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October Daye #1
Rosemary and Rue
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 of their immortal relations. Or, in the case of October “Toby” Daye, rejecting it completely. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the fae world, retreating into a “normal” life. Unfortunately for her, Faerie has other ideas.
This Tenth Anniversary Edition also includes the novella "Strangers in Court."
This Tenth Anniversary Edition also includes the novella "Strangers in Court."
329 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2009
About the author
Seanan McGuire
484 books16.5k followersHi! 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 share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(
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 share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,521 reviews
July 30, 2020
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
There are two things I want to tell you in advance:
1. October Daye is one of my Top 5 Favorite UF Series.
2. The first time I tried to read ROSEMARY AND RUE, I DNF-ed it.
YEP. I did.
I didn't pick it up again for a couple of years, and when I did, it was b/c DESPERATE for new UF.
So I was more patient . . . Which was good, b/c I made it past the '90s flashback of a prologue, and the depths-of-despair aftermath that had initially put me off.
You: Yeah, but how long did that take? How far do I have to get into the book before I get to the "good part"?
Me: I'm SO glad you asked! I didn't even have to finish the first chapter before things got interesting. *waves at Tybalt*
Once he showed up, it was easy to push through the next couple of chapters, then Toby was back in thick of things. *orbit gum smile*
October Daye is a changeling, or part fae/part human. She lives mostly with the humans, or has for awhile now. She has a human fiancé, and together they have a daughter.
It's that "mostly" that destroys her world.
When a powerful fae's wife and daughter are kidnapped, he recruits Toby for her PI skills to find them.
She's worked similar jobs for fae before, but as a changeling, her abilities are flimsy compared to those of a full-blooded fae, so when she finds what she's looking for, she taps out.
She calls in reinforcements to handle any takedowns or wrangling of pureblooded fae villains.
But this time . . . she doesn't.
Sylvester Torquill is her friend, as is his wife, and their daughter is near the same age as her own, so when she tracks down the culprit, instead of leaving to report in, she stays . . .
And gets transfigured into a koi, and spends the next FOURTEEN YEARS of her life swimming in one of the ponds in Golden Gate Park's Tea Gardens.
Eventually, she regains her humanity, but she's lost everything she cared about--her fiancé is with another woman, her daughter is nearly grown, and both believe she abandoned them--the world is unrecognizable (her last cell phone was the size of a 12oz soda can), and, well . . .
She's MAD. And defeated. And plagued with guilt and remorse. But the anger is there, even if she's buried it under six feet of avoidance, and an angry Toby makes for an infinitely more interesting Toby than a woe-is-me Toby.
Like when she's driving home from a meeting with the duke only to find a fae assassin in her backseat:
Sounds fun to me . . . *winks*
Which brings me to how fantastic McGuire's writing is across the board--not only is this series about fae, but her style embodies the very faeness that makes them my FAEvorite:
Then there are the various types of fae:
*backs away from kelpie*
And let's not forget the wonderfully clever world-building:
Do you see why I'm hooked?
ROSEMARY AND RUE is the first installment of Seanan McGuire's OCTOBER DAYE series, and it is the full package. Our heroine has taken some hard knocks, but she doesn't let it keep her down. She keeps pushing, and fighting, and pursuing, b/c what she's been tasked to do matters, and anything else is quitter talk. The world is fae, the characters are fae, the tone is fae . . . I love it. Highly recommended.
3/9/16: Impromptu buddy read with Jo and maybe (HOPEFULLY) Robin in BB&B ! B/c Urban Fantasy, we NEEDS it.
Plus, you know, this is one of my Top 5 UF series . . . FYI ;)
My other reviews for this series:
A Local Habitation (October Daye, #2)
An Artificial Night (October Daye, #3)
Late Eclipses (October Daye, #4)
One Salt Sea (October Daye, #5)
Ashes of Honor (October Daye, #6)
Chimes at Midnight (October Daye, #7)
The Winter Long (October Daye, #8)
A Red-Rose Chain (October Daye, #9)
Once Broken Faith (October Daye, #10)
There are two things I want to tell you in advance:
1. October Daye is one of my Top 5 Favorite UF Series.
2. The first time I tried to read ROSEMARY AND RUE, I DNF-ed it.
YEP. I did.
I didn't pick it up again for a couple of years, and when I did, it was b/c DESPERATE for new UF.
So I was more patient . . . Which was good, b/c I made it past the '90s flashback of a prologue, and the depths-of-despair aftermath that had initially put me off.
You: Yeah, but how long did that take? How far do I have to get into the book before I get to the "good part"?
Me: I'm SO glad you asked! I didn't even have to finish the first chapter before things got interesting. *waves at Tybalt*
Once he showed up, it was easy to push through the next couple of chapters, then Toby was back in thick of things. *orbit gum smile*
October Daye is a changeling, or part fae/part human. She lives mostly with the humans, or has for awhile now. She has a human fiancé, and together they have a daughter.
It's that "mostly" that destroys her world.
When a powerful fae's wife and daughter are kidnapped, he recruits Toby for her PI skills to find them.
She's worked similar jobs for fae before, but as a changeling, her abilities are flimsy compared to those of a full-blooded fae, so when she finds what she's looking for, she taps out.
She calls in reinforcements to handle any takedowns or wrangling of pureblooded fae villains.
But this time . . . she doesn't.
Sylvester Torquill is her friend, as is his wife, and their daughter is near the same age as her own, so when she tracks down the culprit, instead of leaving to report in, she stays . . .
And gets transfigured into a koi, and spends the next FOURTEEN YEARS of her life swimming in one of the ponds in Golden Gate Park's Tea Gardens.
Eventually, she regains her humanity, but she's lost everything she cared about--her fiancé is with another woman, her daughter is nearly grown, and both believe she abandoned them--the world is unrecognizable (her last cell phone was the size of a 12oz soda can), and, well . . .
She's MAD. And defeated. And plagued with guilt and remorse. But the anger is there, even if she's buried it under six feet of avoidance, and an angry Toby makes for an infinitely more interesting Toby than a woe-is-me Toby.
Like when she's driving home from a meeting with the duke only to find a fae assassin in her backseat:
“What the—?” demanded a voice from the back...
“It’s called reckless driving, asshole!”
“...You’re going to kill us both!”
“That’s the idea!” It was actually fun, in a fatalistic sort of way. I smiled grimly as we wove in and out of traffic, watching the near misses become less miss and more near. There’s nothing like a good high-speed car chase to get the evening started off right.
Sounds fun to me . . . *winks*
Which brings me to how fantastic McGuire's writing is across the board--not only is this series about fae, but her style embodies the very faeness that makes them my FAEvorite:
I’ve never been good at shadow-weaving or fire-work, but give me a thick veil of water vapor and I can manage the basics. This time my aim was clarity: water’s excellent for scrying, and fog is just water that’s forgotten its beginnings.
Then there are the various types of fae:
A black horse stood by the curb in the deepest part of the shadow, the smell of debris masking its characteristic blood-and-seaweed scent. Its eyes were red, and the look it gave me was inviting, promising wild adventures and fantastic delights if I’d just get onto its back.
*backs away from kelpie*
And let's not forget the wonderfully clever world-building:
...the electronic age has broadened the horizons of magical fraud to an astonishing degree. Faerie gold can be used for more than just party tricks; it works pretty well on the stock market, for example, where money’s an illusion anyway.
Do you see why I'm hooked?
ROSEMARY AND RUE is the first installment of Seanan McGuire's OCTOBER DAYE series, and it is the full package. Our heroine has taken some hard knocks, but she doesn't let it keep her down. She keeps pushing, and fighting, and pursuing, b/c what she's been tasked to do matters, and anything else is quitter talk. The world is fae, the characters are fae, the tone is fae . . . I love it. Highly recommended.
3/9/16: Impromptu buddy read with Jo and maybe (HOPEFULLY) Robin in BB&B ! B/c Urban Fantasy, we NEEDS it.
Plus, you know, this is one of my Top 5 UF series . . . FYI ;)
My other reviews for this series:
A Local Habitation (October Daye, #2)
An Artificial Night (October Daye, #3)
Late Eclipses (October Daye, #4)
One Salt Sea (October Daye, #5)
Ashes of Honor (October Daye, #6)
Chimes at Midnight (October Daye, #7)
The Winter Long (October Daye, #8)
A Red-Rose Chain (October Daye, #9)
Once Broken Faith (October Daye, #10)
August 11, 2022
3.5* rounded up
What do I do when I want to read something easy and I have numerous mystery-fantasy series that I already started to choose from? I begin a new one, obviously.
Rosemary and Rue is the 1st volume from October Daye series, one of the many available Urban Fantasies with a kick-ass heroine as main character. This series figures on many best of lists when it comes to UF so I bought it some time ago but did not get the chance to read it.
Despite the stupidity of the main character, I enjoyed this novel more than others 1st instalments. I wonder why. Maybe it was because the main character was flawed, she was no virgin snowflake or an all mighty hero. October Daye is a changeling, half fae, half human working as a private investigator. When one job goes terribly wrong, she is turned into a pond fish and is thought dead by the fae and her human family (husband and daughter). She manages to escape the pond after 15 years and she finds the world very different. Damaged, she tries to run away from everything but when a fae royalty dies, she is forced to investigate. As I said, Toby is a complex character with a history of abuse and that maybe explains some of the less than ideal decisions she takes in this book. She is supposed to be an excellent investigator but she does not show for it in this one (or the next). She barely manages to stay alive with the help of others, mostly.
Still, the writing is funny and the plot is very gripping. I believe the world building was good and the series shows promise. One needs candy from time to time.
What do I do when I want to read something easy and I have numerous mystery-fantasy series that I already started to choose from? I begin a new one, obviously.
Rosemary and Rue is the 1st volume from October Daye series, one of the many available Urban Fantasies with a kick-ass heroine as main character. This series figures on many best of lists when it comes to UF so I bought it some time ago but did not get the chance to read it.
Despite the stupidity of the main character, I enjoyed this novel more than others 1st instalments. I wonder why. Maybe it was because the main character was flawed, she was no virgin snowflake or an all mighty hero. October Daye is a changeling, half fae, half human working as a private investigator. When one job goes terribly wrong, she is turned into a pond fish and is thought dead by the fae and her human family (husband and daughter). She manages to escape the pond after 15 years and she finds the world very different. Damaged, she tries to run away from everything but when a fae royalty dies, she is forced to investigate. As I said, Toby is a complex character with a history of abuse and that maybe explains some of the less than ideal decisions she takes in this book. She is supposed to be an excellent investigator but she does not show for it in this one (or the next). She barely manages to stay alive with the help of others, mostly.
Still, the writing is funny and the plot is very gripping. I believe the world building was good and the series shows promise. One needs candy from time to time.
September 15, 2018
So, Steven recommended this to me, and since I've enjoyed his recommendations in the past...I snagged this one from my library the same day.
Was it any good?
Hmm. Kinda.
I'm going to settle on 3 stars, because it wasn't bad, but I wasn't immediately sucked into the world, the plot, or any of the characters.
I can see why a lot of my friends weren't all that impressed with it.
BUT.
I also remember that I 'liked' the 1st Mercy Thompson, and only felt a vague tingle when I read the 1st Kate Daniels. And now I'd step on my children to get a copy of either of those series' new books.
So.
I put the second book on hold a few minutes ago.
Because I'm trusting you, Steven! And you, Jessica, with your fantastic review that had me nodding along, and getting excited to do a re-read of a book I wasn't even sure I liked all that much!
You two better not let me down...
Kidding! Kidding! I love you both!
As far as the story goes, I'm a bit torn.
Part of me is really impressed, because not only is the world unique, but so is October.
She's not some virginal heroine searching for her knight in shining armor, she's a very broken woman who's lost everything she possibly can, and isn't ready to face the world again.
And while she's still got a young vibe (because of her fae nature) she's not some 20something, either. She's got life experience, she's got maturity, and I gotta say...I loved that!
On the flip side, some of the rules (especially about changlings & how they were dealt with) was a little tough for me to follow. In fact, I'm still kind of scratching my head about some of that.
Part of that is probably my fault because my reading time is more limited now, so maybe I rushed through an important paragraph or two, and didn't even realize it?
Entirely possible.
By the end, the good outweighed the bad enough that I'm in for the next one. I'm hoping this series grows on me as much as my trusty pals say it will. <--I WANT TO BELIEVE!
Was it any good?
Hmm. Kinda.
I'm going to settle on 3 stars, because it wasn't bad, but I wasn't immediately sucked into the world, the plot, or any of the characters.
I can see why a lot of my friends weren't all that impressed with it.
BUT.
I also remember that I 'liked' the 1st Mercy Thompson, and only felt a vague tingle when I read the 1st Kate Daniels. And now I'd step on my children to get a copy of either of those series' new books.
So.
I put the second book on hold a few minutes ago.
Because I'm trusting you, Steven! And you, Jessica, with your fantastic review that had me nodding along, and getting excited to do a re-read of a book I wasn't even sure I liked all that much!
You two better not let me down...
Kidding! Kidding! I love you both!
As far as the story goes, I'm a bit torn.
Part of me is really impressed, because not only is the world unique, but so is October.
She's not some virginal heroine searching for her knight in shining armor, she's a very broken woman who's lost everything she possibly can, and isn't ready to face the world again.
And while she's still got a young vibe (because of her fae nature) she's not some 20something, either. She's got life experience, she's got maturity, and I gotta say...I loved that!
On the flip side, some of the rules (especially about changlings & how they were dealt with) was a little tough for me to follow. In fact, I'm still kind of scratching my head about some of that.
Part of that is probably my fault because my reading time is more limited now, so maybe I rushed through an important paragraph or two, and didn't even realize it?
Entirely possible.
By the end, the good outweighed the bad enough that I'm in for the next one. I'm hoping this series grows on me as much as my trusty pals say it will. <--I WANT TO BELIEVE!
March 15, 2020
I really enjoyed this one, and I enjoyed the important topic of grooming and how difficult it can be to realize you are in an abusive and unsafe relationship until you are out of it. Sadly, this made the story a bit unpredictable for me, which also led to it feeling a little boring. I still really appreciate everything that was in here, and I completely recommend! Also, there were some very beautiful quotes in this book that I won't soon forget! Also, Seanan writing about the fae? A dream come true, even if I'm very late to this party!
I read this for the Backlist Readathon!
Youtube | Instagram | Twitter | Blog | Spotify | Twitch
Trigger and Content Warnings for abduction, loss of a loved one, blood depiction, murder, torture, death, grooming, talk of sexual assault in the past, and depression depiction.
I read this for the Backlist Readathon!
Youtube | Instagram | Twitter | Blog | Spotify | Twitch
Trigger and Content Warnings for abduction, loss of a loved one, blood depiction, murder, torture, death, grooming, talk of sexual assault in the past, and depression depiction.
September 24, 2022
“Toby Daye Investigations, Toby Daye speaking, what is it now, Cliff?”
October, Toby is our brash vivacious lili changeling. After hiding away from the fey world, the murder of Winterrose drags her back into the thick of it... NOW lets see if she survives it *Muahha*
Her POV: I weirdly enjoyed that she on weaker side of fey and not some mythical punching bag that always top of the food chain. it was a breathe of air on how she has been FUCKEDD UPPP by the fey and refuses to ever let that happen to her *or others* again. She ain't stupid-- she knows her weaknesses and fights to overcome them which really showed in her POV as capable but cautious
I think the best way to describe this book is a rough start to a great series while the book itself does have some issues, looking back I see the hidden details as gems of info that later play a HUGE part in the series so its very much a ~~trust the process, its only gonna keep getting better from here bb~~
And of course she makes some friends on the way,
“On the other hand, it’s actually been something of a relief, because it’s something I can count on. Dawn comes, the moon wanes, and Tybalt hates me.”
I fucking loved Tybalt, his character as the Kings of Cats just cloaked in mysterious in the shadows while also a teasing fuckwhad was the PERFECT addition to this story that I can't believe isn't in more fey types
I ship the HELLLL outta them together bc ummm he's amazing *duhhh* I love the way he helps her but in the most dickish way possible i.e. some mysterious vague clues. He definitely a reoccurring character who always gonna be in the middle of trouble *ya know how cats be* but the question remains whether he is on Toby's side or against her ... is yet to be seen
Secondary character wise, we seemed to get more info about the villainous then any real supporting cast. not even a cliche BFF with all the answers *snorts*
But we do get sneak peek of some ?? possible friends ?? from some stray kids she tried to save
“So you followed me after I told you not to, and saw us come out of the cliff?”
“Yes.”
“Manuel?”
“Yes?”
“That was dumb.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I think the best part of the story *besides Tybalt of course* was the general world building in how the fey rules worked in tandem with the human world. the author clearly kept some classic fey rules like NO LYINGG but also intertwined her own unique twists of mystical badasses that even I'm scared shitless of
Like all the Fey legends that she must survive ... i mean visit
“You have to visit the Luidaeg.” She said it like it was a perfectly reasonable idea. Like hell.”
If that hasn't intrigued you into this series then maybe hearing from the heroine herself, introduce her world might help:
“My name is October Christine Daye; I live in a city by the sea where the fog paints the early morning, parking is more precious than gold, and Kelpies wait for the unwary on street corners. Neither of the worlds I live in is quite mine, but no one can take them away from me. I did what had to be done, and I think I may finally be starting to understand what's important. It's all about finding the way home, wherever that is. I plan on finding out."
February 26, 2010
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.
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.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2019
► BR with my MacHalo Freaks starting Oct 5, 2015.
Welcome to the most uninspired review in the history of uninspired reviews!
Why am I out of ideas, you ask? Because this book =
It's a Bleh, Meh, Yawn and Blah Blah Blah Super Fest. And surprisingly enough, it seems that quite a few of myweird dear buddy reading accomplices agree with me here. Wow. It turns out they might not have such crappy book taste after all. Who would have thought?!
► Okay, since I don't have much to say about this thrilling piece of literature, let's get it over with once and for all, shall we? Here goes:
① Boredom Inc.
The problem with this book is not that nothing happens. It's just that the things that do happen aren't particularly exciting. Or interesting. Or entertaining. Or intriguing. And none of it is terribly original either. Just your typical UF mystery/investigation. Sigh. There is no suspense at all. Sigh. The culprit is pretty obvious from the start. Sigh. The only positive thing about this story is that for once there are no werewolves or vampires involved. Which should have been pretty refreshing, right? Wrong.
② Silly fairies incoming.
Oh please calm down, you Toby fans! I don't mean to insult the fae in this particular book, I'm talking about the silly fae in general here *eyeroll* Because yes, the time has come for me to confess the awful truth: my name is Sarah and I don't like the fae. My name is Sarah and I'm exhausted just thinking of all the different names these silly little creatures can be called. I mean, fay, faery, faerie, fairy…YAWN. And then we have all the silly sub varieties/species/breeds/classes/whatever that inevitably appear in any story involving the fae. There are usually so many of them that authors invariably feel the need to include some sort of glossary to explain it all. And let's not forget the pronunciation guide! Oh no, let's not! I swear, by the time I'm done reading these I'm usually so bored I'm ready to put the book down for good.
Anyway, long story short: the silly little fairies just do nothing for me. Okay, that's not entirely true. There is one notable exception here. You know who I'm talking about, don't you? No? Seriously? Sigh. Okay, I'll help you: his name starts with V' and it ends with Lane. Get it? V'+Lane? YES! V'Lane, people! As in bra on/bra off games! Death by sex and all that! YUM. What? You don't know who V'Lane is? I can't believe this. You know what? Just go back to sleep. Wait, no. Go read Fever instead.
► Sorry, it looks like my two little grey cells just short-circuited right there. That's V'Lane for you. Alright, let's try and get back on track here. So, where were we? Oh yes, the silly fae. You know, those positively ancient, always stunningly beautiful, "oooh we're so vicious" creatures with pointy ears. YAWN ← yes, I do know I've already said that. What can I say? The fae never fail to bore me to death and I just can't take them seriously.
③ My name is Toby Daye. I'm useless and I'm bland.
So we have a pretty boring, lackluster story about the silly fae. What else? Oh, look here! We also have one of the flattest, most apathetic, uninteresting female leads ever. Meet October Daye: she keeps getting her ass kicked, she's always on the verge of dying, she's clueless most of the time (the fishy episode must have affected her poor little grey cells)…And she's as emotional as a brick, too! But hey, to be honest, she's not the only one. There are enough brick-like characters in this story to build a replica of the Great Wall of China.
Okay, so Tybalt might be the exception here and I have to admit he seemed pretty cool. The problem is that there is too little of him to be had since he's hardly ever around. Sigh. You missed the chance to redeem yourself a teensy little bit here, Seanan McGuire. That's just so sad.
►► Well that's it people, most uninspired review of most uninspired book over. Wait, what's that? You have a question for me? Sure, go ahead. Will I be reading the next book in this series, you ask? Hahahahaha! You're so funny, you crack me up!!!
▧ Pre-review nonsense:
► BR with my MacHalo Freaks starting Oct 5, 2015.
✔ Bleh.
✔ Meh.
✔ Yawn.
This has to be one of the most boring, lackluster books I have read this year. I'm not even sure how I am going to review it because, frankly, it was such a dull experience I don't think I have anything to say about it. Yay.
Ever since I finished reading the book I've been trying to put my finger on why it didn't work for me. The writing isn't particularly bad. The story isn't either. Granted, it's not particularly gripping and I think it would have been pretty awesome had it been better executed. But I don't even think it's the main problem here.
►► Full review to come.
Welcome to the most uninspired review in the history of uninspired reviews!
Why am I out of ideas, you ask? Because this book =
It's a Bleh, Meh, Yawn and Blah Blah Blah Super Fest. And surprisingly enough, it seems that quite a few of my
► Okay, since I don't have much to say about this thrilling piece of literature, let's get it over with once and for all, shall we? Here goes:
① Boredom Inc.
The problem with this book is not that nothing happens. It's just that the things that do happen aren't particularly exciting. Or interesting. Or entertaining. Or intriguing. And none of it is terribly original either. Just your typical UF mystery/investigation. Sigh. There is no suspense at all. Sigh. The culprit is pretty obvious from the start. Sigh. The only positive thing about this story is that for once there are no werewolves or vampires involved. Which should have been pretty refreshing, right? Wrong.
② Silly fairies incoming.
Oh please calm down, you Toby fans! I don't mean to insult the fae in this particular book, I'm talking about the silly fae in general here *eyeroll* Because yes, the time has come for me to confess the awful truth: my name is Sarah and I don't like the fae. My name is Sarah and I'm exhausted just thinking of all the different names these silly little creatures can be called. I mean, fay, faery, faerie, fairy…YAWN. And then we have all the silly sub varieties/species/breeds/classes/whatever that inevitably appear in any story involving the fae. There are usually so many of them that authors invariably feel the need to include some sort of glossary to explain it all. And let's not forget the pronunciation guide! Oh no, let's not! I swear, by the time I'm done reading these I'm usually so bored I'm ready to put the book down for good.
Anyway, long story short: the silly little fairies just do nothing for me. Okay, that's not entirely true. There is one notable exception here. You know who I'm talking about, don't you? No? Seriously? Sigh. Okay, I'll help you: his name starts with V' and it ends with Lane. Get it? V'+Lane? YES! V'Lane, people! As in bra on/bra off games! Death by sex and all that! YUM. What? You don't know who V'Lane is? I can't believe this. You know what? Just go back to sleep. Wait, no. Go read Fever instead.
► Sorry, it looks like my two little grey cells just short-circuited right there. That's V'Lane for you. Alright, let's try and get back on track here. So, where were we? Oh yes, the silly fae. You know, those positively ancient, always stunningly beautiful, "oooh we're so vicious" creatures with pointy ears. YAWN ← yes, I do know I've already said that. What can I say? The fae never fail to bore me to death and I just can't take them seriously.
③ My name is Toby Daye. I'm useless and I'm bland.
So we have a pretty boring, lackluster story about the silly fae. What else? Oh, look here! We also have one of the flattest, most apathetic, uninteresting female leads ever. Meet October Daye: she keeps getting her ass kicked, she's always on the verge of dying, she's clueless most of the time (the fishy episode must have affected her poor little grey cells)…And she's as emotional as a brick, too! But hey, to be honest, she's not the only one. There are enough brick-like characters in this story to build a replica of the Great Wall of China.
Okay, so Tybalt might be the exception here and I have to admit he seemed pretty cool. The problem is that there is too little of him to be had since he's hardly ever around. Sigh. You missed the chance to redeem yourself a teensy little bit here, Seanan McGuire. That's just so sad.
►► Well that's it people, most uninspired review of most uninspired book over. Wait, what's that? You have a question for me? Sure, go ahead. Will I be reading the next book in this series, you ask? Hahahahaha! You're so funny, you crack me up!!!
▧ Pre-review nonsense:
► BR with my MacHalo Freaks starting Oct 5, 2015.
✔ Bleh.
✔ Meh.
✔ Yawn.
This has to be one of the most boring, lackluster books I have read this year. I'm not even sure how I am going to review it because, frankly, it was such a dull experience I don't think I have anything to say about it. Yay.
Ever since I finished reading the book I've been trying to put my finger on why it didn't work for me. The writing isn't particularly bad. The story isn't either. Granted, it's not particularly gripping and I think it would have been pretty awesome had it been better executed. But I don't even think it's the main problem here.
►► Full review to come.
September 30, 2017
Sale Alert 9/30/17: The first book in this series wasn't my favorite but it did grow on me later about book 3 or 4. You can get this for $1.99 on Amazon
Read with Buddies Books & Baubles impromptu like because Jessica and Joanita are pushers.
See below ↘
This is a solid first installment to a series. It is also not what I thought it was going to be. I say this as my book BFF creatively found a way for me to jump into the read of this series with her. I trust her on this because we have pretty similar book tastes but here is the part I wasn’t expecting. Toby is a bit dark, the entire book is a bit dark and I somehow thought eventually it would get a little lighter….but it really doesn’t.
Urban Fantasy….well I’m pretty much a fan of it and I’ve read a few different series now in this genre that are clearly UF and not PRN. But I’m just going to say that in my limited experience most UF clearly has a very quippy, snarky side like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I think of UF and I totally think of some of the more popular series like Kate Daniels, Mercy Thompson, Dresden, and The Iron Druid. While all of them have some serious moments there is a lot of quick wit and quirky humor along the way to cut through some of that. October Daye is a bit rougher and there isn’t a ton of humor to cover up how dark it can get.
I see the ratings and can see why some of my friends are torn or gave up before finishing this book. There is quite a bit going on and I think that there are some things that I’d only pick up the second time through when I could drop back and enjoy the language and characters a little more instead of picking up all the story.
╰⊰✿ The Good Stuff ✿⊱╮
ஐ – The writing is really well done. There are just some great moments where I really just enjoyed the writing. Statements like:
ஐ – Toby, she is the underdog that I want to root for. She is smart and a changling so she doesn’t really fit into the human or the Fae world completely. She has one foot in and another foot out never really belonging anywhere. And after the tragedy in the beginning of her story I really wanted her to find some happiness.
ஐ – I like the worldbuilding and characters. I’m not uber familiar with Fae lore so a lot of this was brand new to me and I’m sure as the story continues I’ll pick up more and more. Still we have a really good start and one of my favorite things in this was the Rose Goblins. It is part Cat and Part Rose Bush and completely awesome.
ஐ – The build up. If you are hoping for some quick and fast answers…then well this is probably not the book for you. There is definitely a plot for this book but the overall questions I have about Toby were barely glimpsed. Hopefully we get there but I’m not expecting any easy answers.
╰⊰✿ The Stuff that was a Minor Issue for Me ✿⊱╮
Remember when I said that I’m not super familiar with Fae lore??? It was like a few sentences ago so I really hope so. Well there are a lot of things tapped on and mentioned that I don’t know much about. The different courts, the different Fae types and some of the general stories in the Lore to be specific. Now that is fine I’m sure I will learn all about them but I will say it is like the author expected you to have a working knowledge of the Fae going into this book and I felt like I didn’t do my homework.
The story is still very enjoyable for the most part but I did get a little bit stuck on a few minor details because of that.
The other part is the Fae mentality. It is really a shift, they are really pretty cruel for the most part and I struggled with some of the motivations. I was finally catching on by the end of the book so I have high hopes but some of their responses threw me for a loop.
╰⊰✿ I’m Excited for the entire series because ✿⊱╮
Read with Buddies Books & Baubles impromptu like because Jessica and Joanita are pushers.
See below ↘
This is a solid first installment to a series. It is also not what I thought it was going to be. I say this as my book BFF creatively found a way for me to jump into the read of this series with her. I trust her on this because we have pretty similar book tastes but here is the part I wasn’t expecting. Toby is a bit dark, the entire book is a bit dark and I somehow thought eventually it would get a little lighter….but it really doesn’t.
Urban Fantasy….well I’m pretty much a fan of it and I’ve read a few different series now in this genre that are clearly UF and not PRN. But I’m just going to say that in my limited experience most UF clearly has a very quippy, snarky side like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I think of UF and I totally think of some of the more popular series like Kate Daniels, Mercy Thompson, Dresden, and The Iron Druid. While all of them have some serious moments there is a lot of quick wit and quirky humor along the way to cut through some of that. October Daye is a bit rougher and there isn’t a ton of humor to cover up how dark it can get.
I see the ratings and can see why some of my friends are torn or gave up before finishing this book. There is quite a bit going on and I think that there are some things that I’d only pick up the second time through when I could drop back and enjoy the language and characters a little more instead of picking up all the story.
╰⊰✿ The Good Stuff ✿⊱╮
ஐ – The writing is really well done. There are just some great moments where I really just enjoyed the writing. Statements like:
“We hated each other so well and loved each other so badly...”
And
“He changes when there's a threat to be overcome: it's like he pulls on a second skin, one he almost forgets the rest of the time, and becomes a hero again. A tired, old hero, one who wields a pen instead of a sword and rides waves of paperwork rather than a white charger, but still a hero.”
ஐ – Toby, she is the underdog that I want to root for. She is smart and a changling so she doesn’t really fit into the human or the Fae world completely. She has one foot in and another foot out never really belonging anywhere. And after the tragedy in the beginning of her story I really wanted her to find some happiness.
ஐ – I like the worldbuilding and characters. I’m not uber familiar with Fae lore so a lot of this was brand new to me and I’m sure as the story continues I’ll pick up more and more. Still we have a really good start and one of my favorite things in this was the Rose Goblins. It is part Cat and Part Rose Bush and completely awesome.
“Rose goblins are built like porcupines - if you rub them the right way, you don't have to worry about the spines. They're sort of like people in that regard, too.”
ஐ – The build up. If you are hoping for some quick and fast answers…then well this is probably not the book for you. There is definitely a plot for this book but the overall questions I have about Toby were barely glimpsed. Hopefully we get there but I’m not expecting any easy answers.
╰⊰✿ The Stuff that was a Minor Issue for Me ✿⊱╮
Remember when I said that I’m not super familiar with Fae lore??? It was like a few sentences ago so I really hope so. Well there are a lot of things tapped on and mentioned that I don’t know much about. The different courts, the different Fae types and some of the general stories in the Lore to be specific. Now that is fine I’m sure I will learn all about them but I will say it is like the author expected you to have a working knowledge of the Fae going into this book and I felt like I didn’t do my homework.
The story is still very enjoyable for the most part but I did get a little bit stuck on a few minor details because of that.
The other part is the Fae mentality. It is really a shift, they are really pretty cruel for the most part and I struggled with some of the motivations. I was finally catching on by the end of the book so I have high hopes but some of their responses threw me for a loop.
╰⊰✿ I’m Excited for the entire series because ✿⊱╮
“My name is October Christine Daye; I live in a city by the sea where the fog paints the early morning, parking is more precious than gold, and Kelpies wait for the unwary on street corners. Neither of the worlds I live in is quite mine, but no one can take them away from me. I did what had to be done, and I think I may finally be starting to understand what's important. It's all about finding the way home, wherever that is. I plan on finding out.
I have time.”
June 4, 2017
3.5/5
This was my first read by Seanan McGuire, so it took me almost half the book to get used to her writing style. I had a lot of fun once I got into the groove of the story, and I simply couldn't put it down. I was utterly engrossed in Toby’s investigation, eager to see what would happen as the story started to unfold gradually. The world the author has created is surprisingly intricate and fascinating. And in the end, when the truth was finally revealed, I was like—THAT! I knew it! Well, it wasn’t hard to guess who the killer was, but it hurt like hell for the fact that the one who tried to kill her was .
My only major problem with this book was TOBY. I don’t know if I should call her a heroine. According to the story, when everyone knew who she is, they acted as if she’s a legend or a hero or someone very special, which I didn’t really get that. I went into the book expecting Toby to be a kick-ass heroine, instead, I found a very weak character.
As far as I can see, she barely had any power.
She had only basic fighting skills.
She always let her guard down.
She went everywhere unarmed and unattended. (Seriously!?)
She had no killer instinct.
When she was in trouble, she ran away.
She asked people for help like she had the right to do it.
When she was close to death (which happened many times), someone had to come to her rescue after all.
She couldn’t protect herself but she thought she had to protect the others.
She couldn’t even fight her own battle.
She made several mistakes and made the bad decisions which cost the lives of people who cared for her.
I saw nothing good in her! She’s the reason why I gave this book only 3.5 stars!
Aside from my issue with Toby, I had nothing to complain. This was a very fun and enjoyable read, indeed!
Do I want to continue with this series? Yes. Hopefully, she will redeem herself and has something good to show me. Please don’t let me down, Toby!
This was my first read by Seanan McGuire, so it took me almost half the book to get used to her writing style. I had a lot of fun once I got into the groove of the story, and I simply couldn't put it down. I was utterly engrossed in Toby’s investigation, eager to see what would happen as the story started to unfold gradually. The world the author has created is surprisingly intricate and fascinating. And in the end, when the truth was finally revealed, I was like—THAT! I knew it! Well, it wasn’t hard to guess who the killer was, but it hurt like hell for the fact that the one who tried to kill her was .
My only major problem with this book was TOBY. I don’t know if I should call her a heroine. According to the story, when everyone knew who she is, they acted as if she’s a legend or a hero or someone very special, which I didn’t really get that. I went into the book expecting Toby to be a kick-ass heroine, instead, I found a very weak character.
As far as I can see, she barely had any power.
She had only basic fighting skills.
She always let her guard down.
She went everywhere unarmed and unattended. (Seriously!?)
She had no killer instinct.
When she was in trouble, she ran away.
She asked people for help like she had the right to do it.
When she was close to death (which happened many times), someone had to come to her rescue after all.
She couldn’t protect herself but she thought she had to protect the others.
She couldn’t even fight her own battle.
She made several mistakes and made the bad decisions which cost the lives of people who cared for her.
I saw nothing good in her! She’s the reason why I gave this book only 3.5 stars!
Aside from my issue with Toby, I had nothing to complain. This was a very fun and enjoyable read, indeed!
Do I want to continue with this series? Yes. Hopefully, she will redeem herself and has something good to show me. Please don’t let me down, Toby!
April 25, 2010
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 fly through the air, illusions and curses complicate things, and there’s a mystery to solve. However, the majority of the story concentrates on Toby getting repeatedly wounded, swallowing down the taste of blood and roses as she ineffectually seeks a murderer.
There were a lot of stitches, poultices and headaches. There weren’t many clues to untangle. The answers were found through a taste-test that could have happened 100 pages earlier, saving Toby some scars and me some boredom.
McGuire’s foundation for the story intrigued me. A PI changeling spends 14 years in a koi pond, forgetting she was ever bipedal and losing everything in the process. Her husband and daughter think she willingly abandoned them, human society declared her dead and gone, and her own guilt over a failed mission prevents her from reconnecting with her fae contacts. She’s afloat in a world that has moved on without her. She’s barely making ends meet and desperately feigning indifference.
That’s where the interest ends. Toby stumbles through this investigation. Apart from an early trip to the victim’s offices, I never felt there was a trail to follow. The plot consisted of go here, get shot at, go there, get shot at, go home, get shot at…and no, I’m not exaggerating for effect. What began as a noir-ish escapade devolved into half-assed ideas and miles of blood-soaked bandages.
The curse she’s under didn’t help matters. It seemed more a hindrance than a motivation. I didn’t feel its urgency as keenly as I was supposed to. It would threaten Toby at the oddest of times, seeming to prefer holding her back rather than allowing her to fulfill her task. I don’t like illogical plot points, and this was a major one.
As for the protagonist, I don’t dislike Toby. I don’t feel much of anything for her. She’s very middle-of-the-road. She’s not clever, nor is she kick-ass or powerful. She’s sarcastic, but falls just shy of amusing. I felt no connection to her. The other characters land in the same category. None of them are standouts, with the possible exceptions of Tybalt and a few teenagers--they at least had some oomph to them as well as definable personalities.
McGuire throws in a lot of nods to the past and to future story arcs, which is expected in the first novel of any series. Some could be compelling if handled correctly. Most notable is the original mystery Toby investigated--the one that resulted in her swimming around a pond for 14 years. I understand if McGuire wanted to acclimate us before exploring what came before; Toby’s return took a lot out of her and her adjustment hasn’t gone smoothly. However, Rosemary and Rue drained away most of my interest in the past. I’m not eager to follow Toby through another muddle of unhappy coincidences. I like heroines who use their wits to solve things. I need a build-up of tension and adrenaline to keep me riveted. I enjoy strong characters who leap off the page and hold me by the hand…or by the throat. October Daye’s method of blindly hurtling through shadows until she conveniently trips over answers lacks all of that.
Perhaps I’m being harsher than necessary. Lately, I’ve read one disappointing book after another and it’s taking a toll. I’d expected to find a new favorite in October. Instead, I discovered a whole lot of meh that I’m not eager to return to anytime soon.
_______________________________
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 fly through the air, illusions and curses complicate things, and there’s a mystery to solve. However, the majority of the story concentrates on Toby getting repeatedly wounded, swallowing down the taste of blood and roses as she ineffectually seeks a murderer.
There were a lot of stitches, poultices and headaches. There weren’t many clues to untangle. The answers were found through a taste-test that could have happened 100 pages earlier, saving Toby some scars and me some boredom.
McGuire’s foundation for the story intrigued me. A PI changeling spends 14 years in a koi pond, forgetting she was ever bipedal and losing everything in the process. Her husband and daughter think she willingly abandoned them, human society declared her dead and gone, and her own guilt over a failed mission prevents her from reconnecting with her fae contacts. She’s afloat in a world that has moved on without her. She’s barely making ends meet and desperately feigning indifference.
That’s where the interest ends. Toby stumbles through this investigation. Apart from an early trip to the victim’s offices, I never felt there was a trail to follow. The plot consisted of go here, get shot at, go there, get shot at, go home, get shot at…and no, I’m not exaggerating for effect. What began as a noir-ish escapade devolved into half-assed ideas and miles of blood-soaked bandages.
The curse she’s under didn’t help matters. It seemed more a hindrance than a motivation. I didn’t feel its urgency as keenly as I was supposed to. It would threaten Toby at the oddest of times, seeming to prefer holding her back rather than allowing her to fulfill her task. I don’t like illogical plot points, and this was a major one.
As for the protagonist, I don’t dislike Toby. I don’t feel much of anything for her. She’s very middle-of-the-road. She’s not clever, nor is she kick-ass or powerful. She’s sarcastic, but falls just shy of amusing. I felt no connection to her. The other characters land in the same category. None of them are standouts, with the possible exceptions of Tybalt and a few teenagers--they at least had some oomph to them as well as definable personalities.
McGuire throws in a lot of nods to the past and to future story arcs, which is expected in the first novel of any series. Some could be compelling if handled correctly. Most notable is the original mystery Toby investigated--the one that resulted in her swimming around a pond for 14 years. I understand if McGuire wanted to acclimate us before exploring what came before; Toby’s return took a lot out of her and her adjustment hasn’t gone smoothly. However, Rosemary and Rue drained away most of my interest in the past. I’m not eager to follow Toby through another muddle of unhappy coincidences. I like heroines who use their wits to solve things. I need a build-up of tension and adrenaline to keep me riveted. I enjoy strong characters who leap off the page and hold me by the hand…or by the throat. October Daye’s method of blindly hurtling through shadows until she conveniently trips over answers lacks all of that.
Perhaps I’m being harsher than necessary. Lately, I’ve read one disappointing book after another and it’s taking a toll. I’d expected to find a new favorite in October. Instead, I discovered a whole lot of meh that I’m not eager to return to anytime soon.
August 11, 2022
2022 Re-Read
It's hot, I'm at low ebb, and I need a shot of reading fun. Having recently finished rereading the Jane Yellowrock series, I needed a new rereading project. I've acquired most of the October Daye series over the years but have never revisited it, so it's time to rectify that!
I have always loved these books for the Fae world that Seanan McGuire has created. This first novel sets up that world, introducing the reader to some of the rules of Fairie and some of the characters who have become regulars. I had forgotten how weak October was in the beginning, barely able to conceal her fae features from humans and experiencing distress at sunrise. But right from the very start, she is accidentally assembling her circle of supporters. I had completely forgotten her first meeting with Quentin and only vaguely remembered the initial interview with the Luidaeg.
Just the ticket as I wait for the newest installment, Be the Serpent, to be published.
Original Review
Add to that quotation Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet who tells us that rosemary, that’s for remembrance. And the name of the plant rue has become synonymous with regret and repentance. There’s a lot of remembering and regretting in this book.
October (Toby) Day is spending a lot of time remembering her family, her old job, the circumstances which separated her from both of those, her childhood, you name it. If she was to choose a Facebook status, she would have to select “it’s complicated.” You see, she’s a changeling—half human, half fae—not truly accepted by either community. And she spent 14 years as a fish (a koi in an ornamental pond), cursed when she ran afoul of a couple of powerful fae when she was following them in her former role as a private investigator. Nobody knew where she was (until the spell finally wore off) and her mortal husband & daughter now want nothing to do with her. Since those relationships have been ruined, October isn’t really in the mood to re-contact the fae either.
But sometimes you don’t get a choice in these matters. Despite her lowly Safeway job, as she tries to catch up with 14 years of societal progress, one of her powerful full-blooded faerie frenemies binds her once again—this woman (who knows that she will be killed) tasks October to avenge her murder using her investigative skills.
There is copious use of one trope that really bugs me—that of the person who is absolutely sure that no one wants to hear from them or spend time with them because of something they have done. This is October completely, despite the fact that she was “done to” rather than “doing.” And truly, when in life do you actually find this? Maybe among middle school children, but certainly not among adults! Toby’s rejection of all overtures from any of her former friends is incomprehensible to me, no matter how prejudiced they might be, no matter how much she may envy their status or their families. It’s even more frustrating when it becomes obvious as the story progresses that many of them are delighted to have her back in their lives and are most forgiving considering what a cold shoulder she has given them. As a side note, I also can’t imagine that her husband and daughter would actually reject her—most families welcome long-lost family members with open arms. But that will surely be an issue for another book.
In spite of this, I found Rosemary and Rue to be a fun read, keeping me guessing about who did what and why. I hope now that October has re-connected with friends and family, that I will feel less annoyed with her behaviour in book 2 and be able to completely enjoy the story. And I feel that a mythology refresher would be helpful before the second installment—who knew that the fairy folk came in so many versions?
It's hot, I'm at low ebb, and I need a shot of reading fun. Having recently finished rereading the Jane Yellowrock series, I needed a new rereading project. I've acquired most of the October Daye series over the years but have never revisited it, so it's time to rectify that!
I have always loved these books for the Fae world that Seanan McGuire has created. This first novel sets up that world, introducing the reader to some of the rules of Fairie and some of the characters who have become regulars. I had forgotten how weak October was in the beginning, barely able to conceal her fae features from humans and experiencing distress at sunrise. But right from the very start, she is accidentally assembling her circle of supporters. I had completely forgotten her first meeting with Quentin and only vaguely remembered the initial interview with the Luidaeg.
Just the ticket as I wait for the newest installment, Be the Serpent, to be published.
Original Review
”There’s rosemary and rue. These keep seeming and savor all the winter long. Grace and remembrance be to you.” –William Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale, Act 4, Scene 4.
Add to that quotation Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet who tells us that rosemary, that’s for remembrance. And the name of the plant rue has become synonymous with regret and repentance. There’s a lot of remembering and regretting in this book.
October (Toby) Day is spending a lot of time remembering her family, her old job, the circumstances which separated her from both of those, her childhood, you name it. If she was to choose a Facebook status, she would have to select “it’s complicated.” You see, she’s a changeling—half human, half fae—not truly accepted by either community. And she spent 14 years as a fish (a koi in an ornamental pond), cursed when she ran afoul of a couple of powerful fae when she was following them in her former role as a private investigator. Nobody knew where she was (until the spell finally wore off) and her mortal husband & daughter now want nothing to do with her. Since those relationships have been ruined, October isn’t really in the mood to re-contact the fae either.
But sometimes you don’t get a choice in these matters. Despite her lowly Safeway job, as she tries to catch up with 14 years of societal progress, one of her powerful full-blooded faerie frenemies binds her once again—this woman (who knows that she will be killed) tasks October to avenge her murder using her investigative skills.
There is copious use of one trope that really bugs me—that of the person who is absolutely sure that no one wants to hear from them or spend time with them because of something they have done. This is October completely, despite the fact that she was “done to” rather than “doing.” And truly, when in life do you actually find this? Maybe among middle school children, but certainly not among adults! Toby’s rejection of all overtures from any of her former friends is incomprehensible to me, no matter how prejudiced they might be, no matter how much she may envy their status or their families. It’s even more frustrating when it becomes obvious as the story progresses that many of them are delighted to have her back in their lives and are most forgiving considering what a cold shoulder she has given them. As a side note, I also can’t imagine that her husband and daughter would actually reject her—most families welcome long-lost family members with open arms. But that will surely be an issue for another book.
In spite of this, I found Rosemary and Rue to be a fun read, keeping me guessing about who did what and why. I hope now that October has re-connected with friends and family, that I will feel less annoyed with her behaviour in book 2 and be able to completely enjoy the story. And I feel that a mythology refresher would be helpful before the second installment—who knew that the fairy folk came in so many versions?
February 10, 2017
This was a tough book for me because I kept falling asleep every time I tried to read it. I swear, it was like a giant Xanax.
30 minutes of the endless descriptions and the politics of every single fae creature will do that too.
Plus, on top of the endless descriptions and explanations, October/Toby was weak as hell. She was injured the entire book. By the end of it, she is dragging her half-dead, bleeding corpse around to fight monsters way bigger than her, but she still refuses to shoot first. Seriously, there was one scene when she just needed to shoot the freaking gun that was in her hand to stop everything, but she hesitates and ends up getting someone else killed and herself even more injured- if that were possible. She just stands there, talking to the bad guy who says he is going to kill her. Bitch, shoot him!!
It was frustrating!
Look, I live in Texas. We shoot first and ask questions later. This woman got on my last nerve.
On the good side - the world was interesting. There were a hella lotta fae running around. Plus, there were even two cats I liked - the thornbush cat, and the king of the cats dude. He was interesting and hot, but there wasn't enough of him to keep me awake.
All in all - good book if you have insomnia.
30 minutes of the endless descriptions and the politics of every single fae creature will do that too.
Plus, on top of the endless descriptions and explanations, October/Toby was weak as hell. She was injured the entire book. By the end of it, she is dragging her half-dead, bleeding corpse around to fight monsters way bigger than her, but she still refuses to shoot first. Seriously, there was one scene when she just needed to shoot the freaking gun that was in her hand to stop everything, but she hesitates and ends up getting someone else killed and herself even more injured- if that were possible. She just stands there, talking to the bad guy who says he is going to kill her. Bitch, shoot him!!
It was frustrating!
Look, I live in Texas. We shoot first and ask questions later. This woman got on my last nerve.
On the good side - the world was interesting. There were a hella lotta fae running around. Plus, there were even two cats I liked - the thornbush cat, and the king of the cats dude. He was interesting and hot, but there wasn't enough of him to keep me awake.
All in all - good book if you have insomnia.
December 2, 2016
3.5/ 4ish
I really missed a good UF!
I admit, it took me a bit to get into the story. But well, once I got there, I couldn't get out!
I absolutely loved it!
Loved the world it created and the characters, even the "case" was a damn interesting one (and that's not very easy to find).
This series has a lot of potential, can't wait to get to the next one!
I really missed a good UF!
I admit, it took me a bit to get into the story. But well, once I got there, I couldn't get out!
I absolutely loved it!
Loved the world it created and the characters, even the "case" was a damn interesting one (and that's not very easy to find).
This series has a lot of potential, can't wait to get to the next one!
January 19, 2010
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 she has to be an invulnerable superwoman, and having help is fine. But Toby (and thus the narrative since it's first person) constantly harps on how relatively weak she is as compared to all of the extremely powerful beings around her and that's consistently held up by the text, which leaves one wondering why exactly everyone wants her to do everything in the first place. Vague reasons involving fairy law and politics, also loyalties, etc. are bandied about and obviously if the very powerful people took care of their own shit and/or got other very powerful people to do so you wouldn't have much of a story, but as with all such things it becomes a little frustrating after a while.
I also found the book very easily telegraphed, which doesn't have to be a bad thing, but since it revolved around a mystery that sort of took away any suspense. Plus, my being able to figure out the characters' entire motivation and plot arc generally upon first introduction meant that Toby often being inexplicably oblivious about things became grating. There are insignificant things that mostly just make me do things like go "...He obviously doesn't hate you?!" at various intervals throughout the entire book. Then there are much more important things like why exactly she seems to be aware that one dude is a total fucking creeper and predator/user&abuser and is wary of it, yet also simultaneously seems to be completely flabbergasted by the idea of him being a terrible person.
At any rate.
2.5/5
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 she has to be an invulnerable superwoman, and having help is fine. But Toby (and thus the narrative since it's first person) constantly harps on how relatively weak she is as compared to all of the extremely powerful beings around her and that's consistently held up by the text, which leaves one wondering why exactly everyone wants her to do everything in the first place. Vague reasons involving fairy law and politics, also loyalties, etc. are bandied about and obviously if the very powerful people took care of their own shit and/or got other very powerful people to do so you wouldn't have much of a story, but as with all such things it becomes a little frustrating after a while.
I also found the book very easily telegraphed, which doesn't have to be a bad thing, but since it revolved around a mystery that sort of took away any suspense. Plus, my being able to figure out the characters' entire motivation and plot arc generally upon first introduction meant that Toby often being inexplicably oblivious about things became grating. There are insignificant things that mostly just make me do things like go "...He obviously doesn't hate you?!" at various intervals throughout the entire book. Then there are much more important things like why exactly she seems to be aware that one dude is a total fucking creeper and predator/user&abuser and is wary of it, yet also simultaneously seems to be completely flabbergasted by the idea of him being a terrible person.
At any rate.
2.5/5
December 3, 2009
This book had some great parts, and then something that bothered me, which I will say below.
This book had a GREAT setting and environment, I was engrossed in the mystery and, (although a bit exposition-y in sections) I was along for the ride the whole way and immersed in the mythology. It has no racy romance, so those who like Butcher, Green and Paul Wilson would be interested in this book/series. I definitely would pick up #2 in the series to see where it goes. Reminds me a bit of the Tim Pratt books, where I enjoyed #1 but LOVE LOVED #2 on.
SPOILER:
The only thing that bugged me about this book was that the main character has been trapped in a fish pond for like, 12 years from the top of the book, and the whole time I'm waiting for her to go and find her family, husband and daughter, or at least have that be a big story point later in the book, exploring what happened to those she loved while she was condemned to a life as a fish. It's set up in the prologue but doesn't happen in the book. As an aside it is mentioned that it didn't go well, her trying to contact her family, but I would have thought it would have been a DRIVING FORCE after she got loose. Maybe it's just me. I'm usually not so detailed, but if anyone else has read this chime in and call me crazy or whatever.
It feels like someone WROTE stuff for this story point, but then cut it out for space or for a future installment? I dunno. After I let my need for that plot idea go I really enjoyed the book, but for some reason I got hung up on it for the first 1/3 of the book.
Like I said, recommended to Butcher, Green, Paul Wilson and other fans of urban fantasy not littered with the oiled chests of hot, supernatural men :D
This book had a GREAT setting and environment, I was engrossed in the mystery and, (although a bit exposition-y in sections) I was along for the ride the whole way and immersed in the mythology. It has no racy romance, so those who like Butcher, Green and Paul Wilson would be interested in this book/series. I definitely would pick up #2 in the series to see where it goes. Reminds me a bit of the Tim Pratt books, where I enjoyed #1 but LOVE LOVED #2 on.
SPOILER:
The only thing that bugged me about this book was that the main character has been trapped in a fish pond for like, 12 years from the top of the book, and the whole time I'm waiting for her to go and find her family, husband and daughter, or at least have that be a big story point later in the book, exploring what happened to those she loved while she was condemned to a life as a fish. It's set up in the prologue but doesn't happen in the book. As an aside it is mentioned that it didn't go well, her trying to contact her family, but I would have thought it would have been a DRIVING FORCE after she got loose. Maybe it's just me. I'm usually not so detailed, but if anyone else has read this chime in and call me crazy or whatever.
It feels like someone WROTE stuff for this story point, but then cut it out for space or for a future installment? I dunno. After I let my need for that plot idea go I really enjoyed the book, but for some reason I got hung up on it for the first 1/3 of the book.
Like I said, recommended to Butcher, Green, Paul Wilson and other fans of urban fantasy not littered with the oiled chests of hot, supernatural men :D
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2024
Re-Read 1/16/24:
After many, many years of reading and loving Seanan's growing corpus of literature, I've come to be almost giddy with each new release.
Going back THIS far, near the very beginning, makes me wonder at how much better a writer she has become.
Let me just say that the first Daye novel is nowhere near as good as the later ones. It's not bad, but it isn't precisely wonderful -- more just average-for-UF on the re-read.
At this point, I kinda wish my buddy reader and I were ahead a few novels when it does get great, but we're nothing if not persistent.
Original Review:
I had been meaning to read this series for a while, ever since reading Mira Grant's zombie books. I finally got around to it and was very pleased with this urban fairy story. I was happy to get to know Toby and Sylvester and was rather surprised and interested in trying to piece together Toby's personal history through the action. I prefer books that make me work a little for my satisfaction, and while this is no James Joyce, I had a great time reading it.
For an Urban Fantasy series, it has a great leg up on most, in that it isn't a non-stop sexcapade with an extra serving of misogyny. Part of what I enjoy most about UF is the discovery of magic and magical creatures, mythological or otherwise. I was quite satisfied on this count.
I had read reviews before reading this one, so my own is somewhat influenced by them, but with one caveat; I disagree that nothing happens. The main plot is relatively simple, true, but we're dropped into the sub-plots and history with a vengeance and it really stirred up the action in nice ways. I know that I can expect a great deal of great things in the future, and I'll be diving into them right away with joy.
After many, many years of reading and loving Seanan's growing corpus of literature, I've come to be almost giddy with each new release.
Going back THIS far, near the very beginning, makes me wonder at how much better a writer she has become.
Let me just say that the first Daye novel is nowhere near as good as the later ones. It's not bad, but it isn't precisely wonderful -- more just average-for-UF on the re-read.
At this point, I kinda wish my buddy reader and I were ahead a few novels when it does get great, but we're nothing if not persistent.
Original Review:
I had been meaning to read this series for a while, ever since reading Mira Grant's zombie books. I finally got around to it and was very pleased with this urban fairy story. I was happy to get to know Toby and Sylvester and was rather surprised and interested in trying to piece together Toby's personal history through the action. I prefer books that make me work a little for my satisfaction, and while this is no James Joyce, I had a great time reading it.
For an Urban Fantasy series, it has a great leg up on most, in that it isn't a non-stop sexcapade with an extra serving of misogyny. Part of what I enjoy most about UF is the discovery of magic and magical creatures, mythological or otherwise. I was quite satisfied on this count.
I had read reviews before reading this one, so my own is somewhat influenced by them, but with one caveat; I disagree that nothing happens. The main plot is relatively simple, true, but we're dropped into the sub-plots and history with a vengeance and it really stirred up the action in nice ways. I know that I can expect a great deal of great things in the future, and I'll be diving into them right away with joy.
March 10, 2016
*** 4 ***
An impromptu buddy read with the UF loving BB&B Fae maniacs!!!
This was fun. I have had this series for a while, but never really thought about it. Another reason everyone should belong to a book club - you get to read things you would have never read was it not for your buddies!
This is very much an Urban Fantasy and it is full of multitude of Fae creatures. Actually, rarely have I encountered the depth of Fae lore as I found here. Several times I stopped to research the mythology of different classification of Fae. I love getting this involved with a book:-)
The main character, October "Toby" D. is a halfling, a mix between human father and a Fae mother. Her story is heartbreaking, but it also slowly shapes her and influences all her actions and decisions. She is not very strong, or very gifted with Magical talents, she is not a martial arts expert, nor is she distractingly beautiful, she doesn't have a family to support and guide her through tough times... It seems like fate has handed her the short end of the stick... And yet, she keeps on facing creatures bigger, stronger, and way scarier than her... We get to see how she navigates the Darwinian world of surviving in a magic filled San Francisco.
The secondary characters are very well flashed out and stand on their own feet, weaving an intricate story of treacherous betrayals and political power struggles, murders, mysteries and paranormal mayhem!!! Toby gets a bit down on herself, but in her case that is quite understandable.
I loved the creativity of the author which was nicely delivered by appropriately detailed prose. I also loved and was a tiny bit creepers by the blood magic, but I found it fascinating!!!
As a whole, I enjoyed this book and am planning on reading all the rest in the series!!! I recommend it to all Urban Fantasy fans and wish all of you Happy Reading!!!
An impromptu buddy read with the UF loving BB&B Fae maniacs!!!
This was fun. I have had this series for a while, but never really thought about it. Another reason everyone should belong to a book club - you get to read things you would have never read was it not for your buddies!
This is very much an Urban Fantasy and it is full of multitude of Fae creatures. Actually, rarely have I encountered the depth of Fae lore as I found here. Several times I stopped to research the mythology of different classification of Fae. I love getting this involved with a book:-)
The main character, October "Toby" D. is a halfling, a mix between human father and a Fae mother. Her story is heartbreaking, but it also slowly shapes her and influences all her actions and decisions. She is not very strong, or very gifted with Magical talents, she is not a martial arts expert, nor is she distractingly beautiful, she doesn't have a family to support and guide her through tough times... It seems like fate has handed her the short end of the stick... And yet, she keeps on facing creatures bigger, stronger, and way scarier than her... We get to see how she navigates the Darwinian world of surviving in a magic filled San Francisco.
The secondary characters are very well flashed out and stand on their own feet, weaving an intricate story of treacherous betrayals and political power struggles, murders, mysteries and paranormal mayhem!!! Toby gets a bit down on herself, but in her case that is quite understandable.
I loved the creativity of the author which was nicely delivered by appropriately detailed prose. I also loved and was a tiny bit creepers by the blood magic, but I found it fascinating!!!
As a whole, I enjoyed this book and am planning on reading all the rest in the series!!! I recommend it to all Urban Fantasy fans and wish all of you Happy Reading!!!
December 21, 2022
Never thought I'd say this, but I sort of hate this book and it's all because of the main character, October (Toby) Daye. She is just so damn infuriating. But the thing is, not liking the MC has never stopped me from reading a book, continuing a series, or even enjoying the writing. But I just can't do it with this book.
Credit where credit is due, this is not nearly as bad as some of the urban fantasies I've read, because there is a lot of potential in the world building and all the mythology woven into the writing is very interesting. However, the book itself is not as well put together as it could have been. It started out okay though, but then half-way through it started to unravel, with each chapter making less sense than the previous. By the end, not much about it made sense to me anymore, least of all the main character herself--the reason for the series, the reason we supposed to care about these books.
There are too many things wrong here--pacing's too slow, tone too depressing, main character too apathetic and infuriating. Personally I don't find the fae that interesting; they're pretty obnoxious tbh. However, in spite of that, Seanan McGuire's got a good thing going here, such as the interesting modern-day San Francisco setting, an alternate world filled with otherworldly creatures, and a long-term story arc that's fitting for a long series. I especially like the setting(s), magic, courtly politics, depths and complexity of the world building. I'd like to be optimistic and say maybe this was a fluke. Maybe the next book is better. Maybe I'll pick up it some time in the distant future when I no longer recall why I hated this book, but let's be honest, that's probably not gonna happen because Toby is still the main character and that makes it too difficult for me to care.
Also, the first half of this book was too much of an uphill slog and the second half was too weirdly repetitive, especially the action sequences. It felt like the same couple of scenes kept happening over and over again. Toby kept getting almost killed too many times that by the the Nth time, I was like, OK maybe you're better off dead...? She's a professional private detective, yet she is no good at detecting, but I'm gonna cut her some slack here since she did spend a good number of years as a goldfish.
Another thing I couldn't get into was the mystery. Didn't care about the victim; didn't care about Toby's connection to her either.
Last but not least, this book feels like it's the middle book of an ongoing series, not the first book. It feels like we're being dumped in the middle of on-going cold war between two huge factions with very little background info to work with, and we just have to figure things out as we go along. Too many things crucial to plot and character development are summed up quickly, rather than shown. The relationships between the characters are already well established, and so there's a ton of history that we're not privy to and we just have to accept that. Like I said, infuriating.
I can't imagine how the next book is any different, and based on some of my friends' reviews, it's not. And that's why I'm quitting this series.
Don't know why I can't seem to get into Seanan McGuire's writing. Feed was meh. Her short stories were also meh. I see so many people on my feed enjoying this series, reading all the way up to book #10, and I just wanna know... how? How do they do it? How did they get through books 2 to 9?
A group I'm in on Goodreads is reading Every Heart a Doorway this month, and I'm tempted to join in because I have the book (thanks, TOR!), but I'm dragging my feet because... Seanan McGuire.
* * * * *
UPDATE:
I did end up giving Every Heart a Doorway a try, but it didn't work for me.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
* * * * *
Cross-posted at https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2...
Credit where credit is due, this is not nearly as bad as some of the urban fantasies I've read, because there is a lot of potential in the world building and all the mythology woven into the writing is very interesting. However, the book itself is not as well put together as it could have been. It started out okay though, but then half-way through it started to unravel, with each chapter making less sense than the previous. By the end, not much about it made sense to me anymore, least of all the main character herself--the reason for the series, the reason we supposed to care about these books.
There are too many things wrong here--pacing's too slow, tone too depressing, main character too apathetic and infuriating. Personally I don't find the fae that interesting; they're pretty obnoxious tbh. However, in spite of that, Seanan McGuire's got a good thing going here, such as the interesting modern-day San Francisco setting, an alternate world filled with otherworldly creatures, and a long-term story arc that's fitting for a long series. I especially like the setting(s), magic, courtly politics, depths and complexity of the world building. I'd like to be optimistic and say maybe this was a fluke. Maybe the next book is better. Maybe I'll pick up it some time in the distant future when I no longer recall why I hated this book, but let's be honest, that's probably not gonna happen because Toby is still the main character and that makes it too difficult for me to care.
Also, the first half of this book was too much of an uphill slog and the second half was too weirdly repetitive, especially the action sequences. It felt like the same couple of scenes kept happening over and over again. Toby kept getting almost killed too many times that by the the Nth time, I was like, OK maybe you're better off dead...? She's a professional private detective, yet she is no good at detecting, but I'm gonna cut her some slack here since she did spend a good number of years as a goldfish.
Another thing I couldn't get into was the mystery. Didn't care about the victim; didn't care about Toby's connection to her either.
Last but not least, this book feels like it's the middle book of an ongoing series, not the first book. It feels like we're being dumped in the middle of on-going cold war between two huge factions with very little background info to work with, and we just have to figure things out as we go along. Too many things crucial to plot and character development are summed up quickly, rather than shown. The relationships between the characters are already well established, and so there's a ton of history that we're not privy to and we just have to accept that. Like I said, infuriating.
I can't imagine how the next book is any different, and based on some of my friends' reviews, it's not. And that's why I'm quitting this series.
Don't know why I can't seem to get into Seanan McGuire's writing. Feed was meh. Her short stories were also meh. I see so many people on my feed enjoying this series, reading all the way up to book #10, and I just wanna know... how? How do they do it? How did they get through books 2 to 9?
A group I'm in on Goodreads is reading Every Heart a Doorway this month, and I'm tempted to join in because I have the book (thanks, TOR!), but I'm dragging my feet because... Seanan McGuire.
* * * * *
UPDATE:
I did end up giving Every Heart a Doorway a try, but it didn't work for me.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
* * * * *
Cross-posted at https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2...
June 17, 2012
Rosemary and Rue is well-written urban fantasy. This novel is full of the melancholy. Not what I would call fatalistic or depressing, but instead in touch with the sad, the weary, the timeless angst of the faerie folklore and myths. San Francisco is a beautiful setting for this story, this grand old city of hills, water, and mists. It's not difficult to believe that Faeries would situate their courts in this place. There is something magical to this setting that does half of the world-building in itself. Ms. McGuire very credibly does the rest with her descriptions of the various faerie and changeling denizens. I am no stranger to faerie fiction, but she brought something new to her treatment, describing creatures both achingly beautiful, and horrific, sometimes at the same time. Not to mention their convoluted and ancient rituals sealed in blood and by their words spoken in oaths. When I read books this rich in authentic details, I have trouble doubting that Faerie is real afterall.
It's not fair to compare, but I did feel like October Daye could hang in the Dresden club, with that feel of the ne'er do well, who gets wounded more than her share, much like the wizard from the series by Jim Butcher. Also the fact that her lot in life has lead to losses that she can't slow down to count, or she wouldn't keep moving. This adds to the melancholy vibe of this novel. Nothing excessive, but inherent to this story, like the mists climbing the twisted streets of San Francisco just before dawn. This is not light-hearted, happy-go-lucky urban fantasy. This is the serious kind where you know that October won't come out of this adventure unblemished. But she will be a little wiser, and probably sadder. With faerie, it's expected. That sadness mixed with wonder pulls me back every time. The reason I'll pick up the authentic version of faerie any day over a Disney-style version. (If you need an example, read The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson and give the Disney version a pass). There's a place for Disney, but it doesn't satisfy like the real thing, tears and all.
Rosemary and Rue was a good start to a series. I can see myself become quite captivated with it, due to its rich faerie texture and hint of sadness and sacrifice. I'd recommend it.
It's not fair to compare, but I did feel like October Daye could hang in the Dresden club, with that feel of the ne'er do well, who gets wounded more than her share, much like the wizard from the series by Jim Butcher. Also the fact that her lot in life has lead to losses that she can't slow down to count, or she wouldn't keep moving. This adds to the melancholy vibe of this novel. Nothing excessive, but inherent to this story, like the mists climbing the twisted streets of San Francisco just before dawn. This is not light-hearted, happy-go-lucky urban fantasy. This is the serious kind where you know that October won't come out of this adventure unblemished. But she will be a little wiser, and probably sadder. With faerie, it's expected. That sadness mixed with wonder pulls me back every time. The reason I'll pick up the authentic version of faerie any day over a Disney-style version. (If you need an example, read The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson and give the Disney version a pass). There's a place for Disney, but it doesn't satisfy like the real thing, tears and all.
Rosemary and Rue was a good start to a series. I can see myself become quite captivated with it, due to its rich faerie texture and hint of sadness and sacrifice. I'd recommend it.
February 15, 2020
Rosemary and Rue (October Daye #1), Seanan McGuire
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.
Outsiders from birth, these children spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Or in the case of October 'Toby' Daye, rejecting the fae completely. Toby has retreated into a 'normal' life - spending her nights stocking shelves at a San Francisco grocery store and her days asleep in her downtown apartment.
But when Countess Evening Winterroseis murdered, Toby finds herself drawn abruptly back into the world she thought she'd left behind. It's going to take everything she's got just to stay alive, and the stakes are higher than anyone has guessed. ...
تاریخ نخستین خوانش روز چهارم ماه فوریه سال 2017 میلادی
دنیای «فری» هرگزی ناپدید نشد. مخفی شد و به موازات وجود خود ادامه داد. محرمانه بودن کلید بقای «فری» است: اما هیچ رازی را نمیتوان برای همیشه نگاه داشت، و ...؛ ا. شربیانی
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.
Outsiders from birth, these children spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Or in the case of October 'Toby' Daye, rejecting the fae completely. Toby has retreated into a 'normal' life - spending her nights stocking shelves at a San Francisco grocery store and her days asleep in her downtown apartment.
But when Countess Evening Winterroseis murdered, Toby finds herself drawn abruptly back into the world she thought she'd left behind. It's going to take everything she's got just to stay alive, and the stakes are higher than anyone has guessed. ...
تاریخ نخستین خوانش روز چهارم ماه فوریه سال 2017 میلادی
دنیای «فری» هرگزی ناپدید نشد. مخفی شد و به موازات وجود خود ادامه داد. محرمانه بودن کلید بقای «فری» است: اما هیچ رازی را نمیتوان برای همیشه نگاه داشت، و ...؛ ا. شربیانی
March 1, 2019
2019 UPDATE Literally everyone else on Earth likes this book better than I do, so here's my mea culpa to the fans. $1.99 on the Kindle! Hell, even *I* bought it for $1.99. And it appears that the TV adaptation via Kung Fu Monkey Productions is still seeking a network.
Rating: a grudging 2* of five
PEARL RULED at 33%
Nope. Not one eyeblink more. I cannot do this. Too much is too much and the rose goblin escapade in chapter 8 lasted about a week too long.
This idea is fine, though the choice of San Francisco as the intersection point between humans and Faerie borders on OTT, and I guess this could still make a good TV show if they get the budget for the f/x, but oh HELL no on the bloviations of the book.
Rating: a grudging 2* of five
PEARL RULED at 33%
Nope. Not one eyeblink more. I cannot do this. Too much is too much and the rose goblin escapade in chapter 8 lasted about a week too long.
This idea is fine, though the choice of San Francisco as the intersection point between humans and Faerie borders on OTT, and I guess this could still make a good TV show if they get the budget for the f/x, but oh HELL no on the bloviations of the book.
September 10, 2009
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 teachers. (If that isn't pushing the metaphor too far.) Anyway, that might make me biased, but it also gives me a perspective that reviewers reading it for the first time might not get.
From the very first draft I ever read (two years ago? three? it predates my current email client so I can't look it up), Rosemary and Rue hooked me. Hard. Every time a new flip came, I reread faithfully from the beginning-- you have to, to do a good proofing job, because things change throughout-- and every time, it hooked me just as hard. I spent hours not particularly noticing if anyone spoke to me, I neglected my poor roommate shamelessly, because I was absolutely absorbed.
In fact, this has happened with every book in the series so far. Seanan recently asked the proofing pool to suggest excerpts from An Artificial Night (book 3) to go in the back of A Local Habitation (book 2). Going back through my file, I really did mean to just skim the book for sections to suggest. I wound up reading for about an hour, completely oblivious, pulling myself out of it to get some work done, and then diving back in for another hour or two. I got completely and willingly lost in a book I'd already read from beginning to end dozens of times. That should tell you something right there.
Rosemary and Rue is the first book in a long series, but each book is a complete story. Seanan skillfully combines satisfying endings in each book with the hints and pieces of an overarching story arc that left me craving the next book like an addict, but didn't leave me dangling with cliffhangers. Again, my proofer perspective makes my review a little different; Seanan doesn't deliberately spoiler us, but she'll tell me what the clues point to, if I ask. And again, this just highlights her mastery: you see, if it isn't braggin too much to say this, I know what's coming. I don't know everything that's coming, of course, but I know a lot; I know some things that won't be revealed until, oh, book six or so. And you know what? I'm still dying to read each book as she writes it. They're that well-crafted, that full of things that draw me into Toby's world and make me want to stay; I don't just want to know what happens next, I want to know how; I want to know what it's going to look and feel and taste like. With these books, it's not just the gripping plot; getting there really is half the fun.
So just what does draw me in?
One thing that hooks me most in a book is world-building, and the Toby Daye series has that in spades. And hearts and diamonds and cups and staves and pentacles. The Bay Area that Seanan knows and loves combines with the world of Faerie from her extensive folklorist background, and sports her own twists and touches. Both worlds are vivid and real, sometimes enchanting and magical and sometimes frightening and violent, and I find myself craving every scrap of detail about Fae rules and culture, and of how the Fae interact with the mortal world, easily as much as I crave to know how Toby's going to get out of her next scrape.
Ah, Toby. October Daye, half-human private investigator, sarcastic and impulsive and only sometimes aware of her own flaws, trying to do what's right even when she hates it, sucked back by that very sense of right and wrong into the world she tried to leave behind. I'd hire her in a heartbeat if I needed a problem solved, I'd enjoy hanging out with her for coffee, and I'd despair if I ever had to try to teach her something new. Or deliver her a piece of bad news. All of Seanan's characters are like this-- complex, layered, imperfect, true to themselves as best they can be but still as unpredictable and fallible as any real person you might know. (Here's a bonus hint: even narrators don't know everything.) Even a great mystery will never hook me if the author doesn't make me care about the characters. In Rosemary and Rue, even the characters you wouldn't particularly want to get to know are still people you kind of want to know more about.
Did someone say mystery? You'll find Rosemary and Rue shelved in SF/Fantasy, not mystery, but I'd recommend it just as highly to mystery fans. I think the first phrase I ever used to describe the book was "Veronica Mars meets Charles de Lint". I'm a fan of urban fantasy, of stories in which the magical and fantastic still exist, not in some alternate reality but right here in our cities, cleverly hidden from all but the most discerning or the most unlucky. I'm also a fan of murder mysteries, and I read an embarrassing number of them. So I feel I can say this with fannish authority: these two great tastes never tasted so great together!
What makes it work is that Seanan doesn't sacrifice the one genre for the other. The mysteries in each book-- as well as the overarching mysteries across the series-- aren't simple and telegraphed; there's no clear good guys and villains, there's no obvious butler-did-it, nor is there an obvious least-likely-person-did-it. At the same time, Seanan doesn't use the classic and infuriating trick of withholding vital information about the plot until the last five pages of the book just to make it impossible to guess, a la "what you all didn't know is, Bob was a prison guard twenty years ago, and Bill was an inmate where he worked!" The clues are all there, if you look. Mystery plotting is a tricky balance, and I think Seanan strikes it well.
On the other hand, the urban fantasy isn't just a stage setting. Walk through any bookstore's mystery section and you'll find loads of gimmick series: musician mysteries, cat mysteries, cookie mysteries (recipes included!), racehorse mysteries (okay I like Dick Francis a lot, but still), theatre mysteries, etc. Many of them are well done, but most of them are still only using their "thing" as a gimmick. The October Daye series isn't an "x mystery" series; it's an urban fantasy series in which there are compelling mysteries. It's a tale of a woman caught between two worlds and trying to live in both, a portrait of those worlds and an introduction to the people who live there.
It's unavoidable that I'll get a little gushy when talking about my dearest friends, but I promise, friendship is only enhancing the gush a little. I genuinely and highly recommend Rosemary and Rue to fans of urban fantasy, or murder mysteries, or P.I. novels, or worldbuilding, or complex characters, or folklore, or fairy tales, or Shakespeare, or British folk ballads, or just plain exciting and engrossing stories that are likely to keep you up half the night reading just one more page.
From the very first draft I ever read (two years ago? three? it predates my current email client so I can't look it up), Rosemary and Rue hooked me. Hard. Every time a new flip came, I reread faithfully from the beginning-- you have to, to do a good proofing job, because things change throughout-- and every time, it hooked me just as hard. I spent hours not particularly noticing if anyone spoke to me, I neglected my poor roommate shamelessly, because I was absolutely absorbed.
In fact, this has happened with every book in the series so far. Seanan recently asked the proofing pool to suggest excerpts from An Artificial Night (book 3) to go in the back of A Local Habitation (book 2). Going back through my file, I really did mean to just skim the book for sections to suggest. I wound up reading for about an hour, completely oblivious, pulling myself out of it to get some work done, and then diving back in for another hour or two. I got completely and willingly lost in a book I'd already read from beginning to end dozens of times. That should tell you something right there.
Rosemary and Rue is the first book in a long series, but each book is a complete story. Seanan skillfully combines satisfying endings in each book with the hints and pieces of an overarching story arc that left me craving the next book like an addict, but didn't leave me dangling with cliffhangers. Again, my proofer perspective makes my review a little different; Seanan doesn't deliberately spoiler us, but she'll tell me what the clues point to, if I ask. And again, this just highlights her mastery: you see, if it isn't braggin too much to say this, I know what's coming. I don't know everything that's coming, of course, but I know a lot; I know some things that won't be revealed until, oh, book six or so. And you know what? I'm still dying to read each book as she writes it. They're that well-crafted, that full of things that draw me into Toby's world and make me want to stay; I don't just want to know what happens next, I want to know how; I want to know what it's going to look and feel and taste like. With these books, it's not just the gripping plot; getting there really is half the fun.
So just what does draw me in?
One thing that hooks me most in a book is world-building, and the Toby Daye series has that in spades. And hearts and diamonds and cups and staves and pentacles. The Bay Area that Seanan knows and loves combines with the world of Faerie from her extensive folklorist background, and sports her own twists and touches. Both worlds are vivid and real, sometimes enchanting and magical and sometimes frightening and violent, and I find myself craving every scrap of detail about Fae rules and culture, and of how the Fae interact with the mortal world, easily as much as I crave to know how Toby's going to get out of her next scrape.
Ah, Toby. October Daye, half-human private investigator, sarcastic and impulsive and only sometimes aware of her own flaws, trying to do what's right even when she hates it, sucked back by that very sense of right and wrong into the world she tried to leave behind. I'd hire her in a heartbeat if I needed a problem solved, I'd enjoy hanging out with her for coffee, and I'd despair if I ever had to try to teach her something new. Or deliver her a piece of bad news. All of Seanan's characters are like this-- complex, layered, imperfect, true to themselves as best they can be but still as unpredictable and fallible as any real person you might know. (Here's a bonus hint: even narrators don't know everything.) Even a great mystery will never hook me if the author doesn't make me care about the characters. In Rosemary and Rue, even the characters you wouldn't particularly want to get to know are still people you kind of want to know more about.
Did someone say mystery? You'll find Rosemary and Rue shelved in SF/Fantasy, not mystery, but I'd recommend it just as highly to mystery fans. I think the first phrase I ever used to describe the book was "Veronica Mars meets Charles de Lint". I'm a fan of urban fantasy, of stories in which the magical and fantastic still exist, not in some alternate reality but right here in our cities, cleverly hidden from all but the most discerning or the most unlucky. I'm also a fan of murder mysteries, and I read an embarrassing number of them. So I feel I can say this with fannish authority: these two great tastes never tasted so great together!
What makes it work is that Seanan doesn't sacrifice the one genre for the other. The mysteries in each book-- as well as the overarching mysteries across the series-- aren't simple and telegraphed; there's no clear good guys and villains, there's no obvious butler-did-it, nor is there an obvious least-likely-person-did-it. At the same time, Seanan doesn't use the classic and infuriating trick of withholding vital information about the plot until the last five pages of the book just to make it impossible to guess, a la "what you all didn't know is, Bob was a prison guard twenty years ago, and Bill was an inmate where he worked!" The clues are all there, if you look. Mystery plotting is a tricky balance, and I think Seanan strikes it well.
On the other hand, the urban fantasy isn't just a stage setting. Walk through any bookstore's mystery section and you'll find loads of gimmick series: musician mysteries, cat mysteries, cookie mysteries (recipes included!), racehorse mysteries (okay I like Dick Francis a lot, but still), theatre mysteries, etc. Many of them are well done, but most of them are still only using their "thing" as a gimmick. The October Daye series isn't an "x mystery" series; it's an urban fantasy series in which there are compelling mysteries. It's a tale of a woman caught between two worlds and trying to live in both, a portrait of those worlds and an introduction to the people who live there.
It's unavoidable that I'll get a little gushy when talking about my dearest friends, but I promise, friendship is only enhancing the gush a little. I genuinely and highly recommend Rosemary and Rue to fans of urban fantasy, or murder mysteries, or P.I. novels, or worldbuilding, or complex characters, or folklore, or fairy tales, or Shakespeare, or British folk ballads, or just plain exciting and engrossing stories that are likely to keep you up half the night reading just one more page.
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September 14, 2021
I've gone back and forth for a LONG time on whether to read this series or not. On the one hand, it's all about the fae - my catnip - and is proclaimed to be interesting and well-written. On the other hand... well, when I'm reading, romance is the lifeblood which usually keeps me sustained with a book, and reading the first half of this series was like slowly starving to death.
⤅ PLOT
The prologue takes place in 1995, where private investigator October 'Toby' Daye is on the trail of a potential kidnapper. Only, the kidnapper isn't human and neither is she. Toby is a changeling, half-human (her dad) and half fae (on her mum's side). For the last few years she's crafted a human life for herself, complete with a human fiancé named Cliff and daughter, Gillian. But Faerie still has its hooks in her. The kidnapper she's chasing is Simon Torquill, twin brother of Sylvester Torquill, Duke of Shadowed Hills, Toby's fae liege. Simon has abducted Sylvester's wife Luna and daughter Rayselline. It's up to her to get them back.
Things don't go as planned, however. When she finally catches up to Simon, he turns her into a fish - a koi, to be specific - and leaves her to languish for 14 years in a pond in San Francisco's Japanese Tea Garden.
Now to chapter one, which takes place in 2009. Toby has finally managed to break the enchantment and is now free, in body at least, if not mind. Mentally, she's still in a rut; the world moved on while she was a fish. Thinking her dead, Cliff married someone else, and though Sylvester got Luna and Rayselline back eventually, they both came back... different. Toby has spent the six months since she escaped the pond holding down a dead-end job in a grocery store and avoiding all her old friends.
One of those old friends is Evening Winterrose, Countess of Goldengreen, a powerful fae noblewoman. Though she helped Toby adjust when she first returned, Toby has been dodging Evening too - until she discovers that Evening has been murdered, and with her dying breath, placed a curse on Toby to force her to solve it. Unless Toby does what Evelyn wants, she'll be joining her in death. This is the impetus she needs to snap her out of her stasis and realise that actually, she does want to live a bit longer. With the help of old friends - such as Connor O'Dell, a onetime boyfriend now married to Rayselline - and old enemies like Tybalt, King of Cats, who's always enjoyed taunting her - Toby is going to have to figure out what to do next.
⤅ THOUGHTS
Now, that was a longer plot summary than I usually do, which might indicate to you just how complex and sprawling Toby's world is. McGuire's worldbuilding is GREAT. In some ways, it's even better than Karen Marie Moning's, and richer than Holly Black's. Where those two have McGuire beat is in prose quality. Black's writing is haunting and poetical, Moning's is sharp and vivid. McGuire's is just sort of functional in comparison, in a way that doesn't really do justice to the subject matter of Faerie.
Still, that's a relatively small bugbear. The plot is very gripping in a thriller sort of way, spiced with a ton of fantastical elements and thankfully limited info-dumping. Most of the characters are well-drawn-out and easy to visualise. Where this book falls down is... the romance. Or lack thereof.
There is a romance in Toby's series, but it doesn't actually kick in until book six, which I'm pretty sure is longer than I've ever had to wait for a romantic payoff before. I thought the Kate Daniels series was slow burn! This puts it to shame. And the payoff isn't even really as good as it ought to be, after all the waiting - but that's a review for another book.
Toby and Tybalt are good together, but on their way to each other, Toby takes a couple of detours first. You don't really see those detours in this book, but you do later on in the series. I'm unused to reading books where the heroine has an active and prolonged sex life with people other than the hero. I could handle it because the romantic elements are all so understated, but I didn't like it. I generally expect my heroes to be jealous enough that they can't stand seeing the heroine getting it on with someone else, but Tybalt isn't like that. He's also barely in this book.
Anyway, I don't want to go on about the romance too long because I'd better save that for when I'm reviewing the rest of the series, but this is a solid start which certainly helped me get all the way to book 7 (and counting).
⤅ PLOT
The prologue takes place in 1995, where private investigator October 'Toby' Daye is on the trail of a potential kidnapper. Only, the kidnapper isn't human and neither is she. Toby is a changeling, half-human (her dad) and half fae (on her mum's side). For the last few years she's crafted a human life for herself, complete with a human fiancé named Cliff and daughter, Gillian. But Faerie still has its hooks in her. The kidnapper she's chasing is Simon Torquill, twin brother of Sylvester Torquill, Duke of Shadowed Hills, Toby's fae liege. Simon has abducted Sylvester's wife Luna and daughter Rayselline. It's up to her to get them back.
Things don't go as planned, however. When she finally catches up to Simon, he turns her into a fish - a koi, to be specific - and leaves her to languish for 14 years in a pond in San Francisco's Japanese Tea Garden.
Now to chapter one, which takes place in 2009. Toby has finally managed to break the enchantment and is now free, in body at least, if not mind. Mentally, she's still in a rut; the world moved on while she was a fish. Thinking her dead, Cliff married someone else, and though Sylvester got Luna and Rayselline back eventually, they both came back... different. Toby has spent the six months since she escaped the pond holding down a dead-end job in a grocery store and avoiding all her old friends.
One of those old friends is Evening Winterrose, Countess of Goldengreen, a powerful fae noblewoman. Though she helped Toby adjust when she first returned, Toby has been dodging Evening too - until she discovers that Evening has been murdered, and with her dying breath, placed a curse on Toby to force her to solve it. Unless Toby does what Evelyn wants, she'll be joining her in death. This is the impetus she needs to snap her out of her stasis and realise that actually, she does want to live a bit longer. With the help of old friends - such as Connor O'Dell, a onetime boyfriend now married to Rayselline - and old enemies like Tybalt, King of Cats, who's always enjoyed taunting her - Toby is going to have to figure out what to do next.
⤅ THOUGHTS
Now, that was a longer plot summary than I usually do, which might indicate to you just how complex and sprawling Toby's world is. McGuire's worldbuilding is GREAT. In some ways, it's even better than Karen Marie Moning's, and richer than Holly Black's. Where those two have McGuire beat is in prose quality. Black's writing is haunting and poetical, Moning's is sharp and vivid. McGuire's is just sort of functional in comparison, in a way that doesn't really do justice to the subject matter of Faerie.
Still, that's a relatively small bugbear. The plot is very gripping in a thriller sort of way, spiced with a ton of fantastical elements and thankfully limited info-dumping. Most of the characters are well-drawn-out and easy to visualise. Where this book falls down is... the romance. Or lack thereof.
There is a romance in Toby's series, but it doesn't actually kick in until book six, which I'm pretty sure is longer than I've ever had to wait for a romantic payoff before. I thought the Kate Daniels series was slow burn! This puts it to shame. And the payoff isn't even really as good as it ought to be, after all the waiting - but that's a review for another book.
Toby and Tybalt are good together, but on their way to each other, Toby takes a couple of detours first. You don't really see those detours in this book, but you do later on in the series. I'm unused to reading books where the heroine has an active and prolonged sex life with people other than the hero. I could handle it because the romantic elements are all so understated, but I didn't like it. I generally expect my heroes to be jealous enough that they can't stand seeing the heroine getting it on with someone else, but Tybalt isn't like that. He's also barely in this book.
Anyway, I don't want to go on about the romance too long because I'd better save that for when I'm reviewing the rest of the series, but this is a solid start which certainly helped me get all the way to book 7 (and counting).
October 7, 2015
Buddy Read with the MacHalos
Maybe Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels has ruined me for all other UF series, but this was not an awesome book. This was like the Jerry Lewis version of KD. Let's go over the things that annoyed me:
1. Tobey has almost no fighting skills and no weapons, yet she romps around getting into trouble. You think she'd take a self defense at the gym or something, because she desperately needs it. I don't care if they're magical beings, stronger than you magic wise, you could still learn a few moves for the ones you could actually hit if you knew how.
2. Speaking of that lack of defensive skills (and offensive), she's always getting hurt, seriously hurt and almost dying. It's really annoying that she spent most of the book that way.
3. That pond time must've resulted in some stunned synapses, because Tobey is not the brightest crayon in the box. It's one of the books where you're constantly thinking "how did she not know this?" It's like everyone knows the rules of Monopoly and she's still trying to decide what game piece she'll be.
4. Info dumping, but unhelpful info. The book is loaded with descriptions of this new world and all the things in it, etc. etc. blah blah blah, but it's not full of the info you'd like to know. The really simple things that'd help understand half of what's going on in the book and this is info I know is only going to be pertinent to this book, yet it's missing.
5. A lot of extra. I ended up skimming in a lot of places. The book went like this....Tobey doesn't want to do anything...but now she's accidentally caught up in some trouble... blah blah blah...super injured and at the mercy of whoever is around... blah blah blah...saved...blah blah blah...blindly staggering into trouble again...blah blah blah. The blah's are the parts I skimmed and kept wondering when it was going to conclude.
6. Repetition. Ugh, this book had so much repetition. In case you forget from where you read it three pages ago, she's Amandine's daughter. That was repeated over and over, along with other things I'm trying to block out.
7. The end was very Red Baron twirling his mustache.
Overall, this book didn't do it for me, especially Tobey. She's not a bad character, she's just kind of this ignorant lump of clay walking around (that seems so much younger than her age, like YA young), and people are clamoring for her attention and skills, skills she seems very inept at using. I'd like this book better if she was good at some of these things, but she's not. She does have a special skill only she seems to do, but I'm not sure, as the book is so vague. The best part of this book to me was the secondary characters, I found them much more intriguing. All the secondary characters have their act together and seem coherent? awake? Tybalt seems like a lovely pirate, Connor, I'm not feeling that wannabe connection, Lily is neat, Julie is psycho, Manual shows promise, Devin, I want to ask if Tobey has brain damage where he's involved, Duke & Duchess seem nice, etc. The secondary characters made this book for me. The last thing that bothered me about this book - it's written in the first person POV, which I find bothersome in this book. I'll most likely be reading book 2, as I wish to know more about the cat man and the rest of the secondary characters. I so want Ryseline to crack....and I want to be best friends with the Luidaeg.
Maybe Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels has ruined me for all other UF series, but this was not an awesome book. This was like the Jerry Lewis version of KD. Let's go over the things that annoyed me:
1. Tobey has almost no fighting skills and no weapons, yet she romps around getting into trouble. You think she'd take a self defense at the gym or something, because she desperately needs it. I don't care if they're magical beings, stronger than you magic wise, you could still learn a few moves for the ones you could actually hit if you knew how.
2. Speaking of that lack of defensive skills (and offensive), she's always getting hurt, seriously hurt and almost dying. It's really annoying that she spent most of the book that way.
3. That pond time must've resulted in some stunned synapses, because Tobey is not the brightest crayon in the box. It's one of the books where you're constantly thinking "how did she not know this?" It's like everyone knows the rules of Monopoly and she's still trying to decide what game piece she'll be.
4. Info dumping, but unhelpful info. The book is loaded with descriptions of this new world and all the things in it, etc. etc. blah blah blah, but it's not full of the info you'd like to know. The really simple things that'd help understand half of what's going on in the book and this is info I know is only going to be pertinent to this book, yet it's missing.
5. A lot of extra. I ended up skimming in a lot of places. The book went like this....Tobey doesn't want to do anything...but now she's accidentally caught up in some trouble... blah blah blah...super injured and at the mercy of whoever is around... blah blah blah...saved...blah blah blah...blindly staggering into trouble again...blah blah blah. The blah's are the parts I skimmed and kept wondering when it was going to conclude.
6. Repetition. Ugh, this book had so much repetition. In case you forget from where you read it three pages ago, she's Amandine's daughter. That was repeated over and over, along with other things I'm trying to block out.
7. The end was very Red Baron twirling his mustache.
Overall, this book didn't do it for me, especially Tobey. She's not a bad character, she's just kind of this ignorant lump of clay walking around (that seems so much younger than her age, like YA young), and people are clamoring for her attention and skills, skills she seems very inept at using. I'd like this book better if she was good at some of these things, but she's not. She does have a special skill only she seems to do, but I'm not sure, as the book is so vague. The best part of this book to me was the secondary characters, I found them much more intriguing. All the secondary characters have their act together and seem coherent? awake? Tybalt seems like a lovely pirate, Connor, I'm not feeling that wannabe connection, Lily is neat, Julie is psycho, Manual shows promise, Devin, I want to ask if Tobey has brain damage where he's involved, Duke & Duchess seem nice, etc. The secondary characters made this book for me. The last thing that bothered me about this book - it's written in the first person POV, which I find bothersome in this book. I'll most likely be reading book 2, as I wish to know more about the cat man and the rest of the secondary characters. I so want Ryseline to crack....and I want to be best friends with the Luidaeg.
February 13, 2017
"It can't all be dreams because a broken dream will kill you as surely as a nightmare will, and with a lot less mercy. At least the nightmares don't smile while they take you down."
This unusual Urban Fantasy series focuses on a changeling (half human, half fae) stuck between the politics of different fae branches while fitting in with the human world. Kind of. Toby used to be a private investigator for her leige, but she was almost killed and punished a severe way. When she recovered from this (I'm careful with spoilers about this shocker), she was left with a lot less ties to the human world, to say the least.
This book's pretty grim - a lot of bad things happen and good people die. There's depressing events and turns in the protagonist's life, as well as some glimpses of goodness and family warmth coming forth from unexpected sources. It's not written in the typical Urban Fantasy or fantasy tone, but more similar to a noirish/hard case mystery crime style.
Despite the writing style being workable and the worldbuilding unique, Toby makes a great main character: she's smart but not unreasonably so; she's kind but not mushy and unrealistic; she's tough but average-tough, not that unrealistic stuff that's growing old in UF trends. The other characters...it's confusing on what to think of them. They're multi-dimensional.
Why an average rating? Despite the promise of a mystery and the alluring world, little really happens. She investigates, but nothing grabs my attention. Honestly I kept getting a little bored. I should have felt more emotional oomph with the bad stuff after she recovered at the beginning, I should have been more invested in the story, but for some reason I just wasn't. The structure was sound and the foundation firm, but inside it was a little plain and under-furnished.
Really the mystery wasn't strong because the character would try a different person to talk to, literally going through a mental list of who to go to next, till the answer was revealed by a last person she tried talking to.
It became annoying how Toby almost died between questioning scenes, that grew old fast, and instead of helping the pace it started hurting it. Usually a character attacked and near death keeps things exciting and thrillingly tense, but it became so expected and routine that I started skimming it for the next recovery.
Finally, while the world building is complex, the author opened the book where everything's already established in the character's mind and relationships, leaving the reader attempted to catch up. I couldn't get these weird relationships she had with these unusual characters, I really couldn't understand the connections and motivations there.
I will try the next book in the series - it's a long running series and has a fan base, so I'm assuming there must be something there, hopefully easier to attach to when I'm finally able to understand and appreciate the relationship connections.
October 8, 2019
Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
Seanan McGuire is one of my favorite authors. I make no secret of that. She's prolific, she's friendly, and her books are kickass. I love the October Daye series, but I've only read it once all the way through. I've been meaning to get around to a reread for a while, so what more perfect way to do that than with the 10th Anniversary edition of book one? Right?!
The main story is the same as the original publication. It's not the best in the series, but it does set up one of the most interesting Urban Fantasy worlds out there, and lays the groundwork for some really cool storylines and some great characters. Definitely worth a read - this series really comes into its own in book three, one of my favorite books, not only in the series but in general.
The best part was an added novella, only available currently in this 10th Anniversary edition. Strangers in Court was a Pre-Rosemary and Rue TOBY story! We've seen the history of this world in many of Seanan's short stories, but we finally get to see a glimpse of Toby before the events that led to Rosemary and Rue COMPLETELY UPROOTED her world. Pre-fish, y'all.
Highly recommended... HIGHLY.
---
Main review to come upon release.
The main novel was a reread for me - and was awesome! My first reread of the series, this time knowing everything that's coming!
The bonus novella was the real icing on the cake. Finally a pre-fish Toby story! :)
Seanan McGuire is one of my favorite authors. I make no secret of that. She's prolific, she's friendly, and her books are kickass. I love the October Daye series, but I've only read it once all the way through. I've been meaning to get around to a reread for a while, so what more perfect way to do that than with the 10th Anniversary edition of book one? Right?!
The main story is the same as the original publication. It's not the best in the series, but it does set up one of the most interesting Urban Fantasy worlds out there, and lays the groundwork for some really cool storylines and some great characters. Definitely worth a read - this series really comes into its own in book three, one of my favorite books, not only in the series but in general.
The best part was an added novella, only available currently in this 10th Anniversary edition. Strangers in Court was a Pre-Rosemary and Rue TOBY story! We've seen the history of this world in many of Seanan's short stories, but we finally get to see a glimpse of Toby before the events that led to Rosemary and Rue COMPLETELY UPROOTED her world. Pre-fish, y'all.
Highly recommended... HIGHLY.
---
Main review to come upon release.
The main novel was a reread for me - and was awesome! My first reread of the series, this time knowing everything that's coming!
The bonus novella was the real icing on the cake. Finally a pre-fish Toby story! :)
June 1, 2020
Okay, there weren’t a lot of remarkable things about this first installment, but I’ve tried enough urban fantasy series to not let a slow start scare me off (ahem… Kate Daniels). That said, there were enough good things about it to give me hope for what’s to come.
Truth be told, I’m just so excited to be finally starting a new UF series that I’m willing to overlook a slow start. The book focused a little too much on character introductions and info dumps (so many info dumps). But there were also some great interactions and exciting conflict scenes. So now that all the setup is out of the way, I’m hoping the next book will provide some momentum.
Right off the bat, I liked the main character. She’s a changeling, and that variety of non-human dynamic is what set the story apart. Most UF characters straddle two worlds, but her particular situation was really interesting and so far it’s the selling point of the series. And her backstory! There’s a fantastic underlaying plot to the whole book that had me instantly hooked within the first ten pages. It set up a character who was capable, but more or less starting at rock bottom, and that’s oddly compelling.
My biggest criticism at this point (other than pacing) is that most of the side characters came off a bit caricature, so I’m definitely hoping for more duality and depth going forward. Other than that, everything else was quality.
Recommendations: Rosemary and Rue was a slow start to the series, but with a lot of promise. At this point, I’d still hand you some of my other favorites first (Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison) because I can attest to their momentum, but let’s keep an eye on this one – I have a feeling (and some endorsements) that say(s) it’s going to get good.
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
Truth be told, I’m just so excited to be finally starting a new UF series that I’m willing to overlook a slow start. The book focused a little too much on character introductions and info dumps (so many info dumps). But there were also some great interactions and exciting conflict scenes. So now that all the setup is out of the way, I’m hoping the next book will provide some momentum.
Right off the bat, I liked the main character. She’s a changeling, and that variety of non-human dynamic is what set the story apart. Most UF characters straddle two worlds, but her particular situation was really interesting and so far it’s the selling point of the series. And her backstory! There’s a fantastic underlaying plot to the whole book that had me instantly hooked within the first ten pages. It set up a character who was capable, but more or less starting at rock bottom, and that’s oddly compelling.
My biggest criticism at this point (other than pacing) is that most of the side characters came off a bit caricature, so I’m definitely hoping for more duality and depth going forward. Other than that, everything else was quality.
Recommendations: Rosemary and Rue was a slow start to the series, but with a lot of promise. At this point, I’d still hand you some of my other favorites first (Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison) because I can attest to their momentum, but let’s keep an eye on this one – I have a feeling (and some endorsements) that say(s) it’s going to get good.
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
October 18, 2016
Even though I'm not usually a fan of Irish myth urban fantasy this one won me over, mainly on account of October. Fun!
August 18, 2016
09/03/2016 Buddy read with Jessica, Robin, Choko, and Maria over at BB&B b/c we are craving UF, also Jessica loves this series and seeing that she is never wrong.... :-)
“By my word and at my command, you will investigate a murder, and you will force justice back into this kingdom. You will do this thing.” There was a long pause. I was starting to think the message had ended when she continued, softly, “Find out who did it, Toby, please. Make sure they don’t win. If you were ever my friend, Toby, please. . . ”
This books starts off with a bang, and captivates you so completely that it was difficult to remember to breathe. I just wanted to devour this book, with its magical world of Fae, and changelings, and Cait Sidhes and rose goblins and Selkie’s and so many more fantastical creatures. The thing with UF is, if it’s done right, it will blow your mind and take you on a journey you won’t want to end.
October ‘Toby’ Daye is a changeling, half human, half fae. She’s engaged to a human, Cliff, who doesn’t know that she’s not fully human, and they have a daughter whom they both love very much. She’s a P.I. and a knight errant, and currently on the trail of a possible kidnapper, trying to find the missing wife and daughter of her liege lord, the Duke Sylvester Torquill. But then things go horribly wrong, and her whole life is upended by evil Fae, and for fourteen years she is lost to the world. Everyone made to believe she was dead.
After returning to herself, she is shunned by those whom she loves most, and she turns her back on the Fae world. Trying to get through every day by denying who she is. But the Fae world refuses to let her go, and the murder of pureblood Fae, Countess Evening Winterrose, demands Toby’s return to her world.
We hated each other so well and loved each other so badly . . . and I had no idea what I was going to do without her.
See how beautiful this author writes…..I just love it. Evening placed a dying curse on Toby, forcing her to find her killer/s, or she would forfeit her own life. And so Toby begins her journey back into the world she tried to ignore, connecting with old acquaintances, not sure who is evil and who is good.
Toby is a fantastic heroine. I love how pragmatic she views and approaches everything. She has been dealt a really rough hand in life, and because she is a half-blood she is not very powerful, she’s not perfect and she makes many mistakes. BUT but she owns her mistakes, and she is determined to keep her promises even when they are wrong. She has a lot of heart and I liked that she wasn't all powerful and perfect in everything she does, and I cannot wait to see how she grows more as a person as the series continues. I must admit the first 30% she was quite negative in her view of things, which is understandable after what happened, but after that point she was just awesome.
Rose goblins are built like porcupines—if you rub them the right way, you don’t have to worry about the spines. They’re sort of like people in that regard, too.
This world is absolutely fantastic, and I just love the way the author writes. The rose goblin is one of my favorite new characters, and I WANT ONE. The plot of the story was strong and very interesting, and amazingly done. I loved learning more of this world as the story progressed, and going along with Toby on her journey of finding clues and solving them. Also many questions were raised and not answered, like the reaction of the Queen when she was told of Evening’s death; what happened to Luna and Rayseline while they were held captive, and why Rayseline changed so much. I cannot wait to find out the answers to these questions.
“What’s my prize? And why, my dear October, are you gowned so fetchingly? You don’t need to make yourself beautiful for me, you know; you’ll never win my heart. Although you’re welcome to keep trying, if you insist. Next time? Try wearing a corset.”
Luckily for me some sexiness was added to the story by Tybalt, the king of the Cait Sidhe. And what a deliciously sexy kitty he is ;-) I’m not sure yet whether he’s a friend or foe of Toby, but my romantic heart is hoping friend and possible love interest. What can I say, romance hope springs eternal ;-)
Once again Jessica has proven why she’s a Goddess book-pimp. This book was so very good. I loved it and I cannot wait to continue with this series.
A must read for all who loves UF with an amazing and captivating world and characters. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
July 29, 2018
This was a really good read. I enjoyed the magical world and the blend with urban fantasy. I'm looking forward to continuing with this series.
July 2018
Even better on a reread. The first time I entered Toby Daye’s world, it took quite a few books to get a full handle on both her and the world she lives in. I decided to reread the series because I’m still waiting for the most recent one to come out on kindle and it was well worth it. If you haven’t tried this series yet, I recommend you do!
July 2018
Even better on a reread. The first time I entered Toby Daye’s world, it took quite a few books to get a full handle on both her and the world she lives in. I decided to reread the series because I’m still waiting for the most recent one to come out on kindle and it was well worth it. If you haven’t tried this series yet, I recommend you do!
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