I love that this is one of those series that gets better almost every book. I really had no idea that when I read [b:Rosemary and Rue|6294549|Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, #1)|Seanan McGuire|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1406866868s/6294549.jpg|6478937] all those books ago that I was eventually going to fall in love with this series. Part of that is because Rosemary and Rue was a little bleak and depressing for about the first quarter of the book but since book three I’ve been completely hooked.

Our story starts off a little on the happy side with one of the funniest into chapters in a series I’ve read for awhile as Toby and all of her quirky friends are at a karaoke bar for her bachelorette party. All I have to say is Sea Witch singing Poor Unfortunate Souls, seriously it paints a picture.

“I didn’t even know you invited her.”
“Uh, duh, I had to? It’s the Sleeping Beauty principle. You always invite the biggest badass on the block, or they show up later and curse everybody just to make a point. Besides, she’s having fun.

It’s a good thing that we get this fun reprieve before family shows up and ruins everything. If you think you have mommy issues I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Toby has it so much worse than you ever thought of having it.

I’ve waited forever to get some insight into her mother Amandine and WOW she was not what I was expecting at all. That fae creature is horrible and so many bricks short of a full load her logic is baffling and brooks no argument lest you be turned into a toad. Amandine it seems would like to find August her child who has been missing for over a hundred years. October isn’t really excited to take on this quest as she is busy planning a wedding, being a hero of the realm and trying not to die. But Amandine isn’t one to take no for an answer and so she kidnaps Tibalt and Jazz just to make sure that October will be motivated to find her missing sister. Did I mention that Amandine is a little bit bat shit crazy???

And so we are off on a quest and need to wake up Simon, August’s father and the man that turned October into a fish for 14 years. Simon who has been one of the main antagonists for quite a while went up so many notches in my esteem after this book. Sure he made some horrible choices in the past but when he started down the slippery slope that became his undoing his first and foremost goal was to find his little girl who was lost. He started with the best of intentions but every choice he made was just one step closer to being the bad guy. But at least he is trying to make some reparations and start on the road back to being a better person.

Because sometimes the best intentions could lead to some very dark places, and once you were there, it could be almost impossible to find your way home again, unless there was someone willing to help you. Unless you could get there and back by the light of a candle.

But the best part of this series besides October because I love her, is the Sea Witch the Luidaeg. She is so cantankerous and acts so put out by everyone. It is so sad that in a way that is her coping mechanism so that people don’t get too close. So they don’t forget that do ask her for help is a binding deal that will cost them, she can’t refuse and the cost can be devastating.

“ I have to give people what they ask me for. If you say you want a pony, I have to give you a pony. But I can ask you to pay whatever I want, and the more I don’t want to give you a pony, the steeper that cost becomes.” Her mouth twisted in an unhappy line. “If you’re an asshole about it, I can even fuck with you after I give you what you asked for. Asked to have a pony, not be a pony, but hey, one’s essentially the same as the other, right? Looked at from the right angle.”

I actually feel so sad for the Sea Witch. She genuinely wants to help the people she cares about but at the same time she can’t because of the rules she is bound by. She tries to give people outs and they don’t listen and still make their bargain even knowing that the cost will be high none of them seem to care in the moment. Plus The Sea Witch knows what is to come in the future and that someone from Amandine’s line is going to have to pay the price for that future. I very much worry for Toby since I think it is pretty clear after this book that both August and Amandine are not cut out for heroism.

Your mother never wanted to be a hero. She hated what her mother’s actions and our father’s blood had lain upon her, hated the expectation that she would sacrifice herself for the sake of others. She wanted to be a rose in a walled garden, and not one growing wild by the side of some crumbling, half- forgotten well. So she refused. She could have ended this centuries ago, and she refused.”

The plot in this book was great and I loved getting to see more of the deep faery lands and meet up with a few characters from the past. Simon gets most improved character (not sure that will hold for later books but I’m crossing my fingers for him). August gets voted worst sister ever….I have no idea how October turned out semi-normal and nice looking at her other family members. And Amandine, oh Amandine I hope Oberon comes back and throws you over his knee to spank your spoiled, self-indulgent, selfish ass.

Good thing that October is working on building her new family. I think she is going to need them in the books to come.

I'm done, and I'm heart-broken that I'm all caught up and have to wait months for the next book! I love this series and these characters so much. A proper review to follow, once I calm down a bit.

Update 8/12/2018: Just as good, and just as powerful, the 2nd time around.

A strong and pleasing installment in the outstanding October Daye series. Weirdly delightful (oh those pixies!) and dark as ever. Never stop writing this series, okay, Seanan? Also be advised there is a Toby novella (set in Tamed Lightning and picking up an important thread from early in the series) stuck at the back of the book. I couldn't figure out why we seemed to be cruising in to the finish of THE BRIGHTEST FELL with a big chunk of pages left in the hardcover... no info from the publisher that this volume includes the extra novella. But it does, and it's quite good too! So hey publisher, can you mention the novella on the cover please? At least the back cover? Thanks.

Drawn Out but Important

After years off I've picked the series up again and this one was a doozy. A lot of very important plot development and a very serious theme. But throughout I couldn't help but feel it was all belabored, like this was meant to be the first half of one book, rather than its own novel.

This series just keeps getting better

"Of Things Unknown" is a separate story in the back of the book that I read on 10/21/2017.

Short Review

I really want to write a lot of swear words in this review, but I'm not. Seanan McGuire knows how to pull on your heartstrings and raise the tension, and, out of left field, makes you fall for previous villains

Spoiler

Uh hi, Simon? Simon who turned Toby into a fish apologizing and wanting to set things right? Also, protecting Toby even at the expense of his own well being? Is he truly stepping up to do right by her as her step-father. On another note, August isn't worth anything. Seriously, I don't care if she was lost. She wasn't worth it for what her father gave up and what happened to Tybalt and Jaz

.

However, I will say the reason I gave this a lower rating is just how...overdone this seems? I'm not saying I didn't enjoy this book, I did. But, I had some serious misgivings about the direction of this series after this book ended.

Good read as always, but elements of the plot let me incredibly frustrated. Hope there's a reckoning in the next book. CERTAIN PEOPLE NEED TO PAY.

Damn you, Seanan! I had homework to do! Instead I read this book.

-shakes fist-