Audiobook Review: Ashes of Honor by Seanan McGuire

Ashes of Honor by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s been almost a year since October “Toby” Daye averted a war, gave up a county, and suffered personal losses that have left her wishing for a good day’s sleep. She’s tried to focus on her responsibilities—training Quentin, upholding her position as Sylvester’s knight, and paying the bills—but she can’t help feeling like her world is crumbling around her, and her increasingly reckless behavior is beginning to worry even her staunchest supporters.

To make matters worse, Toby’s just been asked to find another missing child…only this time it’s the changeling daughter of her fellow knight, Etienne, who didn’t even know he was a father until the girl went missing. Her name is Chelsea. She’s a teleporter, like her father. She’s also the kind of changeling the old stories warn about, the ones with all the strength and none of the control. She’s opening doors that were never meant to be opened, releasing dangers that were sealed away centuries before—and there’s a good chance she could destroy Faerie if she isn’t stopped.

Now Toby must find Chelsea before time runs out, racing against an unknown deadline and through unknown worlds as she and her allies try to avert disaster. But danger is also stirring in the Court of Cats, and Tybalt may need Toby’s help with the biggest challenge he’s ever faced.

Toby thought the last year was bad. She has no idea.

Warnings: serious physical trauma

Note: Not a YA novel

Ashes of Honor picks up quite a while after One Salt Sea, and she has been mourning the loss of her daughter, Gillian (who she turned human), and Connor, while also throwing herself recklessly into her work. Right after she is caught by the mortal police, Etienne hires her to find his kidnapped changeling daughter, Chelsea, who got the higher end of the power scale and is unable to control it. Having to hide this case from Sylvester, though, means her backup is only Quentin, the Ludiaeg, and Tybalt. Chasing a girl who can teleport, however, is not easy, and this mission might open up doors to more worlds, endangering Faerie and the human world alike.

Toby’s path in this book is to chase Chelsea, and it takes her to new places, like Dreamer’s Glass, and a world which has so far been cut off from the human world. Her adversaries are many, including the kidnappers, a police office following her, and even Tybalt’s court is experiencing upheaval, which means that is another enemy front. Raj’s father clamoring for Tybalt’s dethronement has them without the Court of Cats as a safe place, and also has his allies on their tail. Toby gets mortally wounded more than once in this book, and it is a good thing she is a strong Dochas Sidhe, because I was practically screaming at McGuire to stop hurting her so much. Not to mention, Chelsea’s eventual fate closely mirrors what happened to her own daughter, so even emotionally, Toby is taking punches.

Finally, on the relationships front, I love that there is finally some development on the Toby and Tybalt front! It took like five books to get here, but I loved its slow development even as I was like ‘when will it happen?’. Here’s hoping to more new adventures from the both of them!

Previous books in the October Daye series