For one bright, shining moment, Tybalt, King of Cats, had everything he had ever wanted. He was soon to set his crown aside; he had married the woman he loved; he was going to be a father. After centuries of searching for a family of his own, he had finally found a way to construct the life of his dreams, and was looking forward to a period of peace—or at least as much peace as is ever in the offing for the husband of a hero.
Alas for Tybalt and his domestic aspirations, fate—and Titania—had other ideas. His perfect world had been complete for only a moment when it was ripped away, to be replaced by hers. Titania, Faerie’s Summer Queen, Mother of Illusions and enemy of so many he holds dear, has seized control of the Kingdom, remaking it in her own image. An image which does not include meddlesome shapeshifters getting in her way. Tybalt quickly finds himself banished from her reality, along with the Undersea and the rest of the Court of Cats.
To protect his people and his future, Tybalt must find the woman he loves in a world designed to keep her from him, convince her that he’s not a stranger trying to ruin her life for no apparent reason, and get her to unmake the illusion she’s been firmly enmeshed in. And he’ll have to do it all while she doesn’t know him, and every unrecognizing look is a knife to his heart.
For Tybalt, King of Cats, the happily ever after was just the beginning.
Warning! Mild spoilers below.
The Innocent Sleep is the 18th book in the October Daye series. No, it’s not a joke but Seanan McGuire did release another second Toby Daye book in the same year. The only catch is this installment runs the same timeline as in Sleep No More which was from Toby’s POV. Now we are going to read Tybalt’s side of the story. One minute he and Toby were having one of the happiest moments of their lives and then the next thing Tybalt knows he’s in the court of cats who are all trapped and only certain cats like Tybalt can leave using the shadow roads. Tybalt and his allies soon learn Titania has placed a great work of magic on the world to recreate her own new version of reality. In this reality changelings are born to serve full Fae, and those fae who are inconvenient to Titania’s new narrative are banished to other realms. Now Tybalt and his allies need to convince their loved ones who living their lives in the new reality that they are living an illusion.
Overall, The Innocent Sleep was brilliant and a nice change that adds depth to the series. There was little repetition so it does not overlap much with the previous book. Tybalt’s perspective filled in many of the blanks that were missing from Toby’s POV so it was an enjoyable read. I’m already excited for the next one.
*I received The Innocent Sleep from DAW via NetGalley in return for an honest review.*
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