Candles and Starlight

October Daye #17.5

by Seanan McGuire

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Fae, Novella, Fiction, Short Stories, Magic

Unknown Binding

Published September 1, 2023

About the author

Hi! I'm Seanan McGuire, author of the Toby Daye series (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses), as well as a lot of other things. I'm also Mira Grant (www.miragrant.com), author of Feed and Deadline.

Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).

I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(

Reviews

[Jasmine]

It was interesting reading from Raysel's point of view after everything she has done to our main cast of characters.

[Anna (Bobs Her Hair)]

3.5-4
Rayseline is fully fleshed out in this novella. It’s set during the event of “Sleep No More” book 17. I’m hoping there’s a story that shows what happened to Medley and how old grievance were resolved.

[Christine]

I dip into the world of a lesser character that usually plays the villain. Can't wait to see her story arch play out.

[Julie]

Short novella at the end of Sleep No More. This is from Rayseline's viewpoint of the events when Titania does her spell.

[Liz (Quirky Cat)]

As per usual with Seanan McGuire's works, Sleep No More contains a novella at the end. This one is called Candles and Starlight, and it follows Rayseline (yes, THAT Rayseline) through her...adventures during this time.

For context, it starts around the time Be the Serpent wraps up, with Reyseline thinking she will finally have something good happen in her life. Um. Yeah, this novella hurts, to say the least. Still, I love reading about all of the secondary (and tertiary) characters in this world, so I wasn't going to skip the chance here.

Candles and Starlight does help to add context to what is happening outside of Toby's view. Worse, it shows just how much damage Titania has done (is doing?). It also makes me wonder what sort of novella we'll get at the end of The Innocent Sleep...

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[Rachel]

This story is a novella included in the seventeenth October Daye book, Sleep No More. It fills in the experience of some of characters who play a minor role in Sleep No More, specifically Rysel and Dean. I enjoyed reading it, and following how Rysel and Dean interacted with each other and with the other children in the story, and how the way they related both to each other and to their surroundings changed over the course of the story. I wasn't sure whether the ending felt like an ending, though. I wanted more.

[Al]

I appreciated this story filling in some blanks of Sleep No More. I find find Blind Michael’s lands interesting. What exactly does it mean to be a vegetable instead of a mammal, when you look like a mammal?

I feel a lot more sympathy for Raysel,, surprisingly. It’s not surprising that Dean can feel sympathy for Simon and not for Raysel. “Human” nature, I guess. I’m a little bit more sympathetic Raysel’s reasons, than Simom’s.

[Debbie]

Candles and Starlight gave us the backstory to Raysel and Dean’s story before Toby finds them in Sleep No More. They ended up in Blind Michael’s land, with no knowledge of how they got there or how they were going to get out, along with 12 other kids/teens. This was a good story because we get to meet the new and improved Raysel. The other characters were well fleshed out, so hopefully some of the other kids will show up in later stories.

[Jane Irish Nelson]

Rayseline's story of survival, hard to explain without spoilers, since it takes place more-or-less during (or just before) Sleep No More.

[Fatima]

This was a short novella from the POV of Rayselline, showing how she came to be in fake Blind Michael's clutches in Sleep No More. I loved that we got to learn more about Luna and her family (I'd honestly forgotten Luna was Blind Michael's kid) and the working of Blind Michael's court.

I think maybe there's some tenny-tiny bit of hope for Sylvester and Luna after reading this.

[Heather]

Beginning of Sleep No More for Rsyal's POV.

Heather's Notes
This shows what happen to the changleings and other characters that placed in Blind Michael's Land. It was from Rsyal's POV. It was not bad, but kind of ended abruptly with no real resolution. (Resolutions was shown in Sleep No More)

[Flewts]

A novella. I had to keep reminding myself that this is NOT October, it's a different character. "But why doesn't she just..." she can't, it's not Toby, it's someone else. Oh yeah. An interesting side story about what was happening to some of the others during th 4 months of confusion.

[Shonnella Nelson]

Raysel gets shunted to Blind Micheal's skerry during titania's time of remaking faerie in her image. This is her account of that time. Loved it. Felt bad for poor raysel and her inability to catch a break.

[Gina Gallo]

I’m really glad we got this book from Raysel‘s point of view. I never liked her much because we never got to see inside of her brain and what she was thinking. I also never realized what a damaged character she was. Now, when she’s in Octobers house, I’ll feel a lot better about it.

[Jenny]

Interesting to see things from Raysel's view. I'm still a bit confused on how her "warring blood" made her a cruel person, but I'm just taking it as a thing that is real.

I'd love to read something from her viewpoint earlier in the series.

[John]

Seemed slightly odd that the novella could have fit in with the novel - seems like most of the time they're about a book behind. But aside from that, a great look at what went on at Blind Michael's before Toby arrived there.

[Carolyn F.]

Short story of when Raysel, Dean and a bunch of other kids were with Blind Michael. Sad little story.

[Becky]

Yup, everything's sad.

[Vicki]

This story shows what is happening to Rayseline and Dean while Toby is trapped into living a lie while not even realizing it at first, due to the magical machinations of Queen Titania.

[Deserthomemaker]

Incomplete, but still better than the book it was attached to.

[Izzy Tongedahl]

can rasyel go for five minutes without being involved with a kidnapping ??

[Laura Rose]

I loved this! It was fascinating to get a story from Raysel's perspective, and see her character growth from her point of view.

[Sara]

I liked getting to see Rayseline in a more flattering light.

[Nicole Finch]

I can barely remember anything about Rayseline, but I enjoyed this novella from her point of view anyway.

[Sheryl]

It explains a lot for the next book.

[Louisa]

I'm so glad that we got this story, to see this time from these characters, and I need to continue on now!

*First Read June 1st, 2023*
Oh, this was such a great story, I loved seeing this time when the change happened for these characters!

[Elmarie]

I liked this a lot, probably more than I had any business to. The character development in Rasel from book one to now has been absolutely incredible and she is fast becoming one of my favorite characters.

[Nirkatze]

While it was interesting to get some of Raysel's POV of the last book, this short felt like it was a lot longer than it needed to be. Or at least, already knowing what happened to the children from reading the book, there wasn't a lot of new and interesting information in here to keep me overly engaged. It also ended rather abruptly. More like an extended deleted scene than a cohesive story in itself, as much as it works to flesh out Raysel's inner journey.

Nothing new to add to the hints and clues collection either. Just Raysel working her way toward forgiveness and healing and knowing none of it can be forced. The story really shows how young she is--I keep thinking of her as a contemporary of Toby, as her cousin, but really she's more Gillian's age--probably just a tad older than Quentin. Maybe not even age of majority by Fae standards. Or just barely. And it shows here--she feels very young.

[Spinebender Reviews]

I really enjoyed this look inside Raysel's head. I love that Dean never fully forgives her but also that she learns to accept that, while grappling with the revelations of the reasons behind Simon's actions towards her and her mother and her own inability to forgive him. Sometimes you don't get to be forgiven (as is the right of those you've hurt) but the apology and attempt at making amends is still a worthy end. I enjoyed seeing Raysel caring for the younger kids, in the way she wishes she'd been able to be cared for in her own childhood, when she was away from home and in the scary situation of the void. As a sidenote, I loved Medley as a character, I hope we see more of her in future.