I had read this book before and remembered being unimpressed. However I love Seanans other series so I decided to take another crack at it. Still not terribly impressed but I’m going to continue with the series because many reviewers have said the books get better as they go on ( )

Solid start for an urban fantasy series featuring October Daye, a Changeling (half-human) PI who has spent the last fourteen years as a koi in Golden Gate park. This makes her almost a time traveler, skeptical of these "cell phone" and "internet" things. It's a great premise, though not played up as much as I could wish.

I read Rosemary and Rue very quickly. There's lots of time spent on setting up the world and posing questions that I can tell are going to be answered in later books.

If you're into urban fantasy, you'll definitely like this series. But if you're not, you're not missing anything. ( )

Excellent start to a series I might follow up on for one or two books.
[Audiobook note: One of my favorite author-reader pairings: McGuire and [author:Mary Robinette Kowal|2868678] ( )

Since this was McGuire’s debut novel, I picked up this book expecting it to be a little unpolished. Yet the premise was interesting, an urban fantasy that revolves around October ‘Toby’ Daye, who deals with both the supernatural and mundane as she investigates the murder Countess Evening Winterrose.

As with most first novels, the writing was a little iffy at times, and sometimes incredibly seamless. For the most part the necessary descriptions of how the fae coexisted with the ‘normal’ world were worked in, not dumped. And the dialogue was right where it needed to be, locking into the storyline, not interrupting. Fairly impressive.
The characters are a little trickery to pin. Did I like Toby? Well…I liked that she was her own woman. Not ‘I need a chest to rest my head on’ or ‘I’m new to this magic, help!’ kind of person. At the same time, so many urban fantasy writers avoid those clichés and fall straight into others; they make their females tough, ‘been there, done that’, swearing, sexy creatures that can kill zombies and still be attractive. Maybe even make apple pie. Some urban fantasy writers don’t do those things to their female characters, and McGuire is one of them. Maybe Toby isn’t as glittery, but she’s real. I was interested by her as she struggled to find answers to her big questions: what is my relationship with myself, my world, and my job? She wasn’t brilliant: she was smart. She wasn’t gorgeous; but she had a subtle appeal. She wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t invulnerable, but she could look after herself and didn’t let anyone walk over her. The supporting cast was a little flimsy. Some stood out, like Dare, and some were background music.

The plot was a mystery, somewhat. Actually the story was about Toby, and the murder was just a reason for her to get up and get going. Don’t get me wrong, it was well thought out; I was introduced to an interesting and diverse cast, and I felt I got to know the ropes of Toby’s fae/human world. The ending drew everything to a neat close with a bit of a surprise.

Final Word: A welcome new addition to the bookshelf; original characters, interesting spin on the fae/moral storyline, a bit spotty at times, but I’m keeping an eye out for the sequel.
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This feels like an early book of a beloved author. It dragged a bit, but overall a fun story with fairies in San Francisco. McGuire is good at ambiance, and this feels like a hard boiled detective novel even with magic and fairies and rose goblins. ( )