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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
After losing fourteen years of her life as a fish, October Daye is finished with her career as a PI and is done working with the fae that lives among us. Or at least, that's what she would like. However, life has other plans as her old frenemy, Countess Evening Winterrose, curses her: discover who murdered her and why, or face her own death.
There is a lot to be liked about this book, but unfortunately, there was a lot I did not like as well. Let's begin with the good.
The underlying plot, being cursed into investigating the murder of a pureblood fae and the mystery that unfolded, was really interesting. I was invested in finding out the answers. The world is very interesting as well, learning how the fae molded their society and culture around ours when they arrived, the way the magic works, and how they keep themselves hidden from humans. October Daye is also an interesting character. She has lost everything twice, and at the beginning of this book, she is a broken person. When the main events of the book begin, she is forced to pick up the pieces of herself and confront some of the difficulties she has been avoiding. October is an interesting character with a lot of potential for growth, and by the end of the story, she's better than she was before but there is still room for more.
Amidst all the interesting stuff, however, were things that took me out of the story. A lot of the plot feels like setup for the rest of the series. October runs around meeting every single important person in the area, creating or collecting debts to be explored in the future. Each of these characters are introduced in quick succession, leaving very little breathing room time before being shuffled off to the next one. I had a hard time keeping all of them straight in my head. Also, there was a lot of references to October's time as a fish, and so often the characters would stop and reminisce about it or talk about what happened in her time after turning back into a person that the pacing suffered from it. Much of my issues with this book simply has to do with the amount of exposition being presented to the reader in such a short amount of time that my brain felt overcrowded with information.
Overall, this is a fun and quick urban fantasy read, and I think it is going to lead into a fun and interesting wider series.
There is a lot to be liked about this book, but unfortunately, there was a lot I did not like as well. Let's begin with the good.
The underlying plot, being cursed into investigating the murder of a pureblood fae and the mystery that unfolded, was really interesting. I was invested in finding out the answers. The world is very interesting as well, learning how the fae molded their society and culture around ours when they arrived, the way the magic works, and how they keep themselves hidden from humans. October Daye is also an interesting character. She has lost everything twice, and at the beginning of this book, she is a broken person. When the main events of the book begin, she is forced to pick up the pieces of herself and confront some of the difficulties she has been avoiding. October is an interesting character with a lot of potential for growth, and by the end of the story, she's better than she was before but there is still room for more.
Amidst all the interesting stuff, however, were things that took me out of the story. A lot of the plot feels like setup for the rest of the series. October runs around meeting every single important person in the area, creating or collecting debts to be explored in the future. Each of these characters are introduced in quick succession, leaving very little breathing room time before being shuffled off to the next one. I had a hard time keeping all of them straight in my head. Also, there was a lot of references to October's time as a fish, and so often the characters would stop and reminisce about it or talk about what happened in her time after turning back into a person that the pacing suffered from it. Much of my issues with this book simply has to do with the amount of exposition being presented to the reader in such a short amount of time that my brain felt overcrowded with information.
Overall, this is a fun and quick urban fantasy read, and I think it is going to lead into a fun and interesting wider series.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Bought this at a specialized fantasy/scifi bookshop in Toronto while on a work trip and to be honest I would book a transatlantic flight just for this bookstore.
True Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Content/Trigger Warnings: Violence, Gore, Mild body horror (?), Faerie Politics (yes, that is a warning), Classism, Racism (in terms of "blood purity"), and references to underage sex and drug use, and abuse.
My Thoughts
"If there was ever a Cinderella, her glass slippers shattered under her weight and she limped home bleeding from the ball."
I bought this on Kindle in 2017, and I'm trying to figure out how it took me this long to read it. It took me reading McGuire's "Alchemical Journeys" series to remember how much I love her writing and pick this up.
And oh am I glad I did. This is the urban fantasy I didn't know I needed. Action, intricate and interesting world-building, hints of romance, and a female character that isn't the stereotypical "strong" type that usually haunts these books.
October Daye is a Changeling, a half-fae, half-human who returned to the human world after reaching adulthood. She works as a P.I., until something happens. 14 years later, she's trying to pick her life back up and is determined to ignore as much of the Fae world as she can. Unfortunately, Faerie isn't read to let her go, and she's dragged back against her will to solve the mystery of a friend's death. This leads her to an investigation filled with confusion, danger, and death. She's going to need all the help she can get and her own wits if she's going to make it out alive.
Reading this reminded me of how I felt as a teenager reading the first Anita Blake book by Laurell K. Hamilton. The difference is that I trust McGuire to not let this story deteriorate, which is a good thing considering the length of the series.
This is just a very fun, dark, interesting urban fantasy series that I'm excited to continue and is probably going to become of one of my comfort reads.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Violence, Gore, Mild body horror (?), Faerie Politics (yes, that is a warning), Classism, Racism (in terms of "blood purity"), and references to underage sex and drug use, and abuse.
My Thoughts
"If there was ever a Cinderella, her glass slippers shattered under her weight and she limped home bleeding from the ball."
I bought this on Kindle in 2017, and I'm trying to figure out how it took me this long to read it. It took me reading McGuire's "Alchemical Journeys" series to remember how much I love her writing and pick this up.
And oh am I glad I did. This is the urban fantasy I didn't know I needed. Action, intricate and interesting world-building, hints of romance, and a female character that isn't the stereotypical "strong" type that usually haunts these books.
October Daye is a Changeling, a half-fae, half-human who returned to the human world after reaching adulthood. She works as a P.I., until something happens. 14 years later, she's trying to pick her life back up and is determined to ignore as much of the Fae world as she can. Unfortunately, Faerie isn't read to let her go, and she's dragged back against her will to solve the mystery of a friend's death. This leads her to an investigation filled with confusion, danger, and death. She's going to need all the help she can get and her own wits if she's going to make it out alive.
Reading this reminded me of how I felt as a teenager reading the first Anita Blake book by Laurell K. Hamilton. The difference is that I trust McGuire to not let this story deteriorate, which is a good thing considering the length of the series.
This is just a very fun, dark, interesting urban fantasy series that I'm excited to continue and is probably going to become of one of my comfort reads.
In 2020, I bought a number of interesting and important books that would challenge me and then they sat on my shelf (I guess I wasn't up to the challenge). They're still there. I think I didn't read anything for a month or two there. Then since May or June, I've been able to handle books that are full of banter, and plot, and character (probably in that order of importance), with bonus points for magic or space. I started with rereading and catching up on these. Thank you, Seanan McGuire, for writing books that I could get lost in, even in 2020.
This one was really fun to read again with some knowledge of where these characters were going. I had totally forgotten most of the mystery bits, so that was fun.
This one was really fun to read again with some knowledge of where these characters were going. I had totally forgotten most of the mystery bits, so that was fun.
Very fun read. The main character finally grew on me, and I will read the next in the series--- but man she does get hurt. A LOT. And the rose goblin stole my heart. And so did Tybalt.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Toby Daye is a reluctant Private Investigator forcibly made to take a case that puts hers and the people around her lives at stake. If she's going to figure out Who murdered an old friend and survive to tell the tale she's going to have to rely on some old and new faces.
Excellent Urban Fantasy, for fans of the Greywalker series by Kat Richardson, the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and the Iron Druid Chronicles you will greatly enjoy this story. It took a minute to get up to speed for me but it was well worth the wait.
Excellent Urban Fantasy, for fans of the Greywalker series by Kat Richardson, the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and the Iron Druid Chronicles you will greatly enjoy this story. It took a minute to get up to speed for me but it was well worth the wait.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I read this book in one day; granted I was up until 2am, but it was so completely worth it. There's just something fresh about this author's writing style.
The beginning sentence: "December had come to San Francisco in fits and starts, like a visitor who wasn't sure he wanted to stay."
I couldn't put it down.
I enjoyed this book so much that I hunted down the sequel, "A Local Habitation" and read it in two days. Then I went and picked up the third book, "An Artificial Night" and read it in a day and a half.
The beginning sentence: "December had come to San Francisco in fits and starts, like a visitor who wasn't sure he wanted to stay."
I couldn't put it down.
I enjoyed this book so much that I hunted down the sequel, "A Local Habitation" and read it in two days. Then I went and picked up the third book, "An Artificial Night" and read it in a day and a half.