kpetz1's review
4.0
I loved the storyline. Loved the world. But I listened to the audiobook and just couldn’t enjoy the narrator. I think the rest of this series is going to be physical copies for me. But October’s world fascinated me and I can’t wait to return.
anastasiaadamov's review
4.0
At first I thought that this book should be made into a TV series. It is a solid urban fantasy with quirky characters and interesting mythology. By the end it went with a little drama but I liked it quite a bit.
casey_mcd92's review
adventurous
dark
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
3.0
paradoxically's review
3.0
We are placed in a time of October Daye's--and yes, that is her real name--life where one part of it is closing and another is beginning. The book begins with her trying to track down the whereabouts of her liege-lord's wife and daughter. Toby is a changeling, and we hear constant reiterations of the fact that changelings are not nearly as powerful as full blooded fae, which gets somewhat tiring. She is also knight to a fae lord, has a human fiance and child, and is pretty good with her life, beyond the entire kidnapping scenario she's in. Then the shit hits the fan, she gets for fourteen years, and her life afterward is not the same.
Her fiance and daughter won't speak to her (and this is a part that rather irritates me), she doesn't want anything to do with the fae, but an old friend of hers, Countess Evening Winterrose, asks for her help. Evening binds Toby with a curse to find her killers (just before she is killed), and a task to figure out what happened, and Toby is sent on this harrowing adventure.
The book read fairly well. The pacing was decent, and I'm a large sucker for the fae, which worked in the book's favor. There were, however, several things that niggled at me and made the book fall somewhat flat. For instance, Cliff (her ex-fiance) and Gilly (her daughter) won't talk to Toby even after she comes back from what they presumed to be her death. You would think that they would at least try to hear her out and her story after being gone for fourteen years, but instead you have Cliff hanging up on Toby. Nice.
Then you have Devin, who I am ambivalent about at most. When Toby first begins to talk about him, the way she remembered him and the entire build up made it seem like, while not a horrible person, he was fairly close. Then we meet him and it turns out that no, he is actually somewhat an all right guy, and it's whip lash. It eventually settles on there always being a price to pay with him, and how it might not be worth it in the long run or--something. I didn't like him at all.
Then there was the events that led up to this entire mess in the first place. Toby knew who were the people who made her life fall apart and what does she do about it? Nothing. She doesn't even talk to her liege-lord about it, somehow it all slips into the background and the reader is sort of left puttering around and going, "Is that it? Really now?"
When the action starts it really starts, but the book was somewhat slow before that, with lots of information being dumped on the reader. Not much seems to happen and the suddenly it call falls down on Toby all at once. She gets hurt. Then she gets hurt some more. And hey, while she's already lying on the ground, let's kick her a few more times in the gut, just to make sure she gets the picture. It got to the point where I started to roll my eyes--there is being dramatic, and then there's letting your characters breathe for a few minutes without someone trying to kill them.
I am also very sick of the main character in first person POV novels describing how they look through a mirror. Fine. Okay. I know it's convenient, but c'mon, it stretches to ridiculous when the main character doesn't even notice what she is wearing until she's in front of a mirror. That's just stupid.
It wasn't all bad though. I liked Tybalt, the king of the Cait Sidhe, and would not mind seeing more of him around. I thought the beginning was well done, and the basic premise was fairly interesting. Toby isn't a bad main character, but I feel like she should start doing more things right instead of stumbling around and getting into a bigger mess all of the time. I'd liked to have seen better sides of her instead of assume that there are. There had to be good, concrete reasons as to why she became a knight, but all we ever really see are her failings.
The ending seemed to fit with the rest of the novel. There are a good many questions still left to be answered, but since this is the first book in a series, that's understandable. The villain was a bit too obvious, but the clues were strung up right and there really isn't much to say about that. It's probably better than the villain coming out of left field.
Overall, average at best. It was a fairly enjoyable read, though there were a lot of pitfalls along the way. 3/5
Spoiler
turned into a fishHer fiance and daughter won't speak to her (and this is a part that rather irritates me), she doesn't want anything to do with the fae, but an old friend of hers, Countess Evening Winterrose, asks for her help. Evening binds Toby with a curse to find her killers (just before she is killed), and a task to figure out what happened, and Toby is sent on this harrowing adventure.
The book read fairly well. The pacing was decent, and I'm a large sucker for the fae, which worked in the book's favor. There were, however, several things that niggled at me and made the book fall somewhat flat. For instance, Cliff (her ex-fiance) and Gilly (her daughter) won't talk to Toby even after she comes back from what they presumed to be her death. You would think that they would at least try to hear her out and her story after being gone for fourteen years, but instead you have Cliff hanging up on Toby. Nice.
Then you have Devin, who I am ambivalent about at most. When Toby first begins to talk about him, the way she remembered him and the entire build up made it seem like, while not a horrible person, he was fairly close. Then we meet him and it turns out that no, he is actually somewhat an all right guy, and it's whip lash. It eventually settles on there always being a price to pay with him, and how it might not be worth it in the long run or--something. I didn't like him at all.
Then there was the events that led up to this entire mess in the first place. Toby knew who were the people who made her life fall apart and what does she do about it? Nothing. She doesn't even talk to her liege-lord about it, somehow it all slips into the background and the reader is sort of left puttering around and going, "Is that it? Really now?"
When the action starts it really starts, but the book was somewhat slow before that, with lots of information being dumped on the reader. Not much seems to happen and the suddenly it call falls down on Toby all at once. She gets hurt. Then she gets hurt some more. And hey, while she's already lying on the ground, let's kick her a few more times in the gut, just to make sure she gets the picture. It got to the point where I started to roll my eyes--there is being dramatic, and then there's letting your characters breathe for a few minutes without someone trying to kill them.
I am also very sick of the main character in first person POV novels describing how they look through a mirror. Fine. Okay. I know it's convenient, but c'mon, it stretches to ridiculous when the main character doesn't even notice what she is wearing until she's in front of a mirror. That's just stupid.
It wasn't all bad though. I liked Tybalt, the king of the Cait Sidhe, and would not mind seeing more of him around. I thought the beginning was well done, and the basic premise was fairly interesting. Toby isn't a bad main character, but I feel like she should start doing more things right instead of stumbling around and getting into a bigger mess all of the time. I'd liked to have seen better sides of her instead of assume that there are. There had to be good, concrete reasons as to why she became a knight, but all we ever really see are her failings.
The ending seemed to fit with the rest of the novel. There are a good many questions still left to be answered, but since this is the first book in a series, that's understandable. The villain was a bit too obvious, but the clues were strung up right and there really isn't much to say about that. It's probably better than the villain coming out of left field.
Overall, average at best. It was a fairly enjoyable read, though there were a lot of pitfalls along the way. 3/5
chilotte's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
3.75
readingwithhippos's review
4.0
This series follows Toby (short for October), a half-fae private investigator, as she solves mysteries and navigates the treacherous fairy world. As someone who loves political intrigue, I was hooked immediately by the intricate exchanges of power in the fae world and loved trying to guess who was trustworthy and who was going to double-cross Toby at the first opportunity. The pace is pretty much pedal to the metal from page one, with no time for Toby to catch her breath or heal from those gunshot wounds, which makes for a very propulsive read. And Toby is a great central character because she’s not a teen princess; she’s old enough to have a teenage daughter and has had some life experiences. I look forward to continuing with the series--fortunately I already have books two and three from the used bookstore, back when that was still a place we could go without risking the scourge.
turbulentpumpkin43's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sawdusttabby's review
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A series and characters that gets better with each book. The characters develop over time and so does the lore.
setauuta's review against another edition
4.0
I'd enjoyed Seanan McGuire's work under the pen name Mira Grant, so I was anxious to see what her other work was like. It helped that my husband had recommended this book so highly.
I was not disappointed. The writing was crisp, and her characters were interesting and had some depth to them. I was impressed that she was able to get a lot of information across without feeling like there was extended exposition. Overall, I enjoyed the book quite a bit, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
I was not disappointed. The writing was crisp, and her characters were interesting and had some depth to them. I was impressed that she was able to get a lot of information across without feeling like there was extended exposition. Overall, I enjoyed the book quite a bit, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.