Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by okevamae
Sleep No More by Seanan McGuire
5.0
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.