Be the Serpent by Seanan McGuire

December 19th, 2023 Kimberly Review 9 Comments

19th Dec

In Be in the Serpent by Seanan McGuire, Toby’s shocked to learn a friend has been an enemy in disguise all along. Trouble is coming to Faerie and the debts of the Broken Ride are coming due. You’ll want to set some time aside for this one, because the ending will have you grabbing the next.

Be the Serpent by Seanan McGuire
Be the Serpent
by Seanan McGuire
Series: October Daye #16
Narrator: Mary Robinette Kowal
Length: 12 hours and 44 minutes
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Narration: 5 cups Speed: 1.5x

October Daye is finally something she never expected to be: married. All the trials and turmoils and terrors of a hero’s life have done very little to prepare her for the expectation that she will actually share her life with someone else, the good parts and the bad ones alike, not just allow them to dabble around the edges in the things she wants to share. But with an official break from hero duties from the Queen in the Mists, and her family wholly on board with this new version of “normal,” she’s doing her best to adjust.

It isn’t always easy, but she’s a hero, right? She’s done harder.
Until an old friend and ally turns out to have been an enemy in disguise for this entire time, and October’s brief respite turns into a battle for her life, her community, and everything she has ever believed to be true.

The debts of the Broken Ride are coming due, and whether she incurred them or not, she’s going to be the one who has to pay.

All Nighter Kick Ass Heroine magical twisted urban

McGuire never ceases to amaze me. Twist, turns, and f@%kery await you in this story that left me spellbound. As this is urban fantasy, spoilers may be present. It is best to read/listen to the October Daye series in the order of its release.

Toby is settling into married life and a full house. It’s a change, but one they are all ready to take on. She is on a bit of a break, but we all know that never lasts long. Things are about to go very wrong when an old friend turns out to be an enemy. Everything Toby thought she knew was wrong, and she’s about to battle for her life and those she loves.

Holy Revelations. The story opens with a note from the author informing us that the events in this story had been planned from the beginning of the series. I didn’t heed that warning nearly enough. Take time for this one. Turn off your phone, don’t answer the door and, for goodness’ sakes, have the next book handy.

I screamed, paced the floor, and become emotionally involved. I wanted to kick some butt. This story took some dark tones, and in fact is darker than previous stories, so be prepared. Some characters surprised me and others, well, pissed me off.

Mary Robinette Kowal once again narrates and does a brilliant job with these characters and story. I highly recommend listening.

Amazon | Audible

Be the Serpent by Seanan McGuire was full of twists, turns and more as something McGuire planned since the beginning of the series is revealed. #audiobook #OctoberDaye #mustlisten Share on X

About Seanan McGuire

Seanan McGuire

Seanan McGuire is a native Californian, which has resulted in her being exceedingly laid-back about venomous wildlife, and terrified of weather. When not writing urban fantasy (as herself) and science fiction thrillers (as Mira Grant), she likes to watch way too many horror movies, wander around in swamps, record albums of original music, and harass her cats. Seanan is the author of the October Daye, InCryptid, and Indexing series of urban fantasies; the Newsflesh trilogy; the Parasitology duology; and the "Velveteen vs." superhero shorts. Her cats, Lilly, Alice, and Thomas, are plotting world domination even as we speak, but are easily distracted by feathers on sticks, so mankind is probably safe. For now.

About Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of The Spare Man,The Glamourist Histories series, Ghost Talkers, and the Lady Astronaut Universe. She is part of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses and has received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, four Hugo awards, the Nebula and Locus awards. Her stories appear in Asimov’s, Uncanny, and several Year’s Best anthologies. Mary Robinette, a professional puppeteer, also performs as a voice actor (SAG/AFTRA), recording fiction for authors including Seanan McGuire, Cory Doctorow, and John Scalzi. She lives in Nashville with her husband Rob and over a dozen manual typewriters.

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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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9 Responses to “Be the Serpent by Seanan McGuire”

    • Kimberly

      I finished the series and I am official caught up. I have serious feelings about audio 17. My review of 16 & 17 post on Thursday.