Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
This is another book that was on my TBR list long enough that I developed a completely inaccurate idea of what it is about. It is NOT a book about two female PIs named Rosemary and Rue who solve crimes together. It is about a half faerie PI named October who is cursed by a dying faerie to solve her murder. Rosemary is for remembrance, and rue is for regret.
The story was very engaging and I thought the overlapping worlds were very well done. People who like the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher or the Felix Caster series by Mike Carey would probably like this series as well, although when October Daye does magic you don't get a whole recipe like in those other series. She just calls up power and gets a bad headache after. But she definitely has a tendency to get over her head, and gets out of it again in completely unexpected ways.
The story was very engaging and I thought the overlapping worlds were very well done. People who like the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher or the Felix Caster series by Mike Carey would probably like this series as well, although when October Daye does magic you don't get a whole recipe like in those other series. She just calls up power and gets a bad headache after. But she definitely has a tendency to get over her head, and gets out of it again in completely unexpected ways.
I've had this book sitting in my kindle library for ages, just waiting to find the right time, for the stars to be right to read this book. In that way, it isn't much different from any of the other books currently sitting (metaphorically) waiting for me to decide that today is the day and that I'm going to open it and get more then 8% into it before suddenly scrolling through tumblr or re-reading the same fanfic is much more appealing.
I'm really glad I finally decided to sit down and read this.
It took some drips and drabs, not due to lack of interest as much as flagging motivation and you know, being busy under capitalism but October 'Toby' Daye is sticking with me. I really enjoyed it, how the book establishes her character and sets her back and forward, showing us her mettle and her at her lowest point before she decides to scramble back up, strength by strength and the early realizations that even after everything she does have allies, though she still has a hard time reaching out after so much hardship.
It feels frustrating as a reader to see her reaching out in unhealthy places rather then to friends that want to see her do good in the world but part of that is realistic too. Once you've been hurt bad patterns form and it can take a lot, a lot to break those old habits.
I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series and experiencing more of Seanan's excellent world-building, something that is obviously a strength of hers.
I'm really glad I finally decided to sit down and read this.
It took some drips and drabs, not due to lack of interest as much as flagging motivation and you know, being busy under capitalism but October 'Toby' Daye is sticking with me. I really enjoyed it, how the book establishes her character and sets her back and forward, showing us her mettle and her at her lowest point before she decides to scramble back up, strength by strength and the early realizations that even after everything she does have allies, though she still has a hard time reaching out after so much hardship.
It feels frustrating as a reader to see her reaching out in unhealthy places rather then to friends that want to see her do good in the world but part of that is realistic too. Once you've been hurt bad patterns form and it can take a lot, a lot to break those old habits.
I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series and experiencing more of Seanan's excellent world-building, something that is obviously a strength of hers.
I wanted more depth in places, and a couple characters with high interesting potential are killed. Enjoyable read and will continue this series.
At thirty pages I wrote; "So far I'm having a hard time warming up to the protagonist. And while things have happened (mostly in pre-novel history) she doesn't seem to have done much herself so far."
And at the end;
It never really picked up, Toby got knocked about a lot and spent a fair bit of time unconscious before finally doing something useful(something which she had thought about doing 200 pages earlier) in the last twenty or so pages, and that resolved the plot.
Aside from that: wt could have been fun that Toby is such an very unrealiable narrator in her perspectives of just about every single person she interacts with, it mostly made her seem unsuited for the role of detective, and her description and interaction of one character (spoilers, I guess) was very confusing, she seems to describe him as abusive, dangerous and controlling, and a few pages later as harmless, his only power lying in being thought of as dangerous. Then it flips back again.
I know this series is quite popular, so it may be that this book is all setup. There was a lot of explaining of who everyone was, what their relationships to and history with each other where and how the world of the fairy worked. Unfortunately there was a also lot of simultaneous showing and telling done. I often feel like modern novels can get a little bloated, and this is another case where just tightening the narration (Toby seems to comment, explain or elaborate on everything she says or does, doubling each paragraph) might have made a solid novella.
I had read this mainly because the author is local and I love seeing what genre authors do with the city. But while the Fae world clearly had some thought put into it, I felt like the San Francisco setting was extremely generic. To the point where almost no neighborhood or street names are ever mentioned, Toby gets on 'a San Francisco bus' instead of 'Muni' or the '38 Geary', one location is the 'San Francisco Museum of Art', so the sense of place is vague at best.
And at the end;
It never really picked up, Toby got knocked about a lot and spent a fair bit of time unconscious before finally doing something useful(something which she had thought about doing 200 pages earlier) in the last twenty or so pages, and that resolved the plot.
Aside from that: wt could have been fun that Toby is such an very unrealiable narrator in her perspectives of just about every single person she interacts with, it mostly made her seem unsuited for the role of detective, and her description and interaction of one character (spoilers, I guess) was very confusing, she seems to describe him as abusive, dangerous and controlling, and a few pages later as harmless, his only power lying in being thought of as dangerous. Then it flips back again.
I know this series is quite popular, so it may be that this book is all setup. There was a lot of explaining of who everyone was, what their relationships to and history with each other where and how the world of the fairy worked. Unfortunately there was a also lot of simultaneous showing and telling done. I often feel like modern novels can get a little bloated, and this is another case where just tightening the narration (Toby seems to comment, explain or elaborate on everything she says or does, doubling each paragraph) might have made a solid novella.
I had read this mainly because the author is local and I love seeing what genre authors do with the city. But while the Fae world clearly had some thought put into it, I felt like the San Francisco setting was extremely generic. To the point where almost no neighborhood or street names are ever mentioned, Toby gets on 'a San Francisco bus' instead of 'Muni' or the '38 Geary', one location is the 'San Francisco Museum of Art', so the sense of place is vague at best.
The world McGuire built in this book is ethereal and violent, rife with power struggles, and very compelling. I haven't read urban fantasy prior to this, and I thought this was quite well done with strong writing.
I found some aspects of the book a bit problematic, most especially the strange relationship and power dynamic between Toby and Devin (as well as Devin's Home and the children under his "care").
I found some aspects of the book a bit problematic, most especially the strange relationship and power dynamic between Toby and Devin (as well as Devin's Home and the children under his "care").
Gotta say, I'm pretty disappointed with this book, given that the series it kicks off is supposed to be an urban fantasy classic.
I'm willing to write off how frustrating it is to watch Toby fall back into old patterns with Devin, because I think it shows how hard it can be to break away - and stay away - from a charismatic, manipulative person. On the whole, the author also does a good job unveiling how Toby is a rather unreliable narrator when it comes to evaluating her relationships with others. This comes with the territory for a person who's been gaslit and controlled before.
All that aside, though, Toby comes off a little too incompetent for a protagonist who's supposed to be a headstrong, lone wolf type. At least give her better investigative skills to make up for her weak magical abilities! Instead of trying to solve the mystery of Evening Winterrose's murder in any kind of systematic, reasoned way, Toby just goes to various dangerous places and acquires more life-threatening injuries than actual leads. Repeatedly.
Not to judge a writer's early work - I've read some of McGuire's Wayward Children books, and it's clear she's improved - but the dialogue here also feels quite stale and flabby.
Despite the rocky start I'm off to, I think I'll try and stick this series out for a while. Here's hoping the books get better.
I'm willing to write off how frustrating it is to watch Toby fall back into old patterns with Devin, because I think it shows how hard it can be to break away - and stay away - from a charismatic, manipulative person. On the whole, the author also does a good job unveiling how Toby is a rather unreliable narrator when it comes to evaluating her relationships with others. This comes with the territory for a person who's been gaslit and controlled before.
All that aside, though, Toby comes off a little too incompetent for a protagonist who's supposed to be a headstrong, lone wolf type. At least give her better investigative skills to make up for her weak magical abilities! Instead of trying to solve the mystery of Evening Winterrose's murder in any kind of systematic, reasoned way, Toby just goes to various dangerous places and acquires more life-threatening injuries than actual leads. Repeatedly.
Not to judge a writer's early work - I've read some of McGuire's Wayward Children books, and it's clear she's improved - but the dialogue here also feels quite stale and flabby.
Despite the rocky start I'm off to, I think I'll try and stick this series out for a while. Here's hoping the books get better.
"Rosemary and Rue" is the first book in Seanan McGuire's October Daye series, and provides a rollicking noir vibe complete with an ass-kicking heroine. The murder mystery is set against a rich urban fantasy backdrop familiar to fans of McGuire, with the eponymous October "Toby" Daye torn between warring factions of competing Fae. It didn't hit me quite the same way "Discount Armageddon" - the first book in McGuire's InCryptid series, but I realize this is probably a case of apples and oranges, and the series will eventually develop it's own tone. That said, there were plenty of twists and turns I didn't see coming, and I look forward to checking out the rest of the series.
Fantasy set in the Bay Area makes me happy and nostalgic.
Set in a world where being fae is supposed to be a secret, but instead faerie and mortals collides giving us changlings. These half fae, half human spend their lives as outsiders fighting for their place and respect of their immortal counterparts.
October ‘Toby’ Daye is an exception to the rule, openly rejecting the fae life and retreating into a normal mortal life....
... Until the murder of Countess Evening Winterrose. Toby is unable to resist Evening’s dying curse and is forced back into the faerie society and becomes the Duke of Shadowed Hills knight. Renewing old alliances, Toby is forced to solve the mystery of the Countess’s death or die trying.
I was torn when reading this book. Interesting world building and great character development. Toby being a changling does not belong in either the fae world or the human world. However being the underdog fighting for her place in the world makes you want to cheer her on. The story was fascinating and complex and even though i figured out who was responsible for the murder, I loved the conclusion.
Well done Seanan McGuire, you have piqued my interest to carry on reading.
October ‘Toby’ Daye is an exception to the rule, openly rejecting the fae life and retreating into a normal mortal life....
... Until the murder of Countess Evening Winterrose. Toby is unable to resist Evening’s dying curse and is forced back into the faerie society and becomes the Duke of Shadowed Hills knight. Renewing old alliances, Toby is forced to solve the mystery of the Countess’s death or die trying.
I was torn when reading this book. Interesting world building and great character development. Toby being a changling does not belong in either the fae world or the human world. However being the underdog fighting for her place in the world makes you want to cheer her on. The story was fascinating and complex and even though i figured out who was responsible for the murder, I loved the conclusion.
Well done Seanan McGuire, you have piqued my interest to carry on reading.
[Spoilers and swearing]
This was everything I wanted it to be, with a slightly higher body-count than I would have liked. I get attached to characters really quickly and I hate it when they die.
It has a really conversational narrator that includes phrases like "why was I having trouble believing this? Oh yeah, because I'm not a total idiot." It's been a long time since I've read anything with that casual a voice, so there were moments when it made me cringe, but it was such a perfect voice for Toby to have that it just worked so well. It was a fantastic blend of casual tone and ancient Fae words and phrases that followed age-old tradition in order to bind people and deliver news, all punctuated by people swearing by different plants.
It was both fun, beautiful, and ridiculous. Basically everything that happens when an ancient society exists in a modern context. There are rules and traditions, but also cell phones.
Jasmine and I had a really interesting conversation about Devin too. She gave me the book to read to begin with, and she remembered Devin as being a bad dude who did some good things. But the thing is, when you stop seeing him through Toby's eyes, he didn't really do any good things. He's basically an awful person all around. He wanted his fiefdom and his subjects but had no blood right to it, so he abused and terrorized kids who had no where else to go so he would have someone to rule. He didn't take care of them, he used them all. He believed he owned them, Toby included, and he constantly SAID things like that, but STILL I got sucked in to thinking he was basically a good guy at heart. Maybe that says something about me, but I think it's really well written. This Stockholm syndrome is so deeply entrenched in Toby that she actually made me believe it too.
Crazy.
Also, somehow Evening was one of my favourite characters even though I never met her.
It's a really great read. Looking forward to reading more.
This was everything I wanted it to be, with a slightly higher body-count than I would have liked. I get attached to characters really quickly and I hate it when they die.
It has a really conversational narrator that includes phrases like "why was I having trouble believing this? Oh yeah, because I'm not a total idiot." It's been a long time since I've read anything with that casual a voice, so there were moments when it made me cringe, but it was such a perfect voice for Toby to have that it just worked so well. It was a fantastic blend of casual tone and ancient Fae words and phrases that followed age-old tradition in order to bind people and deliver news, all punctuated by people swearing by different plants.
It was both fun, beautiful, and ridiculous. Basically everything that happens when an ancient society exists in a modern context. There are rules and traditions, but also cell phones.
Jasmine and I had a really interesting conversation about Devin too. She gave me the book to read to begin with, and she remembered Devin as being a bad dude who did some good things. But the thing is, when you stop seeing him through Toby's eyes, he didn't really do any good things. He's basically an awful person all around. He wanted his fiefdom and his subjects but had no blood right to it, so he abused and terrorized kids who had no where else to go so he would have someone to rule. He didn't take care of them, he used them all. He believed he owned them, Toby included, and he constantly SAID things like that, but STILL I got sucked in to thinking he was basically a good guy at heart. Maybe that says something about me, but I think it's really well written. This Stockholm syndrome is so deeply entrenched in Toby that she actually made me believe it too.
Crazy.
Also, somehow Evening was one of my favourite characters even though I never met her.
It's a really great read. Looking forward to reading more.