lavendermarch's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome! Third books are such game changers, especially this one. It showed how resilient and (although she's loathe to admit it) heroic Toby is. I really like how it was about kids, and the Luideag was in it as a prominent character! I love her friendship with Toby! 5 stars.
A few more things:
So...Connor and Tybalt are very clearly both after Toby. Whoop! Team Tybalt, btw. I hope book 4 talks about this.
Poor Quentin. I felt so bad for him!
Oh yeah: Tybalt said that Toby has some things to discover about herself still...I NEED TO KNOW WHAT!
Reread 11/1/2018-11/2/2018
So good! This is one of my favorites in the series. It's sadder, and there are some hard choices and realizations, but it's super well written. I really felt for Toby and Quentin in this book. There are also some interposing magical things happening, by the way. 5 stars.
Reread May 23rd, 2021
God, this is one of my absolute favorites in the series. Toby's people really rally around her when she needs them, she gets serious character development, and the love interests become much more apparent. This has some really sad, heartbreaking parts. I teared up at the end for poor Quentin. I quite liked Sylvester in this one, while I was pissed at Luna. May is a great new character, and Acacia is a favorite of mine, although to my memory she doesn't show up much in the other books. May does though, and she's a welcome addition! The Luideag is fantastic in this one - very important and intriguing as always. McGuire's writing is incredibly good, and I can't really express properly why, but it's beautiful where it counts, and hits you where it hurts, and you become so immersed into the story that you get a book hangover when it ends. 5 stars.
A few more things:
So...Connor and Tybalt are very clearly both after Toby. Whoop! Team Tybalt, btw. I hope book 4 talks about this.
Poor Quentin. I felt so bad for him!
Oh yeah: Tybalt said that Toby has some things to discover about herself still...I NEED TO KNOW WHAT!
Reread 11/1/2018-11/2/2018
So good! This is one of my favorites in the series. It's sadder, and there are some hard choices and realizations, but it's super well written. I really felt for Toby and Quentin in this book. There are also some interposing magical things happening, by the way. 5 stars.
Reread May 23rd, 2021
God, this is one of my absolute favorites in the series. Toby's people really rally around her when she needs them, she gets serious character development
Spoiler
i.e. recognizing that she's a hero, and that she won't live forever (and that she's been trying to die)Spoiler
I liked how Toby reacted when Tybalt died briefly - very promising! And he staked his claim in turn during the Ride. Teehee.ria_mhrj's review against another edition
5.0
Dark, often scaring and oh so compulsive. I love the direction this series is taking and October is a helluva guide when it comes to Faerie. The October Daye novels have joined the special place in my heart occupied by the likes of Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson - cannot WAIT for Late Eclipses!
ladyperker's review against another edition
5.0
While probably my least favorite because I felt like the story dragged a bit, this was still a great story. Love October, love Tybalt, love this world.
leeholt's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
laurenemily's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ancillary_reader's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite so far in the series - probably because it's not set up as a mystery, since so far I've been pretty unimpressed with both the mysteries in the series and Toby's slowness in solving them. This one is more of a straightforward quest/adventure, with a pretty creepy faerie villain. Lots of fun and action, a good amount of creepy, and more Tybalt! (but never enough Tybalt)
*vague, not really spoiler spoilers*
There are, however, a lot of unaddressed plot points from the first two books that continue onto this one, and I wonder if the author means to do anything with them at some point, or if she just wants to remind us a lot that oh yes, Toby has a crazypants missing mother and an estranged human daughter.
*vague, not really spoiler spoilers*
There are, however, a lot of unaddressed plot points from the first two books that continue onto this one, and I wonder if the author means to do anything with them at some point, or if she just wants to remind us a lot that oh yes, Toby has a crazypants missing mother and an estranged human daughter.
iffer's review against another edition
4.0
Even though I agree with other reviewers that some aspects of this book/series became repetitive ("I'm not a hero..." and "Fae can't say 'thank you.'", etc), this seemed like the tipping point for this series. This volume had emotional heft, since it dealt with several of the characters' personal feelings and backstories. From experience with other urban fantasy series, there is probably awesomeness to come.
mandygris's review against another edition
5.0
I'm reading all the October Daye books for my 2021 Hugo voting.
Never thought I'd willingly read more faerie books, but goddamn these books are good. The first one convinced me McGuire's writing style and abilities would take me places, the second one seriously sold me on her imagination, and the third one...
This book nearly broke me. It was such a good read. In so, so many ways.
Never thought I'd willingly read more faerie books, but goddamn these books are good. The first one convinced me McGuire's writing style and abilities would take me places, the second one seriously sold me on her imagination, and the third one...
This book nearly broke me. It was such a good read. In so, so many ways.