Review – One Salt Sea (October Daye, Book 5) by Seanan McGuire (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: September 6, 2011
ISBN: 978-0756406837
Stand Alone or Series: 5th book in the October Daye series
Source: Bought
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the fifth book in the October Daye series. I pretty much adore this series and this book just sealed the deal for me. The world-building, the plot, the characters…all of it was just spot on. If you are a fan of this series you will absolutely love this book.

Toby (October) is taking a little break and trying to get her life together. She is the Countess of Goldengreen now and has subjects to manage there, Quentin is officially her squire, and her and Connor have started dating…not to mention the fact that having her blood tipped more to the fairy side has changed how things work for her. Then Toby is called in on a case, a case that has the two realms of fairy (land and sea) on the brink of war. Someone has stolen the two sons of the Saltmist Queen and King. If they aren’t found Seamist will declare war on the Land. Toby has three days to solve the case, but someone is determined to stop her from making any progress.

While previous books have been almost too fast-paced this book is perfectly paced. I had trouble putting it down, but never felt rushed through the story. All of the gaps that I felt were missing in Late Eclipses were filled here. We learn about how Toby is managing Goldengreen. We also get to see a ton more of both Connor and Tybalt and there is a lot of resolution about Toby’s relationships with those two.

The characters are fantastic. Even side characters are incredibly interesting. Tybalt is amazing and continues to be one of my favorites; as the King of Cats he does such a good job helping Toby while balancing all of his other responsibilities…and he is incredibly fun. Toby has grown so much, when you think back to the downtroden changeling she was in Rosemary and Rue it is hard to believe that she has grown into such a beuatiful, wonderful, and powerful lead.

The best part was getting introduced to a whole new fairy world with the introduction of Saltmist. Toby gets to travel and meet fairy creatures that she has never seen and is introduced to a beautiful and haunting world. It was fascinating and really expanded the world built in this series. The sea witch is present a lot in this book as well and we get to learn more both about her and the history of fairy through her involvement.

Once again I love how mythology, fairy tale, and nursery rhymes are mixed together to create a rich and wonderful world. I should mention the Night Haunts are back in this book too, I love the mystery behind those Night Haunts!

Overall the best book in the series. This is a series where each book keeps getting better and better. I love this series. There is mystery, intrigue, romance, action, wonder, excellent characters, a fast-paced plot and all of it is perfectly balanced. McGuire (who also writes the Newsflesh Trilogy as Mira Grant) is an excellent writer and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. The sixth book will be titled, Ashes of Honor, and is planned for a Septemer 2012 release. If you love urban fantasy and faerie check this series out. If you love a good mystery with some magic thrown in check this series out. Heck just read this series, the first book is a bit rough, but the rest of the series has been awesome!

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
– 100+ Reading Challenge