October ""Toby"" Daye, a changeling who is half human and half fae, has been an outsider from birth. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the Faerie world, retreating to a ""normal"" life. Unfortunately for her, the faerie world has other ideas. The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening's dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby must resume her former position as knight errant and renew old alliances.
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"Beautifully clean writing...humorous and heartbreaking. It's almost as if Jim Butcher and I had written a book together." --Tanya Huff
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33 of 36 people found the following review helpful
By Persephone
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Rosemary and Rue focuses on the story of October Daye, also known as 'Toby', private eye and a changeling half-breed; half human and half Daoine Sidhe. Due to her dual nature she's been an outsider all her life -- finding herself in both worlds but a part of neither. A case gone wrong leads her to deny the fae world for good and she retreats fully into a mundane human life. Unfortunately for Toby this solitude does not last very long, as fate has seen fit to pull her back in -- the trouble starts when the Evening Winterrose Countess of Goldengreen is murdered. Despite having turned her back on Faerie, Toby is unable to resist Evening's dying curse which binds her to investigate her death. October thus resumes her former position as knight errant and attempts to renew old alliances in the hope of solving the murder; and hopefully saving her own life before the magical bindings close around her for good.
This book was simply fantastic, I truly enjoyed it. There was some weighty action that seemed to bury the plot a little towards the beginning of the final act, but overall it was a fast paced and well constructed first time novel. The book is first and foremost a murder mystery, one which finds itself enclosed amidst the politics and colourful ceremony of the fae world. Toby herself is a sympathetic character, one who really works hard to carve out a piece of the world for her own -- nothing comes easily to her and she struggles to do even basic things like cast a glamour. No perfect all powerful kick arse protagonists here. Toby starts out as a fittingly stubborn and judgemental person, who finds it difficult to change her mind once it's made up, yet her impressions and opinions of several of the characters experience evolution and change during the course of the novel.... Read more ›
This book was simply fantastic, I truly enjoyed it. There was some weighty action that seemed to bury the plot a little towards the beginning of the final act, but overall it was a fast paced and well constructed first time novel. The book is first and foremost a murder mystery, one which finds itself enclosed amidst the politics and colourful ceremony of the fae world. Toby herself is a sympathetic character, one who really works hard to carve out a piece of the world for her own -- nothing comes easily to her and she struggles to do even basic things like cast a glamour. No perfect all powerful kick arse protagonists here. Toby starts out as a fittingly stubborn and judgemental person, who finds it difficult to change her mind once it's made up, yet her impressions and opinions of several of the characters experience evolution and change during the course of the novel.... Read more ›
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By Stephie
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Rosemary and Rue is an enjoyable beginning to a very promising series.
In the prologue to the story we are introduced to changling (half fae) October `Toby' Daye as she is following a man that is suspected of abducting her lieges wife and daughter. Her investigation is interrupted though when the suspect turns her into a koi fish.
The story picks up again fourteen years later. Now no longer trapped as a fish Toby has lost the last fourteen years of her life and her own daughter and partner have turned their backs on her believing that she ran away from them since she kept them ignorant of the world of the fae and the magic that tore them apart. Having lost so much Toby has turned away from the world of the fae and is trying to have a normal, if lonely, existence.
Unfortunately fate has other things in store for Miss October Daye.
When her pureblood fae friend is murdered a deadly curse is put on Toby and she must defeat a murderer or die trying.
At the beginning of the book Toby is defeated. She has given up on life and on people and is just trying to get through each day. The death of her friend and the curse that is put upon her force her to get involved with a world she has given up on. She meets friends and enemies new and old and solves a murder whilst trying not to die horribly along the way.
Poor Toby doesn't have an easy time of it being shot, stabbed and beaten on her unwilling quest for justice.
I really enjoyed this book. There is a lot of world building, which slowed the novel down quite a lot, but it is entertainingly written, though it does detract from the main storyline.
The most enjoyable thing about this story is undoubtly the characters.... Read more ›
In the prologue to the story we are introduced to changling (half fae) October `Toby' Daye as she is following a man that is suspected of abducting her lieges wife and daughter. Her investigation is interrupted though when the suspect turns her into a koi fish.
The story picks up again fourteen years later. Now no longer trapped as a fish Toby has lost the last fourteen years of her life and her own daughter and partner have turned their backs on her believing that she ran away from them since she kept them ignorant of the world of the fae and the magic that tore them apart. Having lost so much Toby has turned away from the world of the fae and is trying to have a normal, if lonely, existence.
Unfortunately fate has other things in store for Miss October Daye.
When her pureblood fae friend is murdered a deadly curse is put on Toby and she must defeat a murderer or die trying.
At the beginning of the book Toby is defeated. She has given up on life and on people and is just trying to get through each day. The death of her friend and the curse that is put upon her force her to get involved with a world she has given up on. She meets friends and enemies new and old and solves a murder whilst trying not to die horribly along the way.
Poor Toby doesn't have an easy time of it being shot, stabbed and beaten on her unwilling quest for justice.
I really enjoyed this book. There is a lot of world building, which slowed the novel down quite a lot, but it is entertainingly written, though it does detract from the main storyline.
The most enjoyable thing about this story is undoubtly the characters.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
October `Toby' Daye used to have everything. Married with a daughter, her mixed human/Faerie background allowed her to straddle the two worlds - working as a private investigator in our world and as a knight errant for the Duke of Shadowed Hills in the land of Faerie. When the Duke's daughter and wife are kidnapped by his twisted brother however, Toby walks into a magical trap - one that held her for 15 years.
Rejected by her family (who believe her to have abandoned them), she has given up on her life - turning her back on the world of Faerie and working a deadbeat job in a local store. However the murder of the Countess Evening Winterrose, an old friend of Toby's, forces her back into the Faerie world. Before her death, Winterrose placed a curse on Toby - obliging her to find the murderer or be killed herself.
As Toby reluctantly engages with people she has not spoken to in 15 years, she finds herself having to re-learn everything that she used to know. Things have changed since she disappeared - old enemies have the capacity to be new friends and old friends may have new agendas. Toby has to find a way to navigate the new world and her own history if she is to find a murderer and take back her own life.
Seanan McGuire's novel, the first in a series, is an entertaining introduction to a carefully constructed urban fantasy world where Fae and humans live an awkward side-by-side existence - the Fae retreating into their own territories and the humans ignorant of their existence. Only half-Fae/half-humans like Toby know the truth and they are generally outcasts from both worlds.
Although the novel is structured as a mystery, the identity of the murderer is pretty obvious, as is their motive.... Read more ›
Rejected by her family (who believe her to have abandoned them), she has given up on her life - turning her back on the world of Faerie and working a deadbeat job in a local store. However the murder of the Countess Evening Winterrose, an old friend of Toby's, forces her back into the Faerie world. Before her death, Winterrose placed a curse on Toby - obliging her to find the murderer or be killed herself.
As Toby reluctantly engages with people she has not spoken to in 15 years, she finds herself having to re-learn everything that she used to know. Things have changed since she disappeared - old enemies have the capacity to be new friends and old friends may have new agendas. Toby has to find a way to navigate the new world and her own history if she is to find a murderer and take back her own life.
Seanan McGuire's novel, the first in a series, is an entertaining introduction to a carefully constructed urban fantasy world where Fae and humans live an awkward side-by-side existence - the Fae retreating into their own territories and the humans ignorant of their existence. Only half-Fae/half-humans like Toby know the truth and they are generally outcasts from both worlds.
Although the novel is structured as a mystery, the identity of the murderer is pretty obvious, as is their motive.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
took some getting into
I came to really like this book, but for some reason it took me quite a while to get to grips with it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Elsie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rosmary and Rue by S. McGuire
Good story. I could not put the book down. I loved the series and would encourage others to read it, if you like supernatural or shifters, fairies and other supernatural... Read more
Published 2 months ago by SAT 18
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very entertaining story
What can I say that hasn't already been said? I found this particular book (Rosemary and Rue) and author (Seanan McGuire) when I was 'surfing' the reading suggestions listed on... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Jennifer Marks
5.0 out of 5 stars
Promising start
This was a very easy book to get into. From the opening scene I knew I would like October Daye. She's funny without being an annoying smart ass. Read more
Published 20 months ago by The Demon Librarian
5.0 out of 5 stars
Escape into another world
I read this book originally at the beginning of the year and have since read the remainder of the series - prebooking as each one becomes available. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Bookaholic
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good
Great characters, interesting world, really enjoyed this. It's well written, fairly dense and has lots of lovely images about fae. This isn't pulp fiction nor is it overtly sexy. Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2011 by Angie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Practically perfect
I am now half way though the third book in the series, I started reading them four days ago. This is a simply superb urban fantasy and for once there is not too much sex. Read more
Published on 24 Jan 2011 by James Beal
5.0 out of 5 stars
great read, promising for series
This is Seanan McGuires debut and the first book in the series about the changeling October "Toby" Daye. It's a fast paced and fun read, with lots of interesting characters. Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2010 by nereidgirl
5.0 out of 5 stars
I actually enjoyed this
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It wasn't about the all action, butt-kicking female hero as you would expect from many of the recent urban fantasy books, but rather around... Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2010 by The F
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dreary and uninspiring...
This book could have been good. The premise is interesting, I liked the idea of having a protag with a home life and a child, I thought it was original that this was all taken... Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2010 by Katia WolfSwan
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