Week 26 Reviews: The Unkindest Tide, Hope is Swift

From Goodreads:
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?

My Review:
Reading these stories was so freaking great! Last book, they were healing from the events of The Brightest Fell, but they've now taken steps toward recovery, and we get plenty of Tybalt in The Unkindest Tide, because we didn't get a lot of him in Night and Silence.

There's not a big reveal/twist like Janet in Night and Silence. There's the whole working with the Selkies, but that's just a bit change, we knew it was coming. We did get to slot in some understandings of the world, of the interactions of the various Firstborns and the Three, which was pretty great.

One thing that I wanted to comment on, is that Arden's novella at the end of Once Broken Faith, Dreams and Slumbers, the cost of Luidaeg's help was that Arden would let Toby go when Toby was needed. Well, that happened, but Arden made enough of a fuss that Toby commented on it. That's not very nice to Toby, Arden! 

Gillian is kinda awful in this book. Well, there was a point where she was pretty decent, but that was short lived. Because becoming Roane, that's permanent, not the 100 year thing that she was facing before. I just wish that she and Toby could have a more positive relationship now that Gillian knows the truth!

Hope is Swift is a pretty awesome novella, because we get to be in Raj's head. Also, there's a non-binary character, I believe is the term, Cal. Cal was awesome, loved their and Raj's not-friendship relationship! It's interesting, the idea that becoming a king means losing your freedom, and for a cat, freedom seems to be pretty essential. There was also his relationship with Helen, which might not survive the coming changes in its current form, but they had a really good talk and came to an understanding. 

So in future books, there's the new debt that Toby has incurred with the Luidaeg (because you know she got into situations where she needed that help!), and how all that is going to play out. There's also Marcia, who there were some strange remarks made about her, that might be important in the future.

Loved reading these, and I can't wait for more adventures with Toby!

Author: Seanan McGuire
Series: October Daye #13, 13.5
Read: June 24th, 24th, 2019
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series so, so much! And they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Books and The Unkindest Tide is a WoW Book!
Publisher: DAW
Expected Publication: September 3rd 2019, September 3rd 2019

The Unkindest Tide:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Hope is Swift:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars