Words I Write Crazy: Week 31 Reviews: The Fixed Stars, A Red-Rose Chain, Once Broken Faith, Dreams and Slumbers, The Brightest Fell, Of Things Unknown

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Week 31 Reviews: The Fixed Stars, A Red-Rose Chain, Once Broken Faith, Dreams and Slumbers, The Brightest Fell, Of Things Unknown

From Goodreads:
Long, long ago, when the worlds of Faerie and Man had not yet fully separated, a battle was fought to determine the shapes those two worlds would take. Firstborn against merlin; strongest against least. And between those two stood Antigone of Albany, who would later be known as the Luidaeg, and whose loyalty would inevitably sway the fortunes of war...

There was a time when things were different. This is the story of the battlefield where it all began to change.

From Goodreads:
Things are looking up.

For the first time in what feels like years, October "Toby" Daye has been able to pause long enough to take a breath and look at her life—and she likes what she sees. She has friends. She has allies. She has a squire to train and a King of Cats to love, and maybe, just maybe, she can let her guard down for a change.

Or not. When Queen Windermere's seneschal is elf-shot and thrown into an enchanted sleep by agents from the neighboring Kingdom of Silences, Toby finds herself in a role she never expected to play: that of a diplomat. She must travel to Portland, Oregon, to convince King Rhys of Silences not to go to war against the Mists. But nothing is that simple, and what October finds in Silences is worse than she would ever have imagined.

How far will Toby go when lives are on the line, and when allies both old and new are threatened by a force she had never expected to face again? How much is October willing to give up, and how much is she willing to change? In Faerie, what's past is never really gone.

It's just waiting for an opportunity to pounce.

From Goodreads:
The newest fantasy adventure in the New York Times bestselling Toby Daye novels.

The cure for elf-shot has been discovered. The sleepers of Faerie can finally be awoken…if the Kings and Queens of Faerie will approve it. With vast changes on the horizon, High King Aethlin Sollys of the Westlands has called a grand convocation where the monarchs of his demesne will discuss the cure. Naturally, Toby has been ordered to attend. And naturally, once she shows up, people start dying—beginning with King Anthony Robinson of Angels, the Kingdom to the South, and a known political dissenter.

To secure both her own future and the distribution of the elf-shot cure, Toby must solve the murder, clear her own name, and figure out who would use a convocation of royals for their own ends...

From Goodreads:
By the standards of Faerie, Arden Windermere is little more than a child. Yet, despite her youth, she has already lost almost everything of importance: her parents, her brother, the life she expected to lead, the life she built for herself out of the ashes. Now Queen in the Mists, she is still struggling to find a place to stand. It seems impossible. And yet...

When circumstances present her with the chance to have her brother back again, is there any chance she can refuse? But when that restoration proves to come with a terrible price, is there any chance that just this once, she can win?

From Goodreads:
For once, everything in October "Toby" Daye's life seems to be going right. There have been no murders or declarations of war for her to deal with, and apart from the looming specter of her Fetch planning her bachelorette party, she’s had no real problems for days. Maybe things are getting better.

Maybe not.

Because suddenly Toby's mother, Amandine the Liar, appears on her doorstep and demands that Toby find her missing sister, August. But August has been missing for over a hundred years and there are no leads to follow. And Toby really doesn't owe her mother any favors.

Then Amandine starts taking hostages, and refusal ceases to be an option.

My first review of The Fixed Stars, A Red-Rose Chain, Once Broken Faith, Dreams and Slumbers, The Brightest Fell, Of Things Unknown

My Review:
I loved reading these books again! It's been a while, at least for half of them, and I'd only read them once, so yeah, it was really great to read them again! I'd forgotten some things, like how Walther was born a girl. It wasn't a big part of the story (besides him not being recognized) but it was just the kind of thing that adds depth to a series!

One thing that wasn't in the books, but in the little forward mentioned that the kingdoms that we know about only started up after Oberon, Maeve and Titania left. So it makes me wonder what the leadership was like when the big 3 where still there.

Knowing what was going to happen in The Brightest Fell, yeah, it was hard to read, especially the beginning when they were having the bachelorette party and were so happy. Knowing it wasn't going to last. Amandine was just a horrible person, and I really disliked her!

I think one of the big things this series is aiming for is bringing the big 3 back. It's what August's quest was. It's what they'll have to do to get Simon's way home. It's what Amandine was supposed to do, and what now her line, her daughters, well have to do. And from reviews of the next book, we're going to find out why that is through who Amandine's mom is! So excited!

Loved reading these, and I can't wait for Night and Silence!

Author: Seanan McGuire
Series: October Daye #8.5, 9, 10, 10.1, 11, 11.5
First Read: September 5th, 5th, 5th, 5th, 2016, June 27th, 27th, 2017
Read: July 29th, 29th, 29th, 29th, 31st, 31st, 2018
Source: Ebook.bike, Own
Reason Why: Rereading, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2018 Books!
Publisher: Daw, Seanan McGuire
Published: November 5th 2014, September 1st 2015, September 6th 2016, September 6th 2016, September 5th 2017, September 5th 2017

The Fixed Stars: