Review: One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire (October Daye #5)

One Salt Sea (October Daye #5)
Seanan McGuire
Published: Sept. 6, 2011 (DAW)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: purchased

Reviewed by: Amy

Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars

Note: While this review will be spoiler free, it will reference previous books in the series. If you haven’t started his series yet check out VBC’s review of book 1, Rosemary and Rue.

Everything for Toby has been a little quiet lately. She knows it’s only a matter of time before things start to turn crazy again, but until then, she’s enjoying life a little more. After the dissolution of Connor’s marriage to Rayseline (following the incident with Oleander), Toby and Connor have begun dating again. She’s also somewhat cornered into taking Quentin on as a squire. Not that she minds, but she’s worried about his safety when he’s in her company! Toby is also still trying to come to terms with the changes Amandine made to her body and blood in Late Eclipses. It’s almost as though she has to start over from the beginning learning what new strength her magic has.

Then the Luidaeg calls in all of Toby’s debts owed to her and the calm officially ends. The sons of the Duchy of Saltmist have been kidnapped, and the Luidaeg requires Toby to find them in order to avoid war between the land and the sea. Of course the first person Saltmist accuses is the Queen of the Mists. Toby needs to clear the Queen’s name (while working around the Queen’s major dislike of her). Once she does that she needs to figure out who has the boys and why, and she needs to get them back alive. There is no other option in order to avoid a war that could cost too many Fae their lives.

I feel like a broken record with each review when I state that this one is the best in the series so far. It’s true, however. In One Salt Sea the story revolving around the missing children is the most tightly written and clear mystery in the series thus far. There are many twists and turns in the case, but I never felt confused. I was right there with Toby the whole time.

I think it’s safe to say that One Salt Sea is less physically demanding than it is emotionally on Toby. It’s definitely a book that brings up the past, and the choices made, that have to be dealt with here. We get to see a different side of Toby, one that she’s kept hidden since she left Home and Devin’s teachings all those years ago. We see how fiercely capable Toby is to fight for those close to her as the book shifts and becomes very personal for her, and may just push her past her breaking point in the end.  I will say that here, more than in the previous books so far, we see Toby actually relying on her friends for help instead of trying to go after everything alone. I like this and hope it’s a trend that continues in the future.

One Salt Sea will definitely change things for Toby, whether for better or worse. I’m ready to start reading Ashes of Honor to find out which road Toby takes.

Sexual content: Sex