Rosemary and Rue: An October Daye Novel, Book 1

Books:

 

1.    Rosemary and Rue (June 8, 2010) - 4 out of 5
2.   A Local Habitation (March 2, 2010)
3.   An Artificial Night (September 12, 2010)
4.   Late Eclipses (TBA)
5.   One Salt Sea (TBA)
6.   Ashes of Honor (TBA)
7.   The Chimes at Midnight (TBA)

Author:   Seanan McGuire  

Narrator:    Mary Robinette Kowal   - 4 out of 5

Length:  11:16, purchased on audible

Summary:

October “Toby” Daye had it hard growing up.  Being a changeling, the daughter of a very powerful fae and a human dad, she was forced to grow up in faery where she was treated as a second-class stepchild while her mother’s grip on her sanity slowly faded from being ripped away from her human husband. It didn’t get easier when Toby moved to the San Francisco area.  She tried it as human, finding a husband and having a little girl.  Then her job as a knight for the Duke of Shadowed Hills got in the way when the Duke's evil twin cursed Toby into living as a koi for 14 years.  Now, with her bounty-hunting business gone, her husband and daughter refusing to speak to her and her human life basically ruined, Toby refuses to have anything to do with her fae life, working as a night-time checkout girl, and living with two cats by herself returning no calls and dreaming that one day her daughter will call her back. And still, Toby can’t catch a break.  Before Countess Evening Winterrose is murdered, she forces Toby to find her killer and bring him or her to justice.  With no choice to do otherwise, Toby is dragged back into the world of the fae.

Love you more than fairytales: 

Once, about a decade ago, I read Christopher Vogler’s The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. Maybe a few hours into this audiobook, I was getting flashbacks on The Writer's Journey. The structure of Rosemary and Rue is very formulaic, but for the record, that’s a good thing.  All good stories, all interesting plots, have certain features in common. The story, the twist, the archetypes, are all familiar, even mythical.  There is a very strong call to action here in the form of a binding – Toby must find the killer or she dies. There’s a mentor or two, and there are the gatekeepers involved. Less Odyssei and more Tobys, I say!  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 have to admit that even though the storyline was very good, I only truly connected with Toby on the second part of the audiobook, after the awesome car scene over the Golden Gate Bridge.

The use of fantastic elements in Rosemary and Rue is pretty phenomenal. I’ve mentioned before here that I enjoy imaginative use of the fantastic in paranormal books, but I particularly enjoyed Seanan McGuire’s take on some of the more interesting fae.  For example, the kelpie you meet in the book is fascinating – a large black horse with glowing red eyes that just happens to smell like the sea, and of course have very, very sharp teeth. But what sets this kelpie apart from let’s say Patricia Briggs’s kelpie in the Mercedes Thompson series is that we don’t actually interact with Seanan McGuire’s kelpie.  This one is just part of the background of San Francisco’s other world. Oh, and there is nothing cuter than the idea of the rose goblin – a kitty cat covered with rose thrones that rattles them when it gets upset.  I, for one, always wished more cats were like porcupines.  It’s also nice to see a few more tales, tiger stripes, and fox ears on characters outside of anime.

Rose Goblin by Alicia "Kat" Dillman
http://darkkitten8.deviantart.com/

However, I had this terrible feeling of sadness throughout the audiobook.  I’m hoping that as the journey progresses the listener might get to see Toby return to a more normal world, where she might be reunited with her human family, or find some sort of a happy existence beyond constant nightmares, living alone barely on minimum wage, in fear for her life.  Throughout Rosemary and Rue, 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:

This is the first time I’ve heard Mary Robinette Kowal read.  She is also the author and narrator of Shades of Milk and Honey. It was an excellent reading, 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.  There are a lot of interesting accents, and moments of injury and weariness in the audiobook, and Mary Robinette Kowal’s reading carries the emotion.  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.

Other Comments:
There are spoilers in this Review.  If you have already listened to this audiobook, read the book, or hate surprises, please click/continue below: