Title: The Unkindest Tide
Series: October Daye Book #13
Stand Alone Title: recommended in order
Author: Seanan McQuire
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Blurb: Hundreds of years ago, the Selkies
made a deal with the sea witch: they would have the sea for as long as she
allowed it, and when the time came, she would call in all their debts at once.
Many people assumed that day would never come. Those people were wrong.
When the Luidaeg—October “Toby” Daye’s oldest and most dangerous
ally—tells her the time has come for the Selkies to fulfill their side of the
bargain, and that Toby must be a part of the process, Toby can’t refuse. Literally.
The Selkies aren’t the only ones in debt to the Luidaeg, and Toby has to pay
what she owes like anyone else. They will travel to the fabled Duchy of Ships
and call a convocation of the Selkies, telling them to come and meet the
Luidaeg’s price…or face the consequences.
Of course, nothing is that simple. When Dianda Lorden’s brother appears to
arrest Dianda for treason against the Undersea, when a Selkie woman is stripped
of her skin and then murdered, when everything is falling apart, that’s when
Toby will have to answer the real question of the hour.
Is she going to sink? Or is she going to swim?
Favorite quote(s): “I’ve long since resigned myself to the idea that immortality will never be your saving grace,: he said, voice even more formal and stilted than usual. “Not because of the human blood in your veins, but because you insist – you demand – the world be less unkind. One day, you’re going to go up against something you can’t conquer, and the only way I make my peace with this is by telling myself, over and over again, that when that day comes, I’ll be there to fight by your side, to do whatever can be done to save you. It’s not that I…I fell in love with a hero, October. I fell in love with you. I would never dream of asking you to change that essential part of who you are. I don’t want you to stop fighting. I just want to be fighting with you.”
Thoughts: This is a favorite series of mine, and I’ve been looking forward to this book for awhile now for a number of reasons. The Luidaeg – and Toby’s debt to her for all her help in the past – has been building for a long time. Eventually it had to come to a head, and we get that in this book. And of course, being the Luidaeg, we knew it was going to be a hell of a pay back. I was also looking for a bit more of a focus on Toby and her relationship with her daughter, Gillian. We get to see a lot more of that in this book.
I have to admit to being a bit disappointed though. I was hoping this would be the book that changes the tide on how things are currently between mother and daughter, but alas….hopefully that will come in a future book. (cross my fingers) It’s funny, however, the different takes that readers have on what they read. I’ve read some other reviews, one of which felt like Toby was self-centered for not respecting the boundaries Gillian tries to set between her and Toby. I happen to feel that Gillian is the one who is majorly self-centered, not to mention ungrateful. I have a hard time with how she treats Toby. This is her mother. Yes, I understand that she was absent for several years, however Toby is just as much a victim in that – she was robbed of that time with her daughter, and missed watching all the special events as she grew up. Toby didn’t choose to leave. While I don’t expect Gillian to immediately run into her arms and act like nothing ever happened, I do feel like she needs to be empathetic and try to see things from Toby’s side of things. Try to build a new relationship. And the slap in the face? Who does she want to save her every time something goes wrong? Who does she know will be there for her and risk her own life to save her? Toby. And come on, you see all these people who hold admiration for Toby and who love her no matter what – don’t you feel like you would look around and ask yourself if you were missing something in your judgement of this person? I also didn’t view Toby sending her trusted friends to talk to her as harassment or stalker-ish behavior – as a mother, she wants her safe. She never forces Gillian to spend time with her, as much as she wishes for it. In fact, she hadn’t seen her in a long time prior to this. She tries her best to respect Gillian’s feelings, however this particular situation doesn’t permit that. Plus, I feel like Toby realizes Gillian needs someone, even if it can’t be her.
Frankly, I think Gillian needs to stop being such a whiny, pain-in-the-ass. After all these events and life or death situations, I would think she would open her damn eyes and maybe think about not wanting to lose any more time with her real mom – who wants to be there for her, who wants to support her and protect her. Yes, Janet was there for her – and that’s another can of worms – but if Gillian loves her, she can still love and have relationships with them both. One doesn’t mean losing the other. (deep breath) Ok, rant over…lol
Another issue here, I missed more Tybalt and Toby. We had a few sweet scenes, but something just seems missing there. I almost cried after what happened to Tybalt in previous books and feel like in some ways they are still floundering. I feel like there is more to come from these two, and I want to feel more of that intensity I’ve come to associate with them.
As always, this is a great addition to October’s story and can’t wait for more!
Rating: A
