A Red-Rose Chain by Seanan McGuire

Title: A Red-Rose Chain
Author: Seanan McGuire
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: October Daye # 9

Mass Market Paperback, 358 Pages
Publication: September 1, 2015 by Daw

Source: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

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Things are looking up.

For the first time in what feels like years, October “Toby” Daye has been able to pause long enough to take a breath and look at her life—and she likes what she sees. She has friends. She has allies. She has a squire to train and a King of Cats to love, and maybe, just maybe, she can let her guard down for a change.

Or not. When Queen Windermere’s seneschal is elf-shot and thrown into an enchanted sleep by agents from the neighboring Kingdom of Silences, Toby finds herself in a role she never expected to play: that of a diplomat. She must travel to Portland, Oregon, to convince King Rhys of Silences not to go to war against the Mists. But nothing is that simple, and what October finds in Silences is worse than she would ever have imagined.

How far will Toby go when lives are on the line, and when allies both old and new are threatened by a force she had never expected to face again? How much is October willing to give up, and how much is she willing to change? In Faerie, what’s past is never really gone.

It’s just waiting for an opportunity to pounce.

A Red-Rose Chain is the ninth installment in the long running October Daye Series. The October Daye series is one of my all-time favorite Urban Fantasy series with the likes of Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson. October is no stranger to danger because she always finds herself in the middle of it whether intentionally or not. In this latest addition, October is sent to the Kingdom of Silence to broker a peace treaty with their king. But instead of peace talk, the false king and queen are determined to incite a war. And as usual it’s up to Toby and her friends to save the day.

I enjoyed A Red-Rose Chain for the most part but I couldn’t help but feel like this was just a filler book. There wasn’t much happening plot-wise. This is the beginning of a new arc in the series but there was no progression to the story or the characters. It was cool seeing a different area of Faerie but that’s about it. The plot felt recycled and uneventful. I also thought the ending was anticlimactic and resolved way too quickly. Once again Toby easily sacrifices herself for the greater good but of course is saved/cured immediately. A little too convenient if I must say. Many reviewers mentioned the overkill in recaps and I definitely agree. I don’t think every single little thing needed an explanation.

This wasn’t the best or strongest book in the series but overall still good. I’m just excited that Toby and Tybalt are going to get married. With that said I hope the wedding is somewhere in the next two books. Or maybe we'd get to see Quentin's home.