Week 19 Reviews: Silver and Lead, Seas and Shores, Rosemary and Rue, Strangers in Court, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses, Through This House, One Salt Sea, In Salt-Sea Tears, Rat-Catcher, Ashes of Honor, No Sooner Met, Chimes at Midnight, Full of Briars, Never Shines the Sun, Forbid the Sea, The Winter Long, The Fixed Stars

From Goodreads:

Seanan McGuire's New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated October Daye series continues as Toby Daye is thrust once again into danger... and this time she has more than ever to protect.

Something is rotten in Faerie. In the aftermath of Titania's reality-warping enchantment, things are returning to what passes for normal in the Kingdom in the Mists―until it's discovered that the royal vaults have been looted, and several powerful magical artifacts are missing. None are things that can be safely left unsecured, and some have the potential to do almost as much damage as Titania did, and having them in the wrong hands could prove just as disastrous

At least the theft means that Sir October "Toby" Daye, Knight errant and Hero of the Realm, finally has an excuse to get out of the house. Sure, she's eight and a half months pregnant, but that doesn't mean she can't take care of herself. But with the sea witch offering to stand godmother to Toby's child, maybe there are greater dangers ahead for Toby and her family than it appears....

Old enemies will resurface, new enemies will disguise themselves as friends, and Queen Windermere must try to keep her Hero on the case without getting herself gutted by the increasingly irritated local King of Cats. Sometimes, what's been lost can be the most dangerous threat of all.

From Goodreads:
The world of Faerie never disappeared: it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie's survival—but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born. Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, these second-class children of Faerie spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Or, in the case of October "Toby" Daye, rejecting it completely. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the fae world, retreating into a "normal" life. Unfortunately for her, Faerie has other ideas.

The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose, one of the secret regents of the San Francisco Bay Area, pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening's dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby is forced to resume her old position as knight errant to the Duke of Shadowed Hills and begin renewing old alliances that may prove her only hope of solving the mystery...before the curse catches up with her.

From Goodreads:
Toby knew what she was doing when she threw her lot in with Devin, but when the time comes to get out, she has a little less of a clue. In order to win her freedom, she must do something to impress the local nobility--and the collapse of the Queen's knowe would seem to be exactly the opportunity she's been waiting for to prove herself! Set well before the events of Rosemary and Rue, this is a rare look at Toby's past as a changeling street rat, before she discovered her destiny as a Hero of the Realm. 

From Goodreads:
October "Toby" Daye is a changeling, the daughter of Amandine of the fae and a mortal man. Like her mother, she is gifted in blood magic, able to read what has happened to a person through a mere taste of blood. 

Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, most changelings are second-class children of Faerie spending their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Toby is the only changeling who has earned knighthood, and she re-earns that position every day, undertaking assignments for her liege, Sylvester, the Duke of the Shadowed Hills.

Now Sylvester has asked her to go to the County of Tamed Lightning — otherwise known as Fremont, CA — to make sure that all is well with his niece, Countess January O'Leary, whom he has not been able to contact. It seems like a simple enough assignment — but when dealing with the realm of Faerie nothing is ever as simple as it seems. January runs a company that produces computer fantasy games, and her domain is a buffer between Sylvester's realm and a rival duchy whose ruler is looking for an opportunity to seize control. And that is the least of January's problems. For Tamed Lightning has somehow been cut off from the other domains, and now someone has begun to murder January's key people. If Toby can't find and stop the killer soon, she may well become the next victim….

From Goodreads:
Experience the thrill of the hunt in the third October Daye urban fantasy novel. 

October "Toby" Daye is a changeling-half human and half fae-and the only one who has earned knighthood. Now she must take on a nightmarish new challenge. Someone is stealing the children of the fae as well as mortal children, and all signs point to Blind Michael. Toby has no choice but to track the villain down-even when there are only three magical roads by which to reach Blind Michael's realm, home of the Wild Hunt-and no road may be taken more than once. If Toby cannot escape with the children, she will fall prey to the Wild Hunt and Blind Michael's inescapable power. 

From Goodreads:
October "Toby" Daye, changeling knight in the service of Duke Sylvester Torquill, finds the delicate balance of her life shattered when she learns that an old friend is in dire trouble. Lily, Lady of the Tea Gardens, has been struck down by a mysterious, seemingly impossible illness, leaving her fiefdom undefended. Struggling to find a way to save Lily and her subjects, Toby must confront her own past as an enemy she thought was gone forever raises her head once more: Oleander de Merelands, one of the two people responsible for her fourteen-year exile.

Time is growing short and the stakes are getting higher, for the Queen of the Mists has her own agenda. With everything on the line, Toby will have to take the ultimate risk to save herself and the people she loves most—because if she can't find the missing pieces of the puzzle in time, Toby will be forced to make the one choice she never thought she'd have to face again...

From Goodreads:
The knowe known as "Goldengreen" has been locked and alone since the death of Evening Winterrose...which is why it's a bit of a problem when Toby and her allies are called upon to reopen the knowe. Knowes can have minds of their own, you see, and they don't take kindly to being disturbed. And since Toby would rather keep herself and her friends alive than actually succeed in her mission, it's entirely possible that things will not end the way that they were originally intended to.

Not that failure is an option. And not that trying to be careful is going to make any difference when the problem involves not just unreal real estate, but crumbling cliff faces, giant spiders, pixies, and smart-mouthed Fetches who insist on poking their noses in where they're not wanted. Oh, and did we mention that there's no coffee?

From Goodreads:
October "Toby" Daye is settling into her new role as Countess of Goldengreen. She's actually dating again, and she's taken on Quentin as her squire. So, of course, it's time for things to take a turn for the worse.

Someone has kidnapped the sons of the regent of the Undersea Duchy of Saltmist. To prevent a war between land and sea, Toby must find the missing boys and prove the Queen of the Mists was not behind their abduction. Toby's search will take her from the streets of San Francisco to the lands beneath the waves, and her deadline is firm: she must find the boys in three days' time, or all of the Mists will pay the price. But someone is determined to stop her-and whoever it is isn't playing by Oberon's Laws...

From Goodreads:
It was 1972, and a teenage girl named Elizabeth Ryan thought that her world was coming to an end. Elizabeth was the daughter of two Selkies, you see, and she had just been passed up for a skin. But then a mysterious cousin who calls herself Annie appears, and Elizabeth finds other things to think about...

It can be easy to forget that worlds don't wait for heroes before they begin. It can be easy to forget that things happened before the lights came up and the story started. This is one of those things that happened: this is one of those tales that slipped through the cracks. It is the story of a girl named Elizabeth, and a girl named Annie, and what they were to one another, in the sight and sounding of the sea.

Maybe it isn't fair. But fairy tales never really are. 

From Goodreads:
In the year 1666, a young Prince of Cats named Rand dwelt peacefully in Londontown with his beloved sisters, Jill and Colleen. He spent his nights at the theater, drinking in the works of Shakespeare, and had no interest in the day when he would be expected to rise up, challenge his father, and take his place as a King of Cats. For Rand, kittenhood was a wonderful dream, and one that he hoped would last forever.

Dreams end.

All stories have to begin somewhere, and this is where the story of Tybalt, King of Dreaming Cats, began: with a boy, and his sisters, and the city that he loved and never planned to leave. When duty calls, can he make the choice that will keep them all safe, without giving up everything that he has ever wanted from his life?

From Goodreads:
It's been almost a year since October "Toby" Daye averted a war, gave up a county, and suffered personal losses that have left her wishing for a good day's sleep. She's tried to focus on her responsibilities--training Quentin, upholding her position as Sylvester's knight, and paying the bills--but she can't help feeling like her world is crumbling around her, and her increasingly reckless behavior is beginning to worry even her staunchest supporters. 

To make matters worse, Toby's just been asked to find another missing child...only this time it's the changeling daughter of her fellow knight, Etienne, who didn't even know he was a father until the girl went missing. Her name is Chelsea. She's a teleporter, like her father. She's also the kind of changeling the old stories warn about, the ones with all the strength and none of the control. She's opening doors that were never meant to be opened, releasing dangers that were sealed away centuries before--and there's a good chance she could destroy Faerie if she isn't stopped. 

Now Toby must find Chelsea before time runs out, racing against an unknown deadline and through unknown worlds as she and her allies try to avert disaster. But danger is also stirring in the Court of Cats, and Tybalt may need Toby's help with the biggest challenge he's ever faced. 

Toby thought the last year was bad. She has no idea. 

From Goodreads:
It may have taken them years to reach the point of admitting that there was a mutual attraction between them, but now that they have, it's time for October Daye and Tybalt to begin exploring their relationship, such as it is, and deciding what it is going to mean for them going forward. But when an old-fashioned pureblood and a modern changeling decide to court, what form can that courtship possibly take?

It's time for a first date, a first romantic encounter, and a first assassination attempt. Just the usual assortment of complications for a man, a woman, and the complicated world between them. And of course, it doesn't help that the man is a King of Cats, and has his own share of demons to bring to the table...

From Goodreads:
Things are starting to look up for October "Toby" Daye. She's training her squire, doing her job, and has finally allowed herself to grow closer to the local King of Cats. It seems like her life may finally be settling down...at least until dead changelings start appearing in the alleys of San Francisco, killed by an overdose of goblin fruit.

Toby's efforts to take the problem to the Queen of the Mists are met with harsh reprisals, leaving her under sentence of exile from her home and everyone she loves. Now Toby must find a way to reverse the Queens decree, get the goblin fruit off the streets--and, oh, yes, save her own life, since more than a few of her problems have once again followed her home. And then there's the question of the Queen herself, who seems increasingly unlikely to have a valid claim to the throne....

To find the answers, October and her friends will have to travel from the legendary Library of Stars into the hidden depths of the Kingdom of the Mists--and they'll have to do it fast, because time is running out. In faerie, some fates are worse than death.

October Daye is about to find out what they are. 

From Goodreads:
Meet Quentin Sollys. Squire. Hockey fan. Canadian. And Crown Prince to the entire continent of North America, known as "the Westlands" to the fae, currently ruled by his parents, High King Aethlin and High Queen Maida. Not that most people know that, since he's a blind foster squired to a changeling—not exactly something that screams "hidden royalty."

But with a new Queen on the throne in the Mists, his parents have finally come to town to see how he's doing…and to take him home with them. That's going to be a problem, since Quentin doesn't particularly want to leave, and his knight, Sir October Daye, doesn't particularly want to let him go.

From Goodreads:
In 1959, Faerie came for a little changeling girl named October Daye and presented her with the Choice that her mother had been struggling to prevent her from ever needing to make. But how did Faerie find her? Where did the channel of October's destiny diverge? To know the answer, you must look to the water, and to the woman who many refer to as "the sea witch."

It can be hard to deal with betrayal. Betrayal by family is so very much worse. 

From Goodreads:
For ten years, the young King of Cats known throughout the Kingdom of Londinium as Tybalt—once known to family and friends as "Rand," a gentle Prince who had never aspired to the throne—had ruled his Kingdom alone, refusing to let any other of his kind enter the city while it is in his care. But even a King can get lonely...

When Tybalt meets a Selkie stranger named Dylan, it seems almost inevitable that they should become entangled with each other—the lonely King and the man without friends or family in London were virtually designed to be together. But sadly, designs can only hold for as long as they are left alone, and when the Undersea inevitably arrives looking for their missing son, Tybalt will have to choose. His Kingdom, or Dylan?

Either way, he loses. 

From Goodreads:
Toby thought she understood her own past; she thought she knew the score.

She was wrong.

It's time to learn the truth.

For once, it seems like the Kingdom of the Mists has reached a point of, if not perfection, at least relative peace. Queen Arden Windermere is getting settled on her family's throne; no one's going to war with anyone else; it's almost like everything is going to be okay. Even October "Toby" Daye is starting to relax her constant vigilance, allowing herself to think about the future, and what it might entail.

And then Simon Torquill comes back, and everything begins to fall apart. In Faerie, nothing stays buried forever. No matter how much you might want it to.

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.

My first review of Rosemary and Rue, Strangers in Court, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses, Through This House, One Salt Sea, In Salt-Sea Tears, Rat-Catcher, Ashes of Honor, No Sooner Met, Chimes at Midnight, Full of Briars, Never Shines the Sun, Forbid the Sea, The Winter Long, The Fixed Stars 

My Second Review of Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses, One Salt Sea, Ashes of Honor, Chimes at Midnight, Full of Briars, The Winter Long, The Fixed Stars
My Review:
I was so lucky to get an ARC of this book. I've loved this series since I found it around the time of Once Broken Faith, and this latest installment, what with the 2 year wait after the double release and publisher change, the wait was pretty hard, but now it's been reset, for the next book! 

Toby is so close to delivery, and is almost out of her mind, what with how everyone's treating her like she's glass. I mean, we expected it from Tybalt, but everyone else, you'd think they'd know better, May has Toby's memories of being pregnant with Gillian. But with the missing artifacts, 

I think we're all agreed that Marcie is Maeve, right? I mean, she isn't affected by Evening's magic, either here in The Winter Long, or later on in The Brightest Fell. That October can't get a read on her fae bloodlines? Like, is it meant to be obvious in hindsight with a bait and switch, or what? 

Seas and Shores was really great, I loved the perspective, and what happened, with that one reveal. And that one reunion. I mean, with this reread, there was that one interaction, but that was on the phone, so they hadn't seen each other in person in who knows how long, but that was just so heartwarming! Can you guess what reunion, or have I been vague enough?

It's been a while since I reread the early books in the series. I've reread the later half a few times with the more recent books, but I haven't gotten to the beginning since 2018, so it's been a while. So I'd forgotten things like her reliance on coffee before her blood changed and the goblin fruit got rid of the craving. She's really come a long way, and everything that she's done since, and still has to do, yeah, I'm so excited for more! 

Absolutely loved reading these books and I can't wait to continue with my reread! 

Author: Seanan McGuire 
Series: October Daye #19, 19.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 4.1, 5, 5.1, 5.2, 6, 7, 7.1, 7.2, 8, 8.1

First Read: September 1st, 2016, April 18th, 2020, September 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 4th, 4th, 4th, 4th, 4th, 4th, 5th, 2016

Second Read: April 13th, 14th, 14th, 15th, 15th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 2019, July 29th, 2018
Read: May 4th 4th, 4th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 6th, 6th, 7th, 7th, 7th, 7th, 7th, 8th, 8th, 8th, 8th, 8th, 9th, 9th, 9th, 2025 
Source: NetGalley, Own 
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series so much, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Books, and Silver and Lead is a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Tor Books, DAW, Seanan McGuire 
Published: September 30th 2025, September 30th 2025, September 1st 2009, October 1st 2019, March 2nd 2010, September 7th 2010, March 1st 2011, August 2nd 2011, September 6th 2011, August 23rd 2012, November 1st 2012, September 4th 2012, January 7th 2015, September 3rd 2013, August 2nd 2016, September 3rd 2013, September 18th 2013, September 2nd 2014, November 5th 2014

Silver and Lead: 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Seas and Shores:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Rosemary and Rue:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Strangers in Court:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

A Local Habitation:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

An Artificial Night:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Late Eclipses:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Through This House:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

One Salt Sea:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

 

In Salt-Sea Tears:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Rat-Catcher:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Ashes of Honor:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

No Sooner Met:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Chimes at Midnight:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Full of Briars:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Never Shines the Sun:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Forbid the Sea:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Winter Long:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Fixed Stars:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars