Foxglove Summer (Rivers of London, #5) in The Folly Irregulars

Apr 27, 2017 Philip rated it really liked it

Shelves: supernatural, fantasy, mystery, urban-fantasy, author-man

4.25ish stars.

Perhaps my favorite of the series so far not least because it's made the most sense. :) One of the only issues I have with the series is the general lack of cohesion from book to book. This is a personal preference but I favor focus in my police procedurals as opposed to more "true-to-real-life" stories following several plots and going on adventures that aren't necessarily relevant to the plot even if they do widen the universe and the characterizations. I thought the mystery here 4.25ish stars.

Perhaps my favorite of the series so far not least because it's made the most sense. :) One of the only issues I have with the series is the general lack of cohesion from book to book. This is a personal preference but I favor focus in my police procedurals as opposed to more "true-to-real-life" stories following several plots and going on adventures that aren't necessarily relevant to the plot even if they do widen the universe and the characterizations. I thought the mystery here was engaging and the most traditional of any of the books so far which, again, I like.

Having said that, this book is really a departure in a lot of ways from previous books in the series: it takes place outside of London, several notable characters (Lesley, Nightingale) don't factor heavily, the Faceless Man is hardly even mentioned. These factors all mean that Peter is front and center more now than ever. He doesn't have Lesley as his better half, he doesn't have Nightingale as his failsafe, he's not even in his element back in London, and he grows so much from it all.

Now about that ending... I was listening to Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's incomparable narration and wasn't paying attention to how much time was left (as opposed to reading a paper copy and being fully aware of the end approaching) so I was completely caught off guard when it just ended out of nowhere! It was pretty much build, build, build until the last five minutes and then everything was tidied up all of a sudden. A lot of interesting secondary stuff was introduced and never resolved or explained. But whatever, it was fun for what it was.

Now Beverley. :) I love her. I enjoy hers and Peter's relationship, especially because she doesn't feel like the "required female love interest" one might expect from one's UF. She's really only featured prominently in this book. I don't think she even made an appearance in 2 and 3 besides being mentioned? Anyway they're far from "soul mates." She and Peter have their thing and they work well together and while their relationship definitely moved forward in this book it's still far from traditional. Who knows how long or to what extent they'll be "together." But mostly I love her spunk. :)

I'm excited to return to The Folly as we know and love it, but it was nice to go on holiday in the country for a bit.

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Aug 08, 2016 Orient rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: desperado, killer, recs-by-milda, fantasy, historical, entertaining, favorites, hero

A brand new change for Peter! He’s out of London and has no Nightingale to cover up his back during the meeting with some bad big muscular princesses Lunas poking around and some other crazy fairy stuff.

I admired how Peter shines as a character being left alone in the magic field. He definitely grew up to be more self-confident and skilled. And he has a girlfriend worthy his magical self. Yay!

Also it was cool to know more about the mysterious Ettersberg and to my joy there are still enough my ...more

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Jan 19, 2021 Alyson Walton rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio

Just loving this series! None of these books so far can I even find slight complaint about. They are so different and funny!

⭐️ update 23.07.24⭐️
I just love the way BA weaves in Peters' education to all things of The Folly, and this instalment is a fantastic example of that. Such a good read. ...more

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Jan 27, 2017 Becky Pettit rated it it was amazing

I have totally fallen in love with Peter Grant and his magical mysterious world, I can't wait to read the next adventure, I hope Peter and his crazy friends and enemy's are with us for a long time to come. ...more

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Aug 07, 2025 David rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, mystery

There was definitely some weird stuff going on here. I think I missed some clues while listening and the ending was a little confusing as a result, but the book was still enjoyable.

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Jul 21, 2020 Gwen Anderson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I absolutely love the Rivers of London series, they are real page turners and I can’t wait to get stuck into the next one. There are so many unanswered questions from this book!!!

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