I am beyond thrilled to have received an ARC of the newest, soon-to-be-released book in the October Daye urban fantasy series. Thank you, NetGalley and DAW Books! October Daye continues to be at the absolute top of my list of ongoing series (and October herself is definitely a favorite hero) — read on to find out why!
Things are not okay.
In the aftermath of Amandine’s latest betrayal, October “Toby” Daye’s fragile self-made family is on the verge of coming apart at the seams. Jazz can’t sleep, Sylvester doesn’t want to see her, and worst of all, Tybalt has withdrawn from her entirely, retreating into the Court of Cats as he tries to recover from his abduction. Toby is floundering, unable to help the people she loves most heal. She needs a distraction. She needs a quest.
What she doesn’t need is the abduction of her estranged human daughter, Gillian. What she doesn’t need is to be accused of kidnapping her own child by her ex-boyfriend and his new wife, who seems to be harboring secrets of her own. There’s no question of whether she’ll take the case. The only question is whether she’s emotionally prepared to survive it.
Signs of Faerie’s involvement are everywhere, and it’s going to take all Toby’s nerve and all her allies to get her through this web of old secrets, older hatreds, and new deceits. If she can’t find Gillian before time runs out, her own child will pay the price. One question remains:
Who in Faerie remembered Gillian existed? And what do they stand to gain? No matter how this ends, Toby’s life will never be the same.
Seanan McGuire never fails to amaze me… and to wreak utter havoc with my emotions. Night and Silence is a strong addition to the October Daye series, with new twists and turns and some totally startling revelations and developments. How many series can get to book #12 with no signs of slowing or slumping? The October Daye series has always been excellent, and this new book lives up to all the rest.
Since this is a pre-release review, I’m going to be vague about just about everything. I know I’d hate to discover spoilers before the book even comes out, so I’ll be discreet, I promise! If you’re reading this review, chances are more than good that you’re a Toby fan, and that you’re panting (and maybe drooling a bit) to find out what happens next, after that doozy of an ending from book #11, The Brightest Fell.
As the synopsis above makes clear, things are NOT okay at the beginning of this book. Toby and Tybalt are more or less estranged, since Tybalt is suffering serious trauma after his ordeal at the hands of Amandine in book #11. And this just breaks my heart. I love the two of them together, and I love Tybalt as an individual. It hurts to see him suffering, and it hurts to see Toby suffering from his distance and her inability to reach him and help him.
When Gillian is kidnapped and Toby springs into action, it brings her back into contact with both the humans from her past and some nefarious folks from the fae part of her life too. Still, it’s great to see Toby on a mission, and to see her allies rallying round to back her up and give her their support.
There are some MAJOR reveals, including the answer to a question that’s bugged me almost from the start of the series. But see, I’m being discreet, so I won’t even say what the question is, much less the answer.
The hunt for the kidnappers and the outcome are not what anyone would expect. Let’s leave it at that. The ending of this book is a game-changer, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
It’s startling to me to realize that as of the beginning of this year, I had not yet entered the amazing world of October Daye. What a difference a few months make! I love this series to bits and pieces, and can’t recommend it highly enough! Seanan McGuire must be part Fae herself, because she spins the best magical stories. I love everything she writes, and Night and Silence is a treat. Read it! And if you haven’t read any October Daye books yet, start with Rosemary and Rue. I dare you to stop after one book!
I’ll wrap things up with a quote from the book, without providing any context, just because the dialogue in these stories always makes me smile:
“You have got to stop defusing every conversation you don’t want to have by talking like something out of a Regency romance.”
But wait, there’s more!
As an afterward to Night and Silence is the long short-story Suffer A Sea-Change. I’m not going to tell you who’s in it (okay, obviously the Luidaeg, but I’m not saying who else) or what it’s about, because anything I might say would be majorly spoilery. Suffice it to say that Suffer A Sea-Change picks up from the end point of Night and Silence, and is a fantastic side note to the main novel — absolutely not to be missed.
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The details:
Title: Night and Silence (October Daye, #12)
Author: Seanan McGuire
Publisher: DAW Books
Publication date: September 4, 2018
Length: 510 pages
Genre: Urban fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
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