Book Review: The Brightest Fell (October Daye) by Seanan McGuire

The Brightest Fell is the eleventh book in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. I do not recommend reading this series out of order, skipping around, or picking up just one random book and starting. The character and world building is intense, and builds up throughout the series. However, do not be afraid to start this series because of the size. The series has only gotten better as it continues. This might just be the best one yet!

For once, everything in October “Toby” Daye’s life seems to be going right. There have been no murders or declarations of war for her to deal with, and apart from the looming specter of her Fetch planning her bachelorette party, she’s had no real problems for days. Maybe things are getting better. Suddenly Toby’s mother, Amandine the Liar, appears on her doorstep and demands that Toby find her missing sister, August. But August has been missing for over a hundred years and there are no leads to follow. And Toby really doesn’t owe her mother any favors. Then Amandine starts taking hostages, and refusal ceases to be an option

The Brightest Fell is another roller coaster ride for Toby, with her mother taking precious hostages just as Toby was starting to relax. The continued character growth for Toby and Simon in particular is simply fantastic. I loved that many seemingly loose ends from previous books, and some things we thought to be resolved as best they could, came to be extremely important again. It is so hard to gush about this book without dropping spoilers, because I would hate to ruin any part of the ride for anyone else since I enjoyed it so much. There are so many twists and turns, so many surprises, that I think I held my breath through half the read. If you love this series, it is a must read. If you like the other books by McGuire but have not delved into this series- start right now with Rosemary and Rue.

The Brightest Fell is a wonderful addition to the series. This is a must read for McGuire fans, and definitely stick around and read the bonus novella at the end. As a side note- if you enjoy audio books- I listened to the first ten books and the reader is fabulous. My only complaint is that about half way through the series the reader changed the pronunciation of a word- and it drove me crazy. I think I am going to stick to the print format for the rest but don't let my issue be yours, they are still very well done.