Chimes at Midnight (October Daye, #7)

by Seanan McGuire

New York Times-bestselling October Daye series • Hugo Award-winning author Seanan McGuire • "Top of my urban-paranormal series list!" —Felicia Day

Things are starting to look up for October "Toby" Daye. She's training her squire, doing her job, and has finally allowed herself to grow closer to the local King of Cats. It seems like her life may finally be settling down...at least until dead changelings start appearing in the alleys of San Francisco, killed by an overdose of goblin fruit.

Toby's efforts to take the problem to the Queen of the Mists are met with harsh reprisals, leaving her under sentence of exile from her home and everyone she loves. Now Toby must find a way to reverse the Queens decree, get the goblin fruit off the streets--and, oh, yes, save her own life.

And then there's the question of the Queen herself, who seems increasingly unlikely to have a valid claim to the throne....To find the answers, October and her friends will have to travel from the legendary Library of Stars into the hidden depths of the Kingdom of the Mists--and they'll have to do it fast, because time is running out.

• ISBN10: 0756408148
• ISBN13: 9780756408145
• Publish Date: 3 September 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: DAW Books
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780756408145

Reviews

[Mercy]

4.5/5

[Quirky Cat]

Chimes at Midnight is the seventh novel in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire, and let me tell you; it's still going strong. This novel brings several subplots full circle, while introducing even more chaos and danger. Which is pretty on par for Toby, all things considered.
In a quest to resolve the issue of the sudden increase of Goblin Fruit (a deadly and addictive fruit known to be especially lethal to changelings and humans), Toby finds herself with a different problem; exile. It would seem that the Queen of the Mists doesn't' appreciate a knight doing her job; investigating a problem in the realm. Go figure.
Thankfully Toby hasn't had to stand alone in quite some time and has allies willing to help her solve both the Goblin Fruit issue and the Queen issue. It helps that both are tied together in one pretty little bow.

“Half the things I’ve accomplished in my life have been because I was too pissed off to realize that they weren’t possible.” (Seanan McGuire, Chimes at Midnight)

Chimes at Midnight was a thrilling and intense read. I imagine fans were shocked by some of the revelations made in this novel, while not being terribly surprised at the actions (or durability) of other characters involved.
October Daye, better known as Toby, has always seemed to have a talent at getting herself into some of the most intense situations out there. And this novel is no exception. This time around though, I think it's safe to say that she didn't deserve it. But boy, did she finish it!
The whole Queen of the Mists plotline is one that had been building for quite some time. We all saw it happening. But I don't think any of us expected it to go quite like this. Or for Goblin Fruit to be the cause. I know I was a bit blindsided by it (at was Toby, of course).
I'm not going to lie. This whole novel was immensely satisfying, even when the danger was at peek points. I never liked that Queen, so it was nice to see something actually happening about it. Perhaps Toby really will be able to make this world a little bit safer for changelings. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
And oh...that library! I won't speak too much on it, for obvious reasons. But I would kill to have access to a library like that one. Okay, maybe not literally kill. But I wouldn't be above bribing to get my way in this case. Can you blame me? Not that Toby seemed to appreciate it much, naturally.
Tybalt, Quentin, and May were pure perfection in this novel. I honestly can't get enough of them. Once I'm done reading through the main novels, I'm absolutely going through all of the short stories and novellas. I hope some are from their point of view.
But seriously, the more I see of these characters, the fonder I grow of them. Quentin's little revelation was quite the twist...and, of course, Tybalt is...well Tybalt. And that's all he ever needs to be.
Also, fun fact! I've been bingeing this series non-stop for a couple of weeks now. And I just hit the point where I've had to resist flinching when I hear somebody say 'thank you.' So yeah, apparently this series has gotten under my skin a little bit. Whoops.
Onward to The Winter Long! I'm so excited about this one. Okay, I've been excited about all of them. But can you blame me?

For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks