Rosemary and Rue

An October Daye Novel, Book 1

By: Seanan McGuire

Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal

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. The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose, one of the secret regents of the San Francisco Bay Area, pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening’s dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby is forced to resume her old position as knight errant to the Duke of Shadowed Hills and begin renewing old alliances that may prove her only hope of solving the mystery...before the curse catches up with her.

©2010 Seanan McGuire (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Well researched, sharply told, highly atmospheric and as brutal as any pulp detective tale, this promising start to a new urban fantasy series is sure to appeal to fans of Jim Butcher or Kim Harrison." ( Publishers Weekly)

Narrator Notes

At first, I really didn't like the narrator, but grew accustomed to her voice. It helps that the story was so well done. This is a re-read for me, I did the series on my Kindle and have switched to audio for this re-read.

My only complaint is that I don't care for the vocalization of Tybalt. I hope the narrator changes the voice as the series (and his character) develops.

If you can in there it gets better

the first part of this book was reeeally slow and didnt make much sense but if you can hang in there thoough, it gets quite good about half way in.

Surprising good read

I wasn't expecting to get caught up in this book, but was very pleasantly surprised. It's a good book to listen to while working.

Excellent Read

Loved the book. interesting take on the fairie mythology. Loved the in-depth character development. "AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY”

a great story

I had this in my que for a while. I'm upset with myself that I didn't get to this sooner. Great story with a down to earth lead character that is very relatable

Not amazing but fine

The asian accent was a bit cringe but most of my issues were about the story.

Narrator did ok

I love Toby & gang. I have been (re-)reading since 2014. This was my first time on audio. Narrator did ok, Tybalt's voice especially jarred me.

Love you more than fairytales

The structure of Rosemary and Rue is very formulaic. Overall, the audiobook presents a great mythical journey set in a modern-day fairy tale. You get gripped from the first of Toby’s mishaps. Although, I truly connected with Toby on the second part of the audiobook, after the awesome car scene over the Golden Gate Bridge. I loved the fantastic elements in Rosemary and Rue, such as the kelpie, a large black horse with glowing red eyes that just happens to smell like the sea. The rose goblin, a kitty cat covered with rose thrones that rattles them when it gets upset, is adorable. It’s also nice to see a few more tales, tiger stripes, and fox ears on characters outside of anime. However, I had this terrible feeling of sadness throughout the audiobook. It seems like the universe is out to kick Toby when she’s down. Even the title itself is a terribly sad reference in the book that you only understand at the very end.

On Narration:
Mary Robinette Kowal reading was very appropriate for the character. The narrative voice is light and young-sounding, but with enough of an edge to pass for what I would consider the voice of a half-fairy, tiny, light, bounty-hunting kickass woman. My only criticism is that some of her more interesting or intricate accents, for Tybalt and Lilly, for example, require her to slow down her reading and enunciate very carefully, which does drag out certain parts.

Great characters!

If you could sum up Rosemary and Rue in three words, what would they be?

Excellent series introduction.

Which scene was your favorite?

Meeting Lilly. There is something very appealing about that character. Someone I'd want to be friends with.

Any additional comments?

Great way to get to know the world of October Daye... the descriptions sometimes drag, but for the most part the story moves forward. Some of the voices didn't seem quite right for the character, but I appreciated how clearly you could tell who was speaking by the way MRK changed the tones and speech.

Entertaining but painful

Warning: This novel is filled with emotional gut-punches and does not play fair. Yes, it is well written and extremely engaging. Yes, the main character is complex and fun to read. That said, I will probably not be reading this one again for some time. Characters you start to love are ripped away and fates worse then death lie in wait around every corner. There are no happy endings in this fairy tale