October “Toby” Daye is settling into life with a baby, remembering the ins and outs of motherhood, and trying to find ways to balance her work with her desire to keep her baby safe at home and away from all the terrors Faerie has to offer. Her whole household is pitching in, from May all the way down to Raysel, the estranged daughter of Toby’s liege lord, who is currently serving out a term of offense in Toby’s home.
Naturally, as everything is beginning to find a balance, it’s time for Raysel’s term of offense to end, and Luna Torquill very much wants her daughter back.
But Toby has been helping Raysel get the help she desperately needs, from giving her a safe place to hide all the way to finding her a licensed therapist who works with the fae, and Raysel isn’t ready to leave. Luna isn’t taking no for an answer, and before anyone can realize what she’s planning, she steals her own child away to Blind Michael’s lands.
Not even Luna knows all the terrible secrets her father and his works hid from the world, and not even she can protect her daughter from the monsters in their lineage. All too quickly, Toby must race the clock to save Raysel—before it’s too late for her to ever come home.
It’s been years, but now the question will be asked again: can she get there and back by the light of a candle?
A Divided Duty by Seanan McGuire is an addictive fantasy, number twenty in the series and is still just as compelling as book one. In fact, because Seanan McGuire has built an entire rich history with the series, this book has a weight and depth to it that you can only get with a long standing series. She quickly summarizes the recent past within the previous books and the dilemma that Toby currently faces is set up. It is written with an eye to both previous readers but also those that might be newer to the world.
What I, as a long-time reader, love is the way Seanan ties together threads from previous books and demonstrates that in her world, there are always consequences and nothing is forgotten. I like that Toby must face past events and help resolve them in order to save Raysel. I also like that the puzzle of what is happening must be solved and even when the adventure is straightforward, Toby is asking questions about trauma, consent and how magic should be used. I love that the common magical world is questioned and the story always makes me look at magic with a new understanding, all the while her character is funny and charming.
If you are a fan of the series, you will love this recent addition. It brings up several past events and resolves some of them or at least asks questions for the reader to consider. The adventure is compelling, the mystery engaging and Toby is heading out on her adventure with help while not always rushing in quite as quickly as in the past. I love that Toby gets the opportunity to be a mother and how she balances that with her other obligations. And I can’t wait for more.
Rating: 5 out of 5 candles.
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