Twelve Months by Jim Butcher

I have written several reviews for some of the books in the Dresden Files series, but I’m not sure I have talked about how I got in to this series. I first read Storm Front in the summer of 2012. This was about the time book 14 Cold Days was released. I was so excited after the first book to have so many to catch up on. Alas, I got caught up by the time book 15, Skin Game came out. Then I had to wait 6 years for the next book. Butcher was really good about putting out those initial books and then had life events come up which delayed the story. I completely understand but oof, the wait was brutal. Book 16, Peace Talks, and 17, Battle Ground came out back to back in the same year which was amazing and necessary based on the story. Then we began the next 6 year wait. 😢

As you might have guessed, Peace Talks didn’t go so well which led to Battle Ground and why it was so important for those books to come out within 6 months of each other. I’m going to add a **SPOILER** warning now. This is a series and if you have not read up to this book and think you want to read the series. Turn back now before I spoil vital plot lines of previous books.

Ok, now that we have those who have read the book, or just don’t care about spoilers. Twelve Months picks up right after the tragic events that led to the destruction of downtown Chicago leaving the survivors stuck in the Stone Age. No utilities, buildings destroyed and dead everywhere. While the city is grieving, Harry is also dealing with the loss of his longtime friend and love Karen Murphy. It is not lost on me that Harry is as wrecked and damaged emotionally as the city is one the outside. This book deals with several sub plots that all help to show Harry his worth, his strength, and help him heal.

One of the subplots is the fact Harry has been betrothed by Mab, the queen of Winter, to Lara Wraith, the head of the White Court of Vampires. Harry has to learn to get close to his former enemy for diplomatic reasons while not becoming addicted to Lara’s… charm. Next, Harry has to find a way to get his half brother Thomas free from his hunger slowly killing him. Thomas is a White Court vampire who has been pushed to the edge of death until harry encased him in a crystal chamber halting the hunger from taking Thomas. If Harry can satisfy or separate Thomas’s hunger and save him, Thomas still has the issue with Etri wanting to kill him, and his girlfriend and child are missing. This is probably the biggest plot line outside of Harry’s journey to heal. There are smaller plots like the detection of black magic being used in the city, Harry training a new apprentice Fitz, and Lord Drakul is plotting something with Harry as the focus.

This is a very character driven novel so be prepared for lots of emotions and slower plot points. There is some great action in this book but not as much as others. This is definitely a linking book in the series. We just had massive battle and this is the calm before the next storm. Since this is a book that gets us from point A to point B I will say this isn’t my favorite in the series but still worthy of 🥃🥃🥃🥃. If you haven’t read this series I highly recommend it if you are a fan of fantasy and sci-fi. Being Chicago’s own Wizard detective keeps these stories fun and engaging.