I have been a fan of this series for over a decade and this volume does not disappoint.
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"Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more!'" -William Shakespeare, Macbeth.
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October finds herself trapped in an illusion of the Faerie that Titania wishes had been. Strung along for four long months, she is utterly convinced that her place is to serve the pureblood Fae, not as a protector of the realm, and that's how she likes it. She knows her place and wouldn't dream of digging any further, even though something feels off. It isn't until she's forced to comprehend the extent of her power, her ability to unweave the magic of others, and come together with the sister she never had the chance to know before Titania can have her Ride. It's time to break another Queen of Faerie's Ride, and someone has to do it.
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Seanan McGuire's spellbinding prose are blended together with a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire way through. I cannot even begin to say how much I love these characters and the latest installment in this wonderful series. Thank you so much, Seanan, for sharing October with the world.

For some reason, I am not as enthralled with this book as others are. I still don't like the fact that the author spends more time with inner dialoguing than she does on any action. This makes the book seem like it is too long. It isn't, but that is what it feels like to me.

I feel that there is much that needed to be written in this book and wasn't and much that was written that shouldn't have been. I'm not sure if you could call this a cliffhanger or not. It just left me very confused about some things, especially if you read the novella at the end.

I wonder when Titania is going to show back up and what she will do for revenge? And will Oberon ever get off his hind end to really help make things better for the Fae? Will Maeve come back, and if so, will that be the end of the series?


Well, it seems that I have more questions than answers, so as much as I did not LOVE this book, I did enjoy it enough to keep reading to find out the answers.

Well, onto the next arc in this series. I'll keep you posted.

*ARC supplied by the publisher DAW Books/ Astra Publishing House, Inc., the author, and NetGalley

I loved this book. It was a bit slow but picked up very fast. I had many theories about the spell Tatianna put on October, but loved how it played out as we got to see how toby was if she wasn’t the hero that we all know and love. It was hard to see her not as confident as she usually was, but i still lived the book

Overall another wonderful addition to the Daye mythos,it was kinda of a slow starter for me to be honest but once i got over the difference in pacing i really enjoyed it,Looking forward to see where this goes with Tybalt's book as well.Very interesting to see what might of been if Titania had full control,also terrifying lol.Really fleshes out how terrible the Sidhe could be overall.Was a very cool addition to the storyline and i liked the alternate reality take.

Okay, this book was captivating in the least. The eerie atmosphere and the gothic vibes. The faerie setting and magical aspects.

HOWEVER.

I didn't know this was the 19th (or 18th) book in a fantasy series. I requested this because of Seanan McGuire thinking it would be a standalone or the first book of a series.

So, sadly to say, I haven't finished reading this book. I was only halfway through it.

BUT THEN AGAIN.

Although this was the 19th (or 18tj) book of a fantasy series, it was promising. I can understand the story without being confused. But that's just it, it's the 19th (or 18th) book of a fantasy series.

Still, I'm still thankful to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for granting me this eARC!

If you're thinking about starting your October Daye journey with Sleep No More, you should really just stop reading this review and go read Rosemary and Rue and the other 15 books in the series first. I'm assuming the rest of you have been doing as I do and reading whatever else you can while you anxiously await the next installment. If you, like me, read Be The Serpent when it was first released, but also are one of those readers who forgets where the story left off because you've read another 50 books since then, you might want to go review the last few chapters of Be The Serpent before you jump into Sleep No More.

The first chapter of Sleep No More picks up where chapter 23 of Be The Serpent leaves off. Since we are experiencing everything through Toby's POV, we're dropped into a Faerie that is very different from the one we're used to. And it takes a good chunk of the book for October to understand what's actually happening. So again, if you forgot that Titania has been up to no good, go remind yourself. Once you, like Toby, are aware of what's going on, the usual hijinks ensue, written in Seanan McGuire's lively prose and with the humor and wit we've come to expect. The central premise that Sleep No More explores is a neat one: Who are you, really, if you don't remember who you are anymore? Are you still a hero? Jump in and find out.

I feel unable to give this an accurate rating until I've finished The Innocent Sleep, but 4 will do for now. That's one of the problems with parallel narratives, isn't it? It's impossible to judge one on its own without the other.

If you've read this far in the series (I can't imagine starting at the 17th book, but there will be some spoilers for what has come before after this point), you should remember that the last book left us on our first ever Toby cliffhanger, with Titania having swept October off to the Summerlands, but without her true memories of the life she's lived and the family she's built for herself along the way.

I had kind of a difficult time reading the thoughts of this October who is not OUR October at first, but was impressed at McGuire's ability to write her as someone who was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike the Toby we've followed for 16 books. I loved the little peeks we'd get at Toby Prime poking through, thoughts that NuToby would never have. I laughed that this October <spoiler>hates pants, never drinks coffee, and TAKES BATHS.</spoiler>

But it did feel like the set-up took a very long time (we don't even see my best girl <spoiler>the Luidaeg</spoiler> until 51%, which oughta be a fuckin crime) in getting there, and then the resolution just kind of...happened.

Obviously, this is a must read if you're a fan of the series, and it IS a strong entry. I can't wait to find out what happens next, I just wish the front half was a little less bloated, and some of that padding were moved to the end.

Look, it’s hard to stay with a series once you get past the 6-book mark. Most series either become tired rehashings of the same plot or the characters arcs have turned into a Gordian knot of motivations and betrayals so that you don’t even recognize your faves.

The October Daye series skews towards soap opera, but in the way that draws you in and doesn’t let go. Toby is as much herself in book 16 as in books 1 through 3. That’s not to say she hasn’t grown as a character. She’s faced new challenges and held new accomplishments and she’s built a whole new family from adversity but at her core she’s still the same Toby who rose dripping from the koi pond.

Book 17 is different. It has to be. In Sleep No More we see a Faerie where October was never a hero and it is agonizing. Again, I’m trying to avoid excessive spoilers, but the first several chapters have you hanging on the edge of your seat, wondering if anyone will ever see how wrong it is and change things back. Then we have to learn if that’s even possible.

This book could’ve been a series-breaker. If it’s hard to keep your audience for so many books, it’s harder when you pull the rug out from underneath and give it a good shake. The genius of McGuire is that she’s got the rug’s design engraved on the floorboards in more detail than we could’ve guessed. Now we wait and see what happens next. Personally, I’m betting there’s a trap door and I cannot wait to see where it leads.

Another great installment of the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire! The end of the last book ended with a horrifying cliffhanger and the resolution in "Sleep No More" doesn't disappoint. October needs to team up with allies new and old in order to defeat a very old foe. No spoilers, but I loved this book!

Seanan PLEASE stop stressing me out this. But seriously this was a perfect Toby book. The way that everyone’s perceptions changed with a few ‘what-ifs’ was absolutely flawless. I love these characters more and more with every book.

Readers of the October Daye series were left with one reaction at the end of Be The Serpent, the last book in the series - a hearty WHAT?! Titania is back, Toby is trapped in Amandine's tower with August, and doesn't even seem to know anything has gone wrong. This leads to a sort of "what if" vibe for the book- what if Toby and August grew up together with Simon as their father? What if Quentin never got his assumptions about changelings challenged? What if Sylvester never married Luna? What if Titania got to create the image of Faerie she wanted, free of seers, shapeshifters, and changelings with any standing? Turns out, that Toby is Toby in any version of her story, even when she has been trained to be subservient, polite, and even cautious. The book itself is great fun, though where it leaves to overall action remains to be seen.

The Fae have many talents, and a major one is finding loopholes that allow them to do as they want despite being commanded otherwise. In Sleep No More, Titania has trapped Toby in an alternate reality where she never had a daughter, never became a knight, and never married Tybalt. She is treated as a lowly changeling, and has little hope of betterment.

It's heartbreaking and frustrating and horrible and wonderful and glorious, and all the things we've come to expect from this series.

This is a side of Toby we've never seen, and frankly, wish I hadn't. She's second-class in her own household, basically a servant, and is meek and mild without even a snarky thought. Gone is our hero. Gone is the good she's done. This is Titania's vision of how Faery should be, and as bad as the real one is sometimes, this is worse.

Toby suffers abuse by fullbloods. She's treated as lesser than by family and others, but worse than that, she accepts this and even believes she deserves it. She refuses to take action, even after being faced with proof that this is not the real Faery.

But there's enough of our Toby, even in this twisted faery tale, that she embarks on a journey to set things right, if not for herself, than for the others who are suffering. But is she strong enough to take on the Queen of Faery, since some of her allies are now her enemies?

Why you should read it: because everyone, everywhere should read this series. Seriously, though, if this series isn't perfect, it's close. We have a great storyline, with lots of little seeming throwaways in books that pop up in later ones, great characters that you will come to love and hate, incredible worldbuilding, and a hero who makes her world a better place.

Why you shouldn't read it: if you haven't read any of the others, this isn't a good place to start. If you don't like urban fantasy, or having your heart stomped on by a story, this probably isn't your book, either.

There's a good bonus novella giving some backstory from Rayseline's POV on a section of Sleep No More.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended, but don't start reading it unless you have time to finish in one sitting.

I received an advance copy from DAW via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I almost cried just knowing I'd get to read the next story in this series when I got my ARC.

I was so scared where this story would take us after the last one. Seanan McGuire is able to write stories that I become completely immersed in and Sleep No More is no exception. It's amazing and heartbreaking and healing all at the same time.

I can't say much without giving away the story, as this is the 17th book in this incredible series. I can say, I'm anxious to see if a certain character is Maeve and had hoped to have that happen this book, but it didn't, but that just means in anxiously awaiting next year's book. I really think I know who Maeve is.

I am currently reading the next book, the same story from Tybalt's point of view. I was worried it would feel redundant, but it doesn't sound far. Cannot recommend this series enough.

Sleep No More is the 17th novel in Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series and it follows off of the explosive ending of Be the Serpent. Which is to say that there is absolutely no way to write about Sleep No More without getting deep into the major revelations of that preceding novel. Everything in this book fully hinges on the events of Be the Serpent in ways that isn’t always the case earlier in the series.

“Nothing was wrong. Nothing *could* be wrong, not in Titania’s Faerie”

Titania returned in Be the Serpent, which interestingly enough almost plays as a bigger deal than Oberon himself returning - but that, I believe, is because Oberon came back for several books and refused to do anything until the last possible moment Titania is back and is pissed off and though Oberson’s action prevented her from doing direct harm to Toby, the long view of Faerie has a very different view of what actual “harm” entails than what our friends living in the moment consider harm to be.

Be the Serpent ends and Sleep No More begins with Toby living in Amandine’s tower with her sister August and they love each other and have known no other life than the one they are living.


The reader knows this is a problem, but for Toby this is the way things are. The Queen of the Mists is in power, Titania is the benevolent (but don’t cross her) ruler of all Faerie, and all is right with the world that is not friendly to half breed fae. Everything that Eira and the unnamed Queen of the Mists wanted throughout the series, that’s reality.

“She said Titania had remade Faerie in her own ideal and image. If that was so, believing in the truth of April’s reality would mean denying the one in which I lived now, the one where I was happy.”

Except it’s not, right? This is Titania’s major counter stroke not just against Toby but against Faerie. This is the Faerie that Titania was prevented from making by the countering powers of Oberon and Maeve.

This is a tough read.

What I mean by that is Sleep No More took quite a while to really engage with it because I know that this isn’t real and this isn’t right, but it takes some time for small revelations to occur to reset the understanding of the world for particular characters. Which means, to a point, that the world of October Daye and the overall story is straight up on pause for a significant part of Sleep No More.

What I did like, quite a bit actually, is that Sleep No More offers a look at who most of our core characters would be in subtly different situations: Quentin without Toby, Arden if she was able to fully escape after the Earthquake and her father’s assassination, Etienne if he had learned of his daughter soon, Sylvester without his family or a cause. Because this is overlaid on the “real world”, it feels a bit like a Matrix situation or even a Wheel of Time vision of an alternate timeline (to reference another major series I’m in the middle of a re-read of).

Something else I also appreciated is that Toby tends towards heroism. Granted, this is a remade reality - basically an illusion placed on several kingdoms of Faerie - and as such, not the way all these characters actually developed. But, with that said, even when she doesn’t quite want to believe that things aren’t right - when given a real opportunity to step out and try to make things right, she does. Time and again.

“And she finds some of her self-respect where Titania hid it in the couch cushions,” said the Luidaeg dryly. “Good for you, Toby”

This book also tells us just how strong Titania is. It is said that the Three (Oberon, Titania, Maeve) were to the Firstborn as the Firstborn were to the rest of Faerie, and the rest of the Faerie are orders of magnitude less powerful than their Firstborn.

There are a number of other aspects of this book which I would like to talk about - but those would be hitting points much more suited for a conversation or re-read than an initial one. Like, it’s more that I have questions than these are points I’m considering.

I hesitate to say “obviously”, but obviously Toby starts breaking free of Titania’s spell and helps others to do so - and McGuire starts pushing towards moments that truly feel like the endgame to the entire series, or at least the beginning of that end game. Once *that* begins, Sleep No More starts to hum because we’re now making true forward progress.

Forward progress is great - but the pause at the beginning of Sleep No More when Seanan McGuire has fully reset her world and needs to show us how it is changed and what has been lost and (in some cases) gained so that we have a greater context of the magnitude of what Titania has done is a bit frustrating on this initial read and I suspect will be even more so on a second read. It all makes sense, especially in light of what we learn of Titania, how she operates, and what restrictions she may have upon her (and also what she is likely trying to accomplish - this isn’t a farce or a lark) - but it’s tough until we start to get Toby back.

TW/CW: Violence, fantasy violence, kidnapping, pregnancy, scary sequences, blood magic

PUBLICATION DATE: September 5, 2023

REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, and am voluntarily writing a honest review.

Sleep No More is the seventeenth book in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. It follows the changeling October Daye as she straddles the line between humanity and the Fae and all the difficulties that causes.

I have read many fantasy series in my life, but hardly ever have I read seventeen books in one series and still been intoxicated by the characters and the world as I have by this one. The story is still fresh and enticing, and I look forward every year for the next one to come out.

Summarizing the plot would unfortunately be full of spoilers for past books and take more space than I have for this review, but I highly recommend this book, series, and author to anyone who enjoys fantasy series.

When a series of books grows to almost 20 volumes, it can be hard for a new reader to start their adventure with it. Sleep No More (and The Innocent Sleep) however, is the perfect place for a new reader to jump into a hurricane named Toby. And let's be honest - it was probably written with this intention.

Is it bad? Nope.

A hero with amnesia who knows nothing about the world around him. So he has to learn everything. So the reader learns along with him. A simple, well-known writing trick to justify stuffing text with a huge amount of information.

And that's exactly what McGuire used. Except instead of a hero, the whole world has amnesia. Only it's not amnesia. It's an illusion spell woven by Titania. A spell that creates a distorted world of Faerie, perfect in Titania's eyes. Where pureblood Fae rule and changelings serve. A world where power is law. A world where the "beasts" have been exterminated and only the "purebred" are left.

Toby is also under this spell. And she has to decide, whether she wants to break it or stay in it.

Soooooo we have flashbacks of most of the events from the previous books. Because Toby has to hear it and decide, if she likes the world she lived in.

For a loyal reader, there won't be much news here. At least not in the first half of the book. Instead, this will be a heartbreaking ride through his (and Toby's) emotions. I had a hard time reading this, and not because it was poorly written. No. I had a hard time reading Toby's POV, where her need for love and affection was so great, that she would do literally anything to get it. And she did.

It also gave me goosebumps, because this version of the Fae world was 100% racist and classist. It was like the ideal world of some completely real political groups. And this is scary. In the previous volume there were very clear references to Cait Sidhe = POC (or other marginalized social groups). In this volume the analogies are even more striking.

Do I recommend? Yes.
Did I like the form? Surprisingly, yes. I was afraid that I would have bigger problems with such a info dump.

And finally, one little thing that I didn't like.

Little

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Toby's pregnant. Specifically, the fact that for 4 months Toby was pregnant, and by illusion, she didn't realize it. Maybe it's a little thing. After all, she had forgotten so many other things. But still... it bothered me.

This is why Seanan Mcguire is one of my favorite writers and why I have love this series so much. I was unsure how this book would play out since it is a different concept and it was one of the books I know is setting up for the next plot. But I loved it. I was anger, I cried, laughed, swooned. I have been with Toby since day one and this book really reminded me how much these characters have grown and changed.

Sleep No More is one of my most anticipated books of 2023, and it did not disappoint! 10 Stars!!!

This is an absolutely crazy ride and I loved every moment! Toby is so different, yet deep down the same, and I loved how as she started to believe the truth more and more of the Toby we know begun to shine through. We get to know some characters so much better, people maybe we didn't really like we get to see who they could have been if they weren't put in certain situations, and definitely gave them more depth.

I want to say so much more, but I don't want to spoil anything! So I'll just say that I was glued to this from page one, it was everything I could have possibly hoped for, and I can't wait to see where the story is going to go from here.
Now its time to do my annual rereading of this series now that I know how that cliffhanger ends!!

Sleep No More (October Daye, #17)
Sleep No More by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wild!

We get a seriously altered Fae thanks to a certain First Born. Memory magic and revenge gave us a thoroughly altered reality. October is the primary focus thanks to the events of the previous book.

I won't say too much, but goodness... it's an ultimate What If novel for Fae and especially October, fully ensconced in Fae culture, with all its faults, and without all the events and changes that October had helped bring about in the previous 16 novels.

The fun is in the unraveling, of course. So very enjoyable.

Sleep No More by Seanan McGuire a great next book in the series that leaves me wanting MORE! Toby is in more trouble than she's ever been in and has NONE of her usual allies, in fact she doesn't even remember them. . .