roza10's review against another edition
5.0
This series... it gets better and better and I love it so much.
myth's review against another edition
5.0
This is my favorite of the Toby books but, and I say this with zero judgment, probably not for the reason it's many people's favorite Toby book?
Like I love Tybalt and Toby as much as the next fan, obviously, but I am also a sucker for parents who will do literally anything for their children up to and including previously thought impossible acts of teleportation REPEATEDLY; utilizing iron chains that literally make your hands blister and burn and after too much exposure cause INSANITY; yeet your own powers out the window in five seconds flat; threaten fairytale creatures with a cast iron pan you have treated especially for the purpose after successfully hiding your half fae half human daughter from all of faerie for sixteen years; having a successful plan for dousing people in power-nullifying potion; being willing to foreswear humanity to stay with your kid yea unto eternity (possibly) underhill -
Anyway Etienne and Bridget are my faves and they are also exactly my brand of hot dude (stoic, honorable, rule-abiding until suddenly NOT RULE ABIDING OH SHIT HE'S COMING AFTER YOU WITH AFOREMENTIONED IRON CHAIN) and hot lady (angry, ready to beat people with a cast iron pan if necessary, folklore professor who WILL move under hill and allow a geas to ne'er reveal faerie to other humans etc etc but will NOT quit her job, figure it out Etienne).
Like I love Tybalt and Toby as much as the next fan, obviously, but I am also a sucker for parents who will do literally anything for their children up to and including previously thought impossible acts of teleportation REPEATEDLY; utilizing iron chains that literally make your hands blister and burn and after too much exposure cause INSANITY; yeet your own powers out the window in five seconds flat; threaten fairytale creatures with a cast iron pan you have treated especially for the purpose after successfully hiding your half fae half human daughter from all of faerie for sixteen years; having a successful plan for dousing people in power-nullifying potion; being willing to foreswear humanity to stay with your kid yea unto eternity (possibly) underhill -
Anyway Etienne and Bridget are my faves and they are also exactly my brand of hot dude (stoic, honorable, rule-abiding until suddenly NOT RULE ABIDING OH SHIT HE'S COMING AFTER YOU WITH AFOREMENTIONED IRON CHAIN) and hot lady (angry, ready to beat people with a cast iron pan if necessary, folklore professor who WILL move under hill and allow a geas to ne'er reveal faerie to other humans etc etc but will NOT quit her job, figure it out Etienne).
gilwen's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mimosaeyes's review against another edition
4.0
Hands down, the best in the series so far. My brain kept screeching, "FINALLY!" for various reasons, not least of which is that Toby and Tybalt finally have the conversations they've literally been putting off for books on end. Also, they're such a ride-or-die battle couple here; when I look back on the first book, it's staggering how far they've come, both individually and together.
Other plot and character arcs that have been on the back-burner also culminate here, from Riordan's greed for land and power (established in the second book), to Etienne's backstory and struggle during Sylvester's mad days (unseen, since the first book), and growing discontent in the Court of Cats (escalating over books four and five). It takes serious skill to juggle so many threads - look, I can't even avoid mixing metaphors within the space of a single sentence!
More and more, I find myself simply fond of the characters McGuire has created. I was especially proud of my boy Raj this time around - I want to boop his little kitten nose and keep him far, far away from Samson.
Other plot and character arcs that have been on the back-burner also culminate here, from Riordan's greed for land and power (established in the second book), to Etienne's backstory and struggle during Sylvester's mad days (unseen, since the first book), and growing discontent in the Court of Cats (escalating over books four and five). It takes serious skill to juggle so many threads - look, I can't even avoid mixing metaphors within the space of a single sentence!
More and more, I find myself simply fond of the characters McGuire has created. I was especially proud of my boy Raj this time around - I want to boop his little kitten nose and keep him far, far away from Samson.
annelives's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 / 5 stars
This was a decent installment to the series, but the best part was October and Tybalt!! Waiting most of the series for this pairing.
This was a decent installment to the series, but the best part was October and Tybalt!! Waiting most of the series for this pairing.
pickett22's review against another edition
5.0
I am a slow reader, and it took me from 3 to about 6:30 to finish a little over half the book this afternoon, and at one point my roommate had to stop me and send me to get some tea because I was just too excited. I was literally kicking the walls and squealing. I put the book down and ran up and down the hall and then came back and picked it up again. At one point I was jumping on my bed while reading, so Jazz was like, "youuuuu need to make yourself some tea or something."
Literally, this was me today:
Every time I read a Toby Daye novel I write these huge reviews and never feel like I scratch the surface of how much I love them, because the books are doing so many things. They look at heroism, love, family, grief, what makes us valuable, and what it means to be human. And it's all wrapped up in the fact that you do. not. touch Toby's kids. And this one was no exception.
PLUS this one was VERY heavy on the banter, and I do love the banter.
Also...
TOBY AND TYBALT!
All that to say, no big rant this time. It does what it says on the tin, it follows flawlessly in the footsteps of the ones before it, and I am so very, very pleased. I love these books so much.
rclz's review against another edition
5.0
Best book so far. Nice to see October finally getting some of the good things in life. McGuire does such a good job with her characters and the world they live in. I'm going to be sorry to be caught up on this series. One more to go and then I have to start waiting for them to come out.
lessariel's review against another edition
5.0
Toby hasn’t really been living since Connor died but that’s about to change. Etienne need sher help, his changing daughter is running around lost in the depths of fairie and he wants her to find them.
This was a brilliant read I didn’t want to put down to go to work. It deals with all the issues Octobe has had in previous years and shows her finally developing an understanding of her strange family alongside letting herself move forwards. It brings a great end to this cycle of the books. Team Tybalt!
This was a brilliant read I didn’t want to put down to go to work. It deals with all the issues Octobe has had in previous years and shows her finally developing an understanding of her strange family alongside letting herself move forwards. It brings a great end to this cycle of the books. Team Tybalt!
sarsev's review against another edition
5.0
This series just keeps getting better. It's so great. I cannot even properly describe how great it is - but I can try.
Like each installment in this series, Ashes of Honor builds on everything that has happened before. This time, Etienne's daughter is missing, and her powers are breaking down the walls between Faerie and the mortal world. Toby and Company have to find her before reality as they know it implodes. Meanwhile, Toby is still emotionally fragile after Connor's death and Gillian's Changeling Choice, trouble is brewing in the Court of Cats, the human police's investigation of Etienne's daugther's dissapearance keeps getting in Toby's way, the knowe of Tamed Lightning might be literally falling apart, and the Duchess of Dreamer's Glass is definitely up to something.
Also, Toby is dealing (or, rather, trying really hard not to deal at all) with her increasingly complicated feelings for the local King of Cats.
Ashes of Honor has everything you'd expect from an October Daye book: Fae politics, a magical investigation, more development on the world of Faerie (this time, it's the realms that were lost when Oberon sealed the doors), Toby being recklessly heroic, Toby's allies being amazing, Toby's car getting destroyed, and the Luidaeg. And I love all of that. But those things aren't the only things going on.
What makes this installment the best in the series thus far isn't the adventure, or the heroics, or the Fae mythology, or even the romance that I've been waiting for since the first book finally coming to fruition. It's how well it calls on everything that came before.
You see, Seanan McGuire is an amazing writer, and she's getting better all the time. And this is the book where she absolutely knocks her own format out of the park with some of the most well done parallels I have ever seen.
Ashes of Honor is full of scenes that mirror scenes from previous books - but the outcomes are all different. You'll see Toby get into situations she's been in before, but react differently because she's changed since the last time it happened. Toby is different now - and she should be, after six books and several really important years of her life. All of these scenes that mirror scenes in past books are expertly done, and it is clear that the difference between then and now is Toby. The outcomes change because Toby has changed. She's been here before, and so she handles it differently this time.
Plus, there's an absolutely beautiful scene at the end that mirrors a scene in the very first book (the word "sunrise" should tell you all you need to know), but since both characters in the scene are different than they were before, the scene is different too.
Basically, this series keeps getting better and better, and it's hit the level of amazing. I love this series. I love Toby, and Tybalt, and Quentin, and Raj, and May, and all of the Fae fiefdoms, and just everything.
At one point, I told myself that I would take a break in between books to try to stretch this series out (and, you know, get to other things on my TBR), but I'm officially dropping all pretenses. I'm just going to keep binge-reading this series until I run out of books. And then I'm probably going to panic and mope because I'll have to wait for the next one to come out.
Like each installment in this series, Ashes of Honor builds on everything that has happened before. This time, Etienne's daughter is missing, and her powers are breaking down the walls between Faerie and the mortal world. Toby and Company have to find her before reality as they know it implodes. Meanwhile, Toby is still emotionally fragile after Connor's death and Gillian's Changeling Choice, trouble is brewing in the Court of Cats, the human police's investigation of Etienne's daugther's dissapearance keeps getting in Toby's way, the knowe of Tamed Lightning might be literally falling apart, and the Duchess of Dreamer's Glass is definitely up to something.
Also, Toby is dealing (or, rather, trying really hard not to deal at all) with her increasingly complicated feelings for the local King of Cats.
Ashes of Honor has everything you'd expect from an October Daye book: Fae politics, a magical investigation, more development on the world of Faerie (this time, it's the realms that were lost when Oberon sealed the doors), Toby being recklessly heroic, Toby's allies being amazing, Toby's car getting destroyed, and the Luidaeg. And I love all of that. But those things aren't the only things going on.
What makes this installment the best in the series thus far isn't the adventure, or the heroics, or the Fae mythology, or even the romance that I've been waiting for since the first book finally coming to fruition. It's how well it calls on everything that came before.
You see, Seanan McGuire is an amazing writer, and she's getting better all the time. And this is the book where she absolutely knocks her own format out of the park with some of the most well done parallels I have ever seen.
Ashes of Honor is full of scenes that mirror scenes from previous books - but the outcomes are all different. You'll see Toby get into situations she's been in before, but react differently because she's changed since the last time it happened. Toby is different now - and she should be, after six books and several really important years of her life. All of these scenes that mirror scenes in past books are expertly done, and it is clear that the difference between then and now is Toby. The outcomes change because Toby has changed. She's been here before, and so she handles it differently this time.
Plus, there's an absolutely beautiful scene at the end that mirrors a scene in the very first book (the word "sunrise" should tell you all you need to know), but since both characters in the scene are different than they were before, the scene is different too.
Basically, this series keeps getting better and better, and it's hit the level of amazing. I love this series. I love Toby, and Tybalt, and Quentin, and Raj, and May, and all of the Fae fiefdoms, and just everything.
At one point, I told myself that I would take a break in between books to try to stretch this series out (and, you know, get to other things on my TBR), but I'm officially dropping all pretenses. I'm just going to keep binge-reading this series until I run out of books. And then I'm probably going to panic and mope because I'll have to wait for the next one to come out.
squishies's review against another edition
4.0
An emotional roller coaster and fast-paced action all packed into one book.
The constant rehashing of Toby's fast healing abilities gets a bit old by the third retelling. I have not dropped the book for a year between chapters to be reminded of her healing power so often or constantly (even then I'm sure I would have remembered)!
Yay team Tybalt! Finally...
The constant rehashing of Toby's fast healing abilities gets a bit old by the third retelling. I have not dropped the book for a year between chapters to be reminded of her healing power so often or constantly (even then I'm sure I would have remembered)!
Yay team Tybalt! Finally...