And another major player in the faerie world returns, this time under the guise of a friend. Toby is going to have to make some hard choices and things will never be the same again, who knew that things could ever be easy for her. She's just settling into marriage and trying to work out the boundries of her life when suddenly things change again.

It's an interesting read, the start of a new set of adventures with different goals while some of the old goals are going to haunt her for a while.

Also included is a Novella "Such Dangerous Seas" where again we see more of the Sea Witch's past. ( )

Backstory/plot ratio is incurably broken at this point. Too much plot recap, too many magic powers, too many reasons people can't use said magic powers to solve the current problem, and too much time moving side characters who aren't required for this adventure around the chessboard. There may be a reason fantasy novels don't usually focus on one character's story for 16 books. Writing a book from another perspective would take some of the weight off Toby, who's increasingly unequal to the task, but all of the novellas from other characters' perspectives are as expository, identically-voiced, and ham-handed as possible. Maybe McGuire just wants to be free of this series at this point, and you know what? Let her rest.

I'm not invested in any of the revelations that have been set up for the next book(s), and it's become obvious who Maeve is. She named herself Marsh-a, good fuckin lord. ( )

Wow! I need to read it again to catch more stuff.

I believed the forward in this book and if you have been a fan you can remember the crumbs of clues that were there before. What does happen will rock Toby’s world and have consequences on the Fae. That the changes hit so close to her and her friends isn’t fair but she is a Hero and she will find out who is attacking Stacie’s kids. I don’t want to say anymore since this book is really a pivotal book in the series. Some things might have felt like that in the previous books with the Roane coming back, meeting Firstborns but this does top that.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss.
( )

Oh, good lord. Yet another complete upending of what Toby knows - this time it's bigger, what all of Faerie knows that isn't so. Plus some nice bits with Tybalt and the rest of her (found, chosen) family. A major battle won... Except it isn't, quite. And a cliffhanger ending. It won't be any fourteen years this time, but I'm not sure how they're going to find and rescue her. The accompanying novella is... Well, depressing, like most of the early stories of Faerie. How the Luedaig ended up bound. Very nasty, on several levels. Two rich stories, but the novel is much more pleasant - or at least, it has pleasant parts. The dark bits are at least as dark as the novella. ( )

TW/CW: Death of a child, fantasy violence, language, grief, compulsion

RATING: 4.5/5

REVIEW: Another book by one of my favorite authors in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre! It always amazes me how this can be the sixteenth book in the series and as fresh and engaging as the first – McGuire has a real talent for that.

Be the Serpent picks up a few months after When Sorrows Come ended, and follows October Daye through another heart-rending adventure with Faerie. It also includes a new novella from the point of view of the Luidaeg, which I found a fascinating read.

Just like the others, this book pulled at my heart, always finding a way to make me care about the characters and understanding the struggles October has to face to try to do the right thing when she really just wants to be with her created family at peace. I recommend this book and this series to everyone who loves fantasy and stories about the Fae as I deeply love McGuire’s fae world. Beware the cliffhanger on this one, though! ( )