Rosemary and Rue

An October Daye Novel, Book 1

By: Seanan McGuire

Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal

Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

Just wonderful!

I am an unabashed fan of Seanan McGuire's "October Daye" series and I can't tell you how pleased I am at Mary Robinette Kowal's performance. Her reading really brings the book to life. I will be happy to listen to this audio book again and again.

Awesome story - killed by the narrator

Would you be willing to try another one of Mary Robinette Kowal’s performances?

Nope. As long as she's just doing the normal voice and narration it's fine but her "voices" are horribly distracting. I almost turned it off during the "Japanese" accented conversation between Toby & Lily.

Any additional comments?

Oak and ash, the voices... please for the love of Maeve, just STOP with the Japanese accent. The narration just about ruined this book for me. I love love love this series, I own them all in print already, just got this so I could "re-read" the series during my commute. I shouldn't have bothered, since i just sit in my car in traffic and make horrible pained faces and yell at the iPod (who knows what the other commuters must think).

If you're thinking about reading this - and I highly recommend that you do - READ it in print, skip the poor narration and just read it yourself.

Y*A*W*N

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It started slow and stayed that way through most of the book. Lack of description of the types of Fae referenced. It had good potential.

Would you ever listen to anything by Seanan McGuire again?

Debatable

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

She was ok.

Do you think Rosemary and Rue needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No not really. Seemed to be a good enough ending. I never did understand the book's title as I never heard mention of Rosemary or Rue.

The start of a fun series.

If you like the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, you're probably going to like this book and the series that it starts. October Daye is a little bit broken, which makes her a good protagonist. She's trying to muddle her way through in a world that contains people who are dangerous and unbalanced, while dealing with some personal issues of her own.

The story follows the blueprint for a noir detective novel pretty closely, while being trimmed out with the details of a fairytale world. The writing is good enough that even though you know there are sequels to this book, you still wonder if October might not make it through alive.

There's good news and bad news about the sequels. The good news is that they are each as good as this one or better. The bad news is that the series isn't finished yet, so when you get all the way through Chimes at Midnight (the latest one at the moment), you'll be impatiently waiting for the next installment.

Not what I expected

I should have read the reviews. Not a type of book I would buy if I picked it up and fanned through it. Total waste of money for me. I can't listen to it.

Jim Butcher as a fairy?

not as good as Incrypted series. narrator was good but kept thinking how similar to the Dresden files the world was

It was okay

I'm a big Seanan McGuire fan so I was disappointed. I think this might have been a better book to read than to listen to...or maybe the narrator just didn't work for me. Her voice didn't suit the personality and the men's voices were very odd and off-putting. The main character makes some unusual choices over the course of the book that didn't make a lot of sense to me. I thought several times that she's no Harry Dresden!
On the other hand, I bought books 1-3 on sale for $5-7 each, and I'd say it was worth a $5 read, just not a whole credit.
Looking for a better class of urban fantasy? Definitely give The Dresden Files a chance.

Audiobook review only

This audiobook is a total disappointment. The volume level is terrible. I cant hear it in a quiet room unless I turn Alexa’s volume up over level 6. It’s ridiculous. And no refund available.
Not a reflection on the author or story, only the technical issues.

5 stars

I've been overlooking this series for years. I finally gave it a chance and it was okay. I'll get the next book to see if I like the series.

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.