Read Along: A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire – Week One

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| Week One |

Welcome to the Read Along of A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire, organised by Lisa at Over the Effing Rainbow.

Welcome to the first post in the A Local Habitation Read Along! After the success of Rosemary and Rue, the first book in the October Daye series,  I couldn’t wait to get stuck into the second. Luckily for me, Lisa at Over the Effing Rainbow (after very little coercing) decided to organise a read along for the second novel! So here we are getting sucked back into the strange world of  October Daye with this first week of questions.

If anyone would like to join in, just head on over to the Goodreads group and sign up. Here’s how the schedule looks:

Week 1 (Saturday 5th March)

Chapters 1-9 – hosted by Over the Effing Rainbow

Week 2 (Saturday 12th March)

Chapters 10-18 – hosted by Lynn’s Books

Week 3 (Saturday 19th March)

Chapters 19-25 – hosted by Books by Proxy (me!)

Week 4 (Saturday 26th March)

Chapters 26-End – hosted by The Bibliosanctum

There will be spoilers!

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| Week One Rating |

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| The Questions |

| 1. |

Some familiar faces are back for book 2 (hi Tybalt!), but we don’t waste much time getting to meet some new people, most notably Sylvester Torquill’s niece, January, who is … less than upfront with Toby at first meeting. What do you think of January so far?

Nice kitty. So glad to see Tybalt back in those opening scenes – no doubt he’ll sweep back in to reclaim his jacket at any moment! (Or at least I hope he does because more Tybalt in the storyline can only be a good thing, right?)

January makes an interesting and somewhat conflicted impression. In some ways she seems sweet, a little suspicious of Toby, but just a girl in over her head and swiftly losing control. On the other hand she seems to be making a whole heap of mistakes, is definitely hiding more than she’s revealing, and is acting very strangely to an honest offer of help from her uncle. All is definitely not well in Tamed Lightning! 

| 2. |

Another new face is April, who’s got a rather unique back story according to Alex. What do you make of her so far, and what do you think of the merging of magic and technology that seems set to be the underlying theme in this book?

April is an excellent addition to the storyline! I love the fact they have a Dryad living in a data information tree and it creates so many potential possibilities. However, although April’s story is a sad one, something about a Dryad infiltrating their systems has me more than a little suspicious. Of course she could be completely innocent but right now there are some strange happenings which definitely have me looking sideways at April.

The merging of magic and technology also presents a really interesting crossover when it comes to urban fantasy. In most of the novels I’ve read magic and technology outright refuse to mix so it’s quite refreshing to get a different take on it. The storyline is also completely different to what I was expecting and has definitely opened with a very intriguing and suspicious plot! I can’t wait to see how this modern magical mash-up plays out!

| 3. |

Do any of the rest of the new faces stand out to you here? If so, who and why?

Well hello Elliot. Would you like to come to my house at say 6am each morning and save me a whole heap of time? A bath-spirit would certainly be useful! I love meeting new and interesting fae and the Bannick are no exception! A very amusing and cleanly addition to the storyline and perfect for cleaning up…. (dramatic pause) murders?!!

Alex and Terrie, the brother and sister duo who make the opposite sex practically foam at the mouth, are very interesting! I imagine they’ll make merry hell in the storyline and can’t wait to see how Toby reacts when she discovers that something is not quite right with the pair. Her past experience with men tells me this is one girl who isn’t going to be happy about a magical seduction!

| 4. |

We get some explanation of the political situation where Tamed Lightning is concerned, and by the end of this section we’ve got a body on the ground at ALH Computing… Got any initial thoughts/suspicions/things you still want to know?

Everything and anything is possible at the moment! I absolutely love the crossover with magic and technology and something tells me that this could be the root of all the problems in Tamed Lightning. Beyond there being a Dryad living in the system, I really couldn’t say who I’m most suspicious of – everyone is a suspect! I just can’t wait to keep reading.

Stay tuned for the next instalment of this Read Along on 12^th March

Read Along: Rosemary and Rue – Week Two

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| Week Two |

Welcome to the Read Along of Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire, organised by Lisa at Over the Effing Rainbow.

Welcome to the second post of the Rosemary and Rue Read Along!! I am loving this Read Along so far and this section was no exception! I cannot wait to carry on! This week is being hosted by the marvellous Lynn at Lynn’s Books and she has some juicy questions in store for this week’s installment.  Here’s how the schedule looks:

Week 1 (Saturday 9th January)

Chapters 1-6 – hosted by Over the Effing Rainbow

Week 2 (Saturday 16th January)

Chapters 7-14 – hosted by Lynn at Lynn’s Books

Week 3 (Saturday 23rd January)

Chapters 15-20 – hosted by Anya at On Starships and Dragonwings

Week 4 (Saturday 30th January)

Chapters 21-End – hosted by Over the Effing Rainbow

There will be spoilers!

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| Week Two Rating |

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| The Questions |

| 1. |

We finally get to meet Devin and Sylvester. They’ve both played important roles in Toby’s life. What were your initial impressions of both of them and the worlds in which they live. What were your first thoughts about them?

Devin is a rather disreputable character who Toby is obviously very drawn to. It seems as though it was quite an abusive relationship so I definitely don’t trust him all these years later. There’s something strange about her decision to go Home rather than face Sylvester when she probably would have gone to see him anyway. So perhaps there was a more personal reason… perhaps after losing so much she was craving Home. And Devin seems the sort of character that people are drawn to, whether out of desire or neccessity, and once he has you hooked it’s hard to let go. We always want what’s bad for us after all, and it looks like Toby is no exception!

Sylvester, however, is on the other end of the spectrum! He appears warm and loving and ultimately forgiving. He seems the sort of man who would never resent or blame Toby for any of the wrongs in his life, no matter how responsible she felt or seemed. But perhaps that’s why she felt she couldn’t face him, because she felt as though she had let him down and couldn’t forgive herself for it. Though it did come as a surprise to me that Luna and Raysel were fine and at the Knowe! It made it seem even more strange that Toby went to see Devin before she worked up the courage to go and see Sylvester. But poor Toby’s head is all over the place so who can blame her!

| 2. |

I’m totally intrigued by the Hope Chest – do you have any ideas about what exactly it is and what might be the significance of it being found?

I honestly have no idea what is in the Hope Chest! It seems like an incredibly important artefact to changelings and a not so important one to purebloods. Perhaps the Hope Chest grants changelings full pureblood powers, or perhaps it just fulfils their whims and desires, or perhaps it’s nothing like that at all and it contains an alternative fae dimension! Who knows! I can’t wait to find out though – especially when it’s worth killing for!

| 3. |

Tybalt – I was curious as to Toby’s reasoning to trust him with the Hope Chest – what do you think?

I think Toby reasoned that the last place anyone would look for the Hope Chest would be in the hands of her ‘enemy’. Not that I would call Tybalt an enemy. And the fact that he’s a pureblood means that the Hope Chest seems inconsequential to him and he would have the power to protect it. Or perhaps Toby thought that Tybalt couldn’t wait to get something to hand to hold over her so she just handed something over to be done with it! I was hoping for some more Tybalt involvement though so it’s all fine by me!!

| 4. |

We experience the reaction of other members of the fae to the murder of Evening and Toby telling them about the Queen’s reactions – did their reactions give you any clues at all??

Devin and the kids at Home seemed to take the murder of Evening quite badly. Though I don’t trust Devin one bit, I don’t think he had anything to do with her murder… even if he does run a half way house for changelings who might desperately want to get their hands on the Hope Chest and stop short of nothing to get it…

Sylvester and Luna seemed deeply saddened and Raysel seemed… well… crazy! I think she’s just slightly unhinged (and somewhat evil) though and can’t imagine her being involved in the murder of Evening. Raysel’s husband Connor didn’t seem the type to kill Evening either… though he is definitely still into Toby!

| 5. |

What were your thoughts on Raysel and Luna?

Luna seems lovely! A beautiful fae with a beautiful heart and a fondness for flowers. I can’t wait until we get to see more of her! Raysel however seems completely unhinged! Where Luna looks back on her bad experiences with sadness, there is something wild and crazy about Raysel which permeates her coldness and makes her seem dangerous. Very dangerous.

| 6. |

That ending, did we just end up back in the first post? – what is going on? Speculation?? Lets just talk about it please.

Oh my! What an ending! Poor Toby is having a very tough time of it!!! Clearly the Hope Chest is very important if someone is trying to kill for it. And kill for it so soon! So will Toby be lying with the fishes for yet another eternity? I guess we’ll have to wait and see! I am so excited by this storyline!

Oh and… favourite creature so far – the Rose Goblin! How can anyone not love something described as “the bastard child of a house-cat and a rosebush.”

Stay tuned for the next instalment of this Read Along on 23^rd January

Read Along: Rosemary and Rue – Week One

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| Week One |

Welcome to the Read Along of Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire, organised by Lisa at Over the Effing Rainbow.

I’ve been looking for another good urban fantasy series for a while so I jumped at the chance to read it when the Rosemary and Rue Read Along was announced. This is the first book in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire – nothing like another lengthy series to add to my bookshelves – and I have high hopes for it becoming one of my all time favourite urban fantasies!

Week 1 (Saturday 9th January)

Chapters 1-6 – hosted by Over the Effing Rainbow

Week 2 (Saturday 16th January)

Chapters 7-14 – hosted by Lynn at Lynn’s Books

Week 3 (Saturday 23rd January)

Chapters 15-20 – hosted by Anya at On Starships and Dragonwings

Week 4 (Saturday 30th January)

Chapters 21-End – hosted by Over the Effing Rainbow

There will be spoilers!

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| Week One Rating |

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| The Questions |

| 1. |

So, first impressions time! What do you think of the book setup, first of all? Setting, magic system, Faerie in general?

First things first, I love urban fantasy but I don’t read nearly enough of it. I read eight of The Dresden Files last year (which I love!) so it was about time I diversified and tried something different in the genre. I’d never even heard of the October Daye series before this read along cropped up – but I’m already so glad I decided to join in!

I love the richly detailed urban setting – worldbuilding is one of my favourite aspects of all fantasy and this doesn’t stop when it crosses over to our world – and, like with Chicago in The Dresden Files, an author can really convey the charm and grit of a city location.. even when it is full of faeries!

The narrative style flows very easily and Toby is a compelling character who it is hard not to like. The world of the fae is definitely an interesting one – I love, love, love the nursery rhyme magic, too awesome! – and there are a myriad of different creatures to discover which already has me very excited! The courts and the hierarchies which apparently abound throughout the world of faerie are another dimension that hit on another of my fantasy favourites – court politics and intrigue! So I’m very excited to discover more about this strange world and its even stranger inhabitants.

And that moves us on to purebloods and changelings – It makes for a far more interesting series when the protagonist has obvious deficiencies when contrasted with the rest of the fae population. This also ties in with the court hierarchy where changelings are a lesser people (faeple?) which leaves me a state of intrigue as to how Toby will interact with this somewhat medieval system.

| 2. |

Now let’s take Toby Daye herself. We get to see some of how she’s grown up and how she fits in, or doesn’t, in the modern world as it is post-fish. What are your initial thoughts on her?

The style of the opening prologue actually didn’t hook me in – it worried me a little! But as soon as the fishcident happened, oh wow, instant love! I was excited by everything that happened, the narrative really gripped me and I fully expect it to continue throughout the rest of the novel.

Toby is a really fascinating and complex character who is at a completely different stage in life than many protagonists we encounter in fantasy. This makes her so much more compelling as a character and ups the intrigue factor tenfold! I love that her life is so complicated, that so much has changed since she found herself in a pond, and that she’s struggling to get through it – giving your characters a hard time makes for excellent reading! – and I definitely feel for her for losing her previous life.  Having to cope in this new existence without her family, and in particular her daughter, makes for very interesting (and a little heartbreaking) reading. There are so many questions raised in this section of the novel – about her choices and what will come next –  that I’m finding it hard not to zoom ahead!

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We have yet to properly meet certain characters (Devin and Sylvester), though we’ve gotten brief intros to others (Tybalt and the Queen of the Mists)… Who stands out for you among these secondary characters, and why?

So far I’ve loved all the secondary characters, including the brief visit from Toby’s old friend Mitch and the memories it drew up of her other pre-fish friends. And one thing Toby definitely needs at this point in her life is a friend! So far these changelings seem to be the most likely candidates… but we’re only a short way in so who can say!

Tybalt is a very intriguing character! He has a strange sort of relationship with Toby and their interactions are interesting and very amusing. There’s definitely some tension between them… and I’m not entirely certain it’s all of the negative variety. No doubt we’ll be seeing a lot more of him throughout the rest of the novel! Also he’s a cat! Sort of.

The Queen of the Mists seems to me like the atypical faerie queen – beautiful, ruthless and powerful – but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing! She just seems right for the role. Our brief introduction definitely shows us that Toby won’t be in for an easy ride – especially where the fae courts are concerned! In any case, I can’t wait to find out more about all and more of these secondary characters! Here’s hoping Sylvester is a good’un!

| 4. |

Toby has a murder mystery to solve. Any initial thoughts on the whodunit?

It’s been a long time since I got a bit teary in a novel but the murder of Evening did it for me! The fact that she’d showed Toby such compassion post-fishcident, despite it being against her nature, definitely made it a little heartbreaking when Toby retrieved  the answer machine messages.

As for whodunit – I really couldn’t say! It’s very early to be guessing. There are those two nasties from the prologue… however, something tells me that whole affair won’t be as simple as mere spite; there are obviously greater and more dangerous things at work. The Queen of the Mists also had a very strange reaction to the news that her friend was dead – does she just hate Toby that much? Or is there something else at play here? I guess we’ll just have to read on and see!

Stay tuned for the next instalment of this Read Along on 16^th January