Thank you to the publisher for providing this download as part of the 2024 Hugo Awards voting packet.

Book was downloaded for Glasgow Worldcon voters packet. Thank you to Worldcon and DAW for the copy to review for voting.

I've been following Seanan McGuire on social media for several years, and she's always been upfront that this book has some issues. She's said it's kind of a rough start to the series and contains language and attitudes she would edit out if she could. I have read far worse things. This was a fun and snappy popcorn read - extremely readable and entertaining. I've never read a urban fantasy book before and I found it to be fun.

It's not perfect. We have a prologue that leads into a 14-and-a-half years timeskip that really felt like starting the story off by smacking into a pothole due to a lack of explanation. The story then later gives us the infodump of how that 14+ year situation resolved in a dream sequence, which was, certainly a choice. Our protagonist really has no self preservation instinct and almost bleeds to death multiple times. I felt the plot struggled a little because it had to introduce so many characters to us, not all of whom are big movers and shakers in this particular story. But I never felt like putting the book down. Even if I was a touch annoyed at how slowly we collected clues for the mystery, I just kept reading. I found myself thinking about the story and the characters at work. I just had to know more, and as soon as I finished this book I picked up the second book in the series without even pausing to mark this one off as "finished."

[Side note, I've heard Seanan McGuire talk about the language issues in this book and early series before, it's probably that she kept negativity comparing things to "hookers" and women kept calling each other bitches.]

October (Toby) Daye is a half-fae private investigator in San Francisco - at least until an enemy turns her into a carp and leaves her swimming in a fish pond for 14 years. By the time she gets out her wholly human husband and (by now teenage) daughter don't want to know her and with her life in ruins she takes a normal job and tries to leave the magic world behind. Tries. Unfortunately when an old friend, Countess Evening Winterrose, is murdered she's forced into finding the killer or suffering the fatal consequences of Winterrose's dying curse which binds her to the task.

The investigation leads Toby into finding out who her friends really are - unfortunately that also means finding that friends an enemies alike are not all what they seem.

I enjoyed this. It's urban fantasy crossed with noir detective fiction. Toby has an engaging voice and the whodunnit angle keeps you guessing.

Read this in preparation for voting for the Hugo Awards. Rosemary and Rue fits in pretty solidly with other urban fantasy I've read--we have a paranormal underworld, a hardboiled detective character, and a magical murder mystery. I likely won't continue the series because it's simply so long, but enjoyed this one overall.

This makes me nostalgic for the urban fantasy boom a few years ago. The first installment of the October Daye series, Rosemary and Rue was unexpectedly dark from the very first chapter. The main character is knocked down, hurt, or almost killed nearly every chapter and while the main mystery of the book is resolved, there are no happy endings. I enjoyed McGuire’s version of faerie and the weaving of various myths throughout the story, and October Daye has a strong voice that makes spending time with her enjoyable. Still, the plot was repetitive throughout the middle third or so of the book and the pacing could be improved. It also felt very urban fantasy protagonist to have a half-human who can’t seem to stop themselves from stumbling into poor faerie based decisions. I’ve heard that this series gets a lot stronger from book 3 on & I enjoyed this entry enough to make me pick up the next to see if that’s true.

I am far behind the times on this one, thank goodness my friends pointed me to Seanen McGuire. She can do no wrong, even when she’s gut punching me with the prologue.

Thanks to Seanan McGuire, DAW, and NetGalley for access to this book for Hugo Awards consideration in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book in a series of books featuring October Daye in the land of the fae. The story takes place in the San Francisco area and in hidden fairy lands within the area. October must deal with strong magic and deal with her past as she deals with the murder and the mystery surrounding the murder.

As always, Seanan McGuire has done a great job establishing world building and then populating it with interesting characters. The book is well written and recommended for those who enjoy murder mysteries and fantasy.

Review posted to Goodreads manually due to linking issues.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5916603189

Excellent book, especially when you consider that it is the author’s first published novel. Yes, some things are rough around the edges, but the revelations from book 8 onward show the careful groundwork built up in this series all starts right here.