Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Re-Read 1/16/24:

After many, many years of reading and loving Seanan's growing corpus of literature, I've come to be almost giddy with each new release.

Going back THIS far, near the very beginning, makes me wonder at how much better a writer she has become.

Let me just say that the first Daye novel is nowhere near as good as the later ones. It's not bad, but it isn't precisely wonderful -- more just average-for-UF on the re-read.

At this point, I kinda wish my buddy reader and I were ahead a few novels when it does get great, but we're nothing if not persistent.


Original Review:

I had been meaning to read this series for a while, ever since reading Mira Grant's zombie books. I finally got around to it and was very pleased with this urban fairy story. I was happy to get to know Toby and Sylvester and was rather surprised and interested in trying to piece together Toby's personal history through the action. I prefer books that make me work a little for my satisfaction, and while this is no James Joyce, I had a great time reading it.

For an Urban Fantasy series, it has a great leg up on most, in that it isn't a non-stop sexcapade with an extra serving of misogyny. Part of what I enjoy most about UF is the discovery of magic and magical creatures, mythological or otherwise. I was quite satisfied on this count.

I had read reviews before reading this one, so my own is somewhat influenced by them, but with one caveat; I disagree that nothing happens. The main plot is relatively simple, true, but we're dropped into the sub-plots and history with a vengeance and it really stirred up the action in nice ways. I know that I can expect a great deal of great things in the future, and I'll be diving into them right away with joy.

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