Late Eclipses (October Daye) Mass Market Paperback – March 1, 2011

There are some series that start out really strong and then start to lose momentum and then there are others that start out a bit slow but build over time to become better and better. I would say that the October Daye series definitely falls into the second category.

This series seems to be a bit darker than some of the other UF series I’ve become attached to. There seems to be a slightly grimmlike quality to it and not all the characters that you thought of as staples to the series are going to make it out alive. But that is part of the reason I like this. No character is completely safe and Seanan McGuire might kill someone I care about off at any time.
“What's the point of holding on if I can't save the ones that I can't afford to lose?”

Still even with all the potential death looming in the air there is still a frivolity and hilarity to Toby. She has even made a new friend in an unlikely place…her Fetch May. Who else do you think would befriend her personal incarnation of death??? Only Toby I think. But I love the addition of May’s character. She might have all of Toby’s previous memories up to the time May was sent to guide Toby to her death but now she is her own person and she isn’t quite like Toby in many ways the most obvious is that she is really quite happy and full of witty retorts and fun observations.

Toby has a few solid friends but she has also made plenty of enemies. It seems that one of them has decided to hit Toby where they think it will hurt the most by taking out her friends. When two of Toby’s friends that are never supposed to get sick fall deathly ill she is thrown into the mix trying to discover what is harming them. But with more enemies to count it is hard to discover who the main culprit behind this latest onslaught is.

But when you are down and out it seems that everyone comes out of the woodwork to take a shot at you. The Queen has found it a perfect time to place a trap for Toby and maybe a few others from her past want in on the torture Toby fun.

Still Toby soldiers on and finally we get a few answers and a lot more question about Toby’s mother and her true heritage.
“Oh, my dear, what she did to you, what you didn’t know she was doing, and how you fought! Like a lion you fought, never knowing the battle.” Lily sighed. “You were the last of her protections against roses and crossroads and all they meant, and when you failed her, she didn’t know what to do. My foolish princess who thought she’d be a shepherdess, if only she could make you a sheep.”

I will say that I’m really very invested in Toby and the overall arc of the Fae. I’m enjoying the world, the characters and the smaller book to book plots a lot better than the first few books. Overall everything has started to pick up some speed and it will be interesting to see going on what will happen with all the revelations and changes made in this book.

Other great things are scattered throughout too. There is of course Tybalt and I'm still totally on the TnT train, that can't happen soon enough. Surprisingly though besides May I am really loving both Quentin and Raj. I have some new theories about who Quentin might be and I'm thinking maybe we have a future King lurking in our midst. I am completely loving the mentor relationship between Quentin and Toby and love how devoted he is to their friendship. We all need friends like that. Raj on the other hand broke my heart a little in this...like I said before anyone can die and some deaths hit me harder than others but Raj's reaction to one in particular might have hurt the most.

On to the next one as I'm loving all of the stories more and more.

October Daye is back in the fourth installment of this series.

Short summary: The Queen makes Toby a Countess to fill the spot Evening held, and suddenly Toby starts seeing and smelling Oleander everywhere - and her friends start dropping like flies. First Lily, then Luna, and then the entire Court of Cats... oh yeah, and lots of suspicion starts falling on GUESS WHO! Yeah, our very favorite changeling PI.

Slight spoilers ahead. I promise I won't spoil the ending of the book.

I had a really hard time for the entire first 2/3 of the book. Gaslighting. Gaslighting EVERYWHERE. So much gaslighting of the POV character. Gaslighting is pretty triggering for me, so it was REALLY hard to get through this book until I hit the point where Toby starts figuring things out. I had to take a star away for that, personal, reason.

The ending felt really rushed. Lots of "two days later X happened. Then a day after that Y happened. Now you're up to date." going on in the last 5-10% of the book. A star fell away for that too. I feel like the story could have used a slightly longer denouement to show, rather than summarize, "what happened in the last few days".

Overall it's a good book. I would recommend it, and it doesn't detract from what is ultimately a good series just because it hit some of my nope buttons. I'm looking forward to reading the next Toby Daye book!

Several months have passed since we last saw October when LATE ECLIPSES begins, ending whatever relative peace she enjoyed on her off-season. <------I like that tactic, by the way. It makes all the hullabaloo our MC experiences on page feel more realistic, if we know things calm down when we're not looking. *whispers* No one can live in complete chaos 100% of time . . .

Regardless, it must be said that an appropriate alternate title for the fourth installment of Seanan McGuire's OCTOBER DAYE series might be: STUFF* ESCALATES.

1. Hateful characters get more hateful.

Most notably, Rasyeline Torquill, although the Queen of the Mists isn't far behind. Basically, if they've got an axe to grind with Toby, they're no longer content to passively nurse their grudge.

SO. Be prepared to grind your teeth, b/c shiesty broads are shiesty.

2. Boys will be boys . . . or cats . . . or USELESS CHICKENS (who literally HIDE their faces when people drive too fast).

Okay, so there's a bit of a triangle. Not much of one, b/c there's a clear front-runner, so mostly it's frustrating that other dude is part of the equation.

BUT.

There were also numerous times when Front-Runner made my heart grow three sizes, b/c it's more and more obvious that he really, really likes our girl. *grins dopily* *giggles like school girl*

So who cares about what's-his-name (the chicken)? #notthisgirl

3. October's mysteriously mysterious heritage becomes MORE shrouded in mystery, even as we get answers.

It's both frustrating and delightful. Truly. It's a talented author who can successfully walk the tightrope of enough-information-to-both-satisfy-and-intrigue, and McGuire manages that balance masterfully. *tips hat*

In short, I was reminded over and over again of all the reasons why OCTOBER DAYE made it to my Top 5 UF Series list: a kick-ass heroine who refuses to quit, no matter the odds, a hilarious and entertaining cast of secondaries (Raf is my current favorite), a hotter-than-HAWT love interest #tybaltismyking, a fantastically fae backdrop, and the compelling plots that tie it all together. And considering that it was renewed for three more books (11 - 13), McGuire is clearly doing something right. Time for you to find out why, if you haven't already. Highly recommended.