Hope Is Swift
Seanan McGuire
Raj vs Reality
For a long time Raj has been a member of the gang of teenagers who infest Toby's home and eat her food. Raj and Toby both view Raj as Toby's unofficial second squire. Toby's official squire, of course, is Quentin. Quentin and Raj are by way of being best friends. They are both royalty. Quentin is prince and heir of the Westlands, the Daoine Sidhe kingdom that encompasses North America. Raj is heir to the Cait Sidhe kingdom, the Court of Dreaming Cats, whose king is Tybalt. However, things are a bit upset now, because Tybalt's impending marriage to Toby means that he will have to give up the kingship of Dreaming Cats, and the damage he sustained from Amandine in The Brightest Fell means that for some time he hasn't been an effective king. Therefore Ginevre, a future queen of the Court of Whispering Cats, has been recruited to stand as Raj's regent.
Hope is Swift takes place contemporaneously with The Unkindest Tide. Toby, Tybalt, and Quentin have gone off to the Duchy of Ships on the Luidaeg's business. Raj must stay behind because the king and prince of Dreaming Cats cannot simultaneously leave. Raj has a dangerous adventure of his own, which compels him to confront his responsibility and obligation as future king.
Raj is not even slightly happy about having to become king. He longs for an idyllic world in which he could be Toby's squire for real. The result is that Hope is Swift consists to a disconcerting degree of Raj whining to himself. That's why only three stars, but on the positive side, it is good to get to know Raj better.