Rosemary and Rue

Rosemary and Rue (2009) Seanan McGuire

October Daye disappeared for thirteen years. When she returned, she refused to return to her life as a changeling knight or as a private investigator, but is instead trying to squeak by as a human. Unfortunately for her, Faerie refuses to let her go.

The Faerie from which Toby comes is the mercurial land of Faerie queens and kings who seem to rule as much by whim as by anything else. Toby doesn’t trust anyone from Faerie, and unfortunately she doesn’t have much reason to. Those with whom she has dealt in the past have most often either used her or ignored her–sometimes both (although not at the same time).

I like how Faerie is presented here. It seems to have all the edge and danger or folklore–never thank the fey, iron hurts and destroys, and the fey always want something in return for their help.

Yet things are not always as Toby expects–or as I expected either through folklore or Toby’s expectations. We did have the requisite boinking, but it occurred behind closed doors, and it actually had bearing on the story, which was nice.

Toby is a complex character, and although she has many faults, most of them are understandable, due to her past. Though I did wonder after awhile about her common sense (or lack thereof in some cases).

But mostly it was an interesting story, different from much of what I’ve been coming across recently, and I’m looking forward to more books in the series.
Rating: 7/10

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