Scan barcode
mamap's review
3.0
Turns out, Toby has to find Simon to invite him to her wedding or important/powerful people could claim offense.
She harrows off on her own - Blood occurs - & the LGBT people should be very happy with this book.
p. 2. "We steal human word with gleeful abandon, but we don't like to use their names for things when we have any other choice in the matter. We're sort of like the French that way."
p. 47. "I've been told I'm an irritation that lingers, but everyone who said that was mad at me at the time, so I do't know if I can all them objective observers."
p. 75. "Sometimes family means being willing to be the one who buries the hatchet and takes the first step. Sometimes family means they've already buried the hatchet, in your back."
She harrows off on her own - Blood occurs - & the LGBT people should be very happy with this book.
p. 2. "We steal human word with gleeful abandon, but we don't like to use their names for things when we have any other choice in the matter. We're sort of like the French that way."
p. 47. "I've been told I'm an irritation that lingers, but everyone who said that was mad at me at the time, so I do't know if I can all them objective observers."
p. 75. "Sometimes family means being willing to be the one who buries the hatchet and takes the first step. Sometimes family means they've already buried the hatchet, in your back."
bethtabler's review
5.0
I read and re-read Seanan Mcguire's books every year as a means of being comforted. Her stories, the Newsflesh series (under the pseudonym Mira Grant), and the October Days stories have brought me a lot of joy over the years. I find myself coming back to the stories every year like a comfy pair of shoes. There is just something about her writing that straddles the line between expressive and understated. She gives you the right amount of information that you fall in love with the world and want to know more about it. Because of that, her books always engage me. Plus, because there are so many plot intricacies in every book, I am rarely bored even on the second or, in some cases, fifth read.
A Killing Frost, Seanan Mcguire's newest addition to the October Daye series, is the fourteenth book. There is quite a lot to recap for this series; it is enormous! But to surmise, October Daye is the lead protagonist in a Fae/Human world. She is an investigator who can straddle both the fae and human world. As the stories progress, October becomes more entrenched in the politics and machinations of the Fae world. In this particular book, October faces familial problems mainly in the form of her stepfather Simon Torquil.
"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."
Supporting characters from past books are again helping October with her quest. October, as a character, relies heavily on her relationships with her found family. October doesn't have friends; she has people who she adopts and loves fiercely. She is a mentor to some, a friend to others, and a lover to Tybalt. With October's development as a strong character, we get development from her supporting cast of characters. I find that to be one of the best aspects of this story. Quinton, Luiadeg, Tybalt, and more, develop their already stable identities. There are no cardboard characters in Macguire's worlds.
I don't want to give away to much about the plot. That would spoil this new episode in October's grand saga, and many of these books have a mystery aspect to the plot. But, I will say, as I mentioned earlier, that this book concentrates on the mysterious villain Simon Torquil, villain, who also is October's stepfather. They have a very complicated relationship. His story is epic and twists and turns. If you are a fan of the Daye books, you will not be disappointed. It is a page-turner! If you are new to the series, I suggest setting this one aside just a bit and jump into the 13 books that took place beforehand. You won't be disappointed. But if you are starting with this one, Macguire gives enough backstory so new readers will not be lost.
"Better him than me. Of the two of us, he's the one who actually speaks 'diplomacy' with something other than a knife."
All in all, this is a beautiful and exciting addition to the October Daye world. Some plot points are solved, and new things open up. Old characters get a moment to shine in the spotlight, but not all of them as the cast is way too big at this point. I also found the conclusion to be satisfying and leads into the next book with gusto.
The Killing Frost is an exciting and wonderful, and I am so glad I got the opportunity to read it. Check it out!
A Killing Frost, Seanan Mcguire's newest addition to the October Daye series, is the fourteenth book. There is quite a lot to recap for this series; it is enormous! But to surmise, October Daye is the lead protagonist in a Fae/Human world. She is an investigator who can straddle both the fae and human world. As the stories progress, October becomes more entrenched in the politics and machinations of the Fae world. In this particular book, October faces familial problems mainly in the form of her stepfather Simon Torquil.
"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."
Supporting characters from past books are again helping October with her quest. October, as a character, relies heavily on her relationships with her found family. October doesn't have friends; she has people who she adopts and loves fiercely. She is a mentor to some, a friend to others, and a lover to Tybalt. With October's development as a strong character, we get development from her supporting cast of characters. I find that to be one of the best aspects of this story. Quinton, Luiadeg, Tybalt, and more, develop their already stable identities. There are no cardboard characters in Macguire's worlds.
I don't want to give away to much about the plot. That would spoil this new episode in October's grand saga, and many of these books have a mystery aspect to the plot. But, I will say, as I mentioned earlier, that this book concentrates on the mysterious villain Simon Torquil, villain, who also is October's stepfather. They have a very complicated relationship. His story is epic and twists and turns. If you are a fan of the Daye books, you will not be disappointed. It is a page-turner! If you are new to the series, I suggest setting this one aside just a bit and jump into the 13 books that took place beforehand. You won't be disappointed. But if you are starting with this one, Macguire gives enough backstory so new readers will not be lost.
"Better him than me. Of the two of us, he's the one who actually speaks 'diplomacy' with something other than a knife."
All in all, this is a beautiful and exciting addition to the October Daye world. Some plot points are solved, and new things open up. Old characters get a moment to shine in the spotlight, but not all of them as the cast is way too big at this point. I also found the conclusion to be satisfying and leads into the next book with gusto.
The Killing Frost is an exciting and wonderful, and I am so glad I got the opportunity to read it. Check it out!
smittenforfiction's review
3.0
When I requested an ARC of A Killing Frost I had no idea that it was the fourteenth book of a series. I saw Seanan McGuire, also known as Mira Grant, and jumped at the chance to read an advance copy of her next novel. Silly me! BUT - she included tons of background info throughout and so I never felt like I was missing out on anything. Because I haven't read the rest of the series I have no idea if I'm spoiling things - so BEWARE OF SPOILERS!
About The Book
lisawreading's review
5.0
14 books in, what is there left to say about my super-duper favorite urban fantasy series? I love these books, and A Killing Frost is no exception!
For those unfamiliar with the series, October Daye is a changeling, born of a human man and a powerful Fae woman. Over the course of the series, October (Toby) has come into her own as a knight and a Hero of the Realm, gaining strength in her magical abilities and gifts and setting out on quests to right wrongs. As she so readily admits, hardly a day goes by when she doesn’t end up covered in blood.
Toby is an amazing character, and the series as a whole is a richly detailed world, set in and around human San Francisco, with complex rules, hierarchies, relationships, and power dynamics. The characters are so much of what makes these books so good — Toby has a found family by this point in the series, including her sort-of sister May, her fiance Tybalt, her squire Quentin, and an odd assortment of friends and associates who love Toby and keep her always on her toes.
In A Killing Frost, Toby and Tybalt (King of Cats) are getting closer to setting a wedding date, when Toby is informed that if she doesn’t invite her stepfather Simon to the wedding, he or anyone connected to him can claim offense. And in Faerie, that can lead to dire consequences, including forced servitude or other truly unpleasant outcomes.
Simon, however, is lost. In book #11, he traded his own way home in order to rescue his long-lost daughter. After having reformed his nastier ways, he’s back to being a bad guy, having forgotten all the good in his life. Toby’s only option is to search for Simon, bring him back, and find a way to break the spell so that he can truly be found again.
I won’t give too much away. Naturally, Toby ends up covered with blood — mostly, but not only, her own. There’s danger to her and to her companions, and the damage is truly gruesome at times.
I was scared for Toby, especially toward the end, when I couldn’t see a way that her actions wouldn’t end in disaster. Naturally, I ended up surprised in all sorts of ways, especially by a huge new development that will have major ripple effects from here on out.
I feel confident saying that if you’ve loved the October Daye series so far, you’ll love A Killng Frost too. If you haven’t started the series yet… well, go ahead!
Obviously, I adore October Daye, and I love basically everything written by Seanan McGuire.
A Killing Frost is a total treat. And now it’s back to the sad state of waiting a year for the next book in the series!
For those unfamiliar with the series, October Daye is a changeling, born of a human man and a powerful Fae woman. Over the course of the series, October (Toby) has come into her own as a knight and a Hero of the Realm, gaining strength in her magical abilities and gifts and setting out on quests to right wrongs. As she so readily admits, hardly a day goes by when she doesn’t end up covered in blood.
Toby is an amazing character, and the series as a whole is a richly detailed world, set in and around human San Francisco, with complex rules, hierarchies, relationships, and power dynamics. The characters are so much of what makes these books so good — Toby has a found family by this point in the series, including her sort-of sister May, her fiance Tybalt, her squire Quentin, and an odd assortment of friends and associates who love Toby and keep her always on her toes.
In A Killing Frost, Toby and Tybalt (King of Cats) are getting closer to setting a wedding date, when Toby is informed that if she doesn’t invite her stepfather Simon to the wedding, he or anyone connected to him can claim offense. And in Faerie, that can lead to dire consequences, including forced servitude or other truly unpleasant outcomes.
Simon, however, is lost. In book #11, he traded his own way home in order to rescue his long-lost daughter. After having reformed his nastier ways, he’s back to being a bad guy, having forgotten all the good in his life. Toby’s only option is to search for Simon, bring him back, and find a way to break the spell so that he can truly be found again.
I won’t give too much away. Naturally, Toby ends up covered with blood — mostly, but not only, her own. There’s danger to her and to her companions, and the damage is truly gruesome at times.
I was scared for Toby, especially toward the end, when I couldn’t see a way that her actions wouldn’t end in disaster. Naturally, I ended up surprised in all sorts of ways, especially by a huge new development that will have major ripple effects from here on out.
I feel confident saying that if you’ve loved the October Daye series so far, you’ll love A Killng Frost too. If you haven’t started the series yet… well, go ahead!
Obviously, I adore October Daye, and I love basically everything written by Seanan McGuire.
A Killing Frost is a total treat. And now it’s back to the sad state of waiting a year for the next book in the series!
kate_and_books's review
3.0
3 ☆
This isn't my favourite book because Toby sure had some let's do dumb crap moments.
But author however holy shite you can see how much planning went into the book to get to where we are from five books back to now.
Major spoiler ahead
As I'm now update on this series I shall have to wait patiently for the next book to come out. Not long now.
This isn't my favourite book because Toby sure had some let's do dumb crap moments.
But author however holy shite you can see how much planning went into the book to get to where we are from five books back to now.
Major spoiler ahead
Spoiler
Frigging Oberon is backAs I'm now update on this series I shall have to wait patiently for the next book to come out. Not long now.
rusticreadingal's review
5.0
Fourteen books in and this series just keeps getting better. There's not much I enjoy more than visiting this world of Faerie. You never know what's gonna happen. Good, bad, ugly – it's always an interesting, entertaining, and enlightening experience. And I love every second of the journey with these characters I've come to love.
This time around, Toby has to find Simon Torquill, her mother's husband and, according to Faerie law, her legal father. For her wedding with Tybalt to happen, Toby has to invite Simon to the event or else break one of the unspoken rules of Faerie, which could have dire consequences.
This was one of the more slower paced books in this series, but that didn't negate how good it was or how much I enjoyed it. We got some answers to some long held questions. Man, did we get answers! Some new questions too, but, gosh, I can't wait to see what comes next as a result of these answers. Gah, I'm so excited!
NOTE: This book does contain some strong language.
This time around, Toby has to find Simon Torquill, her mother's husband and, according to Faerie law, her legal father. For her wedding with Tybalt to happen, Toby has to invite Simon to the event or else break one of the unspoken rules of Faerie, which could have dire consequences.
This was one of the more slower paced books in this series, but that didn't negate how good it was or how much I enjoyed it. We got some answers to some long held questions. Man, did we get answers! Some new questions too, but, gosh, I can't wait to see what comes next as a result of these answers. Gah, I'm so excited!
NOTE: This book does contain some strong language.
cimorene1558's review
5.0
These keep getting better and better! However, if they don’t get married soon, I may scream!