The Brightest Fell (October Daye)

Heartbreakingly good. I am so attached to these characters at this point. Seanan McGuire excels at writing complicated relationships; at making immortals feel ancient, and making Faery both alien and familiar. Debts come due in this book, and some people ask too much.

Uff, EVERYTHING CAN BE A SPOILER!

How do I write a review?

Well, the only thing I can say is that this is another amazing installment in the October Daye series. From the blurb, you know Amandine is Toby's mother. She's also a Firstborn and she has been missing for most of the books. However, Amandine is back and she wants Toby to find her other daughter, August. At the beginning, Toby doesn't want to get involved. She's finally in a happy place in her life. She has good friends and she's in love. Planning her wedding should be a priority on her to-do list. Yet, this is not to be. Amandine won't take no for an answer. She will take whoever is important to Toby to get her to do what she wants.

Just like all the books in this series, The Brightest Fell is action-packed. So many things happen and you just have to try to keep up. One event will trigger a chain reaction that can't be stopped. There are always great twists which come as a surprise. Seanan McGuire's creativity amazes me. That's why after eleven books, I'm still a huge fan.

“The Luidaeg is singing Disney songs.”

My favorite character on The Brightest Fell besides Toby was the Luidaeg. The character that I was hoping had redemption was Simon. The character that needs to pay: Amandine who's nothing but a spoiled brat.

One thing I missed the most in this book was Tybalt. I have come to adore them as a couple and I want to listen to his one-liners. He's one of my favorite male characters in a UF series (Adam from the Mercyverse is another one of my favorites). After all, how can anyone not love the King of Cats? I certainly do.

“I love you. Take comfort in that. Even in your dreams, you are no longer capable of imagining a world in which I do not love you. Hold fast to that ideal.”

Cliffhanger: No

5/5 Fangs

Seanan McGuire has once again created a novel that envelopes the reader I'm a world of wonder and mystery. The story builds on past books in ways that keep the reader entranced. A wonderful read, as always. I look forward to many more novels in the series.

I absolutely love this series! The second it comes out, I buy it and read it in a few hours and then I have forever to wait for the next book. October and her little family are wonderful characters I can't wait to learn more about.

I read this book in less than two days. While there is not a lot of action the story doesn't need it. It's interesting enough where I wanted to know what happened next.

-1 star for long lingering issues. This is book 11 and no advancement on why the deep realms were sealed. Nothing on finding Oberon. We still get teased with October becoming a full fae. That needs to stop. One thing I didn't like is that this book feels like another book where and stuff happens to October for no reason. At the end people hold October responsible for not fixings problems she didn't cause. The author foreshadowed a significant death and I can't help but wonder if the author has to have October 's life with regular tragedy.

The author brings back an old plot device that I never enjoyed in the first place. Combined with the revelation of how completely horrible her mother is and I wonder if I will continue reading. As much as I enjoyed this book I'm not sure I like where the series is headed.

Seanan McGuire's latest book is exciting and emotional and everything I expect to see in the October Daye series. There is no point in telling you what happens in this book: you can read the blurbs, sample chapter, and other reviews for that, but I have to say, Toby is very unfortunate in her biological family but her family of choice are the best people! If you haven't read the previous books in the series, start at the beginning and read the 10 books preceding this one. The story is cumulative and well worth the reading!
Also included is a bonus novella about April O'Leary. Oh. My. Goodness! It's amazing! Buy this today!

Seanan McGuire keeps surprising us with bombshell after bombshell in this series. This book takes Toby's story to a whole new level as her ties to the fae and mortal worlds are put to the test in an entirely new way. Featuring callbacks to threads brought up in prior books, as well as a whole new level of WHAT THE ????, and Amandine comes back to hurt Toby in entirely new ways. The revelations in this book hint at future quests, but also leave impacts I cannot wait to see the ramifications of. The only problem with this series is that I finish each book immediately wanting the next one! The novella at the end featuring April O'Leary is an excellent look from her POV, and will take your emotions and stomp on them in the best of ways. I cannot wait to see what happens next, now that the game has been so completely changed (and Amandine has proven herself to be Worst Mom in Faerie).

Much as I love the October Daye series, and I really do, this one seemed a bit forced. I still enjoyed it and had no trouble reading it quickly as always, but her past volumes did more to capture me. I felt as if this were a catch up volume; like she was bringing us up to speed with all the characters while making it a story as well. Between her mother, sister, enemy Simon and all that was done to Tybalt before they had a chance to get married, it really felt like a filler book rather than a continuation of the series. But even so, I still got to have my dose of her humor, and she did leave it with something to look forward to in the next book. I could never call one of her October Daye books bad, and I'm not going to start with this one. So, not knock me off my seat great, but still every bit worth the read!

Much as I love the October Daye series, and I really do, this one seemed a bit forced. I still enjoyed it and had no trouble reading it quickly as always, but her past volumes did more to capture me. I felt as if this were a catch up volume; like she was bringing us up to speed with all the characters while making it a story as well. Between her mother, sister, enemy Simon and all that was done to Tybalt before they had a chance to get married, it really felt like a filler book rather than a continuation of the series. But even so, I still got to have my dose of her humor, and she did leave it with something to look forward to in the next book. I could never call one of her October Daye books bad, and I'm not going to start with this one. So, not knock me off my seat great, but still every bit worth the read!

Seanan McGuire continues to be one of the finest authors of this genre and her October Daye stories remain riveting. I was delighted to find included a novella featuring one of the most creatively imagined characters in this series, April O'Leary, the dryad who lives inside a network server. Sometimes these lagniappes are throw away pieces that cannot stand on its own, but this one is satisfying for several reasons, not least because it rights several wrongs from an earlier novel. I hope Ms McGuire continues to create October Daye novels for many more years, without neglecting her InCryptid series.

As with all of the other October Daye books, The Brightest Fell is action intense & filled with deception. October is locked in a desperate race to find her long lost sister before her mother destroys those she loves. With help from some very surprising sources she has to find her way back from the edge to be successful. So many chilling moments fraught with tension made it impossible to put down!

There was something about the description of this book that made me put off reading it for several months which is shocking as I have been a fan of October Daye since book one. But, once I started reading/listening to it (love Audible) I went straight through without a pause and turned around and read it again.

So many pieces tied up while opening up even more.

I love Toby and the family she created. When her mother threatens that family, Toby has to go out and find her long-lost sister. It threatens to destroy that family.

It's an amazing story, and not long enough! I can't wait until I can read the next one. I'm going to have to reread the series, a lot, to get me through.

It's been a long time since I had another book in this series to read, and of course, now I want more! This was a great book, as they all are, exciting and well written and amazingly well crafted. If you have been reading the series all along, this is a must! I can't wait for the next one to come about.

As always, one of my absolute favorite authors leaves me speechless. Brightest Fell is mesmerizing, emotional, difficult and painful and beautiful and promising. Toby doesn't disappoint- Seanan has kept her from being cliche, instead taking her on a breathtaking human journey through Faerie.

This is a much more satisfying book than the previous one-- more focused, leaner, and deeper. There is humor scattered throughout to leaven the heaviness, but the final chapters are emotional. October mentions at one point that the events and meetings in the book are all her "chickens coming home to roost", and that could be the theme of the book: consequences, redemption, and cost.

This was a very emotional story. That is my favorite kind. Of course it is an adventure, but along the way the reader becomes completely emotionally invested in the story. I CANNOT wait for the next one.

Another great read by Seanan McGuire. It didn't disappoint and kept me glued to my seat, unable to leave the story. A great, believable character in Toby , someone to really root for. Can't wait for the next book!

4.5

Things have never been easy for October Daye. Pretty much, when things start to get quiet, it’s time to start worrying. At least this time around Toby gets to enjoy her karaoke bachelorette party (thrown by her fetch May) before all hell breaks loose.

When Toby’s absent mother, Amandine, shows up and demands Toby find her long lost stepsister August, Toby is quick to dismiss Amandine’s demands. I mean Toby owes nothing to the mother that abandoned her long ago. When Amandine takes Tybalt and May’s girlfriend Jazz as collateral to ensure Toby’s cooperation, Toby will have to turn to the last person she’d ever think of asking for help: Simon Torquill.

Simon is, as we more recently learned in the series, Amandine’s husband, therefore he’s August’s father (Toby’s stepfather), so he’s an extremely useful resource when trying to recover August, who, by the way, has been missing for one hundred years.

Simon was truly a standout character for me in this book. He’s been painted the villain from the very beginning after he turned Toby into a fish for fourteen years and ruined her life with her human fiancé and daughter. He has a chance to redeem himself somewhat here, and we learn that maybe things aren’t exactly what they seem when it comes to his past. A novella featuring Simon and Amandine would be one I’d quickly devour should Seanan McGuire choose to write one. I loved how Toby’s devotion to those she loves, and her willingness to do anything to get them back, mirrors Simon’s own experiences when he went in search of August by himself once upon a time. Simon holding on to his failures was heartbreaking to read. The Brightest Fell was not lacking on these moments, which made it one of the more tear-worthy reads in the series thus far.

The Brightest Fell deals a lot with family. I’ve been looking forward to Amandine properly showing up for a while now, and while I could have hoped for more page-time from this extremely complicated character, it definitely solidified the idea that families are not always what you’re born into. Sometimes, as with Toby, you make your own family, and we see that here when you compare Toby’s relationship with May (who despite initially being her fetch, is now her sister is all ways that matter) and the non-existent relationship with her true sister August.

The Brightest Fell was nearly perfect for me. I’d say one of the only things I’m a little disappointed about is the fact that I’m starting to dislike Tybalt being use too frequently as of late as the catalyst by which Toby is forced to solve whatever mystery is going on at present. I loved when he would lend the helping hand to Toby and I don’t think that should change just because they are now engaged. He’s a captivating and powerful character. I don’t like seeing him delegated to the background.

While I won’t tell you how things end up working out I will say that The Brightest Fell seems to set up more complications to come in the near future for Toby. I loved getting to walk back through memory lane as the history we thought we knew plays out before us, and before we embark on new uncharted territory.

I always, always forget how wonderful this series is until I read one of the books, and this book is no exception. We have reached the point in the series, and have a few books ago, where I’m not really sure what to say without giving away spoilers. However, I will do my best to do so. Toby’s mother shows up on her doorstep and demands she find Toby’s sister, August. Of course, Toby says no, but her mother will not take that for an answer and kidnaps two people dear to her to force her compliance. Toby must then embark on a quest to find her, and on the way, old enemies are made friends, she loses something dear to her, and some progress she has made on the family is lost. I am always blown away at how well this author weaves together events from other books, how wonderfully well she uses the English language, and how the simplest things can keep me engrossed in the book. And, you must read the novella at the end. It is a game-changer! If you love urban fantasy, you have to try this series; it is one of the, if not the very, best! If you read this series, this is a wonderful addition to this series as we always expect from the author. Very highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the e-book which I voluntarily reviewed.

This is the 11th book in the series, & it seems to be going backwards instead of forwards

This book felt like padding to me, it did nothing to advance the story, & in fact, it set it back. Simon is back again & now has the same personality as he did back in book 1, Toby is once again not going to Shadowed Hills, her mother is still doing whatever she wants to whoever she wants with no consequences, and I’m tired of hearing about how much pain Toby is good at enduring, been there done that. The only change is that now August is back & apparently an enemy. I’m guessing that she’s either going to team up with Amandine or Simon at some point to attack Toby, ho hum, boring & repetitive,

Toby is obviously the person who is going to find Oberon, the story should be working its way towards that instead of all this extra stuff that adds nothing.

I received this DRC free and early thanks to Net Galley and Berkley Press. The truth is that I am not sure how to rate this title, and so I have used my default rating that I generally give for a book that is good but not necessarily great. This is probably not accurate, but I owe a review for a book I couldn’t make heads or tails of, and so here we are.

I jumped into this cross genre young adult, mystery, paranormal, science fiction novel midway into a very successful series. I have never had a problem doing so before. The October Daye series has sold well, and I suspect that those that have already mastered the language it uses will be delighted. But the truth is, I just couldn’t gain purchase. I set it aside several times, determined to read it with fresh eyes, but although I could sometimes follow along for a few pages, I ultimately was confounded again and again. I have seldom been so confused in my life.

Fans of the Toby Daye series will doubtless be delighted with this entry also. It may be a five star read, or a three star read, or something else altogether. I cannot say. But for those interested in starting a new series, I recommend finding the first title, listed on Goodreads as Rosemary and Rue. It’s a shame to flounder around as I did when a more engaging experience is likely for those that start at the top.

All right, book 11 in a series is perhaps not the best book to start with. But, I "discovered" Seanan McGuire thanks to her Wayward Children series and thought I try this, the latest book to see if it's to my liking.

This book is quite good, it was a lot to take in, a lot of new characters to get to know, and a lot of history, but I enjoyed learning more about Toby, her friends, and family, etc. However, the story was a bit slow, with the hunt for Toby's sisters August not awfully thrilling. It's started off amusing with the bachelorette party for Toby, then Amandine, her mother shows up and kidnaps two important people in Toby's life and she will only get them back if she finds August. Yeah, she makes Joan Crawford feel warm and cuddly. I liked the story, but I did not love it. But, it did make me interested in reading the previous books.

In the end, I will say that it was a pleasant book, I liked the characters, it was not hard to get into this book and understand what was going on, I just wish I had connected more with the story. The interesting thing is that there is a novella at the end of the book, which stars April O'Leary. And, story-wise was the novella much more interesting than the book's story.

Thank you to DAW and Netgalley for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review. I also won a copy of an ARC in a Goodreads giveaway.

October is back and enjoying life, things have been a little slow but she is happy. That is until her mother shows up and asks her to find her sister. What's worse is when she refuses her mother, she takes Jazz and Tybalt as hostages.
That sends October to Sylvester and with an impossible request. She has to wake Simon and have him help her find August. Sylvester grants that request so long as October helps wake his daughter and win her a pardon when it is done.

The trail starts at her mother's tower and leads them back into Blind Michael's realm, but it doesn't stop there. Things aren't always what they seem, and sometimes people don't realize the cost of the Sea Witch's help.

First, if you haven't read this series please go start with Rosemary and Rue it will be so worth your time. I love this series it is hands down one of my favorite urban fantasy reads. I have to say this is this the first book in a long without a lot of Tybalt in it and I loved it but I missed him. It also made me really dislike October's mother and sister.

Wow! Seanan McGuire is on fire. Figuratively, of course. Anyway. The author deserves her accolades, and yes, worth the cost of transitioning to hardcover if you're able. This being the eleventh October Daye novel, it is truly magical—that means tense and bloody in Toby's world. Toby's wedding planning is interrupted by her mom: selfish, casually cruel and arrogant—that's right, she is related to the original Bad Fairy that people would rather not invite to anything. Her mother Amandine will October’s fiancé, the King of Cats, and her fetch’s lover Jazz hostage in their animal forms until Toby finds Amandine's other daughter and brings her back from whatever dimension she's been lost in since 1910. Throw in eternal rivalries and grudges eons old, and Toby must deal with the havoc wreaked. I can't tell you more, except that in Toby's world, though the magic folk are somewhat modern, they are still hidden from the mundane mortals, and McGuire's worldbuilding is superb. Read the whole series, if you haven't. There's a bonus novella, a wonderful surprise.
Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the review EARC; the raving is, as always, my own opinion.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar

SPOILERS!!!!

Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell

– William Shakespeare, Macbeth

Brightest Fell starts with the bachelorette party that Toby never wanted, but at end of it, she is happy to have all the people she considers friends with her, and to see her happy. Once Toby gets home and starts to believe that it was a great night, there is a knock at the door. May decides to go see who it is, so Toby and Tybalt can have their moment, but once she opens the door and greets the person, Toby doesn’t hear anything else. Toby and Tybalt know that something dangerous is at the door because it would be the only reason for May to stop talking. Toby goes to see the front door and she comes to face with her mother, Amandine. Amandine asks Toby for permission to come in and talk to her. Toby agrees and takes Amandine to the kitchen, where she tells Toby she wants to hire her. Amandine wants Toby to find her sister August, who has been missing for almost a hundred years.

Amandine insults Toby, and Toby decline to work for her mother. She tells Amandine that she will still find August just because it’s her sister, but not for Amandine. Amandine is not happy with that answer, and reminds Toby that in her permission Toby forgot to ask for the same rules to be applied to her and the people that lived at her house. Amandine casts a spell and the kitchen is covered with vines and thorns that binds everyone in the room; she tells Toby that she will have to take her own measurements and decides to kidnap Tybalt and Jazz in their animal form. Amandine tells Toby that she will give them back when Toby brings August back to her.

Doing what she knows best, she asks the Luidaeg for help. The Luidaeg tells Toby that she needs to find a person that knew August the best before she disappeared, her father, Simon. Toby asks Sylvester Torquill to let her wake up his brother, Simon, from the Elf-shot so he can help her find August and get her love ones back.

“‘She wants me to find my sister.’ There was long pause before the Luidaeg said, almost hesitantly, ‘She wants you to find August?’ ‘Unless I have another sister out there that I don’t know about.’ I paused. The urge to ask the Luidage whether I had another sister was almost overwhelming.”

Toby starts to learn that Amandine is not the mother she remembered. Time is running out, and the more time Amandine has Tybalt and Jazz, the more time she has to traumatize them. Now she needs to follow the scent of August while learning what type of person she was, and about the quest that she took that made her disappeared.

This story is like walking through the timeline of the previous books. In Brightest Fell, we meet again people the we never forgot from the previous books, but who we haven’t seen in a while. It’s like walking through time to find the missing pieces of a mystery that you didn’t know it was missing. But Faire is not kind, not even to its own kin. We see this, when someone wants something so bad that they do everything they can to get it, even if it means making an islet with the bones of children and innocent, just to call someplace home.

Like most of the books of the October Daye series, Brightest Fell has its own theme that the story is set around it. In this case, is the consequences of our choices. As we have seen before, everything and everyone who is part of Fairie has to pay for something that they want; we have seen that some are so foolish to not understand the value of what they can lose by believing what they want is equivalent to what they are given up. In this case, the book goes over the consequence of the choices that August made when she thought she knew better than her mother and aunts by taking a quest that she wasn’t capable of completing.

Over the course of the series, readers like myself, have wanted to see more of the interaction with Toby and her mother, Amandine. In this book we get that interaction, and is not the best thing for Toby. Before, I kept thinking of Amandine, as the mother who was crazy and simply stop loving Toby because she chooses Fae over Human, and they had to leave Toby’s father; but this only made me forget that Amandine is a Firstborn, a pureblood Fae. Maybe is the case, that we never saw the cold and slightly evil side of Amandine in the past books, that she shocked me with the actions and the way she presented herself in this book. She was a bitch. At the same time, it was hard to imagine how would August be like, mostly because of the how Toby and May are; but again, the reader forgets that August was born during a different time and grew up as a pureblood, and was thought to look down on those who aren’t pureblood.

“And the, between one heartbeat and the next, I found it. The scent of sweet campfire smoke, close enough to Simon’s candle smoke to be a kissing cousin, but distinct enough that there was no question of whether it belong to him. It was wrapped with a ribbon of rose. Not Amandines’s wild, woody roses: something small, cultivated, sweet, the sort of rose that would grow in a princess walled garden. August. “

I liked the different types of magic used and places that Toby went when looking for August. I don’t want to spoiler everything, but I liked Poppy and the connection to Simon and other characters of the series. Most of all, I liked how the story reminds the reader that every action is remembered, and by that rewarded or charged. It was quite sad where we left Poppy in the series, and I hope we get to see more of her in the upcoming books. Spoilers!!! Pixies.

At this point of the series, we just meet August. And for me as the reader, I’m not sure what to think of her. I can see that she might appear like a spoiled brat, but for that we can blame Amandine. I think that Simon influenced her in a better way. Some “human” studies believe that the up bring and an environment contribute to who the person is, and we see that in how different Toby is from August. Given the way that other characters describe Amandine, August, and Toby, I arrived to the idea that their bloodline is like a blank canvas that gets better with choices, events, and people that they meet.

The book comes with the short story Of Things Unknown, which features April O’Leary. Once you start reading this story, you realized that you didn’t know that you always wanted this story. I liked this story so much because of all its magic and April. Seeing the world from April perspective was a fresh breath and addition to the other short stories. I wish we could get more stories from her perspective and interaction with other characters.

“October opened her mouth to speak. Then she paused. ‘April,’ she said, in careful tone, ‘why is there blood on your hands?’”

– Of Things Unknown

At the end, I loved the Brightest Fell.

If you are a fan of Seanan McGuire or her work like the October Daye series, then I recommend you the Brightest Fell. In this book, mother comes back with a demand that if not accomplish, it will destroy the future that Toby is trying to build for herself, and it will take all her skills and blood to make it happen. Because when lost, you just need to ask if you can get there and back with candle light.

The October Daye series has always been a must read series for me and THE BRIGHTEST FELL reminded me why.

I can't really go too much into the plot for book eleven but I can say that just because you share blood, family isn't always on your side. We learn SO much about the relationship between Toby and her mother Amandine as well as what happened to her sister August. FINALLY! What a crazy ride THE BRIGHTEST FELL turned out to be. I now despise Amandine even more than I already did and August didn't fall far from the tree. She's going to be major trouble in the future.

**SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT**Surprisingly, Toby has to team up with an enemy to save those she loves and that enemy becomes a needed ally at the end of the day. I was shocked to learn all we did about Simon. I really missed Tybalt and Quentin in this installment though.**END SPOILER**

I have just one thing left to say, "Bring on the wedding, I'm ready!!"

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review first posted at Girl Who Reads as part of the blog tour. An advance reader's copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

In the eleventh book of the October Daye series (named after the main character), she finally has a bit of peace. She can have a bachelorette party and take a break from being a hero of the realm... until her mother Amandine ransoms her fiance Tybalt and Jasmine so that Toby is forced to find her sister, who went missing in 1906. Toby has no choice but to go to Simon Torquill for help, and hope he still doesn't want to do her harm.

It might be a bit hard for newer readers to jump into the eleventh book of a series, especially when there are convoluted relationships and histories for a lot of the characters. Some we've seen before are back, like Danny and Walter, and some like Simon we thought we would never see again. But Seanan McGuire has a way of finding the loose ends we don't realize were there and making us feel bad about forgetting about them.

There's a bit of a backstory given with the characters, just enough to serve as a reminder for those that did read the series, and enough to help a newer reader gloss over and keep going when the action starts. While we already know a lot of Toby, this gives us more insight into the family dynamics, the powers that she has developed, and even makes us feel a little bit sorry for Simon Torquill and the choices he made prior to the start of the series. A little, because he still doesn't regret his actions and would do them all over again.

The pacing in the novel is breakneck, even after the deadline of fourteen days is given. Time is always of the essence when Toby is involved in something because lives always hang in the balance.

She's come a long way since the first book in the series, Rosemary and Rue. There, Toby is drawn into the world of faerie against her will after both sides of her changeling heritage left her feeling broken and damaged. There were so many flaws and edges, and she had to be forcibly pulled out of her pity party. It was a darker side of Toby, and she's grown a lot since then. There is still the sarcasm and wariness, but this time it's also tempered with hope.

She is still brash and can charge into a situation to do The Right Thing, but now she's learned to accept the help of others around her. She no longer rejects others automatically and doesn't feel that she's all alone in the world. Toby understands her place in the world, between faerie and human, and this time actually wants the gifts that she had developed over the course of the series. There is inevitable loss and pain - blood magic and the deals with the fae never come cheaply.

We are also given a novella Of Things Unknown along with The Brightest Fell. This gives us a look into what the citizens of Tamed Lightning have been up to since the events of A Local Habitation, the second book in the series. It's told from April O'Leary's point of view, and we get an interesting look at what it's like to live within code and data streams, as well as see what has gone on in the county.

It's a novella, so we don't delve too deeply into the lives of characters other than those that touch April's most directly, Li Qin especially. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of fallout as a result of the events in the novella, which will be wonderful to read about.

Disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

3 1/2

The synopsis of the 11th book in the October Daye series doesn’t leave a lot to be desired. Amandine, October’s mother shows up to her house to force her to look for her sister August who has been missing for over a century and to make sure she complies she takes Tybalt and Jazz as collateral. October ends up teaming up with her nemesis and stepfather Simon. And thus begins the search.

The theme of missing children seems to be always prevalent in the October Daye series and I wonder if McGuire has run out of ideas? It’s either missing children, drug, politics or war. I would really like to see something different for a change. This is the first time we actually see Amandine and she’s a despicable character. I hated her and how she treated October. She constantly contradicts herself treating like October isn’t her daughter yet expects October to respect and treat her like a mother. Nope. And she comes into October house making unreasonable demands and takes her people! And then there’s Simon. We met Simon in one of the previous book but didn’t really get to know him. We finally learn more about Simon and why he did the things he did. He was a pleasant surprise. I feel like I initially misjudged him and actually enjoyed Simon and October’s interaction. However, the ending was not pleasant for Simon. And finally, readers will meet August, October’s sister. I didn’t recall she had a sister. Nor did I like her. She’s a typically spoiled and entitled pure-blood and I could care less about her and thought she was better staying lost.

In my opinion the plot was weak and did nothing to move the series forward. But I did enjoyed everything but the beginning (Amandine taking hostages) and the end (Bratty August making demands to find Simon and the outcome with Jazz and Tybalt). I’m not sure where McGuire is taking this series in this new arc, but so far it’s not so good. The series is about to go onto it’s 12th novel and it clearly shows. The overall story-line is getting a bit stale and the books are overflowing with recapping. Repetitive to the max.

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.

THE BRIGHTEST FELL is an entertaining mix of the comfort of an adventure between well established characters with the dissonance and uncertainty of new blood thrown into the mix. This deep into the series, October Daye's group of irregulars are beloved and entertaining, it is the unexpected appearance of her biological family that throws a wrench into the mix.

The mysterious truth behind Toby's heritage has been the last minute magical save in many a previous October Daye adventure, but it was a refreshing change to see her overpowered by the source of those abilities. I had a hard time calibrating my emotional reaction to Amandine to match Toby's. Despite Amandine's old school high handedness (and general racism), Toby clearly has an emotional attachment to the woman who raised her. As a reader that has only experiences Toby's chosen family, Amandine is very easy to hate as she threatens, abuses, and generally tortures the people Toby loves. Though Amandine's behavior isn't contextually unusual (the Luidaeg is the one who displays modern, softened behavior despite her reputation), it is very, very hard not to hate her entirely.

The contrast between the family Toby is born into and that which she has chosen is stark, but otherwise this is the usual, fantastic October Daye adventure with an extra layer of delicious danger on top. Though Toby is often overmatched, this big bad is the source of Toby's own magical ace in the hole. This time around it is Toby's humanity and friendships that win the day, making it once again that this series both delights and surprises.

Sexual Content: References to sex.

** Note: it's impossible to review this book without including spoilers for previous stories so please don't read this review unless you're up to date with the series and have read at least as far as Once Broken Faith **

Just when everything seems to be going right in Toby's world something, or in this case someone, has to come along and ruin it. Toby should be focusing on planning her wedding but an unexpected, and not particularly pleasant, visit from Amandine turns her life upside down and leaves her with an impossible task on her hands - track down Amandine's oldest daughter, August, who has only been missing without a trace for about 100 years, or both Tybalt and Jazz will pay the price. Failure isn't an option but Toby is going to have to pull out all the stops, including working alongside her sworn enemies, if she wants to have a chance at succeeding.

Amandine has been pretty much a minor character in the series so far, we know she's a firstborn and we know she's Toby's mother (and a pretty crappy mother at that!) but apart from the occasional brief appearance we've not really seen much of her so I was quite excited at the prospect of getting to know her. Well you know that saying "be careful what you wish for"? That definitely applies here because Amandine is so much worse than I could ever have imagined and I felt so badly for poor Toby for everything that Amandine puts her through. The Luidaeg may be Toby's aunt but she's been more of a mother to her than Amandine ever has or will.

So Toby's family reunion doesn't go well and now she's been set with the impossible challenge of finding her half sister or being responsible for the death of her fiancé. Toby is nothing if she's not determined but I have to admit the lengths she was willing to go to surprised me here, she has to go to the one person I didn't think she'd ever trust for assistance and it makes for really interesting dynamics in this story. It's hard because there are so many things I want to discuss in this review but all of them would be spoilers so I can't talk about them. What I will say is that the stakes are higher than ever, the risks are greater, Toby's life is in danger and things will never be the same again.

The Brightest Fell was everything I could have hoped for and then some, Seanan McGuire somehow manages to ramp up the level with every new book in this series and it has quickly become one of my favourite UF series of all time. I can't recommend these books highly enough and I'm desperately waiting for the next book to release.

I recognize that I may be one of the last readers of urban fantasy to discover the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. The first couple of volumes that I read (not the first in the series) showed the signs of McGuire's crisp storytelling, but I will admit that I was just a little lost with who the plethora of characters were and their relationships to one another. But with this volume, the characters, the relationships, and their abilities became very apparent and I really enjoyed my time here.

October Daye is a half-breed - half human and half changeling. She's tried desperately to live her own life and not get caught up in the politics of the Summerlands ... the fae land that exists on the other side of the mirror. Though she chose to be changeling rather than human at the age of sixteen, she ran away from her mother Amandine (the Liar) at the age of twenty-five and now tries to live peacefully on earth with her Summerland and earthling friends.

As this book begins, Amandine pays October a much undesired visit. Amandine wants October to find her older sister, August. August has been missing for over 100 years.

It isn't lightly that Amandine would demean herself to seeking October's help and it is reluctantly that October agrees to help. But because Amandine is the vindictive and suspicious sort, she takes a couple of captives - October's friends - to ensure that October will complete her promise. If October hadn't had any real motivation to find someone missing for a century, she had it now.

But Amandine isn't known as Amandine the Liar for nothing.

Wow...this was fantastic. The intricacies woven into this story are tight and spectacular. The character of October became much more clear to me with this book (again ... I haven't read the entire series), and the relationships of the multitude of characters is much clearer.

I really liked the appearance of some creatures who provided a unique look at October's past, October's general character, as well as revealing the variety of life in Summerland.

I really don't want to reveal too much here because McGuire is a reading delight and making discoveries right alongside her characters is absolutely delicious. The characters are well-fleshed out and the world these stories takes place in feels full and real and not just another Charlaine Harris/Carrie Vaughn/Kim Harrison rip-off. There was so much packed in these 350+ pages that I felt I read an entire epic rather than just one book.

You'll want to read this.

Looking for a good book? <em>The Brightest Fell</em> is the 11th book in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. You don't need have to have read the previous ten books in this series to understand what's going on or who these characters are or to have a tremendously good read ... but you'll want to.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Eleventh in the October Daye urban fantasy series set in San Francisco and revolving around a half-human, half-fae knight. This story takes place in 2013. It’s been four years since Rosemary and Rue , 1.

My Take
Talk about dysfunctional families. You know how there are mothers whom you simply cannot please? Yeah, meet Toby’s mom. What. A. Bitch.
"'Do this for me, and you will be forgiven.’
'Forgiven? Forgiven for what?’
'For refusing to be the child I needed you to be.’"
Unlucky for us that McGuire uses first-person protagonist point-of-view, which makes us empathize that much more strongly with Toby.

It’s a tale, a series-long tale, of how one woman makes herself a hero, growing in herself, as does her family of choice. A woman who always strives to do right, no matter the cost. It’s a hard road, but one heaped with the friends Toby has made over the years.

The characters…whew. I love Toby and her chosen family. I also enjoy the core characters and the interweaving and progress (or reversal) that McGuire creates for them. And I think The Brightest Fell has the most horrible set of bad guys ever in this series, possibly in most series I’ve read. Selfish, spoiled people who need a MAJOR time-out.

McGuire certainly takes us on a whirling journey of emotion and danger, as our heroes encounter past conflicts as well as past successes, some I would never have anticipated. One of the minor conflicts in the series is Toby’s anger at Sylvester over what she learned in The Winter Long , 8. Little did I expect how her anger would be flipped.

This is a litany of excuses from Simon. All the reasons he did the horrible things he did. And a nasty bit of foreshadowing it turns out!

It’s all part of the amazing world McGuire has created, pulling together the "facts" of the fae and creating a most wondrous blend of magic, myth, and reality.

There’s good in here, and so very much that is bad. No, no, not the writing. It’s the horrible things happening in the storyline, that ending…and I have to wait for a year before Night and Silence comes out!

The Story
It all starts at a karoake bar at Toby’s bachelorette party. It’s the, shall we say, quality of the guests that causes Amandine to prepare so carefully. And as a Firstborn fae, she cares not whom she insults with that wicked tongue and careless manner.

A lack of consideration that leads to hostage-taking, and a warning from the Luidaeg that Amy likes her pets but won’t care to remember she can’t break them.

It will mean waking Simon, a traitorous fae who had committed horrible crimes against his own brother. It will mean Toby losing the marks of her mortality.

The Characters
Sir October "Toby" Daye, a changeling and Oberon’s granddaughter, is more fae these days than human and serves as a knight of the realm for Duke Torquill. Her "day job" is as a private investigator. Quentin Sollys is her squire and a crown prince-in-hiding. Spike is a rose goblin and one of Toby’s pets along with her half-Siamese cats, Cagney and Lacey. Maye Daye is Toby’s Fetch and her roommate. Jasmine "Jazz" Patel, a Raven-maid, is Maye's live-in girlfriend.

The Luidaeg is Toby’s aunt and a fearsome fae, the sea witch, the most powerful of the Firstborn. When asked for aid, she must give you what you’re willing to pay for.

The Summerlands are…
…Faerie. Acacia, the Mother of Trees, is Blind Michael’s widow and Luna’s mother.

Amandine’s Tower is…
…in the Summerlands and is where Toby grew up with her mother, Amandine the Liar. Last Among the First, and sister to the Luidaeg, she can smell your ancestry from your blood. August is the older sister Toby barely knew existed ( The Winter Long , 8). Simon Torquill, the fae who turned Toby into a fish and left her in a pond for 14 years, that fae?, seems he’s Toby’s legal father, as he’s married to Amandine, and Sylvester’s younger twin brother. Gillian is the human daughter Toby lost when she was turned into a fish.

The pixies were…
…made by Maeve. Poppy, Dandelion, Parsnip, Lilac, and Stoplight are some of the pixies, and they’re thrilled to see Simon again and are asking about Patrick.

Annwn is…
…where Duchess Treasa Riordan (formerly of Dreamer’s Glass) ended up after Ashes of Honor , 6. Her court consists of Daoine Sidhe, Tuatha de Dannan, Selkies, Satyrs, Folletti (a sky fae she uses as her personal guard), and more. Officer Thornton is a human policeman who had been taken.

In Between
The Court of Dreaming Cats is…
…ruled by the King of Cats, Tybalt, Toby’s fiancé. Both he and Raj, Tybalt’s nephew (and the crown prince who is great friends with Quentin), are Cait Sidhe able to ride the Shadow Roads.

Shadowed Hills is…
…a duchy ruled by Sylvester Torquill, Toby’s uncle, and a Daoine Sidhe. Luna Torquill, a Blodynbryd, is his duchess, a daughter of Blind Michael ( An Artificial Night , 3), and she hates Toby. Sir Etienne, a Tuatha de Dannan, is one of the guards and married to Bridget, a human. Chelsea is their changeling daughter who can open doors. Grianne, a Candela with her Merry Dancers, is still Sylvester’s second-in-command. Jin, an Ellyllon, is the resident healer. Celaeno and Septimius Torquill were September (the deceased sister), Sylvester, and Simon’s parents. Melly, a Hob, is in charge of the kitchens at Shadowed Hills.

Windermere in the Mists is…
…ruled by Queen Arden Windermere. Nolan is Arden’s younger brother who finally awoke from his elf-shot induced sleep. He’s also Crown Prince of the Mists. Madden is her seneschal, a Cu Sidhe, a faerie dog, who works at Borderlands Café, and is one of Arden's few friends. Alan is the café's owner. Walther Davies is a Tylwyth Teg alchemist and a chemistry professor at UC-Berkeley who created the cure for elf-shot. King Gilad had been Arden and Nolan’s father; he and his wife were murdered by Oleander during the Great Quake of 1906.

Tamed Lightning had been…
…ruled by Countess January O’Leary, Simon and Sylvester’s niece.

Stacy Brown is one of Toby’s oldest and closest friends. Cassandra is Stacy’s oldest daughter. Karen is another daughter and an oneiromancer. Kerry is another changeling friend. Danny is a bridge troll who drives a taxicab. Dianda Lorden, a Merrow, is the Duchess of Saltmist. Patrick Lorden is her husband and Daoine Sidhe (he can’t breathe water); he’d been one of Simon’s best friends (and Baron of Twycross) when they were younger. Their sons include Dean, the Count of Goldengreen, who is Quentin’s boyfriend. Marcia is Dean’s seneschal in Goldengreen.

High King Sollys (in Toronto) is Quentin’s father. His queen, Maida, had been a changeling.

Fae holdings are "knowes", anchored to the mortal world by enchanted doors. Doaine Sidhe are descended from Titania and Oberon through their daughter, Eira Rosynhwyr; Tuatha de Dannan are descended from Oberon alone; Dóchas Sidhe are two generations removed from Oberon and are a result of Amandine having a baby with a human. Acacia gave birth to the Blodynbryd, rose Dryads who, when they cut their hair, sow rose goblins. Selkies were born in slaughter. The Raven-mays were born in sacrifice.

The Cover and Title
The cover is a contrast in light and dark blue with purple overtones. It’s a long-haired, pointy-eared Toby in a black leather thigh-length jacket and a purplish gray high-wrap top in blue jeans, knife drawn and held ready to use, as she carefully glances about in a late-fall forest of huge, reaching, leafless trees. The light comes from the bright white of power shining from behind her, as cautious steps take her across a rock- and spider-web-strewn forest floor. The author’s name is at the top in an embossed, black-outlined silver font with the title in a distressed bright red at the bottom with the series information tiny below that in white. There’s a royal blue round medal just under the author’s name on the left announcing that October Daye was a Hugo Finalist in Best Series. Well deserved, in my opinion.

The title is a metaphor for August, as one of The Brightest Fell and has not understanding nor compassion.

The Brightest Fell is the book where we most clearly see Amandine, Toby's mother. Amandine is not only a pureblood fae but, in fact, a Firstborn. She and Toby had never been close. In this book, we find out why.

Turns out that Amandine (and her husband Simon Torquill) had had an earlier child, daughter August, who went missing over one hundred years ago in San Francisco in 1906. Yes, you got it. During the Great San Francisco Earthquake.

Amandine shows up at Toby's door and asks to hire her in her capacity as private investigator to go find August and bring her home. This is usual stuff for P.I.s, along with catching cheating husbands, etc.

Toby, feeling none too charitable towards her cold mother, turns her down. Amandine said that she had expected that answer and promptly kidnaps both Tybalt (Toby's fiancé) and Jazz (May's significant other). Amandine says that when Toby brings August home, then she'll get her hostages back.

Somehow, I had not realized the level of prejudice purebloods harbor towards changelings prior to this book. August, for example, turns out to have had this attitude in spades.

The October Daye series was nominated for Best Series (science fiction or fantasy) the first time this became a category (in 2017). Of the six nominated, five are among my favorite series. (The Vorkosigan Series won but the October Daye series has always been one of the best, in my opinion.)

So, it definitely helps to have read the previous ten books before reading The Brightest Fell, book eleven.

I also totally enjoyed the April O'Leary novella published under the same cover! This was a surprise to me because the other books have just been the novels.

So, anyway, I strongly recommend The Brightest Fell to all October Daye fans. If you haven't read this series and you enjoy urban fantasy, you should start with Rosemary and Rue (Ms. McGuire's first novel).

The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire
Urban Fantasy - Sept 5th, 2017
4 1/2 stars

This latest installment in the October series just keeps getting better! October (AKA Toby) is trying to get some well deserved rest. She is being thrown a bachelorette party before she marries her fiancee, Tybalt. However, she gets a very unexpected and unwelcome visitor in the form of her deadly and demanding mother, Amandine. Amandine is very powerful and not particularly affectionate First Born Fae. Her mother will not take no and threatens Toby. Amandine steals Tybalt and one of Toby’s friends to be used as hostages as leverage. Forcing Toby to find her half sister Amy, a sister she never knew about! But the problem is no one has been able to find Amy for a hundred years. Yes, Toby is a great detective but even she may have her limitations. And finding a trail that even more powerful Fae could not and under a time constraint are plenty stressful! In addition, Toby must work with a powerful lord that had already hurt her and make terrible bargains to boot. A dangerous adventure indeed.

This is the first hardcover novel in the October series and definitely worth every penny. This story will capture fans of the series as the author delves deeper into Toby’s past with her inscrutable and scary mother. As she is forced to team with her vicious step-father -a Fae who as been anything but nurturing we learn more about her difficult past. This story reveals the motivations of her step-father and also gives glimpses into a kinder and gentler Amandine that Toby never will know. This series has so much depth and complexity that I can’t wait for the author reveal each layer. Toby has really grown comfortable with herself and keeps stretching her powers. Toby is definitely a hero that readers will never become tired of. I can't wait to find out what more the author has in store for her fans.

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

Four and a half
After so many books the author has clearly decided to take things up a notch and I have to say this book just kept hammering away at any preconceived ideas about the characters within this world. I think I'm probably used to Toby having to bloody a few people up in order to save the day but this time it's going to take a lot more than nifty knife skills to solve her problems.
Toby's mother isn't exactly the warm fuzzy type and I'm not revealing too much when I say their relationship is anything but close. So you would imagine if Amandine turned up wanting Toby to track down her missing sister August ( who Toby has never met) that it might be the beginning of a reconciliation but alas mommy dearest doesn't ask she just takes! Oh and when I say takes believe me Amandine can be the cruelest, most uncaring parent you could ever imagine. So ok then Toby has a lot riding on this task but the person who seems best suited to helping isn't exactly her friend or is he?
Without giving too much away I can say that the author took an unlikeable character who I thought we'd seen the last of and completely turned things around. Toby is without her usual allies for much of this story and relies on her instincts. Never fear the Sea Witch is here but her connection to the task is not really a happy one. Toby does make new friends along the way but as with so many things in life there are consequences. Toby has finally found her place in the world and unfortunately everything she has worked for starts slipping away. The twist towards the end was utterly heart wrenching and the writing was so on point as reconciliation and painful heartbreak shared the page. I'm not sure how I feel about mommy dearest or indeed even August but it seems that the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree no matter how beautiful it might be!
Please read this series in order to get the best out of it.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

This is the eleventh book in the October Daye series by McGuire. Although I love all of McGuire’s series; this one remains my favorite. This was another great installment in the October Daye series. I just love this series so much.

There is a bonus novella at the end of this book that tells a story from April's POV (April is the Dryad that lives in a computer network from earlier in the series). That was well done as well.

In this book Toby’s mother, Amandine, decides to enter Toby’s life in a big way. Suddenly instead of spending time planning her wedding to Tybalt, Toby finds herself forced into searching for her long lost sister, August. Toby struggles to track down August by both following her scent and the trail of a Babylon Candle. Along the journey Simon Torquill ends up as her unlikely ally.

I really enjoyed the journey Toby went on in this book; there’s a lot of adventure here and I enjoyed how so much of this story touches on Toby’s beginning and past. I was a bit disappointed that Tybalt wasn’t in the story more, but given all the events that happened in here I ended up not missing Tybalt as much as I thought I would.

This book delves into yet more mystery surrounding the First Born and the Luidaeg is in here quite a bit (I love her character). The ending felt a bit rushed, but tied up at a decent spot.

Overall I was a huge fan of this book and think that it did an excellent job of continuing the series. I really enjoyed some of the things we learn and adventures we have in this book. This whole series has been very well done and is still going strong. I would recommend this series to those who enjoy investigative urban fantasy, especially faerie based urban fantasy.

This book is excellent, if also wrenching to read. It starts out so happy, with karaoke and a bachelorette party even... and then things start tumbling down again. As Toby notes, these are all problems she had known about, and put off dealing with; on the other hand (and as she _doesn't_ note), these are only _her_ problems because she feels responsible for them, rather than through her own fault. It's also a book about families, and this is where it hurts the most, in the contrasts between the family she (and others) have made of bonds of trust and love and support, and the family ties that bind and abuse. We see the mistakes people have made with what they thought were the best of intentions, the harms done in a thousand thoughtless, petty, cruel ways, and the way those acts echo out to everyone around them.
There's also a much happier short story at the end, featuring other characters we haven't read about for ages. This one is about the long edge of grief, and memory, and finally a miracle. It doesn't exactly balance the other story, but it's another side of it, the way connections endure, and another last desperate hope.

It’s hard growing up as a changeling, half human and half fae, and being an outsider from birth. Living between two unwelcoming worlds has been even harder for October “Toby” Daye due to lack of family ties and blood alliances. Through 10 novels, readers have watched award winning author Seanan McGuire craft a magical world filled with fairies, pixies, trolls, selkies and a host of otherworldly creatures in which Toby has had to learn to survive. Now, just when her life seems to be running on an even keel she faces the greatest challenge of her life, the return of her mother.

Okay, that sounds like the punch line from a bad joke, but Toby’s Mom, Amandine the Liar, as you may have guessed from her title, is not a warm and fuzzy kind of Mom. She’s not there to help with bachelorette parties or wedding preparations; she’s there to command Toby to find her older sister, and Amandine’s favorite daughter, August. And Amandine’s not taking no for an answer.

Toby must hunt for her long lost sister through a treacherous landscape with little assistance, all the while being careful of promises she makes. In the world of the fae, breaking a promise can be deadly.

My Rating: Four out of Five stars.

I received this ARC copy of The Brightest Fell from Berkley Publishing Group – DAW. The Brightest Fell is set for publication September 5, 2017.

Loved this latest installment. I found the last one a little disappointing, I think because it took place on a fairly limited stage. In this one Toby roams all over the place and I enjoyed all the changes of scene as we got to visit a lot of our favourite places in the Tobyverse.

In this one Toby's mother, Firstborn Amandine, wants Toby to find August, the daughter Amandine actually loves, and is willing to sacrifice Toby and all Toby loves to achieve her purpose. Of course, Toby rises to the challenge and fights her way through. There are redemptions and losses and sacrifices and it's a beautifully epic and real story about how to be someone who is always there for their friends. It was heartbreaking and it was beautiful in equal measure.

Like many other reviewers I can't wait for the next in the series.

Highly recommended.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley for an honest review.

Toby can never catch a break! Thinking that she can have a vacation, she is having some down time with May and a few others at a karaoke bar. Will the torture never end? She gets home and her Mom, Amandine,  shows up and takes her Fiancee, The King of Cats. Toby must find her sister to get her sister back. Did I hear that right? A sister? Yes, you heard right. This was exactly what Toby was thinking, and why no one told her. So in true Toby fashion, anything that could go wrong, does go wrong. I love how Toby and the other characters are always evolving from one book to the next. I recommend this book and series to everyone. I give The Brightest Fell (October Daye) 5/5 stars.

This is book 11 in this series, which starts with Rosemary and Rue. I’ve read and re-read all 10 leading up to this and The Brightest Fell came out almost at the top of the list of my favorite Toby books.

Toby’s preparing for her wedding and attending her bachelorette party and for once everything seems to be going pretty well. Everyone gets home from the party alright and her fiancé is waiting for her at home when… uh-oh! Toby’s mother, Amandine, shows up and decides she wants Toby to find her long lost other daughter… and kidnaps Toby’s fiancé and her sister’s girlfriend to ensure Toby does it. Thus begins Toby’s latest adventure.

She’ll have to come to terms with lies she’s long held as truths and work with her own personal bogeyman to come out the other side with herself and her family unscathed. Even 11 books in, McGuire keeps deepening the reader’s understanding of the wonderful world she’s created and made this reader feel empathy and sorrow for characters that I once thought were totally evil. The Brightest Fell feels in some ways like a sea change (or the predicator of a sea change) in the October Daye series. There are a lot of answers to big overall story questions and a lot of things Toby (and I) thought were true, are not that true. Things I thought were what was going on are not really at all what’s going on. (Is that incoherent enough?) ? It feels like a reckoning is coming in the future books and I for one cannot wait!

I have followed the October Daye urban fantasy series from the beginning, Rosemary and Rue, and it has been a must-read for me. October is a changeling (half human, half-fae) who has struggled to find her place, both in the mortal and in the fae world. In fact, she is the daughter of Amandine, one of the First Born of the fae, but Amandine has been a largely absent and shadowy figure until The Brightest Fell. The book opens on a happy note, during the bachelorette party for Toby at a San Francisco karaoke bar. The party was organized by Toby's "fetch" May, and it is no matter that Toby and her betrothed, Tybalt, King of Cats, have not even set a date. An uproarious good time is had by all until Toby returns home to find Tybalt there, A knock at the door brings Amandine with a demand. She wants Toby to find August, Toby's half-sister who has been missing for over a century. To enforce her demand, she takes hostages of Toby's nearest and dearest.

Amandine's demand takes Toby and her squire, Quentin, into Toby's past and the rabbit-hole that is the fae realm. Accompanying them is Toby's greatest enemy, August's father, Simon Torquil. There is plenty of magic and mayhem and an accounting of some of the decisions and actions Toby has been forced to take in previous books. The character of Amandine becomes clearer, but whether she is a monster or just nuts is still up in the air. The Brightest Fell foreshadows events to come and I hope they come soon, after time to take a breath. Seanan McGuire has built a rich fantasy world and I think that the series needs to be read in order to fully enjoy the latest novel.

I was delighted to receive an advance digital copy from DAW and NetGalley. The opinions above are my own.

RATING- 4.5 rounded up to 5 Stars

It's a series, and here I am in the middle of it. That happens to me sometimes. So, the fae here are so messed up. It really sticks out how broken they are as "race" or "people". I'm discounting any lost feelings I have because this isn't a stand-a-lone as much as a series. While lacking connection to the characters from past books, I still found the story to be paced rather well, and interesting enough that if I find the others on sale, I would read them. (Starting with #1 please!) Has this family always been this dysfunctional?

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

Incredible, intense, raw, heartbreaking, the summation of all that has come before, the best Toby book yet. But while you should except Seanan to answer a lot of questions, and to bring in a lot familiar faces from the previous 10 books, do not expect not to have your heart torn to bits again and again.

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
This book starts with a bachelorette party. Toby didn't want one, But she went anyway. Once she gets home, she gets a unexpected visitor. She was having a ok night, until her mother Amandine ransoms her fiance Tybalt and Jasmine. Now Toby is forced to find her sister, who went missing in 1906. Toby has no choice but to go to Simon Torquill for help. Hopefully he still don't want to kill her.

I adore this series enough to hate Amandine. After reading the full story I'd be perfectly happy if she died by the hand of any number if characters. I did however very much miss Tybalts presence and do wish we could be done with both August and Amandine. Both my least favorite characters. Love this series, love the author's work!

I love ? October Daye books. I have been a fan of Seaman McGuire for years.☺ Anyone who is interested in paranormal fiction should pick up Seaman McGuire books. All the characters are so intriguing and hook you. I always end up staying up late because I don't want to put my book down. McGuire has a unique view on myth, legend, literature, and history.

I like this series a lot. October is asked a favor from her mother and gets more than she bargained for her mother kidnaps her friends and she has to get them back so she has to work with her enemy and find her sister.

Ive loved every one book of this series! Well i love fairies, fairytales mixed with YA. What i loved the most is that this book is about October family more specifically about Amandine and August and Im glad we finally get to point to dwell about it. I feel like many series really dont expand to family unless the family member is directed involved in the stories rather than be brought back from the background. Now can someone tell me what exactly happened to the Pixie POPPY????

I don't want to write anything that's a spoiler, but I can say that every step of this journey is extremely emotional while never feeling over the top. Usually, when a book is predictable, it's boring. Instead, this felt natural. Overall, this was an absolute delight to read (yes, even the parts that made me feel as though my heart was being ripped out and stabbed repeatedly in front of me.) I've loved seeing these characters so far, and this book absolutely lived up to things laid out in earlier books.

October Daye’s eleventh adventure starts when Amandine, Toby’s powerful mother decides that only Toby can find her lost half-sister, August, a sister who disappeared in 1910. She kidnaps Toby’s fiancee and only by working with her worst enemy, Simon Torquill,, August’s father. The trail leads deep into lost parts of Fairy and The Brightest Fell (hard from DAW) and then back to San Francisco. The problem is that August is under a spell that keeps her lost. The series is still very strong and fans of the series will be very happy with this episode.Review printed by Philadelphia Free Press

Absolutely rediculous that the paperback is $5 cheaper than the kindle version plus free shipping for people with prime. I don’t read the big authors anymore. There are to many very good authors selling their books under $5