Title: An Artificial Night
Author: Seanan McGuire
Series: October Daye #3
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fae, Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2010

An Artificial Night actually freaked me out a little bit more than other fae stories that I’ve read. Possibly because the idea of losing a child is honestly a visceral fear. Which is most likely why it’s so featured in traditional fae tales – the fae take our children and therefore are terrifying. Having children’s rhymes interspersed throughout just made this all that much freakier and more uncomfortable. But, because of this serious discomfort – I couldn’t put this book down and / or forget about it. It was phenomenal.

I frequently fall in love with McGuire’s characters, and truly enjoy Toby and all of her adventures. But, I must admit I pretty much immediately fell in love with May. I mean, the differences between her and Toby are apparent from the very beginning. And I just found her really cute and kind of naïve, whilst also being a little bit scary. It also made me happy that, even if she is a portent of something that is usually seen as a negative, she was a really positive character.

Connor is interesting as a character from Toby’s past, but I find him kind of painful. I don’t really see the connection between him and Toby, and honestly, every time he shows up, he just causes problems. Mostly by showing his emotions and painting a target on Toby’s back with his somewhat psychotic wife. He just kind of… hangs on and mopes around. Not my favourite character, although not quite detestable either.

Tybalt is so obviously the end game love interest for Toby, and I keep wanting more and more of them. I mean, it’s incredibly obvious that Tybalt has claimed Toby in some kind of way, and that she is entirely clueless about his motives. But this just makes me want more of their relationship. Particularly because I love the whole feline doesn’t do what anyone tells him angle that they’ve got going. I’m not sure if I’m excited for Late Eclipses because I can’t wait to see what other trouble Toby gets herself into, or because I’m excited for more Toby and Tybalt.

Honestly, I was kind of surprised at the fact that Toby managed to triumph like she did. I was expecting her to have a whole lot more trouble than she did with winning the battle. I love that her triumph was totally unexpected and, I feel, has a whole lot of unforeseen consequences. Now onto the next insane battle that she should lose, but won’t…

Image source: Amazon

Title: A Local Habitation
Author: Seanan McGuire
Series: October Daye #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fae, Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2010

This novel was absolutely impossible to put down and honestly, really quite tragic in moments. There was a lot more death and destruction than I had anticipated. Which, I absolutely loved, even as I felt sad for all of the tragedies that befell Toby Daye and the fae she was trying to help. Plus, I got to find out more about Toby’s powers and her role in the court.

I absolutely adore the Toby and Tybalt dynamic, and I love how it is unfolding within this series. I’m really hoping that he is the final partner for Toby, just with a lot more drama and action in the lead up. Although, I do wonder why, at the end of this tale, Tybalt starts to avert his gaze from Toby. I can’t wait to discover more about why her powers and actions have potentially made him uncomfortable – and how this will inform their future relationship.

There were a number of twists throughout this story that I just didn’t quite see coming, then there were those that I did predict. I saw the twist of Alex and Terrie coming, but I didn’t quite figure out all of the machinations of how it would work. I also love how their story arc ended. There were so many twists and turns throughout this that I just couldn’t put this story down – I didn’t know what was going to happen from one moment to the next.

I loved how the killer throughout this was manipulated and coerced into some pretty horrifying decisions. And, ultimately, at the core of all of this, it was about the hierarchy of the fae and the abandonment of the changelings. It’s a reminder that issues of abandonment and feeling unloved are universal and always scarring.

Honestly, even a long time after turning the final page of this story, I absolutely cannot stop thinking about this. There is something completely unforgettable about McGuire’s writing that makes me want to constantly devour her writing. And now I can’t wait to get into An Artificial Night.

Image source: Hachette Australia