Rosemary and Rue: An October Daye Novel
Seanan McGuire
DAW (2009), Paperback, 368 pages

Drat it, Seanan! You really do make it hard to not write a spoiler filled review! I shall endeavor to do your craft the credit it deserves. Sigh

Rosemary and Rue may be Seanan’s debut novel, but is FAR from the beginning of her writing career. As a writer who has her quill in all manner of projects, from novels to writing – and singing – bawdy songs, to doing what she does in her ‘other life’ (which benefits many people greatly) she’s always processing huge amounts of information to be used later. And she eventually will find a place for every single scrap of it. I know she will!

Having said that, R&R is a complicated story from the start, as we discover Toby, a half-bred human/fairy, trying to put things together after spending a considerable amount of time rather inconveniently indisposed after the PI assignment she was working goes terribly wrong.

As a Private Investigator in San Francisco she handles all kind of cases, from the mundane missing mutt to the crafty dealings of the Fae. She settles down to a ‘relatively’ normal life, working at Safeway, because her PI license was suspended during her unexplained absence, and comes home one morning (liking the night shift) to find a message that embroils her in an investigation – whether she likes it or not.

This is something that she can’t walk away from, and has her ranging the locales of San Francisco as well as the ways to the Faerie Lands. You see, she’s not just Toby Daye, the worst night clerk Safeway had ever seen, she’s also October Daye, Knight of the Shadowed Hills, in service to His Grace, Duke Sylvester Torquill of the Shadowed Hills and the Daoine Sidhe.. You just know it’s going to get complicated.

Ms McGuire writes a complex and crafty tale… far too much to be one book, or even the three that are currently contracted for. There are a lot of loose threads hanging around this tapestry, but I believe, given the opportunity, Seanan will skillfully weave them all together in as many books as it takes. When she does, it will be a truly spectacular tapestry.

Overall; 4 Stars (hate to dock you that star, but there are still too many things running around loose in here. One of them probably carried it off -- are Rose Goblins like raccoons and find *Shiny* things irresistable?) ( )

This book, while interesting enough, didn't really grab me. I tend to dislike stories where children are on the wrong end of the stick. In addition the heroine is one of those tough cookies who goes it alone and never wants to ask anyone for help to the point where she completely isolates herself and makes a huge mess of things. Of course everything works out in the end but I find it hard to empathize with someone when her choices are so utterly unproductive most of the time. ( )

I love books about the fairy world mingling with our world. Since I haven't been all the thrilled with the Meredith Gentry books lately, I was excited to start another series that deals with the fairy world. There are a number of young adult series out there that deal with the fairy world but not many adult novels. This ended up being a pretty good book. I think this series has a lot of promise.

October Daye is a changeling, half human half fairy. She is also a Knight of the fairy realms and has a daughter and a human boyfriend. At least she had those things until she made a fatal mistake and was changed into a koi fish for fourteen years. When she returns to the human world everything has changed for her, her daughter won't see her, her investigation business has been sold off and she has been declared dead. In her new life she has one goal, to never deal with fairy again. Unfortunately her new goal will not be realized. She receives a call from a prominent fairy noble named Evening. Evening is in trouble and she magically binds October to figure out what is going on. Now October is thrust back into the fairy world and she must solve Evening's murder; if she doesn't her life is forfeit.

There's a lot to like in this book. The world McGuire has created is complex, detailed, and very believable. It is focused mainly on the city of San Francisco and surrounding California, but does look like it could easily be expanded to wider horizons. The characterization is another strong point. The characters are believable, unique, have intriguing pasts, and are not always good or evil but a mix of both. These characters are fascinating and that extends to the side characters as well as the main ones.

There are some wonderful action scenes in this book. McGuire does an excellent job with these. The plot is fast moving and very engaging. The book was hard to put down, you always wonder what is going to happen to October next and if she will be successful in solving the murder. This is definitely not a romance book, but an action packed urban fantasy. Although October is not an action hero or a super hero; she is more of an ordinary everyday girl trying to make a living but constantly getting thrust into extraordinary situations.

McGuire did an excellent job of keeping October focused on her goals. I hate it when the heroine gets so scattered and distracted that she doesn't know what she's doing; that didn't happen in this book. McGuire also did an excellent job of bringing the main storyline in this book to a close; while leaving some threads hanging for the next book. Another nice thing was how McGuire summarized what October needs to focus on in the next book at the end of this book. I appreciated the pronunciation guide included as well. It would have been nice to have a Glossary to help you keep all the fairy races straight.

There were a couple of things that I didn't like about the book. Personally I didn't like October as much as a character. She spent a lot of the beginning of the book trying to shrug off her responsibilities; she also does a lot of stupid things throughout the book. I also wasn't a huge fan of McGuire's overall writing style. At times it didn't seem to flow all that well for me and it was a bit difficult to read. This is a pretty small quibble, but there are some books out there that are absolutely effortless to read they are so natural and this wasn't one of those books for me. Lastly you get a lot of different types of fairies thrown at you right away. McGuire is inconsistent about describing these different races, sometimes she does and sometimes you are left to struggle through it on your own. This is another reason why a index or glossary of fairy races would have been nice.

Overall I liked the book. I think this could be the start of a magnificent series. Like many first books, this one could have used a little more polish, but the main elements are there. Mcguire is very good at world-building and characterization and writes some awesome action scenes. I am looking forward to reading the next book "A Local Habitation" due out in March 2010. ( )

Fresh Fare for Fae Fans

October Daye, better known to her friends and enemies as "Toby", has seen better times. Having recently recovered from a spell that left her trapped in the form of a fish for fourteen years she's lost everything she valued. A Changeling--half-human, half-fae--by birth she doesn't truly belong in either world. She may owe some allegience to her fae leige but having lost the human she loved and the now teenaged daughter she adored have left a mark on her.

With her old frenemy, Evening Winterrose, murdered it falls on Toby to find her killer or face the possibility of her own death. Dragged back into the world of Fae politics and secrets Toby must renew old ties and seek out the very persons she has been trying to avoid. There's no telling who she can trust amongst the Fae fiefdoms when enemies can be more straight-forward than one's own friends.

October's series is off to a good start with Rosemary and Rue. These are the fae most faeriephiles are familiar with but with some twists. McGuire gives readers just enough detail and hints to keep them reading but leaves a lot open for disclosure in future installments. I found her Cait Sidhe particularly interesting because I'm a cat lover. The variety of changelings make for an curious lot as there are many different types of fae in this particular world building. Where the author will go with this is anyone's guess.

As a heroine Toby is a little iffy. I liked her but felt like she wasn't telling us everything and some of her motivations seemed a little contrived. At times I felt like I had to guess at her motives and the lack of explanation of her relationships with her friends and enemies could have gone much deeper. There is a certain quality to her character that does make it hard not to want to continue getting to know her and wishing she was more forthcoming as the narrator of her story that will keep most readers entertained though. The wide variety of secondary characters were well done, strengthening the story even if (like Toby) I felt the surface was barely scratched with most of them. One issue I had here is that I frequently felt like I was told instead of shown how Toby related to the others.

Overall the story wasn't flawless but I found it hard to put down. After a while certain mythologies can feel redundant and Rosemary and Rue does its best to steer clear of that. Anyone who likes urban fantasy with Fae should pick this one up and check it out. The heavy sexual overtones of some other faerie series aren't present in this first book but may pop up in future ones. I recommend this one for urban fantasy fans looking for something fresh and original. ( )

Rosemary and Rue is the great book set in the world of Faerie. Our heroine, October Daye, is of the tragic variety. She's a Changeling who was working as a private detective, following another Fey, when she was transformed into a fish, losing years of her life in the process. Eventually, she gets back her original form but the world around her has changed - there are cell phones and scads of new technology, and all of her human friends (including her husband and child) have moved on, thinking that she just up and disappeared one day. So do her fey friends, but at least they can know the truth of what happened.

In Rosemary and Rue, Toby's out to find out who killed Evening Winterrose, one of the people she knew before her transformation. She has no choice but to solve this murder; if she doesn't figure it out, she'll die.

With that kind if incentive, Toby quests for all she's worth, which makes for a great story. Seanan McGuire has put together a great book. Toby's an interesting protagonist and you really want her to succeed in her mission. There's also a lot of good mythology, with some neat types of fae around. The next book, A Local Habitation, is slated to come out next month so I'll definitely be hitting the bookstore then!

Originally published at http://ireadgood.wordpress.com ( )