[Book Review] When Sorrows Come

When Sorrows Come (October Daye #15) / Seanan McGuire

Previously reviewed:

• Rosemary and Rue
  
• Once Broken Faith
• The Brightest Fell
• Night and Silence
• The Unkindest Tide
• A Killing Frost

After... we'll kindly say many books of dodging the inevitable, Toby's finally getting married.  In her defense, at the start of the book even she did not know the date chosen for the event.  There's a little too much significance in this marriage to allow for a simple document signing in front of the local Justice of the Peace.  A marriage between a member of the Divided Courts and a King of Cats, and of course Toby has been anything but "just" a changeling for some time now.  A hero of the realm, daughter of a First Born, king-breaker, kingdom maker, finder of lost things, and, most importantly, one of the few members of Fairie that understands crime scene investigation and procedure.

This is October Daye, of course something is going to go Horribly Wrong, likely involving blood, when she tries to get married.  Especially when she gets married in the court of the High King of the entire continent.  We didn't need an ominous to figure that out.

But just like Toby is no longer "just" a changeling, Toby is no longer alone and she knows this.  She's no longer running from friends or the family she's found.  This time she is charging headfirst into her wedding with an all-too-familiar intent that nothing so insignificant as an attempted coup or murder will stop her.

It's kind of joyous, seeing Toby fight to get what she wants and not just to survive, not just to save her friends and family.  Because she will get to the bottom of things, but this time she's fighting for her happy ending.

You get the standard wit, snark, and determination of October Daye.  You also get beautiful heart wrenching moments of connection rather than loss, reveling in the family, life, and connections she's built in the years since coming out of the fish pond.  There's also doors opening that have been closed for so long due to misunderstanding, though the gulf between Toby and her liege keeps widening.

If you've been following along so far, read this book (if you haven't, starting at book 15 can be a bit disorienting but I love the series).  In the pages of When Sorrows Come, if I may quote a familiar favorite to many of us, you'll find "Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles!"

Advance Reader Copy courtesy of DAW (Penguin RandomHouse) in exchange for an honest review; changes may exist between galley and the final edition.