Nineteen books into this series and October Daye is still going strong! The character October (better known as Toby) has come a long way since the first volume, Rosemary and Rue. Toby has gained confidence in herself and her abilities. She has acquired a fleet of friends and a house full of chosen family. She has often regretted the rift between her eldest daughter, Gillian, and herself, as written in earlier installments, but she has happily housed and fed a coterie of teenagers who have become like her own. Now, she and her new husband Tybalt are welcoming another babe into their household.
At the book's beginning, Tybalt is stuck in overprotective mode. Mind you, he has reason, as Toby, who is after all a Hero of Faerie, tends to charge into action impulsively. In the opening chapter, Toby is trying to heed everyone else's desires to keep her safe, but feels like she is under house arrest and dying of boredom. When her Queen requests her assistance, Toby jumps at the chance to do something. But this is Toby we're talking about, so you know that things will go spectacularly wrong!
As always, I love McGuire's use of fairy lore and her alternative reality of Faerie anchored in the Western United States. (And that her squire, Quentin, is from a Canadian royal family.) Her “rules" are consistent, if very different from our own conventions and they make for interesting complications. While I may not be quite as enthusiastic about fantasy including Fae characters as I was five years ago, I still make room for Toby in my reading life because of the strength of McGuire's world building.
I don't know what McGuire's plans are for Toby and company, but there remain unanswered questions at this book's end, so I can plan reasonably surely to read at least one more volume in the future. No doubt Toby will be risking herself once more, to Tybalt's dismay. But who knows? Perhaps motherhood will temper her impulsive nature (not that I believe it will). I’ll anticipate the next book with pleasure.
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