Seanan McGuire's fifth October Daye novel takes the best of what we've seen before and combines it into a strong and painful new challenge. Again, Toby rides (or limps) out on a personal crusade to save lost children, this time with the goal of stopping a war between the land Fae of the Kingdom of the Mists and the Fae of the Dutchy of Saltmist (who live in the Pacific Ocean). The full cast of characters is out in force with her.

Conflict among allies has receded to a few witty exchanges, and much of the interpersonal angst from previous books is left aside. Quentin is certainly growing up, and both he and Raj take a back seat to Toby's new romance with Connor. Tybalt, fickle as he may seem, is also faithful to both his throne and his friends. Some of the exchanges are hilarious both for their ludicrousness and for their mud-brown mundanity dropped into a kaleidoscope of Fae insanity.

The October Daye series is not all sunshine and smiles. The plot path is strewn with the shards of broken hopes, which makes for a bumpy ride. McGuire's great talent for bringing readers into Toby's world means that we are just as wet, frustrated, tired, and heartsick as the characters when the plot finally bursts open for everyone to see. Real fairy tales don't all have happy endings, and we, like Toby, are left with the hollow triumph of winning the battle at the cost of the fire inside the fighters.

And the worst - wait, I mean best! - thing about this series is that I still want to read more. I'm determined to stand by Toby just like she stands by her friends and chosen family. I have faith in her, and in McGuire, that "good" and "right" are worth fighting for, even when sometimes you lose in the winning.

   -- Colleen Reed