Late Eclipses (October Daye, Book 4) (edition 2011)

A disjointed start led to a stronger story than those previously in the series. This time more is revealed about October herself, the kinds of things that have been hinted at for a long time. There's a lot more Tybalt and a lot more intensity and a lot more stupidity on Toby's part in regards to the stupid and annoying love triangle.

Much was wrapped up way too easily and deep seated emotions reversed completely in the space of a very short conversation on two occasions. Sometimes Toby could see what someone's expression was when he was behind her. And why doesn't she, as a knight, know how to use a sword? The reason given is lame.

I'm also frustrated that the author thinks that a bad headache=a migraine. Sometimes a bad headache is worse than migraine pain. In fact, you can have a migraine without any pain although it's not common. But the pain is only one of the symptoms of a migraine, usually the worst. But when Toby starts to feel pain in both temples with no other symptoms, it's very unlikely it's a migraine. If she's going to have a migraine, give her a real migraine so people realize that it's do much more than just a bad headache. (Oh and her ubiquitous Tylenol doesn't work for a bad migraine.)

Although I dislike how there's always a point at which no one likes or trusts Toby, the loyalty of her closest friends eventually makes up for it to the point where they risk everything for her. The action and peril in the second half kept me reading beyond "well past my bedtime" and since, as always McGuire left us hanging with Tybalt, I can't wait to read the next one. ( )

A disjointed start led to a stronger story than those previously in the series. This time more is revealed about October herself, the kinds of things that have been hinted at for a long time. There's a lot more Tybalt and a lot more intensity and a lot more stupidity on Toby's part in regards to the stupid and annoying love triangle.

Much was wrapped up way too easily and deep seated emotions reversed completely in the space of a very short conversation on two occasions. Sometimes Toby could see what someone's expression was when he was behind her. And why doesn't she, as a knight, know how to use a sword? The reason given is lame.

I'm also frustrated that the author thinks that a bad headache=a migraine. Sometimes a bad headache is worse than migraine pain. In fact, you can have a migraine without any pain although it's not common. But the pain is only one of the symptoms of a migraine, usually the worst. But when Toby starts to feel pain in both temples with no other symptoms, it's very unlikely it's a migraine. If she's going to have a migraine, give her a real migraine so people realize that it's do much more than just a bad headache. (Oh and her ubiquitous Tylenol doesn't work for a bad migraine.)

Although I dislike how there's always a point at which no one likes or trusts Toby, the loyalty of her closest friends eventually makes up for it to the point where they risk everything for her. The action and peril in the second half kept me reading beyond "well past my bedtime" and since, as always McGuire left us hanging with Tybalt, I can't wait to read the next one. ( )

Grudging four stars here. This book, LATE ECLIPSES, and the next in the series were more or less dropped in my lap and even though LATE ECLIPSES had the same roster of pluses and negatives that all the October Daye books do for me, it was still better than most of the other options available at the moment, and I'll pick up the next one soon. My rule with stars is three for a book that's fine but I don't want to read more from the author and four if I do. Since the answer is yes, four.

I was on board with this one until the final third of the book, when I got a little antsy and bored as the climax rolled near. Now that I know that McGuire & Mira Grant are one and the same I keep looking for similarities in the style & they're surprisingly plentiful. Really, Toby and George are different versions of the same character. And both of them do a fair bit of grandstanding, but I like it in the Newsflesh series and feel impatient with the October books. Little things, like, there's a scene where Toby makes a big fuss about who's going to accompany her on a dangerous mission - Tybalt or Connor. And then the choice she makes turns out to be completely irrelevant and, personally, I felt let down. I wanted the payoff.

I also get super irritated by the theme of heroism in the October books. It's so similar to the themes of journalistic integrity and moral justice that thread through the Newsflesh books, which I love. But here, whenever October includes the word "hero" in her inner monologue, I roll my eyes.

Anyway. LATE ECLIPSES marks a major turning point for the series. If you think about it, the changes were inevitable. It's a universal law of urban fantasy series that the bad guys have to escalate in power from book to book, and Toby barely stood a chance against Blind Michael. Trying to tackle anyone more powerful than him would be sheer suicide, and, let's be honest, poor October Daye spends a healthy percentage of her books injured and incapacitated as it is. So instead McGuire goes back to the fundamentals of who October is and changes it up. The results are pretty interesting.

Fans of the series are sure to enjoy it. Disgruntled fence-straddlers like me won't be won over, but I was glad to be reading a book that had solid writing, worldbuilding, plotting, and snark after suffering through a few duds. Anyone unfamiliar with the series should start with book one.

( )

Gathering new and familiar allies around her, knight and investigator October Daye, a changeling who owes allegiance to the court of Shadowed Hills, finds herself locked in a race against time to locate the cause and find a cure for the mysterious illness creeping among the fae. It's first victims are close friends, and as the sickness spreads suspicion falls on Toby herself... can she find the source and clear her name in time?

Toby's finally coming in to her own, but friends and family beware - fate sure isn't easy on her allies! ( )

If I haven't mentioned it before I'll do so again - I love this book. It's probably my favourite of the Toby Daye series so far, partly because of how in-depth it goes into so many of the questions we've had - and Toby's had - about her past and her mother. That sounds like it might be a slow runner, but it's got a lot of depth, tension, danger and passion (in more ways than just romantic chemistry, but a bit of that, too), as with so many scenes in the series. It also has my favourite cover of the series so far (and I plan on buying a print of it for my living room in my new apartment).

This review is on a re-read - first date on GR set as March 2011, which is when I first got the book shortly after publication. Second GR date was September 2011, I was not on GR when I read it fully for the third time over the winter of 2011, and this, April 2012, is the fourth. (Edit: 5th August 2012.)

Had a couple of unnoted rereads between August 2012 and my eighth reading: 20th-21st March 2013. ( )