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Rosemary and Rue (October Daye #1)

by Seanan McGuire (Goodreads Author)

3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 · rating details · 8,585 ratings · 959 reviews

The world of Faerie never disappeared: it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie's survival—but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born. Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, these second-class children of Faerie spend their lives fighting for the respect o...more

ebook, 368 pages

Published September 1st 2009 by Daw Books

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Jan 18, 2010 Rawles rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, time-contemporary

This started off strong, but it lost a whooooole bunch of steam as it went. The story never really felt like it was driving forward, just sort of meandering onward.

Toby is likeable enough, but she's sort of ineffectual. She spends a large portion of the book constantly being battered about and recovering from various near-fatal injuries and in the grand scheme of the plot and what she's attempting to do, very rarely does she ever actually accomplish anything herself. Which is not to say that sh...more

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Feb 26, 2010 Katie(babs) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The year is 1995 and October “Toby” Daye is on a stake out. Toby is engaged to Cliff, a human. She and Cliff also have a little girl named Gilly. They think she is a private detective who works cases dealing with deadbeat dads. But, Toby keeps a very big secret from them. She is a half-human, half-fae working on a very special case that deals with her liege, Duke Sylvester. Sylvester’s twin brother Simon vanished without at trace along with Duke’s wife, Duchess Luna and their daughter Rayseline....more The year is 1995 and October “Toby” Daye is on a stake out. Toby is engaged to Cliff, a human. She and Cliff also have a little girl named Gilly. They think she is a private detective who works cases dealing with deadbeat dads. But, Toby keeps a very big secret from them. She is a half-human, half-fae working on a very special case that deals with her liege, Duke Sylvester. Sylvester’s twin brother Simon vanished without at trace along with Duke’s wife, Duchess Luna and their daughter Rayseline. Because Toby loves and respects the Duke, she will try and find his wife and daughter.

Toby is able to find Simon in the San Francisco Japanese Tea Gardens. There Toby comes across Simon and another creature that is half Tuatha de Dannan and half Peri. Toby is wary of this Peri because they are a race that likes to cause pain. Toby watches as these two embrace as lovers would and before Toby can confront them or go for help, Simon locates her. Because Simon is too powerful for Toby, he transforms her into a koi, which is a type of fish, where she will remain in the Japanese Tea Garden pond for fourteen years.

Fourteen years later the curse has been broken and Toby has turned her back on the fae. Cliff and her daughter refuse to have anything to do with Toby because she was missing for so long. Toby walks around in a daze, working nights at a grocery store, remaining invisible and trying to be as human as possible. But the fae and those creatures that inhabit this world are all around her. Toby will have no choice but to enter back into the world that so ruthlessly destroyed her.

The reason is because one of Toby's friends, Evening, the Countess of one of San Francisco’s smaller fiefdoms needs Toby’s help. She left a few messages on Toby’s answering machine, which Toby ignored. But when one of the messages is a binding spell, Toby has no choice but to do what Evening orders. Evening knows she will be murdered and leaves it up to Toby to find out who has killed her.

Toby must confront her past and those who have cherished her as well as ruined her life. She must walk among the most evil and treacherous of all faeries even if it means placing her own life in danger once again.

Seanan McGuire’s Rosemary and Rue has one of the best prologues I have read in recent memory. I have never read one where the main protagonist is transformed into a fish and left to suffer that way Toby does. After the first twelve pages, I was expecting a rip roaring fantasy story that would keep me hooked till the very end. I made it all the way to page two-hundred and put the book down because there isn’t much to recommend here.

The main problem I had with Rosemary and Rue was page after page of info dumping and needless internal dialogue. At one point I thought, there has to be more to this. Something exciting has to happen. It doesn’t. There is really no action to speak of within these pages. My main problem is that there is too much telling and not enough showing. We see Toby basically sleep walking thorough each scene where we meet so many people from her past for no other reason that I can think of. We are introduced to her old lover Devin, who is some sort Oliver Twist Fagin type, but he at least bathes and is much sexier. He surrounds himself by teens he may or may not have sexual hankie panky with known as the Lost Children a.k.a Devin’s kids. Why do we meet Devin? Just to add some emotional angst for Toby because before she was with her human lover Cliff, she was with Devin.

We meet Sylvester who Toby seems to still respect but can’t stand at the same time. Could she possibly still have residual feelings because Sylvester was the one to have her investigate his missing wife and child that took fourteen years away of her life? His wife and daughter were returned safe and sound and Toby never once confronts these people as to where they were or wanting revenge against Simon who gave her gills. And by the way Simon is MIA the whole time. You would think after she escaped the pond she would go searching for Simon and get her revenge. You would also think those friends of Toby would want revenge for her or would aid in her fight against Simon. That never happens.

We never meet Cliff or Gilly because for reasons I can’t think of, they feel betrayed by Toby. When I read this, I was very confused. Your fiancé has been missing for fourteen years and when you're told she has been found, you feel she is a deadbeat who ran out on you and you daughter? What? Wouldn't he run into her arms and cry tears of happiness that his love has come back to him safe and sound? And what's up with Toby who seems to love Cliff and Gilly so much, but only calls Cliff on the phone but never goes to see him? Of course this scenario is never shown. It is glossed over because Toby tells the reader. We are told not shown. And don’t get me started on why Toby and Cliff never married before she disappeared. That in itself doesn’t make sense. Why? It is another case of Toby telling the reader but not giving much explanation on why.

Many things that Toby does is told and told some more. Pages upon pages of long winded paragraphs with faery terminology and a What’s Who of important faery creatures are mentioned from Toby. But hey, every so often Toby investigates dangerous places and mutters a few spells and meets even more fantasy like creatures. Toby waxes on and on about them, who they are, what they can do and that is all. I felt like I was reading an encyclopedia instead of a fictional story.

Toby is very much the underdog here and her life has been a horrible one. I guess I was supposed to be sympathetic to her plight, but I just found her to be too pitiful with no spine. Toby is hurt, angry and feeling betrayed. Why wouldn’t she channel this anger and kick some ass and take some names? Toby came across as too much of a sad sack, a woes is me I need some major therapy; leave me with my cats in the dark of my apartment I can barely afford because I work at Safeway.

Everything about Rosemary and Rue fell so flat. I wanted to shake some sense into Toby. Instead I felt no connection and left her to her grief where I rolled my eyes and moved onto something with more substance that will stick to the basics of writing where one will show not tell. (less)

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Apr 25, 2010 The Flooze rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy-paranormal, owned, vanquished_2010, glutton_for_punishment

ETA: I've continued reading this series and want to point out I gave books four and five considerably higher ratings. Four stars each.
_______________________________

I can't make up my mind what to rate this. The unforgiving and frustrated side of me wants to saddle it with a two. The part of me that loves depictions of the fae, their powers and lands leans towards a three for effort.

My problem with Rosemary and Rue is this: Nothing really happens.

Sure, there’s a lot of running around. Bullets...more

11 likes · like · see review

May 08, 2011 The Holy Terror rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of Merry Gentry or Melissa Marr

Shelves: urban-fantasy, fairies, owned

In retrospect I think I was blinded at the time to this book's promising start. I give it 3.25 stars.

October Daye used to be a private investigator until she was turned into a fish and left in the Koi Pond in the Japanese Tea Gardens of Golden Gate Park. The spell lasted 14 years and October lost her entire life. She's trying to start over and then she receives a message on her answering machine from a friend. The friend knows that she's about to be killed so she curses Toby into finding out who...more In retrospect I think I was blinded at the time to this book's promising start. I give it 3.25 stars.

October Daye used to be a private investigator until she was turned into a fish and left in the Koi Pond in the Japanese Tea Gardens of Golden Gate Park. The spell lasted 14 years and October lost her entire life. She's trying to start over and then she receives a message on her answering machine from a friend. The friend knows that she's about to be killed so she curses Toby into finding out who her killer is, and Toby has no choice but to start unraveling the mystery.

First, one of two nitpicks; I wanted more description of the Fae races included. Even if McGuire didn't want to describe them in so much detail, a short description in the front of the book would have helped. Although, it might help out if you've read A Kiss of Shadows and the Merry Gentry series. A lot of the same Fae show up as well as a lot of the same concepts and themes of the Fae world.

She does include a pronunciation guide, which was helpful except for the mistake I found; kitsune is not pronounced kit-soon, it's a Japanese word and it's pronounced key-tsoo-nay. Also, I'm not sure why adding in how a word was pluralized was important, I'm sure we could figure it out as we went along whether she was talking about one or two fairies.

My second nitpick was some of the choices that Toby made. At times, she seemed to make bad choices that left me shaking my head and wondering what she was doing. Lily, an undine, even remarks on how Toby is just reacting and not acting, yet she doesn't do anything to rectify this until the last 10 pages or so. And about half-way in I could tell who the villain was and you'd think that Toby would have figured it out sooner. But really, it's a small nitpick and it ultimately didn't make me like Toby any less.

I am really excited to see if Toby gets a love interest in the next book. I really hope so because she was put through the ringer in this one. She needs some happiness. Honestly I'm normally the first one to complain and get bored when there's no romance at all, but this book was so action-packed I didn't even really notice.

All in all, an ok first book in new series, but not one without its faults.

Please check out my reviews for the next two books in this series: A Local Habitation and An Artificial Night.(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Oct 16, 2011 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormalfiction

Urban fantasy is one of my favorite genres to read these days, but my love for it really began in the '80s, when I was reading Charles de Lint, Emma Bull, and the fabulous Bordertown anthologies. I love a good vampire story, and werewolves are growing on me as well (peculiar image, right?), but my true favorites are the stories of the fey, not the itty bitty cutesy faeries, but the elegant and dangerous ones found in the ballads of Thomas the Rhymer and Tam Lin. I've simply had a harder time fin...more Urban fantasy is one of my favorite genres to read these days, but my love for it really began in the '80s, when I was reading Charles de Lint, Emma Bull, and the fabulous Bordertown anthologies. I love a good vampire story, and werewolves are growing on me as well (peculiar image, right?), but my true favorites are the stories of the fey, not the itty bitty cutesy faeries, but the elegant and dangerous ones found in the ballads of Thomas the Rhymer and Tam Lin. I've simply had a harder time finding the kinds of stories I like about the kinds of faeries I like as of late. With Rosemary and Rue, the start of the October Daye fantasy series, that just might have changed.

October Daye (Toby) is a changeling, part faerie and part human, working as a private detective in San Francisco. She is not fully accepted by the fey world, and she marries a human and has a daughter, but loses them both when she is cursed and vanishes for 14 years. When she returns, she has to start over and learn how the world has passed on without her. And then her friend Evening Winterrose is murdered, and Toby is cursed to solve her murder or die trying. . .

I found Toby to be an appealing character, both sympathetic and tough. My heart bled for her over the loss of her human family, and I winced with all physical damage she took. The story is fast-paced and full of surprises, but my favorite part of this novel has to be the setting. This is urban fantasy of the "they don't know we're among them" type, and McGuire does a terrific job of convincing the reader that unseen faerie creatures really do inhabit modern San Francisco. The world of Faerie, as McGuire paints it, is one of hierarchy, bargains and bindings, an invisible realm spread across the mundane world, with many of the fantastical creatures Toby encounters living in recognizable San Francisco landmarks. My favorite was the Japanese Tea Garden---it's been ages since I've been there, but I'm inspired to make another visit soon!

I'll admit that I had a few quibbles while reading Rosemary and Rue, but they were extremely minor and did not detract from the story at all. I am also slightly biased in that the book inspires nostalgia for my '80s favorites, as mentioned about, and San Francisco is one of my favorite cities; if neither of these applies to you, knock a star off my review. I'll bet you'll still really enjoy this book!

(less)

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Sep 08, 2009 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: california, fantasy, folk-and-fairy-tales, fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

3 likes · like · see review

Jun 19, 2012 Colleen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, whodunit-supernatural, group-read, faerie

The 2 stars is mostly because I like the idea of it. I like the world and I'm kind of a sucker for all things fae. And I really like certain aspects and characters - I like Sylvester and Luna, and I really like Tybalt, and there's a part of me that would like to see more of them but, like, in their own stories or something because I don't think I'm into reading another story from October's perspective.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

In many ways this is a bog-standard urban fantasy whodunit, co...more

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May 18, 2012 Jacob Proffitt rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

I wanted to like this book, I really did. The characters were interesting and the world was a good twist on the typical faerie lore. Further, the heroine is an excellent mixture of cynical and vulnerable that is both engaging and charming.

The ending, however, left me scratching my head and angry at both the author and heroine--I couldn't really tell if the fault was in the character or author as the (in)action seemed to me to come out of left field. Details in the spoiler.

(view spoiler)...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Lynsey (The Demon Librarian) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-boyfriend, favourites, squee-worthy, rotflmao, fae-alicious, shifter-ific, magic-tastic, kick-ass-chicks

This was a very easy book to get into. From the opening scene I knew I would like October Daye. She's funny without being an annoying smart ass. She's brave but knows her limitations. And although she doesn't like all the pomp and circumstance of the Faerie courts, she knows how to be respectful when she needs to be. She was just very likeable.

The world-building an plot were a little harder to wrap my mind around. It seems quite complex, and we've only just scratched the surface. And some of the...more

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Sep 10, 2009 Michelle Dockrey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: EVERYONE

Recommended to Michelle by: Seanan McGuire

Shelves: favorites

Full disclosure: this review may be doubly biased; not only is the author one of my best friends, but I'm in the proofing pool. I'm in an unusual position. I've had the privilege of watching this book and this series grow over drafts and years, from an unruly child into a beaming graduate. If authors are essentially releasing their children out into the world to make it on their own, I feel like I'm part of the proud family that's watched them grow up, or at least perhaps one of its well-loved t...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Negine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I listened to the audiobook and was sucked right in by Seanan McGuire's writing style and the first person narrative voice of her main character October Daye. (on a side note the narrator on the audiobook did a great job with voices for all the different characters and creatures) I loved the world-building! It's a faerie world set seamlessly against our mundane modern day San Francisco. Although this series is widely considered to be of the Urban Fantasy genre I prefer the author's description o...more

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May 22, 2012 Laurel rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

I liked the character, I liked the premise, I like that the fairy world is a given a little darker of a treatment than most other UF. But there is just something. I think that the series will definitely hook me as I go further. This one, I just thought that the reader wasn't allowed behind the veil enough to try and help become connected to the crime, as Toby was. Not to mention, she was beaten up so badly. Its hard to root for a hero when you don't know how deeply she believes in her c...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: urban-fantasy

I received this book for free from a blog giveaway and I could not be happier! I never knew I loved the Fae so much!! Thank you, Seanan, for turning me onto them... or rather the world in which you created for them. I've since read every other book in the series and now must wait a year for the next one. Sometimes, its bad to catch up.

October, Toby, Daye is a great urban fantasy female lead. Full of the requisite snark, she also has a heart of gold that she, of course, tries her hardest to hide....more

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Mar 04, 2012 zcb257 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Re-read:

OK, I gave it another shot. Unfortunately I didn't like it any more this go around. The fact that I tried the audio book, who's narrator kinda stinks, didn't help matters.

Once again I was amazed at how our 'strong' female lead could go anywhere near a man who had not only abused her, but slept with anything that moved. And as a supposed PI, did not even have a bit of a clue what was going on until it was literally shown to her.

Initial thoughts:

So much potential....

I love the world, and I...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Misty rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dorsch-book-club, folklore-myth-fable-fairy-tall-tale, read-in-2011, sci_fi-fantasy, supernatural-paranormal, noir

This was a recent book club pick, and while many (most) of the books that have been picked for the 1st half of this year elicited an underwhelming amount of excitement, I was at least moderately looking forward to this one: they almost always let me down, but I can't keep myself from reading about faeries.

This one, unfortunately, was not an exception to that rule. I missed the first part of the book club meeting, but from what I did see, it seemed that the disappointment was pretty universal. I...more This was a recent book club pick, and while many (most) of the books that have been picked for the 1st half of this year elicited an underwhelming amount of excitement, I was at least moderately looking forward to this one: they almost always let me down, but I can't keep myself from reading about faeries.

This one, unfortunately, was not an exception to that rule. I missed the first part of the book club meeting, but from what I did see, it seemed that the disappointment was pretty universal. I think part of this was that it suffered from First Novel Syndrome. There was A LOT of repetition and useless blahdeeblah that just irritated me to no end, and showed McGuire's immaturity as a writer <-- not uncommon in a first book. There were kinks and pet peeves that just needed to be worked out, and mistakes and awkward style that just come with the business of writing when you're still trying to find your style. I found myself skimming l a r g e sections of the book, just wanting her to get on with it, already.

But perhaps the biggest turn off for me -- and I shouldn't have been surprised -- was the noir style. I'm not generally a fan of noir to begin with, and this just seemed to really drive that home to me. Everything I don't like about noir -- the endless talk, the posturing, the ceaseless introduction of new characters who may or may not be shady, and the inane conclusion-jumping coupled with the ability to overlook the obvious* -- they were all present and accounted for. I felt like, were I to listen to this on audiobook, it would be narrated by a female Humphrey Bogart wannabe in a cheesy "Now look heah, seeEE?" voice. It never felt like it's own thing, but like a concept McGuire was going for + a need to play fill in the blanks. And there was SO MUCH info-dumping, and SO MUCH writing in circles, I felt like I was going to rip my hair out. And the whole time, the WHOLE TIME, I was left wanting to shake Toby and ask her, If you're supposed to be this smart, kick-ass, unusual and good detective, WHY don't you seem to understand what's going on around you?
Ugh, I could go on, there were more things that irritated me, but it's really not worth it.

It was a shame, because I saw good elements there that made me think I might want to read further in the series, but I absolutely won't until a)someone tells me McGuire's writing undergoes a serious transformation, and b)it's a really rainy day that I'm ready to throw away.

*I mean, seriously. EVERYONE in my bookclub pegged the bad guy ON THE PAGE HE WAS INTRODUCED ON. He's described as a complete creeper, make-your-skin-crawl jackass that TOOK ADVANTAGE OF Toby when she was a kid, and STILL she doesn't suspect him?

Also, it disappoints me a little because I wanted to read Feed, but um, I just found out that it's written by McGuire using a pseudonym.

Side note: I much prefer the German cover of Rosemary and Rue --->

(less)

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Sep 02, 2010 Kat Hooper rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

October (Toby) Daye is a changeling — half fae, half human. She’s been living in the mortal world, trying to avoid nasty faerie politics, but she’s suddenly been thrust right back into it when a pure-blood faerie countess is murdered and Toby has to solve the crime before succumbing to a curse.

I don’t read a lot of this type of urban fantasy, so I can’t compare Rosemary and Rue to most of its peers — I can only compare it to what I normally read. Coming fr...more ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

October (Toby) Daye is a changeling — half fae, half human. She’s been living in the mortal world, trying to avoid nasty faerie politics, but she’s suddenly been thrust right back into it when a pure-blood faerie countess is murdered and Toby has to solve the crime before succumbing to a curse.

I don’t read a lot of this type of urban fantasy, so I can’t compare Rosemary and Rue to most of its peers — I can only compare it to what I normally read. Coming from that angle, my opinion is that Rosemary and Rue is a well-written novel with some fine world-building and characterization, but it’s not an excellent novel.

The world-building is quite extensive and heavily based on faerie lore. I loved the way that San Francisco was divided into faerie duchies. This was innovative and interesting and I learned a few things but, unfortunately, it often felt like we were walking the pages of a faerie encyclopedia because there were frequent descriptions and explanations of every imaginable fae creature: selkies, peris, pixies, sprites, redcaps, hobgoblins, etc, etc. This does make October Daye’s world feel real and vibrant and creative, but it was also a lot of information to give us which means less plot and slower pace. This is likely to get better in subsequent novels — once we feel established in October’s world.

I sympathized with October’s situation and found her likable enough, though I didn’t quite understand why other characters thought so highly of her. There’s nothing wrong with October Daye — but she’s not particularly compelling as a heroine. She made a few moves that were supposed to be brave, but I just thought, “Hey! What are you doing? That’s a good way to get yourself in trouble!” And guess what? Yeah, she got in trouble. Trouble is fine, but not when you should have seen it coming.

Toby’s voice is slightly sarcastic — not in a caustic way (thankfully), but in a flippant way. I know this is common with urban fantasy heroines, but it’s just not my type of humor. In fact, I don’t think I laughed or chuckled even once during this novel which means that there was no relief from the tension for me. I’d much prefer to have a grimmer novel that at least had some real humor to give us some bright spots (Joe Abercrombie’s so good at that). This is likely an issue with my own personality and humor preferences.

I also couldn’t relate to Toby’s attachment to Devin, the creepy caretaker of the changeling half-way house. I think this is what disappointed me most about Toby — she really should have been disgusted with him from the beginning, but she was half disgusted and half in love. Yuck. This is probably the main reason I couldn’t embrace Toby — I just couldn’t understand what she was thinking.

I listened to Brilliance Audio’s version which was read by Mary Robinette Kowal. Ms. Kowal did a truly excellent job with Toby — it was perfect. However, I must say that her voices for most of the other characters where cringe-worthy. Her male voices especially were unpleasant and several of the voices that were supposed to sound ethnic were just strange. Ms. Kowal is an accomplished voice performer and her voice for Toby was wonderful, so I’m willing to believe that these strange voices were chosen because of the faerie theme. I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up another audiobook performed by Ms. Kowal, and I certainly plan to try her own novel which releases in a few weeks.

In the end, I think Rosemary and Rue stands up pretty well (probably better in print than audio), but it’s nothing particularly exciting.(less)

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Feb 05, 2010 Shanon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, dfc-2, 2010

I really enjoyed this book. It has a ton of different fairy creatures. Some that I’m familiar with from other stories and others that were new to me. I liked the main character, October Daye. She was just stubborn and flexible enough to be believable (if that makes sense). Just a few minor things that are holding me back from giving this 5 stars.

The mystery was transparent. I love having a “Why didn’t I see that coming, it should’ve been so obvious?!?” moment when I finish books that contain a m...more

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Aug 25, 2009 faeriemyst rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, urban-fantasy, faeries, amazon-vine, own

Wow. That's about all I can think of to sum up my thoughts. Rosemary and Rue is a knock-out debut of what looks to be a fantastic series. The protagonist, October (Toby), is interesting, tough yet still fragile, sympathetic, and her character as a whole seems so realistic. The plot and mystery held my interest and I never fully grasped the truth, I pretty much found out when Toby did, and I respect an author who can do that without everything coming out of left field. The ending was melancholy,...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Starts off really strong and then looses some steam as it goes along. Overall good characters, interesting mythology, and enough intriguing loose ends to compel me to read on in the series (really hope they pick up the plotline with Toby's daughter, I was most fascinated to see a heroine in one of these paranormal books who is actually a mother). Also, notice the lack of cleavage on the cover, this isn't PNR at all, even my husband couldn't make fun of me about this one.

1 like · like · see review

Oct 20, 2010 Megan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who loves fae stories or is a hard core UF fan & isn't bothered by extensive world building.

Shelves: faeries, did-not-finish, not-mine-library, urban-fantasy

Rosemary and Rue really isn't bad. I can't complain about the writing, the action, the mystery or the protagonist, October "Toby" Daye. But somehow, this book just never got a hold of my interest. I blame the world building ~ there is a lot of background information given. A lot. And frankly Toby Daye isn't all that different from so many other female protagonists found in UF books.

Author Seanan McGuire obviously put quite a bit of thought and time into constructing the world in which Toby liv...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Veronica G. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, fae, female-protagonist, mystery, first-in-series

Having just finished the first Incryptid book, I decided it was finally time to get to the author's more well known series. I liked this book even though it wasn't perfect, then again first books so rarely are. The pacing was a little off as the first half moved a little slow and the second half had the heroine going through a different near death experience every chapter but I did like the fae world. I hope to be able to explore the various courts and kingdoms in later books as well as their le...more

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Jun 16, 2013 Mary Catelli rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-contemporary

A woman, a PI -- living in California, rejoicing in the name October Daye and going by Toby, doing her best to forget with her fiance and daughter that she's half fae -- is tracking down an abduction of her liege lord's wife and daughter. Except that she's caught by her suspect and turned into a fish. If someone hadn't tossed her into the pool, she would have died. Even as it was, she lost fourteen years, and so her whole life.

After she is lurching along, trying even harder to pretend that she h...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Kathleen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, read-in-2013

As a murder mystery this was fairly predictable, though granted there were enough red herrings to make me doubt myself a little.

As an urban fantasy this was phenomenal.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Fairies are the scariest monsters. Sure other monsters will eat you or maybe turn you into a monster so that you have to live forever and apparently that's bad. Suck it up, Louie. The Fae will destroy you. This book opens with the main character being turned into a fish for fourteen yea...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another urban fantasy with a female protagonist. I'm looking for something as good as Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniels series.
This isn't, but it was fun.
Protagonist October Daye (known as Toby) is a changeling who lives in San Francisco. “Changeling” means “mixed blood” - part fae, part human. When Toby was a teen with nowhere to live, she went to live in “Home”, a magical squat for runaway teen changelings, whose owner, Devin, became her first lover. After leaving him, and Home, Toby became a Knig...more Another urban fantasy with a female protagonist. I'm looking for something as good as Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniels series.
This isn't, but it was fun.
Protagonist October Daye (known as Toby) is a changeling who lives in San Francisco. “Changeling” means “mixed blood” - part fae, part human. When Toby was a teen with nowhere to live, she went to live in “Home”, a magical squat for runaway teen changelings, whose owner, Devin, became her first lover. After leaving him, and Home, Toby became a Knight of the local fae King – and then decided to pass as human, becoming a private eye and marrying a mortal man who had no idea of her secret. “I could explain almost anything by saying I had to work, and a lot of the time, it was the truth. It's just that sometiems my cases were more Brothers Grimm than Magnum P.I.”
And that's all before the story begins. It starts with Toby on a job, trying to find the kidnapped wife and daughter of her liege King. In doing so, she gets turned into a fish in a fish pond for fourteen years.
And that just brings us through chapter one.
Most of the book is about her next case. After recovering from fishhood, Toby is trying to live as mortal, making a living as a night-time cashier in a supermarket. But she Toby is forced by spell-binding (on her phone's voice mail) to take a case discovering who killed Countess Evening Winterrose, a hotshot fae California CEO. To pursue the case she must re-encounter some faces from her past (The Queen, her Lord Sylvester and his family, the king of the cat people, Devin) and some new magics and monsters. I particularly liked the Luidaeg.
The writing is bright and lively, maybe even breezy. Toby's point of view is fun, sometimes even frustrating: we know what she explains, but she doesn't explain everything, and she doesn't know everything – so we really don't even know the pattern of her universe. The setting is fun: a fairy tale mapped onto modern San Francisco. The characters are engaging. There is a glossary of fae races at the beginning of the book, but I found I would have preferred a list of characters.
The plot is predictable; I had the murderer guessed halfway through. And certain key elements of the story are left hanging. I would assume that the plot of Lord Sylvester's family's kidnapping and the evil Lord Simon, the fate of Toby's daughter and husband (and her mother), and her relationship with Tybalt of the Cait Sidhe, will become the focus of later books in the series.
More bothersome: Toby was a complainer. I don't think she does anything without complaining about it before had. Sure, she's hard put upon, but I wanted to say, “Shut up and stop whining.” Half the time she's being shot or beat up: a little of that went a long way. I'd have liked a lot less violence, and a protagonist who didn't find twenty things to gripe about every chapter.(less)

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Mar 13, 2013 LdDurham rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction, urban-fantasy

I really thought I'd like this book, but I admit I was mostly just bored. I couldn't identify with the lead character. She came off as pessimistic (the not-fun kind), weak, unemotional, inept, cold, and, well, boring.
I'd say for about 3/4 of the book, it read more like a field guide to supernatural creatures. There were so many species and characters introduced with tons of back story that I kept forgetting which characters meant anything. It was just too much to take in.
The emotions in this b...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Shoshana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, fantasy, transcends, crime, urban-fantasy, faerie

I love this, and I'm about to start the second! It absolutely sounds like not at all a book I would like - urban fantasy, Faerie, and crime. Blech. But I took Katie on faith and I am so glad! The characterizations and problems are deep and complicated; it's not too suspenseful (how I think of crime novels) nor juvenile at all (how I think of urban fantasy, whatever age audience they're aimed at); things go wrong in serious ways; characters make terrible mistakes but work really hard at doing rig...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Snarktastic Sonja rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, reviewed

I really wanted to love this book. Really. But, I did not. I did, however, want to know how it ended. And, I will freely admit that the end surprised me. But, I think that was as much because I did not care enough to contemplate the whos whys and wherefores - I only wanted to finish.

The Prologue started off very promisingly. I was anxious to learn what had happened, why it happened, and see the villain get his comeuppance. Lo, and behold, the story continues after many years have passed. The pro...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Elizabby rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Urban fantasy - Private Investigator investigating a death, except the PI and the killers and the victim are all fae and fae politics is an important element. This is a fun romp through the urban fantasy style, and I liked the fact that Toby is a very modern girl protagonist. I think it is important to realize that this is the first book in a series, and suffers a bit from that fact - there is a lot of time spent on setting the scene, explaining the world and setting up characters who will becom...more

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Nov 22, 2012 Sophie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, read-in-2012, mystery

I came to this book having only previously read the Newsflesh trilogy, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Turns out it's a faerie murder mystery! Faerie in the old sense, the Terry Pratchett Lords and Ladies sense, where they are charming, graceful, beautiful assholes who will kill you just for the fun of it. Good times.

The main character is a half-faerie changeling private detective, living in both worlds (human and faerie) but belonging to neither. She must solve the murder of a prominent...more

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Nov 15, 2012 John Constable rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

James_ lent the entire series to me after A. mentioned that she wanted to start reading them and we've been working our way through them since.

The first in the series and it does show - having come to her writing with the 'Newsflesh' series, its obvious how much her craft has improved since this has been written. While I enjoyed this, it felt a little stilted in places, and had it not been for James_ and A's exhortations that in many ways this was the weakest of all of them, coupled with her afo...more

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About Seanan McGuire

Hi! I'm Seanan McGuire, author of the Toby Daye series (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses), as well as a lot of other things. I'm also Mira Grant (www.miragrant.com), author of Feed and Deadline.

Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and...more

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