Review: Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire

Title: Chimes at Midnight
Author: Seanan McGuire
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: October Daye #7
Published: September 3, 2013 by DAW
Paperback, 346 pages

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Things are starting to look up for October "Toby" Daye. She's training her squire, doing her job, and has finally allowed herself to grow closer to the local King of Cats. It seems like her life may finally be settling down...at least until dead changelings start appearing in the alleys of San Francisco, killed by an overdose of goblin fruit.

Toby's efforts to take the problem to the Queen of the Mists are met with harsh reprisals, leaving her under sentence of exile from her home and everyone she loves. Now Toby must find a way to reverse the Queens decree, get the goblin fruit off the streets--and, oh, yes, save her own life, since more than a few of her problems have once again followed her home. And then there's the question of the Queen herself, who seems increasingly unlikely to have a valid claim to the throne....

To find the answers, October and her friends will have to travel from the legendary Library of Stars into the hidden depths of the Kingdom of the Mists--and they'll have to do it fast, because time is running out. In faerie, some fates are worse than death.

October Daye is about to find out what they are. 

First, I would just like to point out that I am a huge fan of Seanan McGuire. So, I was very excited to continue this series. At this point, I am engulfed in this story.

October, otherwise known as Toby, is a private investigator for Faerie, and for the human side of life when she needs extra cash. She is also a Changling, half human, and half Fae. She hails in San Francisco, and San Francisco is having a major gobblin fruit issue. As always, Toby takes it upon herself to rid her city of its problems. Can her and her eclectic group of helpers get this gobblin fruit problem under control before it takes all of Faerie with it?

I loved this book. I loved the story line, and the characters. Toby is a badass, plain and simple. She doesn't take any crap from anyone, and I love it. I'm always excited to find a strong female lead character, and Toby definitely is that. Don't get me wrong though, there are times when I'd like to ask her, “Are you serious right now?” Can't do that of course, on account of her being a fictional character and all. As with most of the books in this series, this book started with a BANG, and ended with one. It had a quick pace to keep me interested, along with great old and new characters that I enjoyed. There were a few “WHAT? NO WAY!” moments for me, things I just did not see coming for some reason, which was the point I'm sure. The only negative I can really give the book is that some of the characters we have seen in past books, such as Raj, I just wished they had been involved more in this edition to the story.

All in all this is a great read. If you enjoy fantasy and Faerie tales, this would be a fantastic series to begin reading. If you don't enjoy this genre, this is probably not something you would be interested in reading.

Guest Reviewed by Casey