October Daye, Book 11

Synopsis: 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.

Maybe not.

Because 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.

Review: As always, I can not wait to get into each new October Daye adventure. How not to be? This series is really one of my favorite and Seanan McGuire always offers us new ideas that take us away completely!

Everything seems to be fine for October but it’s only the calm before the storm! Indeed, after celebrating her bachelor party with all her friends and allies, her life is turned upside down. Her mother, Amandine, is on the doorstep and summons for her to find her sister (while explaining to her what a disappointment she was). But then, October doesn’t allow her mother to dictate her actions and refuses at once. You can imagine that Amandine does not take it very well and then kidnaps Tybalt and Jazz so that our heroine goes in search of her sister.

I really had a great time with this story. We saw very little of Amandine and I was curious to learn more about her …. But poor October … Her mother is very cruel with her. And then there’s August. I was so eager to learn more about this lost sister and I admit that even if it is different from what I thought, it could not be otherwise. August could not be anyone else. Yet I confess that I am curious to see what is going to happen now because an evil is released and it seems that he wants more than anything for her to fall. But a solution is emerging and it is true that this is what links the whole series. I am therefore curious to see if this resolution will be in the next novel.

In any case, our heroine takes us with her in a new quest that won’t be very simple. Some enemies become allies and allies become enemies. Everything will change and Toby’s life will once again be overwhelmed. She will have to make difficult choices but she is ready to do anything to save her fiancé!

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Interview

Each book is always better than the previous one for me and I just love all the series, how do you come up each with new ideas for Tobey’s adventures?

A lot of the time it’s a natural consequence of the previous book. For example, after the goblin fruit was introduced, we spent several books cleaning up the effects—and then we had to deal with elf-shot! So while I keep the “big picture” plot moving forward, the structure is generally supplied by whatever’s happened recently.

How do you keep up with the stories of all the characters?

Spreadsheets. Lots and lots and lots of spreadsheets.

I would love the series to go on forever but how many books did you plan to write?

I have been advised not to reveal that number, as it causes people to stare at me before backing away slowly, as if I have said something wrong. But there are quite a few more to come.

Do you already have the ending of the series in mind?

Oh, I’ve always known how it ends.

Excerpt

one

October 9th, 2013

Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell .—William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

THE FETCH IS ONE of the most feared and least understood figures in Faerie. Their appearance heralds the approach of inescapable death: once the Fetch shows up, there’s nothing that can be done. The mechanism that summons them has never been found, and they’ve always been rare, with only five conclusively identified in the last century. They appear for the supposedly significant—kings and queens, heroes and villains—and they wear the faces of the people they have come to escort into whatever awaits the fae beyond the borders of death. They are temporary, transitory, and terrifying.

My Fetch, who voluntarily goes by “May Daye,” because nothing says “I am a serious and terrible death omen” like having a pun for a name, showed up more than three years ago. She was supposed to foretell my impending doom. Instead, all she managed to foretell was me getting a new roommate. Life can be funny that way.

At the moment, doom might have been a nice change. May was standing on the stage of The Mint, San Francisco’s finest karaoke bar, enthusiastically bellowing her way through an off- key rendition of Melissa Etheridge’s “Come to My Window.” Her live-in girlfriend, Jazz, was sitting at one of the tables closest to the stage, chin propped in her hands, gazing at May with love and adoration all out of proportion to the quality of my Fetch’s singing.

May has the face I wore when she appeared. We don’t look much alike anymore, but when she first showed up at my apartment door to tell me I was going to die, we were identical. She has my memories up to the point of her creation: years upon years of parental issues, crushing insecurity, abandonment, and criminal activities. And right now, none of that mattered half as much as the fact that she also had my absolute inability to carry a tune.

“Why are we having my bachelorette party at a karaoke bar again?” I asked, speaking around the mouth of the beer bottle I was trying to keep constantly against my lips. If I was drinking, I wasn’t singing. If I wasn’t singing, all these people might still be my friends in the morning.

Of course, with as much as most of them had already had to drink, they probably wouldn’t notice if I did sing. Or if I decided to sneak out of the bar, go home, change into my sweatpants, and watch old movies on the couch until I passed out. Which would have been my preference for how my bachelorette party was going to go, if I absolutely had to have one. I didn’t think they were required. May had disagreed with me. Vehemently. And okay, that had sort of been expected.

What I hadn’t expected was for most of my traitorous, backstabbing friends to take her side. Stacy—one of my closest friends since childhood—had actually laughed in my face when I demanded to know why she was doing this to me.

“Being your friend is like trying to get up close and personal with a natural disaster,” she’d said. “Sure, we have some good times, but we spend half of them covered in blood. We just want to spend an evening making you as uncomfortable as you keep making the rest of us.”

Not to be outdone, her eldest daughter, Cassandra, had blithely added, “Besides, we don’t think even you can turn a karaoke party into a bloodbath.”

All of my friends are evil.

As my Fetch and hence the closest thing I had to a sister, May had declared herself to be in charge of the whole affair. That was how we’d wound up reserving most of the tables at The Mint for an all-night celebration of the fact that I was getting married. Even though we didn’t have a date, a plan, or a seating chart, we were having a bachelorette party. Lucky, lucky me.

My name is October Daye. I am a changeling; I am a knight; I am a hero of the realm; and if I never have to hear Stacy sing Journey songs again, it will be too soon.

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October Daye, Tome 11

Résumé (traduction personnelle) : Pour une fois, tout dans la vie d’October “Toby” Daye semble aller bien. Il n’y a pas eu de meurtre ou de déclaration de guerre, et, en dehors du spectre imminent de sa Fetch qui a planifié son enterrement de vie de jeune fille, elle n’a eu aucun problème réel depuis des jours. Peut-être que les choses s’améliorent.

Peut-être pas.

Parce que soudain, la mère de Toby, Amandine la Menteuse, apparaît sur le pas de sa porte et demande à Toby de retrouver sa sœur perdue, August. Mais August a disparu depuis plus de cent ans et il n’y a plus aucune piste à suivre. Et Toby ne lui doit absolument aucune faveur.

Puis, Amandine commence à prendre des otages, et le refus cesse d’être une option.

Avis : Comme toujours je suis impatiente de me plonger dans chaque nouvelle aventure d’October Daye. Comment ne pas l’être ? Cette série est vraiment une de mes préférées et Seanan McGuire nous propose toujours de nouvelles idées qui nous emportent complètement !

Tout semble aller bien pour October mais ce n’est que le calme avant la tempête ! En effet, après avoir fêté son enterrement de vie de jeune fille avec tous ses amis et alliés, sa vie se retrouve chamboulée. Sa mère, Amandine, est sur le pas de la porte et la somme d’aller retrouver sa sœur (tout en lui expliquant quelle déception elle a été). Mais voilà, October ne se laisse pas dicter ses actions et refuse tout de suite. Vous vous doutez bien qu’Amandine ne le prend pas très bien et kidnappe alors Tybalt et Jazz pour que notre héroïne se lance à la recherche de sa sœur.

J’ai vraiment passé un très bon moment avec cette histoire. Nous n’avons que très peu vu Amandine et j’étais curieuse d’en apprendre plus à son sujet…. Mais pauvre October… Sa mère est très cruelle avec elle. Et puis, il y a August. Comme j’étais impatiente de pouvoir en apprendre plus au sujet de cette sœur perdue et j’avoue que même si c’est différent de ce que je pensais, il ne pouvait pas en être autrement. August ne pouvait pas être autrement. Pourtant j’avoue que je suis curieuse de voir ce qu’il va se passer à présent parce qu’un mal est relâché et il semble qu’il désire plus que tout faire tomber October. Mais une solution se profile et c’est vrai que c’est ce qui lie toute la série. Je suis donc curieuse de voir si cette résolution se fera dans le prochain roman.

Dans tous les cas, notre héroïne nous emporte avec elle dans une nouvelle quête qui sera très simple. Certains ennemis deviennent des alliés et des alliés deviennent des ennemis. Tout changera et la vie de Toby sera une fois de plus bouleversée. Elle devra faire des choix difficiles mais elle est prête à tout pour sauver son fiancé !

PS : Les deux premiers tomes existent en Français chez Pygmalion

October Daye, Book 10

Synopsis: Politics have never been October “Toby” Daye’s strong suit. When she traveled to the Kingdom of Silences to prevent them from going to war with her home, the Kingdom of the Mists, she wasn’t expecting to return with a cure for elf-shot and a whole new set of political headaches.

Now the events she unwittingly set in motion could change the balance of modern Faerie forever, and she has been ordered to appear before a historic convocation of monarchs, hosted by Queen Windermere in the Mists and overseen by the High King and Queen themselves.

Naturally, things have barely gotten underway when the first dead body shows up. As the only changeling in attendance, Toby is already the target of suspicion and hostility. Now she needs to find a killer before they can strike again—and with the doors locked to keep the guilty from escaping, no one is safe.

As danger draws ever closer to her allies and the people she loves best, Toby will have to race against time to prevent the total political destabilization of the West Coast and to get the convocation back on track…and if she fails, the cure for elf-shot may be buried forever, along with the victims she was too slow to save.

Because there are worse fates than sleeping for a hundred years.

Review: I think you all know that I’m a big fan of the October Daye series, so I always look with great anticipation to each new volume and here we are with the tenth volume! After long, I understood that each volume was wonderfully done, and I now have no doubt when I start a new story. Besides, I can confirm it again, One Broken Faith is an action-packed novel, full of political intrigue, conspiracy, suspense and with all the characters we love! Yes, you guessed it, a new great book for me as always!

During their last mission, October and Walther had the chance to discover the cure for “elf-shot” which is a weapon to lull a person for more than 100 years. Criminals are subject to it, but many others, innocent people have been affected by this weapon that changes their life forever. So here is a solution now possible, but it seems that the decision of the distribution of such a product is a matter of debate. Thus a conclave is organized in the Kingdom of our beloved Arden, bringing together all the rulers and all persons likely to give their opinion, all that chaired by the High King and Queen. But you suspect quickly, if you know the series, that if Toby is present, disasters will happen on and on and that begins with the death of one of these monarchs. A big problem, I can tell you! But when danger approaches toward people that our heroine loves, she will not hesitate to put herself in danger to try to understand what is happening and to find the culprit.

We are launched into a race against time, our little heart beating louder along the chapters and by seeing all that our heroine must go through, our tears point their nose at certain times and it’s true I was eager to finish the story to understand all the events and how all was going to end. Yes, because October will have to make choices, like not trying to upset too many monarchs as she has the habit to do so but she will also have to understand what is really important to her. As I said, all the people we love are here (you can imagine that everybody wants to attend the conclave to know the final decision), and it is true that I am now as always very curious to dive into the next book! Yes, I know it’s a vicious circle that never stops but it’s so nice to dive into each new story and to discover how catastrophic the situation would be.

I will not say much more not to spoil but if you have never tried the series, you need to do so and you will not be disappointed! Each volume reveals a story that is hard to let go, the characters we love and above all a plot and a world that we love to discover or rediscover!

October Daye, Tome 10

Résumé (traduction personnelle) : La politique n’a jamais été le point fort d’October “Toby” Daye. Quand elle a voyagé au Royaume de Silences pour les empêcher d’entrer en guerre avec les siens, le royaume des Brumes, elle ne s’attendait pas à revenir avec un remède pour le « elf-shot » et un nouvel ensemble de problèmes politiques.

Maintenant, les événements qu’elle a mis involontairement en mouvement pourrait changer l’équilibre de la Faerie moderne pour toujours, et elle a reçu l’ordre de comparaître devant une convocation historique de monarques, organisée par la reine Windermere dans les Brumes et supervisée par le Haut Roi et la Reine eux-mêmes.

Naturellement, les choses ont à peine commencé que le premier corps apparaît. Comme la seule changeling présente n’est autre que Toby, elle est déjà la cible de suspicion et d’hostilité. Maintenant, elle a besoin de trouver un tueur avant qu’il ne frappe à nouveau et le royaume fermé, personne n’est en sécurité.

Comme le danger se rapproche de ses alliés et des gens qu’elle aime, Toby devra se lancer dans une course contre le temps pour empêcher la déstabilisation politique totale de la côte Ouest et pour placer la décision sur la bonne voie … et si elle échoue, le remède pour le « elf –shot » pourrait être enterré pour toujours, ainsi que les victimes qu’elle serait trop lente à sauver.

Parce qu’il y a des sorts pires que dormir pendant une centaine d’années.

Avis : Je pense que vous le savez tous, je suis une grande fan de la série October Daye, alors j’attends toujours avec une grande impatience chaque nouveau tome et nous voilà donc avec le dixième volume ! Après avoir compris depuis bien longtemps que chaque tome était bien au-delà du précédent, je n’ai maintenant plus aucun doute quand je commence une nouvelle histoire. D’ailleurs je peux vous le confirmer une fois encore, One Broken Faith est un roman plein d’action, d’intrigue politique, de complots, de suspens et de tous les personnages que l’on adore revoir ! Oui, vous l’avez compris, un nouveau coup de cœur pour moi comme à chaque fois !

Lors de leur dernière mission, October et Walther ont eu la chance de découvrir le remède au « elf-shot » qui est une arme permettant d’endormir une personne pendant plus de 100 ans. Les criminels y sont soumis, mais bien d’autres, innocents, ont été touchés par ce fléau qui change leur vie pour toujours. Alors voilà, une solution est maintenant possible, mais il semblerait que la décision de mise en circulation d’un tel produit soit matière à discussion. C’est ainsi que s’organise dans le royaume de notre chère Arden, un conclave, réunissant tous les monarques et toutes les personnes susceptibles de donner leur avis et présidé par les Hauts Roi et Reine. Mais vous vous doutez rapidement, si vous connaissez la série, que si Toby est présente, les catastrophes vont s’enchainer et cela commence par la mort d’un des monarques présents. Un gros problème, je peux vous le dire ! Mais quand le danger se rapproche des gens que notre héroïne aime, elle n’hésitera pas à se mettre elle-même en danger pour essayer de comprendre ce qu’il se passe et découvrir le responsable.

On se retrouve ainsi lancé dans une course contre la montre, notre petit cœur battant de plus en plus fort au court des chapitres et en voyant tout ce que notre héroïne doit traverser, les larmes pointant leur nez dans certains moments et c’est vrai que j’étais impatiente de finir l’histoire pour comprendre tous les évènements et savoir comment l’ensemble allait se finir. Oui, parce qu’October va devoir faire des choix, va essayer de ne pas trop contrarier les monarques comme elle en a l’habitude mais va aussi comprendre ce qui est vraiment important pour elle. Comme je le disais, tous les personnes que l’on adore sont ici (vous vous doutez que tout le monde veut assister au conclave pour connaitre la décision finale) et c’est vrai que je suis comme toujours maintenant très curieuse de me plonger dans le prochain tome ! Oui, je sais c’est un cercle vicieux qui ne s’arrête jamais mais c’est tellement agréable de se plonger dans chaque nouvelle histoire et de découvrir dans quelle situation catastrophique nous allons retrouver Toby.

Je ne vais pas en dire pour ne pas spoiler l’histoire mais si vous n’avez jamais tenté la série, faite-le et vous ne serez pas déçu ! Chaque tome révèle une histoire qu’il est difficile de lâcher, des personnages que l’on adore et surtout une intrigue et un monde que l’on adore découvrir ou redécouvrir !

October Daye, Book 9

Synopsis: Things are looking up.

For the first time in what feels like years, October “Toby” Daye has been able to pause long enough to take a breath and look at her life—and she likes what she sees. She has friends. She has allies. She has a squire to train and a King of Cats to love, and maybe, just maybe, she can let her guard down for a change.

Or not. When Queen Windermere’s seneschal is elf-shot and thrown into an enchanted sleep by agents from the neighboring Kingdom of Silences, Toby finds herself in a role she never expected to play: that of a diplomat. She must travel to Portland, Oregon, to convince King Rhys of Silences not to go to war against the Mists. But nothing is that simple, and what October finds in Silences is worse than she would ever have imagined.

How far will Toby go when lives are on the line, and when allies both old and new are threatened by a force she had never expected to face again? How much is October willing to give up, and how much is she willing to change? In Faerie, what’s past is never really gone.

It’s just waiting for an opportunity to pounce.

Review: I love the October Daye series and I always look forward to each new volume. It took me a little time to get into this volume 9 (lack of time and also too many books to read) but as soon as I could, I immediately dove into the story! And I must say that once again Seanan McGuire completely wins us. I always wonder what the author can present us when we know what Toby endures in each new volume. But I can tell you that once again, our young heroine will go through many events.

We are of course pleased to find Tobby facing new problems. Yes, she thought that she could finally have a break, but she finds herself once again at the center of the stage. And that’s a first! Indeed, a threat of war is announced and Arden decides to send October as a diplomat to try to prevent what might happen and to calm tensions … However, when we know our heroine, we know that she is not particularly the best for this mission, even far away from that … But she will not be alone in this adventure and of course Tybalt will be there to help her, as Quentin, May and Walther. We often saw this last character through the books but it’s true that we do not really know his secrets or his past and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised to learn more about him here!

You can imagine that nothing is simple for our heroine here. Indeed, the king, and an old enemy of October, are determined to kill our heroine or at least to use her in their favor (which is really not to the taste of the young woman). But now, our heroes are going to go through many things, and torture will also be present for a few. Yes many events here, a new chance to show everyone that our knight is actually a heroine and of course a pleasure once again to find all our little world. You are probably wondering if after 9 volumes we keep the freshness of the series and I can confirm that this is exactly the case and it’s even more than that as each volume makes me appreciate the series a little more. It’s a pretty hard thing to do when we know how much I love it but it is!

So yes, if you have not tried the series, I really advise you to do so. You will be completely blown away by the characters and I can tell you that I await the next one with great impatience. This is one of my favorite series, I’m never tired of reading it!

October Daye, Tome 9

Résumé (traduction personnelle) : Les choses s’améliorent.

Pour la première fois à ce qui ressemble des années, October “Toby” Daye est parvenue à faire une pause assez longtemps pour prendre une grande respiration et de regarder sa vie, et elle aime ce qu’elle y voit. Elle a des amis. Elle a des alliés. Elle a un écuyer en formation et un Roi des Chats à aimer, et peut-être, juste peut-être, peut-elle baisser sa garde.

Ou pas. Lorsque le sénéchal de la Reine Windermere est elf-shot et placé dans un sommeil enchanté par des agents du royaume voisin de Silences, Toby se retrouve dans un rôle qu’elle n’a jamais joué : celui d’une diplomate. Elle doit se rendre à Portland, en Oregon, pour convaincre le roi de Rhys de Silences de ne pas entrer en guerre contre Brumes. Mais rien n’est aussi simple que cela, et ce qu’October retrouve dans Silences est pire que ce qu’elle aurait pu imaginer.

Jusqu’où Toby sera-t-elle prête à aller lorsque des vies sont en jeu, et quand des alliés à la fois anciens et nouveaux sont menacés par une force à laquelle elle ne pensait jamais devoir faire face à nouveau ? A quoi October est-elle prête à renoncer, et qu’est-elle prête à changer? En Faerie, ce qui est passé n’est jamais vraiment disparu.

Il attend juste l’opportunité de resurgir.

Avis : J’adore la série October Daye et j’attends toujours avec impatience chaque nouveau tome. J’ai mis un peu de temps pour me lancer dans ce tome 9 (faute de temps d’ailleurs et de trop de livres à lire) mais dès que je l’ai pu, je me suis tout de suite plongée dans l’histoire ! Et je dois dire qu’une fois encore Seanan McGuire nous emporte complètement. Je me demande toujours ce que l’auteur peut nous réserver de plus quand on sait ce que Toby endure dans chaque nouveau volume. Mais je peux vous dire qu’une fois encore, notre jeune héroïne va vraiment en voir de toutes les couleurs.

C’est donc bien sûr avec plaisir que l’on retrouve Tobby, face à de nouveaux problèmes. Oui, elle qui pensait avoir enfin un moment de répit, se retrouve une fois encore sur le devant de la scène. Et c’est une première ! En effet, une menace de guerre est annoncée et Arden décide d’envoyer October en tant que diplomate pour essayer de prévenir tout ce qu’il pourrait se passer et calmer les tensions… Pourtant, quand on connait notre héroïne, on sait qu’elle n’est pas particulièrement la meilleure pour cette mission, même très loin de là… Mais elle ne sera pas seule dans cette aventure et bien sûr Tybalt sera là pour l’aider, de même que Quentin, May ou encore Walther. On a souvent vu ce dernier personnage au travers des livres mais c’est vrai qu’on ne connait pas vraiment ses secrets ou son passé et j’avoue que j’étais agréablement surprise d’en apprendre plus à son sujet ici !

Vous vous en doutez, rien ne sera simple pour notre héroïne ici. En effet, le roi, ainsi qu’une ancienne ennemie d’October, sont bien décidés à tuer notre héroïne ou en tout cas à l’utiliser en leur faveur (ce qui n’est vraiment pas au goût de la jeune femme). Mais voilà, nos héros vont en voir de toutes les couleurs, et la torture sera même de mise pour certains. Oui de nombreux évènements, une nouvelle chance pour montrer à tout le monde que notre chevalier est réellement une héroïne et bien sûr un réel plaisir une fois de plus de retrouver tout notre petit monde. Vous vous demandez surement si après 9 tomes on garde la fraicheur de la série et je peux vous confirmer que c’est exactement le cas et c’est même plus que ça comme chaque tome me fait apprécier la série un peu plus. C’est une chose assez difficile au premier abord quand on sait combien je l’aime mais c’est le cas !

Donc oui, si vous n’avez pas encore tenté la série, je vous conseille vraiment de le faire. Vous allez être complètement emporté par les personnages et je peux vous affirmer que j’attends le prochain avec une très grande impatience. C’est une de mes séries préférées, que je ne me lasse pas de lire !

October Daye, Book 8

Synopsis: Toby thought she understood her own past; she thought she knew the score.

She was wrong.

It’s time to learn the truth.

Review: Ok, if you know me, you know that this series is one of my favorite and when I saw the release of a new book, I could not help but jump on it. Have you seen this summary? When I received the book I thought that I would have more on the book and that we would have more on the back cover, but nay! Oh no, it is exactly the same thing and I admit that I was looking forward to discover the truth as I waited for it for a long time. The author also says that all the previously written volumes lead to this one, even though we will have others and it is true that I am impressed by the way she led her ideas! It’s beautifully done!

October finds herself once again embarked on a crazy story. Simon, the man who has turned her into fish and who destroyed her life, comes back as if nothing had happened to upset again all the events. It is through him that our heroine will be able to learn more about her past, her origins and even though she thought she knew a big part of it, it seems that she has it all wrong and that she had many things to learn. Shocking revelations! Oh yes! And as I wish I could tell you about them now, but I’ll try to keep it all for myself and to avoid any spoiler. But it’s so hard because the whole story is based on them and it was exciting to learn that much.

Allies of the young woman will become enemies and enemies become friends but in any case, we can imagine that certain characters are hiding secrets. Oh yes, because they were successful in manipulating October for years and the masks come down here. I admit that I was really very surprised by some of the players that we know from the start and that could change our feelings about them. We also have the return of a character in the story, a person that is not expected and this time I was also surprised to discover the truth about her. October, of course, is not alone in all this, and she will stay with her aunt, Quentin, and of course Raj and Tybalt. I love these characters since the early novels and I am happy to find them throughout the story again.

So yes, I had again a great time and I am very excited to be able to read more as always. Even if the author reveals many things, new questions are raised, many other events are initiated and I am curious to read the next book to learn more. A great novel!