I should have known a Middlegame sequel could never live up to Middlegame. While not a bad book, this world just wasn't as interesting as the world we're introduced to in Middlegame. I know each book will be a unique premise, and McGuire is such a unique writer that I will definitely keep picking the series up even though this wasn't another five star.

I don't think this series is for me. Huge fan of Seanan Mcguire and alias Mira Grant but this series just didn't interest me as much. Will still continue to read McGuire's works of course because the author's horror books and wayward children series are top notch.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Melanie has a destiny, though it isn’t the one everyone assumes it to be. She’s delicate; she’s fragile; she’s dying. Now, truly, is the winter of her soul.

Harry doesn’t want to believe in destiny, because that means accepting the loss of the one person who gives his life meaning, who brings summer to his world.

So, when a new road is laid out in front of them—a road that will lead through untold dangers toward a possible lifetime together—walking down it seems to be the only option.

But others are following behind, with violence in their hearts.

It looks like Destiny has a plan for them, after all….

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback.

the pacing of this was completely bizarre — we begin before anything happens, it's a large number of pages before the something happens, and then we spend 100 pages worldbuilding, then 300 more pages worldbuilding while on a roadtrip, before getting to what seems like will be the plot exactly 50 pages before the end of the book, which is then also abrupt itself.

the characters are annoying and not memorable, and as my boyfriend put it "this author sure is having fun with the metaphors," but i read it and enjoyed a good amount of it and that's something.

Not what I expected but I rarely know what to expect from Seanan McGuire’s story telling as they always seem to find new ways to surprise me. Fantastic novel!

Seanan McGuire’s Seasonal Fears is described as a “companion volume” to her extraordinary novel, Middlegame. I dived into it without that preface but soon realized that the “alchemical world” was hauntingly familiar. I think Seasonal Fears is every bit as good. Whereas Middlegame centered on creating human beings as incarnations of the aspects of the Doctrine of Ethos, in Seasonal Fears, they are actual seasons, either incarnate or ascendant (consider the difference between deep winter and first frost). The story centers around a pair of lovers-since-childhood who discover they are candidates to become the next North American Incarnations of Summer and Winter, respectively. Their road to the contest that will determine who will be crowned becomes a gauntlet of rivalries, assassinations, betrayals, and the seductive menace of becoming so enmeshed in their individual seasons that they lose their humanity. The story is also one of deep, lifelong love and willingness to sacrifice. It’s profoundly moving, gripping, whimsical, and demented. Sure to be a strong award contender. Don’t miss it!

Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire is the second book in the Alchemical Journey series.

I want to say I love this book but I actually cannot remember this book. It is seriously just lost. I loved Middlegame so to have now memory of the second book is depressing. I have vague recollection of enjoying it, but overall the plot is gone. This puts the book at 2.5 stars because even looking at other reviews does not jog enough of a memory to recall anything. For Goodreads Ill round up to 3 stars because this is a favorite author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Seanan McGuire for the free copy this was an honest review.

I am so conflicted about how to review this book, in a way that I rarely am, because there were so many problems with the plot and characters and yet I completely loved reading it!

As I read an advance DRC, I really hope this gets a few more editing passes before release, because it has the potential to be one of my favourite books with just a few fixes.

I really liked the new characters we meet here – Mel and Harry, Aven, Trevor, Jack and Jenny – and love that we also get cameo appearances from old faves Roger, Dodger and co (in a lovely rainbow house, with a summer garden and every possible sandwich filling!). And we still get excerpts from the Impossible City series of in-world-but-also-in-real-life childrens’ books, which still sound fantastic (added to my wish list!), although the excerpts here don’t seem to link to the plot like they did in the previous novel.

This book deals with the alchemy of the seasons personified, which I found a lot more comprehensible that the maths-heavy alchemy of time and space in Middlegame. Which is lucky, because there is a lot more explanation of the alchemy in this sequel, whereas Middlegame kind of left you to pick it up running with the action of the plot. I honestly didn’t mind the info dumping here though, as I enjoyed the worldbuilding so much and really wanted to understand how it all worked.

I liked Mel and Harry as main characters, although got a little weary with the very intense romance. In contrast, Aven, Trevor, and Matthew/Misty’s threats were fantastically sinister, but their potential fizzled rather unsatisfyingly. I had expected some intense danger from the competitors in the maze, but they barely showed up! In fact, the whole labyrinth was a bit of a let down. It was built up to be this amazing trial of seasonal aptitude and personal qualities, then it was over far too quickly and easily, after just a couple of friendly chats… one of which we don’t even see at all.

Some of the lore got a little bit mixed up along the way too. William Monroe seemed to be both Winter and Summer King at different points, and I was baffled by how the final competitors just kind of milled around sadly towards the end – a little anticlimactic after such an epic life-and-death build up.

Yet despite all of the above problems I LOVED reading this book and was so immersed in the world that I found it hard to return to this one at the end. And I was left still wanting more and more! So again, I hope this gets the tweaking it deserves, to elevate it to the five-star status it promises.

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2023 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2023/01/2023-reading-list-announced-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

All right…first, I want to say that I gave this book a 5 star rating. However, there was a temptation to give it 4.5 stars instead…because while it was still a great read, it didn’t have the same level of awesomeness as the first book in the series. I actually never put my review of Middlegame on the blog, but I’ve read the book twice and throughout, both times, I felt this compulsion to sink deeper into reading, to keep going. And when I was forced to stop because of work or something, I definitely fantasized about what had already happened in the book and imagined all sorts of possibilities for what could happen next.

I didn’t feel overall as invested in Melanie and Harry’s story and relationship as I did with Roger and Dodger’s. But it was still a fascinating story, especially since we do end up meeting up with Roger and Dodger in this book as well.

Actually, Seasonal Fears made me think back to a book a friend of mine wrote like 12 years ago. Seasons Turning by Donaya Haymond. Actually, I feel like if you enjoy Seanan McGuire’s writing and stories, you might also really enjoy Donaya Haymond’s stories.

What I also find fascinating about the Alchemical Journeys series, which this is the second book of, is that it also ties quite nicely into its companion series, the Up and Under books, which are actual children’s books from within the Alchemical Journeys world. So Roger and Dodger and Melanie and Harry might mention the books, and throughout we also get snippets from the Up and Under stories, and it’s fascinating.

The nice thing with Seasonal Fears is that we already have a bit of understanding for the alchemical world and (if you also read the Up and Under books) an understanding of the different types of beings related to alchemy and such. So when we hear them mention things like Crow Girls and Jack Daws and Pages…we know a little more about what is being said.

These books are ones that come together slowly, but with so much going on at the same time that it holds your interest. With Middlegame, I sat there reading through each page and then turning the page, and so on and so forth, trying to piece it all together, to weave the different threads of the story together.

Melanie and Harry are each tied to a season, and they are opposites (Winter and Summer) which means they balance each other, and they are also in love. It gives them sufficient motivation to take on this adventure and this challenge/race to become the last of their respective seasons standing.

Hmm…I’ve just realized that I’ve talked about quite a few Seanan McGuire books recently. Oh well, what can I say? She’s an incredible author, and I’ve loved every single book of hers that I’ve read.

If there's one thing I love, it's a book with a heavily detailed fantasy system without a single plot hole in sight. Every crack accounted for. Once again, Seanan McGuire proves not only her intelligence, but also her range. And I'm here for it.

While I found the plot synopsis compelling, the prose style was not to my taste. I found it a bit clunky and unsubtle. I also did not connect to the characters and felt the plot petered out at the climax. I think those who feel warmly towards McGuire's writing style will find a lot to like here, it was just a bad match between us.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar
Spring is almost here, and with it comes the death of the personifications of Winter and Summer, the crowns are open for taking. Melanie has always been sick, her heart has not beaten to the same tune as other normal people and sometimes it even has stopped for a moment, but as her senior year of high school is coming to an end, she knows her life is also ending. Harry has loved Melanie since the moment he meets her in preschool, he knows she is dying and will not be able to marry her, but he will try to stay with her until her end.

On the early morning of Prom Day, Melanie sneaks out of her house to go cheer Harry at his football practice and as they stare at each other across the field, the current monarch of Summer kills herself and takes Winter with her. Across the United States, potential candidates for the crowns feel the change, and Melanie’s heart stops, Harry sees her fall and faint.

Both wake up to feel different and soon learn that they are part of an ancient trial to become the personification of Summer and Winter, others have also started the race and if they want to stay together, they will need to win.

Seasonal Fears takes place in the same world of Middlegames by author Seanan McGuire. While it is not a sequel to that story it does use the same magical, alchemical, and scientific ideas as the previous book, and we enter once again into a world where concepts of the universe take human forms and walk among us.

I liked Seasonal Fears. While in the previous book we follow the story of two individuals that were alchemically created to be the incarnation of the Doctrine of Ethos, in this book we follow the natural trials that occur when the last incarnation of the seasons of Summer and Winter die and the new individuals have to take their place. It was interesting to see from where the alchemist Asphodel D. Baker got the idea to conceive the Doctrine of Ethos and learned that some humans are born with an attachment to the seasons, some can feel it and connect to it, and others have the chance to embody them.

Melanie and Harry are star-crossed lovers that want to stay together and have to go through the personal trials of trusting each other and the feelings that they have for one another. It was fun to read their story and follow their growth both personal and mystical, as they learn about the potential of what they can become. While Harry was naturally born to be a Summer candidate, Melanie was created as the perfect vessel to hold Winter by alchemists. It was interesting to read how the seasons started to take over them and to navigate the changes.

Seasonal Fears lets us see the natural process of the aspects of the world taking human forms, and we get to meet individuals that are touched by those seasons. We get to meet Jack Frost, the young girl that is the attendant to Melanie, and tries to teach her what she knows. Among other individuals are Corn Jennies, who attended the Summer Candidates like Harry, and Jack in the Green and Stingy Jack who are the attendants of Spring and Fall respectively even though the seasons don’t have an actual incarnation, but still have a role to play in trials.

It feels like the first thaw, when winter starts to break and the spring starts pushing through. Like snowdrops breaking ice, like icicles melting in the eaves. It feels right…

Many of the characters that we meet are potential incarnations of Summer and Winter like Harry and Melanie who are trying to do their best to win the crowns. Some of the individuals are scary and will try to do anything they can to win, while others will play dirty but are not that bad.

Because it is the same world of Middlegames, we get to meet Dodger and Roger once more. They are the incarnation of the Doctrine of Ethos, and who are interested to see the outcome of the trials while giving their opinion on the matter. And with them we meet Erin as well, who is still herself, Order incarnated, and knows of Melanie’s origins and her sister’s.

No story from Seanan McGuire will be complete without some family rivalry or drama. In this case, it comes in the hands of Melanie’s deceased at-birth sister, Aven, who was supposed to be the other half of the experiment and be the incarnation of Summer. Alchemists don’t like to fail or die and Aven was not the exception.

I really like the Seasonal Fears and the world that inhabits our protagonists.

If you are a fan of Seanan McGuire and her works, then I recommend Seasonal Fears. In this story, the world has embodied the two major seasons as a necessity, and now a couple has to face many trials to stay alive and together, and become Summer and Winter themselves.

I have yet to read a Seanan McGuire book that I do not love. I discovered her wonderful world when someone recommended I read the Toby Daye books and have not stopped since. Middlegame was a fantastic tale where Seanan built a whole new world and culture that seems all too real. This is part of her magic. Seasonal Fears takes us back into the world of Middlegame, revealing the next level of the game. Melanie and Henry must compete for their rightful place in the seasons. I know it sounds a little confusing, but anyone who has read McGuire's books knows that reason follows confusion. Anyone who has not read McGuire's books has so much great reading ahead of them, I envy them. I'd recommend reading Middlegame first just so you get some of the rules of the game prior to Seasonal Fears. Prepare to be pulled into a world you could not have imagined.

I loved this sequel or companion novel to middle game. It had all the elements that the first book had and was engaging from the start. I still love middle game more as it was perfectly weird and lovely but overall loved this one too.

Another wonderful book by Seanan McGuire. While I didn't enjoy this one as much as Middlegame, it was still really good. Pacing was a bit slow to start, but still went at a decent pace. I enjoyed the characters and liked that past characters were brought into the story.

I read this thanks to NetGalley.

I found this one flowed well, I liked the characters and I enjoyed the seasonal elements. I didn't expect it to tie in as well as it did with Middlegame and I really liked that it did.

I think I found some chapters a little long for the plot points that the author was trying to get across but otherwise I quite enjoyed this one.

What if young love lasted forever?

Harry March is a 17 year old high school athlete madly in love with his sweetheart, Melanie Cosgrove. Melanie is a frail girl, always suffering and constantly on the verge of dying from a heart disease. One day they both collapse at the football field, but when Melanie wakes up, she feels stronger than ever, and she rushes to Harry's side. Their connection to one another is stronger than either of them ever thought. What neither of them know quite yet is that Melanie's heart has stopped and the two of them are now pulled into a centuries-old battle wherein they are the living embodiments of Winter and Summer. This is slowly explained to them by Jack Frost - currently represented by a 13 year old.

Confused yet? Don't worry, it only gets more confusing before becoming clearer. And that's one of the real charms about a Seanan McGuire novel. Those of us who have journeyed with McGuire before know to have faith in that journey. If you're new to her work, just keep going - you'll survive (but it may hurt a bit).

The book really took me by surprise, in a really good way.

First, this feels like a stand-alone fantasy/mythology story. I only now see that it's considered to be the second book in the "Alchemical Journeys" series but I honestly don't think there's anything that would require your having read Middlemarch before enjoying this. A stand-alone book is a real treat in this age of publishers trying to make a series out of everything (in order to 'guarantee' sales no doubt).

Second, we have some truly incredible world-building. That's not surprising, given that this is from Seanan McGuire.

I very recently read and reviewed two books, Star Mother and Star Father by Charlie N. Holmberg wherein I waxed on about how truly amazed I was at the mythology created by Holmberg for those two books. I am equally amazed and impressed here with McGuire's taking that existing nugget of mythology - Jack Frost - and weaving it like an intricate tapestry into this story.

McGuire is so good at world-building, but she's equally good with creating characters who are unique, strong, and identifiable. Not just the main characters, but everyone who makes an appearance in the story (but she also know how to minimize the number of characters necessary so that we don't have a revolving door of minor characters). We feel like we know these teens, Harry and Melanie, and we like them, so when they become something more, we're already attached to them and aching to follow their story.

McGuire is also just a darn good wordsmith as well. ("The woman in the doorway has a laugh like smoky bourbon, smooth and peaty and rich and a bit intoxicating.") At one point, after finishing a certain chapter, I realized that we had just been given a massive info dump. Normally my skin would crawl reading a book wherein we get such a massive download of background information, but McGuire somehow manages to pull it off. I might not have even realized it if I hadn't stopped to reflect on what I'd just read. I have to laugh now as I realize that not only is McGuire so adept at handling this, she even has the temerity to tell us she's going to do it. The title of that chapter...? "Explanation"

I really liked this book, and as much as I enjoy McGuire's October Daye, Wayward Children, and InCryptid series' I don't need ten more books with all the trials and conflicts of Melanie and Harry or Jack Frost or the Winter King and Summer Queen. Let me relish this and then move on to another gem.

Looking for a good book? Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire is an outstanding fantasy/dark fantasy of young love and centuries' old conflict with familiar mythological figures.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.