Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsFavorite Of The Series Dark and Wonderful all at once
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 13, 2016
Color me invested in this series, I’m pretty sure that is some sort of pink color reminiscent of a sunrise and it smells a little like a blend of pennyroyal and copper
Just so we are clear I AM IN….I think the last book was the one that pretty well sold me on the October Daye series but THIS is the book the put the last nail in that coffin and now I will ride this out until the very end.
ஓ What was awesome in this ஓ
① - Toby takes on my favorite teenager as a squire. I have some very specific theories about who his parents are so I love that Toby is going to have a role in shaping the person he is. Also she has gotten him into a lot of trouble without being his official trainer so just imagine how much more they can get into now.
***“I can't. I'm not a good influence on him. I keep getting him shot. I swear too much, I don't brush my teeth every time I go to bed, and I never remember to eat a balanced breakfast. You want someone with culture. Poise. A lack of gunfire."***
② - THE DEATH HAUNTS – Not only do we see them again but we get some insight into what they really are and how they are connected to another character in the series. WOAH is all I’m going to say.
***“The night-haunts never lie. They could, if they wanted to, but they don’t really see the point. The truth is so much more dangerous than a lie.”***
③ - Underwater Fae and their world *squee* - This is something that you don’t really get in many books so I found it so original. I loved that we get to expand this world into the Oceans and see what kind of Fae are living there.
***"Merrow are to the sea as Daoine Sidhe are to the land, only without the blood magic, and with a tendency to summon storms when annoyed. Oh, and fins, although they can have legs when they want to. Little Mermaid, eat your heart out***
④ - The Luidaeg calls in Toby’s debt marker. Not only is she given an almost impossible task to accomplish, Toby (and the reader) also get more insight into the Luidaeg. Her story is both captivating and so tragic. Why is the sea witch not living in the sea??? Well we find out and I’m going to say that it is so sad. But she is the Luidaeg so there are plenty of other cantankerous moments where she is hilarious throughout as well. Also I learned never give the Luidaeg your hand as you are bound to be bleeding right after.
***“I squared my shoulders, trying to ignore the fact that I was standing in the apartment of the sea witch, wearing a fairy-tale prom gown, waiting for the attack of the mermaids.”***
⑤ - The TnT situation. I’m firmly on the SS Tybalt and I’m totally waiting for that ship to sail. Okay so we go on a little detour in this *bark*I don’t want to talk about it *bark* but there is still plenty of sexual tension between Toby and Tybalt. I love his cat like ways and it does appear that like the cat man he is he enjoys toying with his potential plaything/sextoy/whatever they will eventually become. He always steals the page for me so I love that we seem to get more and more of the King Of Cats as the series continues. No matter what though I’m sure of this….Tybalt will always have Toby’s back.
⑥ - Gillian arc gets a little page time. So to say that Toby’s relationship with her ¼ blood daughter is complicated is an understatement. That is what happens when you end up a fish for 14 years and your daughter just thinks you ran out on her. But Toby will still do whatever it takes to protect the little girl she had to give up. This was a super emotional part of the story and you couldn’t help but feel the emotions that Toby had to go through to save the little girl she left behind so long ago.
***“If something happened to Gillian, I'd rip the world down to save her, even if she spat in my face when I did. That's what parenthood means.”***
⑦ - MORE QUESTIONS – I think that is bound to happen when you are hanging out with the Luidaeg. She is old, like around the time of Jesus and maybe before that old. So there is a ton of history she knows about and even more secrets that she is keeping. We get a little glimpse at a few that might play into the bigger overall arcs of this series. The big new question for me is……what the heck is going on with that tree.
⑧ - Toby - I am pretty attached to that chick and she kind of had a hard go of it again in this book. Things are never easy and she seems to lose the people that she cares about all the time. She had to make some really hard decisions in this and I really do applaud that she has this really strong moral code that won’t let her treat others unfairly. Still she keeps her satirical wit about her and so I’m enjoying the journey since she rarely pouts and says why me…but when she does it is funny.
***“I was getting tired of being in an endless succession of things called "the fight of a lifetime." Just once, I'd like to have the fight of a Tuesday afternoon.”***
⑨ - The Ending….was….gah…… I am really invested in a lot of the characters now and so a few things in One Salt Sea just hit so hard. Sometimes you wonder if it is worth it to be fae and live so long if you have to live by the rules they have going on. I felt that way for the Luidaeg especially. She has a lot of power but she also has so many rules and you can tell that some of the costs for the bargains she makes are prices that she isn’t happy to exact. But her tie to the selkies in particular and what it could end up costing them….*rubs heart* because it really hurts.
***"“Everything has a cost, October; remember that. It may be a long time before the bill comes due, but everything has a cost.”***
And finally ⑩ - EVERYTHING ELSE!!! May, the worldbuilding, Sylvester, the bad guys, the good guys, the blood (not as creepy as it sounds) and freaking almost everything else.
ஓ What I didn’t like ஓ
Um……hmmm….there really isn’t much. I wasn’t entirely happy about the romantic detour because I was certain that wasn’t going to last and I am totally #teamtybalt. Look Conner isn’t a bad guy, he is actually very nice. But while I like his as a side character I never wanted him with Toby. But alas he is needed to advance the plot and so we get it. I cringed a little since I didn’t want to see then together but since this is way more UF than anything to do with romance it didn’t detract too much from my overall enjoyment. Plus Tybalt snuck in a kiss so I won’t protest just yet.
ஓ Overall ஓ
I’m so in and this is my favorite installment of the series so far. If things continue to trend this way it might overtake one of my other favorite UF series.
