An Artificial Night (October Daye, #3) by Seanan McGuire

5 Stars!Of course I'm writing this review right now because I decided it's time to read the fourth book. So...here we go!It's official - I love this series. An Artificial Night is a HUGE improvement over A Local Habitation, which I did not particularly like, and is even better than the first book, Rosemary and Rue, which I loved. The worldbuilding just keeps expanding, growing deeper and more rich with each passing story, and I loved diving back into the world and characters.This story takes on a much darker tone, and not just because of the title. The stakes have been way upped in this fourth installment of the series, with not only children's lives at stake, but also Toby's. This is the book where, from the very beginning, it is abundantly clear that Toby has a huge chance of dying while trying to fight off the really bad villain of this book. Like completely dead. Not turned into a fish for 14 years but has a chance of coming back one day. DEAD. The danger level in this book has increased so high that it makes the previous two books look like child's play.Anyway, moving on from that point, a couple more things I liked:- The Luidaeg: I loved getting to know her character more and learning her history and seeing inside her home. (I always love seeing where characters live.) Her home was both surprising and not surprising in the least. Her relationship with Toby and others is really evolving and changing and she is easily one of my favorite characters!- Quentin: Poor Quentin. I feel so bad for him. He's such a good kid and doesn't deserve the hand he's dealt. That's all I'm saying.- Tybalt/Conner: This ongoing things with Conner and Tybalt are intriguing. I love that there is history with each character without it actually being a love triangle! (THANK YOU SEANAN!!!) Although there is attraction on all sides, Toby 1000000% does not define herself by the men around her and absolutely does not need them in order to survive or do her job. Though there is that one scene with Tybalt...Hmm...what else?- Luna: Boy do I have mixed feelings about Luna and her part in this story. Read the book - you'll understand. This series is the master of unresolved issues and I love it!- The main plot and resolution: I loved everything about the story arc in this book. The more I learn about the fae and all the rules and laws that they live by, many of which are completely inane and don't make any sense at all, the deeper I'm drawn into the world. McGuire does an absolutely fantastic job with her worldbuilding and I'm constantly in awe of all the little snippets she drops without us noticing. It felt like this one got a big long in places, but once we got to the end it all came together and made sense why things were done the way that they were.This is a lot longer than I had intended and clearly I could go on about this book all day, so I'll end it here. If you are on the fence about this series after the first 1-2 books, keep reading. They get significantly better.Now, time to start Late Eclipses.