It's no secret that I'm an urban fantasy fan, but the October Daye series, for me, has to be one of the best. It has a lot more depth, detail and nuance than many of the other action-filled series out there. And I know it doesn't work for everybody, but I absolutely adore the October Daye books, and have devoured all seven in the space of just over a month.1. I love Toby. She's a strong woman, but also vulnerable, and snarky as all hell. She's not invincible, she gets helluva injured, constantly, and she makes rash decisions. Indeed, she's far from perfect. But there's just something about her indomitable spirit, her self-deprecation, her willingness to drag herself up from the depths of despair that you just have to admire.2. TYBALT. TOBY AND TYBALT. EVEN THEIR NAMES BELONG TOGETHER, OKAY. Their romance is definitely a slow burn, built on snark and affection. And it only gets going after book 5. (Book 6 is my favourite for Toby/Tybalt squeeee.) Indeed, although there is an air of love triangle (but not really) in the earlier books, both contenders for her affection were respectful. They didn't fight all over her like a piece of meat - they let Toby come to her own decisions and were there for when she needed them. 3. The supporting characters. Everyone, from Quentin to Raj to the Luidaeg and the flipping rose goblin have their own side stories and little character mysteries. I'm just as invested in them as our main cast.4. The worldbuilding. Layered, with a lot of detail, as I mentioned, and plenty of mystery and foreshadowing. I can't wait to find out more about Toby's origins. And what the future holds for all our fabulous characters that I've come to love. No more sudden deaths, please.Look, the series ain't flawless - the caffeine addiction thing gets quite annoying, and Toby can be really dense sometimes, and they all get a little too close to death in every single book - but I can overlook these in favour of the overall awesomeness of the series. And now I'm supposed to wait a year between each of the future books? Oh, hold me! I always want to like Seanan McGuire's books more than I actually do. They're palate cleansers as books go - pleasant to read if you're coming off the Best Book Ever, and also pleasant to read if you're coming off the Worst Book Ever. They're semi-predictable, but they do keep a good pace and you're not at risk of being blindsided by random racism, sexism, etc.In Chimes at Midnight, Toby Daye is, as usual, caught in a heap of trouble again - this time with the Queen of her local knowe. For me, part of the entertainment is that the series is set in S.F., though this time I found myself rolling my eyes at the way local bookstore Borderlands was included. Obviously McGuire is a fan of the shop, and it's a good bookstore, but something about the "let's make Borderlands MYSTICAL" element just didn't do it for me.It's always hard to review a book when you're neither particularly excited nor particularly livid at it, so I'll just say if you're looking for Urban Fantasy, you could do worse.
What do You think about Chimes At Midnight (2013)?
Possibly my next to favorite October novel!
—kyrakatu
