and that alone has me interested in continuing onward, but this story as a whole was pretty unsatisfying. It was really circular... like, every 3 chapters ended with Toby almost dying, and accepting it as she sank into darkness... and then being surprised to wake up. I mean, seriously, she was "dead" about a half dozen times in this book.
It just didn't feel like any real forward progress happened in this story at all.
I'm going to give the author the benefit of the doubt, here, and assume it was just a mess of setup for the rest of a really great series, because I've heard plenty of great things about these books from other people. We'll see.
I liked the world, and that alone has me interested in continuing onward, but this story as a whole was pretty unsatisfying. It was really circular... like, every 3 chapters ended with Toby almost dying, and accepting it as she sank into darkness... and then being surprised to wake up. I mean, seriously, she was "dead" about a half dozen times in this book.
It just didn't feel like any real forward progress happened in this story at all.
I'm going to give the author the benefit of the doubt, here, and assume it was just a mess of setup for the rest of a really great series, because I've heard plenty of great things about these books from other people. We'll see.
a_mo_zing's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
vahala's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
grayjay's review against another edition
2.0
October returns from thirteen years cursed into the shape of a fish to try to pull her life back together and to stumble into another curse that bonds her to solve the murder of her friend.
It's a fun fairy world of urban fantasy in San Francisco, but the writing often comes up short and sometimes rapidly introduced and discarded characters felt like paper dolls.
It's a fun fairy world of urban fantasy in San Francisco, but the writing often comes up short and sometimes rapidly introduced and discarded characters felt like paper dolls.
disabledbookdragon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
beautifuldissonance's review against another edition
3.0
I found this to be an enjoyable read. It was fast-paced but a little predictable, and the plot was somewhat weak in places.