Early Review - Midnight Blue-Light Special (InCryptid, Book 2) by Seanan McGuire (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: March 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-0756407926
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the InCryptid series
Source: ARC through Goodreads First Reads
Rating: 5/5 stars


I have read all of Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series (which I adore) and her Newsflesh series written as Mira Grant (which I also loved). This is the second book in the Incryptid series and it was even better than the first! I got a copy of this book to review through Goodreads First Reads program. This was a fun read, that was action packed and very well put together. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Verity is recovering from the deadly snake-cult mystery in the first book when she gets some dreadful news from Dominic...the Covenant is coming to the city to clear out all of the InCryptids. Now Verity has to find a way to protect both the InCryptids and herself from the Covenant. She also has to figure out if Dominic is with or against her. Part of the story is also told from Sarah’s POV (Sarah is Verity’s cousin who is a cuckoo).

The book is told from both Sarah and Verity's POVs. Cleverly you can tell which chapter is told from which POV by the little pictures up top. Verity's chapters are headed with bloody dance steps, while Sarah's are headed with math equations.

This was a very well done book. It's full of wonderfully creative characters and is a lot of fun to read. You never know what new type of beastie is going to be around the corner. The plot keeps you guessing, the pace is fast, and the book is action packed.

Verity grow a lot in this book. She is finally learning how to trust her friends and depend on them for some backup in this book. She also begins to come to terms with her life and her...destiny. She starts to have to truly decide what form her life will take; that of a professional ballroom dancer or that of a cryptozoologist.

We get a lot of insight into both Dominic and Sarah’s characters in this book as well. Sarah tells some of the story from her POV and she is a very interesting and complex character with an interesting background. We also learn quite a bit about Domonic’s background as well.

As with the past books there are many quirky characters in here. The mice are here in force and as strangely entertaining as they were in the last book. You never know what strange type of mythological beastie you will run into next. They are all interesting and engaging.

Parts of the book are laugh out loud funny, others are touching. All in all a very entertaining and well balanced book. There is a lot of action. As well as a lot of mystery solving.

Overall I absolutely loved this book. It is a perfect balance of everything that makes urban fantasy wonderful. You have creative characters that are fun and easy to engage with and a complex action-packed plot that is fast-paced plot. This book is intelligently written, super fun to read, and absolutely engrossing. It was so hard to put down. Those who love urban fantasy should definitely pick up this whole series, it’s been wonderful to read so far. I also recommend her October Daye series, which is less action packed but also exceedingly well written.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- DRAGONS: Paranormal Reading Challenge
- BLUE: Color Coded Reading Challenge

Review - Ashes of Honor (October Daye, Book 6) by Seanan McGuire (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: September 4, 2012
ISBN: 978-0756407490
Stand Alone or Series: 6th book in the October Daye series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the sixth book in the October Daye series. It seems like these books just keep getting better and better. In this installment we travel to new lands, get to see Toby’s new powers in action, and also get to spend a lot of time with my favorite character The King of Cats, Tybalt. This was just a fantastic book in this series.

Toby is trying to recover from her losses in the last book; she is focusing on her duties as a knight and training Quentin in his duties. Personal losses have taken an emotional toll on Toby though ,and she has been throwing herself into more and more reckless situations to the point where her friends are starting to be scared for her. Things get worse when Etienne (a fellow knight from Shadowed Hills) finds out he has a changeling daughter, Chelsea, and that she has gone missing. He hires Toby to find Chelsea, but when they find out Chelsea has unlimited power and is ripping the world apart with her teleportation abilities, the quest to recover her becomes a world-saving one.

I have to say right away that Tybalt, the King of Cats, is my favorite character in this series. The fact that he was in the story so much and that we learn so much more about him and his court of cats really made this a fun and enjoyable read for me.

In addition to the above Toby gets to venture into some brand new worlds never before traveled to. I loved being introduced to these new worlds and hearing the stories behind their history. We also get to see a side of the Luidage we’ve never seen before, I love the character of the Luidage as well.

I also felt like Toby healed a lot in this book; she seems to finally be working through her grief and letting her friends back in. She is also starting to learn the limits of her new faerie powers. With both her magical and emotional status stabilising she is becoming a force to be reckoned with and a really fun character to read about.

A lot of the plot turns and twists thoughout the book are incredibly creative. I love that you never know what you are going to run into in these books, each new turn of the story holds new wonder for the reader. The story is incredibly well written and fun to read. I did miss the nursery rhyme references, they really weren’t in this book at all.

Overall I just loved this book. It is one of the strongest book in this series, these books just keep getting better and better. Wonderful characters, new worlds, a creative plot, and excellent pacing make this a book that is hard to put down. There is lots of Tybalt in this book which is awesome and Toby is finally starting to stabilize both magically and emotionally. I can’t wait to see what the next book holds for these wonderful characters and this amazing world. This whole series is highly recommended to fans of urban fantasy, especially those who love a little faerie in the urban fantasy.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - Discount Armageddon (InCryptid, Book 1) by Seanan McGuire (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: March 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-0756407131
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the InCryptid series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

I love all the books I have read from Seanan McGuire so when I saw she was coming out with this lighthearted yet kick-butt InCryptid series I was excited. I have loved her October Daye series and also really enjoyed the Newsflesh series that she writes under the name Mira Grant. This was an excellent book; creative and so much fun, it exceeded my expectations. The second book in this series will be titled, Midnight Blue-Light Special and is due to release in March of 2013.

Verity Price is a Price; she is also a cryptozoologist. The Price's went traitor against the Covenant some time ago and decided to turn from eliminating InCryptids to trying to help InCryptids live peacefully among humans. As such they've been hunted by the Covenant for a long, long time. Verity is a bit different than her family; she loves protecting InCryptids but she also loves ballroom dancing. She has moved to Manhattan to further her career as a ballroom dancer while keeping tabs on Manhattan's resident InCryptids. That is until Dominic, of Covenant origin, shows up to rain on Verity's parade...oh and then there's the whole thing about a dragon being asleep under the island.

This book was an absolute riot from cover to cover; I loved it. It was hilarious, action packed, smart, creative, and just so much fun. This is urban fantasy with a lot of fantasy in it and a lot of sass. Verity is just the most awesome heroine. Sure she has to work in a sleazy bar to support herself, but in between that she helps out those who can't help themselves, protects humanity from things that go bump in the night, and still manages to pull off a killer tango. She's not perfect, she makes mistakes, sometimes she is even a little bit vulnerable. This makes her into a wonderfully engaging heroine that you are constantly cheering for.

I also loved that despite her strange upbringing she still has a loving and caring relationship with her family. Granted most family doesn't lend help in the form of grenades and pit-traps...but you know each to their own. I love the religious talking mice that plague her apartment and turn the smallest random event into a strange religious holiday. I love the crazy creatures we meet throughout, you seriously never know what new type of creature is going to be lurking around the corner.

As for the male lead, Dominic is incredibly well done. Him and Verity don't hit it off at all in the beginning, but it was interesting to watch them both learn and grow by listening to each other's perspective. I loved how their relationship grew into one of mutual respect and how they had to compromise to make things work. I also loved that even though there is a little romance, it's not what drives the world and storyline. It is subtle and wonderfully woven into a complex world and plot.

The plot is part investigation (as Verity tries to figure out why single female InCryptids are going missing), part dungeon delver (Verity exploring sewers in hopes of figuring out the dragon mystery) and part ninja (think wall-hoping, roof-jumping, and other crazy forms of locomotion). It is unpredictable, but never confusing. This book was so darn hard to put down. I just had to know if they found the dragon and what was going to happen if they did find the dragon.

The book ends at a good spot, but I am dying to see more adventures with Verity and crew. I also loved the one-liner quotes that opened up each chapter, they were hilarious.

Overall I just love, love, loved this book. It reminds a little of the Nightside series by Simon Green; it's got that same type of dark, campy humor and similarly you never know what you will run into in the course of the story. Verity is one of those characters that constantly takes a licking and keeps on ticking; she is tough, smart, funny and is still easy to engage with. Pretty much all the characteres are awesome, the world is super creative, and the plot is full of fun surprises. I loved this book and cannot wait to read Midnight Blue-Light Special when it comes out. Very highly recommended for all those urban fantasy fans out there; in fact if you are a swords and sorcery type of fantasy fan you may want to give this a try...it has more fantasy than a lot of other urban fantasies out there.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - One Salt Sea (October Daye, Book 5) by Seanan McGuire (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: September 6, 2011
ISBN: 978-0756406837
Stand Alone or Series: 5th book in the October Daye series
Source: Bought
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the fifth book in the October Daye series. I pretty much adore this series and this book just sealed the deal for me. The world-building, the plot, the characters...all of it was just spot on. If you are a fan of this series you will absolutely love this book.

Toby (October) is taking a little break and trying to get her life together. She is the Countess of Goldengreen now and has subjects to manage there, Quentin is officially her squire, and her and Connor have started dating...not to mention the fact that having her blood tipped more to the fairy side has changed how things work for her. Then Toby is called in on a case, a case that has the two realms of fairy (land and sea) on the brink of war. Someone has stolen the two sons of the Saltmist Queen and King. If they aren't found Seamist will declare war on the Land. Toby has three days to solve the case, but someone is determined to stop her from making any progress.

While previous books have been almost too fast-paced this book is perfectly paced. I had trouble putting it down, but never felt rushed through the story. All of the gaps that I felt were missing in Late Eclipses were filled here. We learn about how Toby is managing Goldengreen. We also get to see a ton more of both Connor and Tybalt and there is a lot of resolution about Toby's relationships with those two.

The characters are fantastic. Even side characters are incredibly interesting. Tybalt is amazing and continues to be one of my favorites; as the King of Cats he does such a good job helping Toby while balancing all of his other responsibilities...and he is incredibly fun. Toby has grown so much, when you think back to the downtroden changeling she was in Rosemary and Rue it is hard to believe that she has grown into such a beuatiful, wonderful, and powerful lead.

The best part was getting introduced to a whole new fairy world with the introduction of Saltmist. Toby gets to travel and meet fairy creatures that she has never seen and is introduced to a beautiful and haunting world. It was fascinating and really expanded the world built in this series. The sea witch is present a lot in this book as well and we get to learn more both about her and the history of fairy through her involvement.

Once again I love how mythology, fairy tale, and nursery rhymes are mixed together to create a rich and wonderful world. I should mention the Night Haunts are back in this book too, I love the mystery behind those Night Haunts!

Overall the best book in the series. This is a series where each book keeps getting better and better. I love this series. There is mystery, intrigue, romance, action, wonder, excellent characters, a fast-paced plot and all of it is perfectly balanced. McGuire (who also writes the Newsflesh Trilogy as Mira Grant) is an excellent writer and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. The sixth book will be titled, Ashes of Honor, and is planned for a Septemer 2012 release. If you love urban fantasy and faerie check this series out. If you love a good mystery with some magic thrown in check this series out. Heck just read this series, the first book is a bit rough, but the rest of the series has been awesome!

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge

Late Eclipses (October Daye, Book 4) by Seanan McGuire (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size:  400 pages
Publisher:  DAW
Release Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0756406660
Stand Alone or Series: Book 4 in the October Daye series
Source: Borrowed from library
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the fourth book in the October Daye series by McGuire.  The fifth book, One Salt Sea, is due out September of 2011.  This series just keeps getting better and better.  The book moves along at a great clip, adds further depth to Toby's world and was a very engaging and wonderful read.

When Toby is awarded her own land, she knows that she now owes allegiance to the half-mad Queen and that things are going to get dicey.  Then Lily (an undine water spirit) comes down with a severe illness and Luna collapses in illness too.  Unfortunately for Tody she is present for both incidents and because of her changeling nature is suspected as being involved in their illnesses.  Toby only wants to help and she thinks she senses the prescence of Oleander (the evil lady who turned her into a gold fish all those years ago) at the scene of these people's collapse.  Now it is a race against time: Toby has to figure out what is happening before more people die and before she is arrested in connection to the illnesses.

This is a very fast paced book and it was hard to put down.  The world is complex and intriguing.  This book thrust the reader deeper into fairy politics than any previous book.  We get more insight into a lot of characters that we have meet in previous books and gain a lot of understanding of Toby's past.

Toby is still confused about who she likes more Tybalt or Connor.  Tybalt plays a pretty big role in the beginning of this book which was awesome because he is my absolute favorite character in this series.  Then his role fades in the second half of the book and Connor plays a bigger role.  We finally got to spend time with Connor and get to know him better, but for me he isn't anywhere as interesting as Tybalt is.

We also got to see more of Toby and May making a life as roommates together.  It was nice to see some of the more domestic aspects of Toby's life.  This book really filled out May as a character and made her one of the characters that I really enjoyed reading about.  Toby also undergoes some incredibly drastic and interesting changes and I am eager to see what they mean for her in future installments.

The story wraps up nicely but there is a lot of room for more story in the next book.  This book doesn't do more than touch on the fact that Toby now has a fairy kingdom all her own.  There also isn't much progress or resolution on Toby's relationships with Connor and Tybalt; hopefully we will see some of that in the next book.  I really enjoy McGuire's writing style it is very readable, has great description, and is incredibly engaging.  I continue to enjoy how McGuire merges fantasy, mythology, and nursery rhymes into a cohesive whole.

Overall a really excellent addition to this series.  I loved spending more time in fairy and watching Toby unravel this complicated mystery.  I love the characters more with each book in this series and absolutely can't wait for what will happen next.  This was an incredibly engaging and fun to read book; the complex world and intriguing characters are a joy to read about.  I can't wait for book 5, One Salt Sea, to come out in September 2011.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge

 

Review - An Artificial Night (October Daye, Book 3) by Seanan McGuire (4.5/5 stars)

This is the third book in the October Daye series by Seanan Mcguire.  The 4th book,  Late Eclipses, will be out in March of 2011.  Right now there are seven books contracted for this series.  This was a great installment in this series.  The book was different from the previous books in that most of it takes place in the Summerlands and it is more of a questing/adventure type of story.  I loved it.

October is contacted when a variety of children go missing.  It's not just fairy children either.  Tybalt wants her to find some of his missing cats, her friend's half-fairy children have disappeared, and Quentin's teenage human girlfriend is also gone.  October ends up having to venture deep into the heart of the world of Blind Michael, one of the First Born Fairies.  The hard part isn't going to be saving the children, it's going to be saving herself.

This book was a bit different from the previous books in that it has October going through more of a quest through the fairy lands.  She spends a lot of time dealing with heavy hitters, mainly First Born fairies.  We get to learn a lot more about where Luna, her kind of foster mother, came from and Luna's history.  It was fun to have some of that mystery dispelled.  This book also gives you a lot more insight into how the fairylands work and the history behind them.

October, Toby, takes a lot of damage in this book...physically, mentally, and emotionally.  The nice part about that is you see how much the people in Toby's life care about her.  Tybalt and Connor are both vying for her attention somewhat.  Tybalt is in the story some and teases the reader with some interesting comments and problems; again I hope that a future book really features on him.  It seems like there is a lot to learn about Tybalt.  All our favorites are in this story as well Connor, Quentin, Spike (the rose goblin) etc.  The newest characters that join the cast are May, Toby's Fetch, and Luna's mother (whose name I won't say in order to avoid spoilers).

All in all, despite the wonderful cast of characters this book is about Toby.  It is about Toby deciding how she wants to live her life and whether she will be a Hero or not.  The story is dark, the pace is breakneck and the book is hard to put down.  I also think McGuire's writing style has vastly improved from the first book.  The dialogue sounds natural and the book is very easy to read.  I love how McGuire mingles urban fantasy, mystery, folklore, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes in a cohesive way.

There are a couple things I didn't like about the book, and these prevented me from giving it a 5 star rating.  I thought Toby was too passive.  She gets pushed around a lot of the book and spends a lot of time passed out.  This was true for the end of the second book also.  Maybe Toby just needs to be tougher.  Hopefully we will see her do more to drive her own destiny in future books.  Also I thought Toby returning to Blind Michael's lands multiple times started to get a little repetitive. By the final time Toby returns to his lands, I was thinking "Really, we have to go back there AGAIN!?"

Overall this was a great installment in this series.  You learn a lot more about the characters and about the Summerlands in general.  I wish Toby had been a bit more assertive and spent less time unconscious; but aside from that I have been really impressed with this series.  It is quickly becoming one of my favorites!  I eagerly await Late Eclipses.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge Book List
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

Review - A Local Habitation (October Daye, Book 2) by Seanan McGuire (4.5/5 stars)

This is the second book in the October Daye series.  Last I heard there were eight books planned for this series; the 3rd book "An Artificial Night" is due to come out September 2010.  I thought this book was much better than the first book in the series; I really enjoyed it.

October (Toby) is back in with the fairy community.  Her liege lord, Sylvester, has asked her to go to the County of Tamed Lightning to check on his niece, January O'Leary.  The political situation in Tamed Lightening is touchy; Toby brings along Quentin to help with the case.  When they arrive they find out things are much stranger than they were originally lead to believe.  January runs a computer company that is focused on bringing technology to the Summerlands.  The computer company employs a number of interesting types of faerie as well as a dryad that is now housed in a network tree (her forest was destroyed).  What Toby doesn't know right away is that faeries there have been dying and no one can figure out what's killing them.  Toby's time to figure out what is happening is running out; and now her and Quentin may be the hunted ones.

This was an excellent book.  It is fast paced and the plot is well put together and never really wanders.  Toby is a great character that shows admirable practicality, determination, and initiative.  I am amazed at how many interesting types of magic she pulls off despite her supposed lack of magical power.  Toby is very good at using what she has effectively.  Many of the side characters are also very intriguing; McGuire does an excellent job with character development.  I really enjoyed the King of Cats, Tybalt, and hope that he features in future books.  I also enjoyed that the Night Haunts played some role in this book, they were fascinating to learn more about.

I really loved the creativity of the plot.  Having the faerie community merging with technology was an interesting concept that brought up a number of interesting questions.  We get to meet a wide-variety of types of fairy in this book too.  I enjoyed the creativity that went into developing these races and making them really fun to learn about.  This book is definitely more of an urban fantasy than a paranormal romance; although Toby does have a potential love interest in Tybalt.

I thought this book was much more well put together than the first one.  The plot was more engaging and really propelled the reader forward; Toby develops into a much more likable heroine (she was not as whiny as in the first book).  I also liked that Toby spent some time in another duchy.  I hope in future books we are exposed to an even broader world of faerie that goes outside the coastal US area.

I only have one major complaint about this book and that is that it was rather predictable.  From the moment Toby and Quentin set foot in Tamed Lightning I new who was involved in the deaths.  I was kind of hoping that I was wrong.  I also have one minor quibble...that was that Toby spent more time than I would have liked having breakdowns.  It was nice to see that Toby had a soft side; but towards the end of the book it seemed like she spent most of her time crying or passing out...

Overall I liked this book much better than the first book.  It would have been 5 stars, if not for the predictability of the conclusion to the mystery.  I am excited to read the third book in the series and am happy I only have to wait six months for it to come out!  This is developing into one of the better urban fantasy series out there right now.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge
- Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge
- Thiller and Suspense Challenge

 

Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, Book 1) by Seanan McGuire (4/5 stars)

I love books about the fairy world mingling with our world. Since I haven't been all the thrilled with the Meredith Gentry books lately, I was excited to start another series that deals with the fairy world. There are a number of young adult series out there that deal with the fairy world but not many adult novels. This ended up being a pretty good book. I think this series has a lot of promise.

October Daye is a changeling, half human half fairy. She is also a Knight of the fairy realms and has a daughter and a human boyfriend. At least she had those things until she made a fatal mistake and was changed into a koi fish for fourteen years. When she returns to the human world everything has changed for her, her daughter won't see her, her investigation business has been sold off and she has been declared dead. In her new life she has one goal, to never deal with fairy again. Unfortunately her new goal will not be realized. She receives a call from a prominent fairy noble named Evening. Evening is in trouble and she magically binds October to figure out what is going on. Now October is thrust back into the fairy world and she must solve Evening's murder; if she doesn't her life is forfeit.

There's a lot to like in this book. The world McGuire has created is complex, detailed, and very believable. It is focused mainly on the city of San Francisco and surrounding California, but does look like it could easily be expanded to wider horizons. The characterization is another strong point. The characters are believable, unique, have intriguing pasts, and are not always good or evil but a mix of both. These characters are fascinating and that extends to the side characters as well as the main ones.

There are some wonderful action scenes in this book. McGuire does an excellent job with these. The plot is fast moving and very engaging. The book was hard to put down, you always wonder what is going to happen to October next and if she will be successful in solving the murder. This is definitely not a romance book, but an action packed urban fantasy. Although October is not an action hero or a super hero; she is more of an ordinary everyday girl trying to make a living but constantly getting thrust into extraordinary situations.

McGuire did an excellent job of keeping October focused on her goals. I hate it when the heroine gets so scattered and distracted that she doesn't know what she's doing; that didn't happen in this book. McGuire also did an excellent job of bringing the main storyline in this book to a close; while leaving some threads hanging for the next book. Another nice thing was how McGuire summarized what October needs to focus on in the next book at the end of this book. I appreciated the pronunciation guide included as well. It would have been nice to have a Glossary to help you keep all the fairy races straight.

There were a couple of things that I didn't like about the book. Personally I didn't like October as much as a character. She spent a lot of the beginning of the book trying to shrug off her responsibilities; she also does a lot of stupid things throughout the book. I also wasn't a huge fan of McGuire's overall writing style. At times it didn't seem to flow all that well for me and it was a bit difficult to read. This is a pretty small quibble, but there are some books out there that are absolutely effortless to read they are so natural and this wasn't one of those books for me. Lastly you get a lot of different types of fairies thrown at you right away. McGuire is inconsistent about describing these different races, sometimes she does and sometimes you are left to struggle through it on your own. This is another reason why a index or glossary of fairy races would have been nice.

Overall I liked the book. I think this could be the start of a magnificent series. Like many first books, this one could have used a little more polish, but the main elements are there. Mcguire is very good at world-building and characterization and writes some awesome action scenes. I am looking forward to reading the next book "A Local Habitation" due out in March 2010.

This book goes towards the following challenges;
- 1st in a Series Reading Challenge
- Thiller and Suspense Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge