Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
I received an ARC copy of this book from Edelweiss
I'll admit I was a little bit afraid when I picked up this book because if there's one thing I hate it's an amnesia plotline and if there's two things I hate it's an amnesia plotline and also the main characters are all separated. I should have known better though because Seanan knocked it out of the park like she does every time and this book was absolutely amazing. I thought the pacing was excellent and I like how she used the current circumstances to let us see characters interacting in ways that are obviously a little different than we're used to. Definitely another great addition to the series!
I'll admit I was a little bit afraid when I picked up this book because if there's one thing I hate it's an amnesia plotline and if there's two things I hate it's an amnesia plotline and also the main characters are all separated. I should have known better though because Seanan knocked it out of the park like she does every time and this book was absolutely amazing. I thought the pacing was excellent and I like how she used the current circumstances to let us see characters interacting in ways that are obviously a little different than we're used to. Definitely another great addition to the series!
Sleep No More pulled me in from the very first page as things in Faerie are upside down and the Toby we know is lost to us.... Holy crap. After the events of Be the Serpent and that killer ending, well ... I had to jump right in. We find ourselves in an alternate Faerie. One where Toby lives with her parents, Amandine and Simon Torquill, along with her sister, August. She doesn't remember Tybalt or Quentin or Mae, not even the Sea Witch triggers memories of her other life.
What a twisted tale with the evilest of villains. I devoured this from start to finish and held my breath waiting and needing everything to go back...for Toby to go back to her friends and Tybalt. McGuire outdid herself, as did Mary Robinette Kowal with her narration. She grabbed the alternate world and ran with it. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
medium-paced
Very good, as usual. The first half of the book was, however, disconcerting to say the least. I didn't *liKe* that October and wanted the real one back. But the worldbuilding was great and intriguing. I can't help but wonder how the memories will affect our folks moving on.
The ending also seemed rather abrupt. I'm hoping The Innocent Sleep next month will fill things in a bit.
The ending also seemed rather abrupt. I'm hoping The Innocent Sleep next month will fill things in a bit.
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
IT’S FINALLY HERE. This cliffhanger has been a killer.
In this latest novel in the series, we finally get to see what twisted world Titania’s magic has created. Toby in this reality is the obedient changeling daughter, raised entirely in Faerie, and knows her place in the pecking order (at the bottom.) In this version of reality shaped by Titania, the Faerie queen is worshipped, descendants of Maeve have been banished, and changelings are disdained and treated as disposable – the best that someone like October can hope for is to be well-treated as a servant in her mother’s household. As a result, October was raised to be something of a bigot, with a self-loathing streak a mile wide, pathetically grateful for her meager position. And that’s just the beginning of Titania’s warped version of reality.
It’s really interesting to take characters we've gotten to know so well over so many novels, give them completely different backstories and circumstances, and throw them back together to see how different everything is. It’s very weird to see Toby so meek, and fascinating to then watch as she slowly starts to change as she is removed from the influences that kept her down (primarily Amandine.) I loved the book except for the very last chapter. For that reason I’m docking it half a star to 4.5 (but rounding up because it was still a really good book.)
The short story included at the end of the print and ebook versions is a look at Rayseline’s story immediately before Sleep No More. It was good! Very interesting to get Raysel’s POV.
Now on to The Innocent Sleep and Tybalt’s side of the story!
CW: faerie bigotry and blood (though if you’re squeamish about blood I’m not sure how you got this far into the series without passing out)
I received an ARC of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
In this latest novel in the series, we finally get to see what twisted world Titania’s magic has created. Toby in this reality is the obedient changeling daughter, raised entirely in Faerie, and knows her place in the pecking order (at the bottom.) In this version of reality shaped by Titania, the Faerie queen is worshipped, descendants of Maeve have been banished, and changelings are disdained and treated as disposable – the best that someone like October can hope for is to be well-treated as a servant in her mother’s household. As a result, October was raised to be something of a bigot, with a self-loathing streak a mile wide, pathetically grateful for her meager position. And that’s just the beginning of Titania’s warped version of reality.
It’s really interesting to take characters we've gotten to know so well over so many novels, give them completely different backstories and circumstances, and throw them back together to see how different everything is. It’s very weird to see Toby so meek, and fascinating to then watch as she slowly starts to change as she is removed from the influences that kept her down (primarily Amandine.) I loved the book except for the very last chapter.
Spoiler
It skips the complicated aftermath and jumps ahead a few months, and I was disappointed because I wanted more resolution than that, especially with Quentin. And I wanted to see more people reacting to the news that Toby is pregnant! I feel like we’re missing a lot in those three months that I really would have liked to read, and that was kind of needed after the trauma of this book, hot on the heels of the trauma of the last one.The short story included at the end of the print and ebook versions is a look at Rayseline’s story immediately before Sleep No More. It was good! Very interesting to get Raysel’s POV.
Now on to The Innocent Sleep and Tybalt’s side of the story!
CW: faerie bigotry and blood (though if you’re squeamish about blood I’m not sure how you got this far into the series without passing out)
I received an ARC of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.