October "Toby" Daye is a changeling. Unlike the human definition, among the Faye to be a changeling means being neither wholly of Faerie, nor wholly human but stuck betwixt and between, with a certain level of power but nowhere near the level of a pureblood of your kind. It suits Toby, though. Her powers have been enough to save her bacon, if only by a frog's hair, and to save the lives of those with much more power than herself; which can have its downside. You might think having the Queen of the Mists in your debt would be a thing to desire, but you'd mostly be dead wrong, and maybe even mostly dead. Having a mad ruler's attention focused in your direction is not a thing to be wished on anyone.

After the execution of Blind Michael, the Fae of the San Francisco Bay area seem to be settling back into status quo, Toby has enough money to fill the pantry and she is enjoying the novelty of not having anything in particular threatening her life. Then a summons to the court of the Queen of the Mists is tendered, Toby becomes the Countess of Goldengreen, and thus is under the aegis of her mad Majesty. She doesn't need the King of the Cat's warning to know owing allegiance to a queen who wants her dead is a bad thing, but it is comforting to know the sometimes fickle (but always fascinating) Tybalt is on her side.

The October Daye series is gritty and glittering urban fantasy at its best and LATE ECLIPSES is no exception. McGuire skillfully blends the darker side of San Francisco with the mists of Faery making both seem real and immediate. The fascinating characters from the previous three books play pivotal roles in this engrossing fourth entry, raising hope of seeing them in the future as well. Seanan McGuire has a brand new fan here in Michigan. (I'm off to buy the older titles now.)