A Local Habitation Read-Along Week No.4
We take a trip back to October Daye’s world of mystery and magic in the second book of Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series. If you’re interested in joining this Read-Along, visit the SF/F Read-Along group for more information and to join the discussion.
Week 1: Saturday 5th March, Chapters 1-8 hosted by Over The Effing Rainbow
Week 2: Saturday 12th March, Chapters 9-16 – hosted by Lynn’s Book Blog
Week 3: Saturday 19th March, Chapters 17-25 – hosted by Books By Proxy
Week 4: Saturday 26th March, Chapters 26-end – hosted by The Bibliosanctum
1. Alex and Terrie’s secrets are finally revealed. Was that the outcome you were expecting? If not, what theories did you have concerning the two?
Yeah, it pretty much went where I was expecting. I wasn’t sure what exactly they were, but I knew they had to be the same people. All the clues were pointing that way.
2. We get Toby doing more powerful things with blood during the course of this story aside from gleaning information. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think we’ll start to see her doing more wondrous things over the course of the series?
I like how McGuire is giving Toby’s blood magic some different aspects in the story, and I would certainly like to see Toby defy some odds with her magic despite being a changeling. I think McGuire will give her some reasonable powers as the daughter of a powerful fae. However, I hope she doesn’t get too overpowered during the course of the series. One of the things that I enjoy about October is that she uses her wits and her will to overcome rather than power much of the time.
3. Did you expect Tybalt to actually show up at Tamed Lightning? What’s your take on this “not-friendship” that is developing between Toby and Tybalt? Does learning more about the cats and sensing Tybalt’s own feelings about what has occurred make you feel differently about him or see new aspects to his personality?
I sort of expected him to show up and I sort of didn’t expect him to show up. Either way, it would’ve made sense. After the last section, you could tell that Tybalt was up in his feelings a little bit about Barbara (and maybe Toby). It makes sense that he’d come and check it out (and check up on Toby… what?!). I think for all that aloofness that Tybalt tries to project he cares more than he lets on about things. Even though he wasn’t a raving lunatic, you could tell that the death of the cats really bothered him.
You already know how much I’m praying for the book gods to get Toby and Tybalt together, so I am 100% rooting for this.
4. Despite being misguided, what did you think of the attempt to create something lasting for Faerie after hearing Elliot’s explanation? Is there a way to save and preserve Faerie or is Toby right that maybe its end is near?
Everything changes. I can understand wanting to preserve something because once you lose it its gone, but it may not be possible to preserve everything about Faerie. There are some aspects that I’m sure will live on, but I don’t know if there’s a way to keep it exactly like it is. There are so many good points made about some of the races dying out, not enough births, etc. So, I’m not entirely sure that it really can be saved, which is unfortunate. And when faced with that reality, it’s easy to see how they got caught up in this idea that they could save it, even with Gordan trying to taint it.
5. What do you think will happen at Tamed Lightning now that Jan is gone? Do you think April will be able to maintain or do you think things are just getting started between Tamed Lightning and Dreamer’s Glass? Do you think others will be willing to go to Tamed Lightning after this?
A small part of me is vicious and thinks it should be taken over (just not by Dreamer’s Glass), but a bigger part of me hopes that it does thrive. I understand that they did what they felt they had to do, but I do hope they are able to keep their autonomy from Dreamer’s Glass. Having more people there will likely help them in this endeavor, so maybe some of the old employees will return now. I can only hope for April’s sake.
6. Overall, what did you think of A Local Habitation? Did you like it more or less than the first book? Are you still excited to see where Toby’s journey leads? Any favorite parts? Least favorites? Gush as much or as little as you want.
I definitely enjoyed this much more than the last and really want to see where this leads Toby. I felt like this was a much stronger offering than the first book, but that’s typical for a series as the author finds their footing with the character and story. I felt much more invested in this book than the first, but I really enjoyed them both.
A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire (October Daye #2)
A Local Habitation Read-Along Week No.1
A Local Habitation Read-Along Week No.2
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire (October Daye #1)
Rosemary and Rue Read-Along Week No.1
Rosemary and Rue Read-Along Week No.2
Rosemary and Rue Read-Along Week No.3
Rosemary and Rue Read-Along Week No.4
I’m out of town for the weekend for my birthday/anniversary, so I didn’t add all my usual frills. Hopefully, we’ll all meet up again for the next book! 😀
The BiblioSanctum 
One aspect of this series that I enjoy is that Toby doesn’t turn into a super-hero: she still gets hurt, and still pays a price for what she does – and she also makes mistakes. I like her more for her flaws than for her accomplishments, if that makes any sense… 😀
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Oh I love this series!!
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I’m definitely with you about Toby – I don’t want her to turn into a one of a kind powerful changeling, I like that she has to live off her wits too and also that she makes mistakes! It makes her more easy to like.
Tybalt I really like – I would like them to get together too but I think I’d like it to take a little while longer! I’m enjoying their interactions – I wonder what Tybalt was thinking after Toby brought Alex back??
I think most UF series tend to get better as you read along – maybe they don’t get better, maybe it’s just that we become more attached to the characters and each successive book tells us a little bit more about them – but, whatever, this felt like a stronger book than the first and I’m really looking forward to No.3 now!
Lynn 😀
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