Chimes at Midnight (review)

5/5 stars

Chimes at Midnight (Goodreads | Amazon) once again proves that Seanan McGuire should write all of the books.  Whenever I've had a slew of sub-par books and I'm able to come back to one of her works, it feels like you've thrown a starving person into the best bakery in the world and I can't help but devour everything. (For me this is the world's best gluten free bakery which makes it even more important).

"When you decide its time to up the ante on getting into deep shit, you don't mess around, do you? You're just like, hey, what's the worst that can happen? That's the worst that can happen? Great. Let's do that." 

October Daye is one of my favorite heroines.  Despite being half-fae, she feels all too real.  Even if technically she's not human, she clings to and carry her humanity because that's what keeps her from becoming too disconnected with the world.  That stubborn humanity, is what sets her apart from the fae around her and makes her good at what she does (solving crimes, saving the world, etc).

As I read Chimes of Midnight and all the pieces from previous novels began to fall into place, clues dropped over time, it was hard to believe that the world McGuire built exists only in her head.  How can someone build a world so complex, characters who will matter more later, and drop so many clues?  It makes me wonder, is San Francisco really a hot-bed of faerie activity?  I'm just in awe of McGuire's ability and foresight in building a world and a multi-book narrative that feels so flawless.

The humor in this book might be the best yet.  The story has emotional highs and emotional lows.  Even when I was scared shitless for October, the book always had a gag, pun or joke to throw at me.  And it never felt out of place.  The book manages to balance it's sarcastic sense of humor and ability to laugh in the face of certain death,with it's well-plotted, dire circumstances storyline.

That's about all I can say spoiler free.  Because this book is so cleverly written, now I want to leave you with some quotes (and these might contain minor spoilers for people who have not read books 1-6.)

I went to pick my favorite quotes and they were all from Tybalt (I don't know why this surprises me). Without further delay, three Tybalt quotes to savor!

"I am a cat, October. I have a sense of duty, because I am also a man, but no cat can be held down by duty forever. Eventually, we must go where we wish to be, not where we are told.' Tybalt smiled slightly at the expression on my face.

He smiled against my lips. When I pulled back, he said, "I was a student of Shakespeare centuries before the romance novel was even dreamt. Be glad I do not leave you horrible poetry on your pillow, wrapped securely around the body of dead rats."

"I would gladly take a bullet for you.  I would even more gladly stand behind a man of living stone and allow him to take the bullet for the both of us."