Bingo Square: Happy (New Toby Daye makes me happy)
Over the last two months, quite a few fantasy series I enjoy have had new release published. Since I tend to pre-order certain authors, I don’t always pay close attention to the actual release date, so I have woken up to a few surprises lately that changed my reading plans for that day. For me, these new books have ranged from disappointing to very good, even if I haven’t bothered to review them yet. A Killing Frost has been the stand out for me.
We have known this was coming – in an earlier book, Toby said herself that she wanted to save Simon after she had spent a novel on a quest with him. She saw the man he had been, before he had become twisted, driven by love and dedication to family. In The Unkindest Tides, this future quest to save Simon becomes a debt she owes the Luidaeg as part of a bargain. Of course, the Luidaeg doesn’t always attach time lines to her debts, so Toby had not started this next mission yet, and was instead enjoying some down time in San Francisco with her family and loved ones, avoiding wedding planning when the story starts.
However, when Dianda and Patrick decide to interrupt a romantic night out between Toby and Tybalt, she is made aware of the fact that her upbringing missed some important Faerie customs and traditions: she has to invite Simon, her legal father, to her wedding, thus making this quest even more of a priority, especially since everyone around her is wondering why she is dragging her feet so much with the wedding.
Due to prophetic warnings from Karen, Toby embarks on this journey with only Quentin and May. Tybalt defers to her decision, though not happily. Of course things start going wrong rather quickly as the curse Simon has taken on for August displays itself in a very different way in him. He has forgotten so many of the recent events and his memory of his past has been entirely reshaped, all a part of him not being able to find his way home.
I really enjoyed this novel – the thing is even in some of the weaker Toby Daye novels, McGuire usually does something that is utterly mind blowing or fascinating within the larger context of the story. So even if the main plot isn’t always that exciting (basically tends to be my view of Gillian focused stories), their revelations to Toby and impact on the series as a whole are always worth a discussion. This novel had both a solid main plot on its own, as well as opening up some very interesting future developments.
Throughout this series, Toby’s relationships have developed and changed. Her allegiances haven’t shifted but she has broadened them. For example, her once solid relationship with her liege Sylvester has become more and more strained, especially with his wife Luna thrown in. That continues here. Tybalt is another one where her relationship has completely changed from enemies of sort to romantic partners. One thing I am slightly concerned about is where Toby’s relationship with Tybalt is going; this is yet another novel where he isn’t part of the main quest, and has to accept Toby’s endangerment of herself. It seems like they truly love each other and yet keep having the same conversation. Hopefully, this is resolved in the future novels and doesn’t become a larger plot point in any future novels.
Bingo Square: Happy