Review: A Killing Frost (Book 14 of the October Daye series)

A Killing Frost by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Killing Frost releases on Tuesday, so let me begin. This is what I told you back in July:

WOW. Full review up closer to release date, but all I can say is: Wow, wow, wow. The most stunning turn of events since The Winter Long, October Daye 8 and The Brightest Fell, October Daye 11. Be prepared to be amazed, Readers!

First things first, this review has spoilers for the earlier books in the series. But not this book. You can't pry those out of me.

I'm sure you remember that thing I told you about how Seanan McGuire really needed to quit retracing territory and finding lost people like, I dunno, Arden, the Queen in the Mists, or Toby's sister August, or her grandmother Janet (Amandine's mama, August's grandma, too, and oof what a trio those three are- Toby just hit the family jackpot, didn't she?) and in general, the "hiding in plain sight but we missed it until we didn't" trope? You remember me saying that, right? Strike that. Score deep into stone as you do. Maybe pour acid on it. Upon reflection, McGuire has been giving us characters, really from the very first books, who were hiding in plain sight. There were the Luidaeg, who frequently goes around in braids, looking like an acne-scarred young woman buying ungodly amounts of ice cream and soda, and Evening Winterrose, quite possibly the most odious Firstborn in kinda-sorta hiding ever, and even Amandine, Toby's abusive mother, who only some people in the Bay Area and Mists seemed to know was a Firstborn. (Hey, she wasn't around that much because she's bonkers, a narcissist, and thinks the hoi polloi are beneath her.) Anyway, my point here is that all these people were pretty much not who they appeared to be. And that is like Toby's life, right? She keeps retracing her steps and her memories, finding that things or people just aren't what or who she thought they were. Remember when we found out that Simon actually saved her life by turning her into a koi fish? (It was only for fourteen years and she got better and all.) We were hating on him for almost nothing.

So here we are at book 14 in the series. According to the blurb we know that:

"When October is informed that Simon Torquill—legally her father, due to Faerie's archaic marriage traditions—must be invited to her wedding or risk the ceremony throwing the Kingdom in the Mists into political turmoil, she finds herself setting out on a quest she was not yet prepared to undertake for the sake of her future.... and the man who represents her family's past."

So that's just great. Toby has to go looking for Simon, who has forgotten everything after trading places with August, which means he's also forgotten he loves Toby, and was none too thrilled with his service to the Winterrose.* Good times! Great way for a girl to prepare for her wedding! Going back onto the Rose Road is going to be loads of fun not just because of Simon but because it means that Tobes gets to go ask her liege Sylvester's angry plant-based wife Luna for assistance that Luna won't want to give. And it all puts Toby on a path to a truly stunning series of events. The outcome of these events is going to track through quite a few novels ahead and for sure there will be a great deal of drama that stems from events herein. Even just the fact that Toby promises to expand Chez Daye for someone will have wild implications.

This installment left me so happy for some of the characters I can't tell you. And it sealed my conviction that something is up with some other characters, too. Prepare for amazing things! Prepare for justice and happiness (for those who deserve it) and prepare to be amazed at what you never saw coming.

*Full confession: A big part of me was glad that Toby goes looking for Simon because what happened to him really hurt my heart. He loves both his daughters and the unfairness of being so lost was pretty raw.

I received a digital review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

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