Chimes At Midnight by Seanan McGuire
My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
and a BIG Woohoooooo!
I have been a fan of Seanan McGuire’s October Daye novels since Rosemary & Rue came out in 2009. I don’t know of another series more jam-packed with Magic (with a capital “M”) than this one. It is true Urban Fantasy, set in the streets of San Francisco, yet connected to the world of the Fae, and it is utterly filled with every type of mythical creature Celtic folklore has ever spawned. Selkies and barghests and mermaids, oh my! Rose goblins, sea hags, and Cobblynaus, and far too many more to name in this review. Toby herself is a Changling, half human and half Dochas Sidhe, and was made a Knight in a past book, so she is often referred to as Sir Daye, which always makes me laugh. She’s a hard-headed heroine (aren’t they all), but very loyal and lovable. I find myself solidly in her corner in each book, even though there were a couple of times in the past when I wanted to smack her up beside the head, when she persisted in being blind to the real love that was being offered to her. Hopefully, those days are gone now, and she’s got her head on straight again.
The plots are original, complicated, but very well explained, so following them doesn’t hurt your brain. And all the characters are richly developed and fun to read about, even the awful ones, like Blind Michael or the wicked Queen of the Mist. But my very, very favorite character of all, from the first book throughout, is the wonderful King of Cats himself, Tybalt, a very sexy, and delightfully droll Cait Sidhe.
All of the books feature titles from Shakespeare, and Chimes at Midnight is the best in the series to date. The plot was wonderfully tense and dramatic, and had me biting my nails anxiously, as I read faster and faster, wanting to find out what was going to happen. It didn’t hurt my feelings that there was more Tybalt than ever, and that his relationship with Toby is getting stronger and stronger. (But make no mistake, love story or not, this is not a Paranormal Romance. Pure Urban Fantasy, at it’s best!)
Changes are afoot in the Kingdom of the Fae, and Chimes at Midnight has set things up for big excitement! I can’t wait to see what’s coming next!
If you are already a fan of Toby Daye, you will want to read Chimes at Midnight as soon as possible. If you haven’t tried the series, but are interested in good Urban Fantasy in general, or the Fae, more specifically, grab a copy of Rosemary & Rue, and start catching up. Every book is better than the one before it. Just be sure to watch out for the Kelpies, and Glastigs, and Kitsunes!
Chimes at Midnight: An October Daye Novel
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