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A review by okevamae
When Sorrows Come by Seanan McGuire
4.0
Toby and Tybalt’s wedding has finally arrived... and so has a coup against the High King of the Westlands, who happens to be hosting the event. OF COURSE. What else would you expect from the wedding of October Daye?
This installment explores pretty heavily the themes of found family and what being “family” really means. (Sometimes family is you, your cat-fae-king-husband, your former death omen, her bird shifter girlfriend, your surrogate son who is secretly a prince, a bunch of other teenagers with assorted faerie superpowers, and your aunt, the Actual Sea Witch.) I’ve always loved Quentin and Toby’s relationship, but we’ve mostly gotten Toby’s POV on it and what it means to her. Getting to know more about Quentin’s feelings and his point of view was great, and made me a little bit teary-eyed.
The later books in the October Daye series are a good example of the infodump done well. Seanan McGuire does a good job of explaining all of the complex history and setting of this fictional world that a new reader might need to know or of introducing new information without it getting too boring. It’s still unmistakably an infodump, but it’s usually pretty entertaining, thanks in part to Toby’s snarky narration. Though I will note that when it’s delivered as dialogue it sometimes feels like a tangent in conversation, one which perhaps the character delivering it wouldn’t realistically take right then, but in general, it’s really well done.
The novella at the end, “And With Reveling,” covers the wedding reception, and gets into many of the same themes as the novel it’s attached to, so much so that I’m not totally sure why it wasn’t just the end of the novel instead of its own novella. Possibly because it has nothing to do with the plot and is 99% just people talking. There are some important character and relationship moments in it, though, so be sure and check it out. (If you’re listening to the audiobook, you might need to find a paper or ebook copy to read it.)
Representation: Gay, lesbian, and bisexual/pansexual characters and relationships, trans character, polyamorous triad, POC as secondary characters
CW: Blood (though if you’re familiar with the series, you guessed that one already)
I received an ARC of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This installment explores pretty heavily the themes of found family and what being “family” really means. (Sometimes family is you, your cat-fae-king-husband, your former death omen, her bird shifter girlfriend, your surrogate son who is secretly a prince, a bunch of other teenagers with assorted faerie superpowers, and your aunt, the Actual Sea Witch.) I’ve always loved Quentin and Toby’s relationship, but we’ve mostly gotten Toby’s POV on it and what it means to her. Getting to know more about Quentin’s feelings and his point of view was great, and made me a little bit teary-eyed.
The later books in the October Daye series are a good example of the infodump done well. Seanan McGuire does a good job of explaining all of the complex history and setting of this fictional world that a new reader might need to know or of introducing new information without it getting too boring. It’s still unmistakably an infodump, but it’s usually pretty entertaining, thanks in part to Toby’s snarky narration. Though I will note that when it’s delivered as dialogue it sometimes feels like a tangent in conversation, one which perhaps the character delivering it wouldn’t realistically take right then, but in general, it’s really well done.
The novella at the end, “And With Reveling,” covers the wedding reception, and gets into many of the same themes as the novel it’s attached to, so much so that I’m not totally sure why it wasn’t just the end of the novel instead of its own novella. Possibly because it has nothing to do with the plot and is 99% just people talking. There are some important character and relationship moments in it, though, so be sure and check it out. (If you’re listening to the audiobook, you might need to find a paper or ebook copy to read it.)
Representation: Gay, lesbian, and bisexual/pansexual characters and relationships, trans character, polyamorous triad, POC as secondary characters
CW: Blood (though if you’re familiar with the series, you guessed that one already)
I received an ARC of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.