Seasonal Fears is the second novel in Seanan McGuire's Alchemical Journeys series, and once again, I find myself transported to a world full of dangers and delights. If you haven't checked out this series yet, I highly recommend you do so right away. McGuire has such a way with words. Seriously, I didn't think it was possible to surpass Middlegame's brilliance, and yet here we are.

There are forces on this earth that most humans do not understand. These forces do not need humans to survive – but once they have been infected with humanity, they are loathe to go back. This is true even of the seasons.

Melanie has always known that she was destined for something particular. Something that she didn't want. She's known her whole life that she is dying, and not even the love of Harry can prevent that from happening. And yet, there is another destiny waiting on the horizon for both of them. All they have to do is fight for it.

Wow. I adored Middlegame, and thus had pretty high expectations for Seasonal Fears. Some would say that my expectations were unfairly high. Yet once again, Seaanan McGuire has created a literary masterpiece.

Seasonal Fears is everything. It's magical and haunting, romantic and terrifying, all in one. I wasn't sure what the following plot in this series would be, but turning to the seasons was a brilliant move. Melanie and Harry were such fascinating characters, even before we learned the full breadth of their story – and what they were about to go through.

I can't get enough of the alchemy in this series. It adds much to the world, raising questions about all the possibilities still left for McGuire to explore. I honestly feel like I will never get enough of this world.

The idea of alchemists using books to make their work more powerful is an irony not lost on me. It's a nice touch and ties in nicely with the spin-off series she wrote (which I adore). Oh! And the appearance of Rodger and Dodger was perfect! Chef's kiss!
To put it simply, I adored Seasonal Fears and everything about it. I will go back and read it all again now because I just can't get enough of it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tor through Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own honest ones.

Yet again, Seanan McGuire proves why she's in my list of top favorite authors. She writes a unique story, full of twists and turns, while building a world that is deep, developed, and believable. She made me care about these characters, just like in Middlegame, and root for them. She made me want to get more glimpses of the alchemical world.

In this one, we follow Harry and Melanie as they learn that their future is a bit predetermined, and their journey to make that fate their own.

Highly recommended for those who love Seanan McGuire, seasons, the supernatural, urban fantasy, and road trips. I'd also say it's probably best to read Middlegame first. There is some stuff revealed in this one that spoils the first book. That's your fair warning! I'm thinking there will be more in this world, so fingers crossed for another installment.

I couldn't really make it through Middlegame and had similar issues with this book. This is surprising because I really do love the Wayward children series a lot. Kinda sad that there was this whole lead up to a competition and then not really a competition happened.

The wheel of seasons is turning and two unwitting youngsters are caught in the tines. Harry and Mel are childhood sweethearts. As forces unseen bring about a cataclysmic change, they must find their way to the Forbidden City. A continuation of the series starting with the fugal Middlegame, this book stands alone well on its own with strong characters that evolve as the story unfolds. As with Middlegame, there is a bit of violence in this story. Nothing too gory, but might not sit well with more sensitive readers.

Seasonal Fears, the sequel to Middlegame, takes you on a journey through another parallel world where the seasons are much more than they seem. Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my review.

Melanie is a cheerleader, her boyfriend is on the football team and besides her failing heart her life seems pretty great. Harry loves her, and would do anything to protect her, and he might just get the chance sooner than he thought. Without warning they are thrust into a new world full of violence and unexplainable magic that has their heads spinning.

The intricacies of this world are beyond anything I could ever come up with. This is the complex world in Middlegame on steroids. There are familiar concepts including alchemy, but there is also an entirely new direction, each layer being peeled away to reveal more complexities.

The side characters became just as important, if not more important, than the main characters because they are the ones explaining everything to us. Without their detail we would surely be lost. I can see how that may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I love detail in a book.

The book felt a little slow throughout and then the ending rushed by so quick I felt cheated. I would have preferred less in the middle and a more drawn out ending as that was what the entire book was building up to. That bring said I look forward to more from this world and I’m curious to see which direction the next one takes.

Absolutely fantastic. I adored this one and read it very fast. Loved seeing Roger and Dodger. Although I loved this new crew too. It was utterly bizarre in a great way and just what I needed at the moment. Highly recommend if you are a fan of Middlegame

Seanan McGuire is a very popular author in our Library and the previous book in this series - Middlegame - is still one of our most popular reads In this follow up, McGuire creates another sensationally unique world that will captivate any keen reader.

Another great book from Seanan McGuire! A very cool premise and very well delivered!

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

I received this book from Macmillan/Tor via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book because Middlegame was easily one of my favourite books of last year. Roger and Dodger's story has stayed with me since I read it. Seanan McGuire is also one of my favourite writers; her books are so lyrically written and incredibly diverse.

I did enjoy this book a lot, but I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Middlegame, sadly. Let's start with what I liked. The embodiment of the seasons was such a cool concept and McGuire wrote it beautifully. The battle for the crown was a clever idea and the way different people fought for the crown was so interesting. I adored the brief cameos that we got of the characters from the first book. I like that we got to see more of the Alchemists and some more backstory on Reed too.

I loved Jack and Jenny and their role in the whole Coronation. They were probably the most interesting characters even though we didn't get to see a whole lot of Jenny. As with all of McGuire's books, this was beautifully written and was a joy to read even when not a whole lot was happening. I'm so interested to see how this series is going to tie together overall.

A big part of what I didn't enjoy that was down to the over-explanation of the Seasons and the Coronation. I understand that McGuire wanted the reader to learn about the world, and there that there was a plot reason for the amount of explanation, but it just got so boring and tiring in the first 40% of this book when the same explanation happened over and over again. Very little else happened at the start of the book other than this.

Mel and Harry were also a lot less interesting as characters as Roger and Dodger too, which pulled this down a little. I think part of it was that Roger and Dodger were so powerful and you didn't see what was happening to them until much later in the book, while this book was very straightforward and the character's didn't seem to have much power. Their romantic relationship also felt a little odd to me, mostly because it was pre-established so we never got to see them growing into their relationship together.

The ending was also slightly lacklustre. I think this is probably my bad though because I assumed it would be as twisty and mind-blowing as Middlegame but it was overall a much slower paced book instead. I think if I hadn't had those expectations already, I would've enjoyed it more.

Overall, this was a good installment in the series and if you like Seanan McGuire then you'll probably enjoy this book. I'm really looking forward to seeing where she takes this series next and I'll definitely still be picking up the next book.

I really enjoy the author’s poetic novels. These tales are very different from what we usually find and I was thrilled to see her come out with a new one.

Melanie has an unusual illness, she knows she is going to die, but she has her boyfriend, Harry, to support her. They have known each other for a long time and have known all along that they will end their lives together. But when Melanie and Harry discover they are in the running for the Winter and Summer crown, everything changes! They will embark on an adventure that will force them to face all the wannabes, but also to accept a world they didn’t know.

As I said, it was a poetic, very pretty, story and I was delighted to discover it. The characters are quite touching, especially Melanie who has always lived with illness and who will finally understand her special condition.

A beautiful novel.

Seanan McGuire does excel at telling a prettily worded fairytale! This was an ARC I was Really Really happy to read! I’m trying to think of spoiler free things to say about it and what’s coming to my mind is Princess Bride. The two stories aren’t really anything alike aside from being a story about True Love. It was just as fun to read as that movie is to watch because hey, their love is true and it’s a fairytale. Besides. It’s Seanan McGuire. If you’ve made it this far into reading her books you’re totally reading this one too right? :-)

Middlegame was one of those books that you put off just because you know you’ll be obsessed with it as soon as you read it, and it wasn’t until I was approved for this ARC that I finally pushed myself to read it (and I was right, I was and am and forever will be obsessed with Roger and Dodger).

And because I trust Seanan McGuire with my life, I just knew Seasonal Fears would further this obsession, even if I had to lose the cast I’d adored in the book before. Seasonal Fears feels both brand-new in its execution and like a variation of Middlegame in its core elements, making it the perfect follow-up. It can both entirely stand alone or be read after Middlegame, though there are a few cameos you’ll only truly enjoy if you’ve read the first book.

Seasonal magic has always been something I’ve loved in stories, with the latest favorite being The Nature of Witches, and seeing Seana McGuire build upon this base was fantastic. I love how she tied it into the world set up by Middlegame, and while there is a LOT of description therefore needed to make it all make sense, it worked for me. It also felt a bit more accessible in terms of understanding than Middlegame did, perhaps because I already had that base of knowledge of the story world, but I also just think it was a bit better described more quickly here, even if there were moments where we heard the same explanation multiple times that sometimes felt repetitive. However, I feel like this repetition was largely due to the main characters having a hard time accepting this drastic change to their world, rather than it being for the readers necessarily.

Seanan’s writing style is still one of my favorite aspects of her books (alongside these massive magic systems and worlds layered on top of our own), and this book was no different. The way the words were able to wrap around the sometimes heartbreaking truths of this story just made it hit all that much harder, while also making the book impossible to put down. And while I forced myself to just slow down and enjoy every letter of this story, I wanted nothing more than to simply devour it.

The only thing I wasn’t fully a fan of was the final ordering of the end, and I wasn’t really into the exact place where the story left off. It almost felt like we got the true ending first, a slow tapering off, and then it was followed up with a more abrupt ending, whereas often you get this the other way around. I don’t fully understand the choice to end it exactly this way, but it didn’t really hinder my enjoyment of the book overall. There were also some scenes and moments at the end that were heavily built up throughout the entire book only for them to transpire and end rather quickly, which was sometimes a bit of a let down even as I enjoyed the events themselves.

Overall though, I adored this book, though differently from Middlegame, and cannot wait to read the middle grade books that connect a bit to this world, and hopefully, more books come to this world as well too!

I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley. You know those books that suck you right in, and then leave you in a fugue state when they're over? This is one of those. This book is beautifully written, mildly creepy, and full of true love. I loved it, and loved reading it, but I don't know if I'll recover from it any time soon.

I have enjoyed everything that I have read by Seanan McGuire, and this is one of her best. Middlegame disturbed me, but Seasonal Fears is a slightly more gentle offering, with a teenage road trip that happens to involve a few bloody deaths and some fear about losing the love of your life. The characters are complex and sweet, and I love that they continue to choose each other at every given opportunity. Their reactions to this whole new world are pretty spot on for realism, and I appreciate that. (I don't know about you, but if someone told me that I was in the running to become Summer or Winter, it would take me a hot second to accept that.)

Overall, I highly recommend this book. Definitely read Middlegame first, because there are recurring characters and linked situations, but I don't think you'll be completely lost if you haven't or can't. I loved it, but I will need a recovery period before I can re-read it.

So Middlegame was a full 5⭐️ for me. This got incredibly close, but didn’t quite reach that same level. I think it was mostly my fault; I was expecting to continue to have and love our original characters and they aren’t in this one very much. It also felt a bit anticlimactic for me and went along a path that felt strange to me.
- That being said, this still has Seanan McGuire’s magnificent writing. It still sucked me in, held me a bit captive, and made me fall for the new characters we were following. I was so excited to receive this ARC that I genuinely cried a little and it did not let me down❤️

I didn't like this as much as middlegame sadly. However, it was an entertaining story, and the appearance of some of the characters really really saved the book for me! I strongly disliked the main characters though. They felt so soulless to me. Mel didn't really have a personality except for being beautiful, sick, and screaming a lot. Harry was an annoying rich boy who felt superior to everyone. He was arrogant even to the people who had way more knowledge than him. I know he was supposed to be that way because that's essentially what his character is about but GOD I hated him!

I also felt like there was way too much explaining. A lot of chapters were just one character explaining everything to the other characters. It felt like reading a textbook for uni.

Luckily I enjoyed the story for the plot and the alchemy. And the murder. And some of the characters that I won't mention because they are spoilers!

I’m going to compare Seasonal Fears to Middlegame – my darling, a top five all-time favourite of mine. It can’t be helped. Readers do not experience books in a vacuum. Especially not sequels, even sequels positioned as more spiritual successors than direct follow ups. (I just realized I drafted this entire review without including a link to my original Middlegame review, so. Here is a link.)

I did not expect Seasonal Fears to hold a candle to Middlegame. That would have been an impossible task for any novel. That impossibility stems from the fact that two of my favourite aspects of Middlegame cannot be recreated. Once they had been done, they were done. If you’ve read and loved Middlegame, you might guess what those aspects are.

The first aspect was the slow build and gradual reveal of the alchemical world and what the heck was actually going on. That was one part of Middlegame that I found delightful – learning about alchemy and the Doctrine and how Rodger and Dodger have truly been affecting the world. The awe factor I got form the unfolding worldbuilding in Middlegame is absent from Seasonal Fears simply because it’s already been done.

The second aspect may be more personal. I found Rodger and Doger to be vividly realized characters who both undergo striking development arcs. I also connected with both of them on a deeply personal level. Seasonal Fears wouldn’t be able to present two characters that I would fall in love with the same way. Even still, I found Henry and Melanie to be the least compelling protagonists of any Seanan McGuire work I’ve read.

Neither had anything that drew to me to them. They felt thinly drawn, more actors in a plot than people in their own right. I certainly never felt the commitment they had to each other another, not like I did with Rodger and Dodger. I suppose one could argue that connects well to the theme of personal choice vs destiny and would they still love each other if they weren’t Summer and Winter people? Suffice to say those two just didn’t do anything fo rme.

Without those two appeal factors (worldbuilding and character), what DOES Seasonal Fears have to offer? An action-adventure plot that takes the form of a deadly road trip race to a labyrinth and claim the crowns of the seasons. Further illumination on how embodiment works (ie how the seasons become ‘people’ and an expanding of the alchemical world. And McGuire’s ever-compelling, observant prose. Just because its missing the shining diamonds of Middlegame, doesn’t mean it’s not still a good read!

I’ve still got more to say about the relationship between Seasonal Fears and Middlegame… Seasonal Fears also ties more closely to Middlegame than I expected! To my delight, Rodger and Doger make more than a cameo appearance. I won’t give much away. Suffice to say they occupy more than the two pages glanced-from-a-distance than I expected. And we hear from Erin and Smita as well.

“It is later than it has ever been before in the life of the universe. The clock has started running again, and the future is here.” (7%)

The story takes place shortly after the events of Middlegame. Rodger and Doger are no longer resetting the universe. Reed’s death and the embodiment of the Doctrine echoes throughout the story, with characters knowledgeable of the alchemical world recognizing that both of those events have a notable impact on their world, if not as immediately on Melanie and Henry’s story. For example, Melanie’s father was a colleague of Reed’s. I actually found some of the descriptions and commentary in Seasonal Fears helped me better understand the events of Middlegame.

“She’s not acting superior because she’s older. She’s doing it because she’s Mathematical Function Incarnate, fully manifest, and she could edit us out of existence if she wanted to.” (50%)

Also! Did I catch some hints that Asphodel may not be dead as you and I would know it?! Or is that just my overactive wishful thinking? Please do let me know if you caught that impression as well.

The Bottom Line 💭 If you enjoyed Middlegame, then don’t miss Seasonal Fears. If like me, Middlegame is one of your all-time favourite reads, just temper your expectations and you should be able to enjoy it just fine.

This book is contemporary fantasy sci-fi with a dash of horror. Seasonal Fears is book two in the Alchemical Journeys series and occurs shortly after Middlegame. Fans of Blake Crouch would enjoy this series!

Harry and Mel have been best friends since childhood and are now high school sweethearts. Harry is the star football player and Mel is a cheerleader. Harry has always known that he wants to marry Mel, but she has a heart condition, and everyone knows she probably won’t make it to adulthood.

When Winter and Summer Incarnate die, Harry and Mel are in the running to become their replacements. The stakes are life or death, and they are being hunted by the other contestants. The two set out on a roadtrip that promises new friends, violence, magic, and complete disruption of the reality they once knew.

While Middlegame was character driven, this book goes into deeper explanations about magic systems. I listened to book one, and listened to and read this one.

The beginnings of these books threw me a little with all of the quotes and alchemist backstory passages, but once I got to the main storyline with the two MCs, they quickly became two of my all-time favorite sci-fi novels.

After reading McGuire’s brilliant, vivid, spellbinding writing in both books, I’m fairly sure she’s an alchemist 😉🖤. Thank you to NetGalley and TorForge for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Seasonal Fears - Seanan McGuire
4.5/5⭐️

Melanie and Harry, the cheerleader and the football player, are the perfect high school couple. Except everyone has known Mel will die young because of her weak heart. But then, when the avatars of winter and summer die, Mel and Harry find out that they are candidates and the stakes have risen even more— if Mel and Harry don’t succeed, both of them will die, and the other candidates are hunting them.

Since Mel and Harry are on the run, this is a sort of teenage roadtrip book, albeit with more magic and violence than usual. I found myself a little disappointed— roadtrip books are often about the journey and self-discovery, and while Mel and Harry both changed on the road, their journey felt a little too literal.

Seasonal Fears is a companion novel to Middlegame. Middlegame and its talk of alchemical doctrine was pretty mind-bending. Reading Middlegame first isn’t necessarily required, especially since the seasonal concepts that provide the basis of this Seasonal Fears are easier to grok. However, since Middlegame lays some important groundwork, Seasonal Fears takes place after Middlegame, and several characters from Middlegame make appearances (with some spoilers), I’d recommend Middlegame first.

I love Seanan McGuire’s books. Her characters are intelligent and funny, and her pacing is perfect. The characters in Seasonal Fears are the usual intelligent and loyal to the people they love. However, the pacing is abysmal. So abysmal that I was confused. I know that Seanan McGuire can give explanations of a world’s rules and move on without confusing or boring the reader.

To sum up: I didn’t need multiple explanations for their world. It’s a battle royale to be a personification of Winter and Summer. Yet, when I think Harry understands that he has to fight to be Summer or he will die, he asks for an explanation, and I feel like David Duchnovy from Zoolander.

The ending was rushed. All the time spent went into explaining to Harry how personifications worked instead of Melanie’s evil twin sister hunting Harry and Melanie down.

I’m blaming COVID on this book. Seanan McGuire is so much better than this.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

This was such a great read! I loved the first book, but I was a bit apprehensive, no matter how much I love Seanan McGuire's writing-because it was another chunky, mind bending book. The kind you have to slow down and absorb to get what was actually being said. Oh, did I enjoy it, though! I loved exploring more of this world!

I didn't know where this book would go, because Roger and Dodger have the Doctrine of Ethos, so I was wondering what direction that this book would go in. Well, that beginning pretty quickly-and a bit confusing, dropping us into this new bit of information about this world-told us. And I loved exploring this part of the world!

It's hard to talk about this book, to know what will be spoilers, because what roles they play isn't mentioned in the synopsis, so dancing around that detail. But I really enjoyed getting to know Melanie and Harry, they've been childhood sweethearts, with the added complication that she's been close to death her entire life.

This was such a fun road trip read, because they do have to get to a specific place-and I loved watching them start to find out about this world, because neither of them knew about it, but are now both a part of it, and have to learn on the go! Because we were learning all about this along them, so that was really great!

Loved reading this book, and I'd love to have another book in this series, so we can explore this world more! There were some really interesting developments and mentions that might come into play in the future...