Late Eclipses [Mass Market Paperback]

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
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From the first book, ROSEMARY AND RUE, it has felt like I jumped into the October Daye series "in media res." Quickly swept away by action and character development, I had for the most part forgotten Toby's mysterious past. LATE ECLIPSES not only brings it all back, but also explodes Toby's own preconceived ideas about herself and her heritage. While not a cliff hanger, this book ends poised at the top of an arc, and I can't wait to read where all of this forward momentum is going to take the series.

If book #3, AN ARTIFICIAL NIGHT, took us out of Toby's daily life and deep into the mythos of fairy, LATE ECLIPSES stays very much on her home turf. Unfortunately for Toby, that doesn't mean there isn't danger and intrigue, it just means her friends and family are in the line of fire. Flitting about Toby's consciousness, amidst mysterious sicknesses and political attacks, hints of Oleander de Merelands are appearing. One of the people responsible for Toby's fourteen year stint as a gold fish, the loss of her husband and child, and the twisted madness of her beloved liege lord's daughter, Oleander is one of the boogeymen of fairy, an evil individual and twisted assassin. No one wants to believe that Oleander is back, and even Toby is unsure of her own sanity at the suggestion, adding a psychological twist to a story that I already found compelling.

While the action is certainly non-stop, it was the characters that held my undivided attention. The book starts with glimpses of the home life Toby and May have built for themselves, and in the deadly cascade of events that follows, the possibility that they could lose that relationship was the one thought that really tugged at my heartstrings. In addition to May, Tybalt and Connor both share significant page time. I felt like I learned more about Tybalt and Toby's past relationship, as well as saw hints of it's future. However, McGuire isn't committing Toby to any one romantic path. Connor has always been the one that got away, and despite being married, the sexual tension (and his criminally insane wife) keep things interesting. Tybalt and Connor are two very different men, it may prove to be a Peeta and Gale moment when this tension is resolved.

Overall, Seanan McGuire has done a stellar job of developing her characters while interweaving action and suspense. As much as I enjoyed the romantic tension in LATE ECLIPSES, it was the details about Toby's family, both blood relation and adopted, that truly touched me. The story as a whole has me on the edge of my seat for ONE SALT SEA in September, I am eager to find out how all this will play out.

Sexual Content: Kissing, mention of prostitution and sexual relationships.

When I began this series, I wasn't sure what to think. It wasn't my type of book at all. I can't get into fantasy and romance, and was scared this was going to wind up going the way of shiny vampires or other furry lovers. While the supernatural plays a huge role, instead of chasing me away, it's managed to draw me in, and this book is no different.

Toby Daye, the main character, is back in this latest installment. Once again she's faced with fighting against her half human side, and her half fae (fairy/not human). She's torn between 2 worlds, neither seeming to want her, both seeming to need her. Most of the time she feels the same. The book is so wonderful because some questions that are hinted at from the very beginning of the series are brought to light and answered, but it's so frustrating because the ones that are so glaringly obvious still aren't. As one of her dearest friends is killed she is forced into action. When she discovers she is being framed and others are being targeting she is forced to question everyone she knows, including herself. Throughout the book Toby finally learns the answers to questions she herself has never known, but leaves the reader wanting so much more. What about her family??? What about Tybalt??? There are times you want to reach through the pages and shake the author for dragging the obvious questions out. Yet she answers one you didn't even know exsisted. It's beautiful and sad at the same time.

This book didn't feature some of my favorite characters as much. I personally love seeing the Luidaeg a little more, and I do tend to favor Tybalt, but it did feature and answer a little more about Rayseline, and Julie. Some characters were brought back for brief appearances and if you haven't read the past books, you will get confused as to who they are and why they're around. This is one of those books that you really need to have the back story to understand what is going on. It's a wonderful addition to the series, but it leaves you waiting anxiously for the next.

I like this series a lot. I follow a lot of series, but this one is one of the ones that I look forward to reading the most. Yes, there are some holes in the plots sometimes, and things can be a little obvious to the reader, while October still hasn't caught on, but these books are very creative and entertaining. I also like how they don't have sex scene after sex scene like some other fantasy books with strong women as the main characters, and I just love books about faeries. I'm not going to sum up the story, since other reviewers have done that already, but I do definitely recommend this book.

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