Velveteen Vs. The Consequences of Her Actions by Seanan McGuire

 

I love Seanan McGuire’s body of work.  (Note: I review a bunch of her books so I am copying part of some of my other reviews here to save time.). She has quickly become my favorite living writer and I feel very lucky that she is so prolific. I was first introduced to her work when her book Parasite, written as Mira Grant, was nominated for a Hugo Award. I loved it and quickly devoured the Newsflesh series before I realized that Mira Grant and Seanan McGuire were the same person. 

I started reading her works under her own name, starting with Sparrow Hill Road, which is amazing, but I picked it because I was intimidated by her long running October Daye series. But the Velveteen Vs. series holds a very special place in my heart. 

When I was very sad - and I mean overwhelmed with grief - and in a very rough place, I needed a new audiobook to listen to, something to distract me from everything. And I found the first two Velveteen books on Audible. They were perfect. They were exactly what I needed at exactly the right time. I loved the world Ms. McGuire had created where superheroes were a mix between reality tv stars and child actors. These were wonderfully developed characters that came alive and the fact that they had powers and domino masks didn’t make them feel any less real. 

I was overjoyed when Subterranean Press and NetGalley awarded me an eARC of this second volume (I had already preordered my hardcover edition). I am thrilled that more people will get to read and enjoy Vel’s story. This book contains the already published 3rd volume and the never before collected final stories that would have been able to make a fourth book, if it hadn’t been combined with the stories from book 3. 

Velveteen gets closure. So does Tag and Jackie and all of the other main lingering plot threads. It’s not so much a happily ever after as a contented for now ending. I loved every page. I felt like weeping when it was over. I hope there is more Velveteen someday but if not I will be happy that the story is complete. I cannot recomend this enough.