Book Review: Rosemary and Rue (An October Day Novel) by Seanan McGuire

If you’ve been following a long on twitter, you know that I’ve been working on a #sekritvideo. This is the point in the process wherein everyone goes to the club to shoot the club scene. Why, one might ask, am I writing a psuedo-book review while I should be with everyone at the club? That, my friends, is a very good question. It turns out that I have a slight aversion to clubs. Any kind of clubs. And by slight aversion, I really mean, hardcore phobia. Since I wasn’t exactly needed and I wasn’t certain that I would even be useful at all in such a setting (seeing as I haven’t really done much at all to help today, since we made the #octoporn), I opted to stay home and hold down the fort until everyone comes back to make the #octorain.

Anyway, all that is beside the point… so… I’ve decided to use this time to catch up on yet another of my book reviews (which at this point aren’t so much book reviews as blog entries that happen to mention a certain book).

Rosemary and Rue is the first in the series of urban fantasy books about October Daye a.k.a. Toby. Toby lives in a San Francisco that hides the world of Faerie in plain sight of unsuspecting humans. Toby isn’t your average human. The faerie is in her blood, her mother’s blood. Previously, Toby had shunned the world of her mother, and opted to live her life as a human. She is thrust back into faerie politics when a close friend is murdered.

Toby must use her skills as a private investigator to solve the murder.

Imagine a secret world of politics, magic, and intrigue… And then imagine that your humble writer has been interrupted in her book review by her crew that has rudely arrived back from the club scene 100 percent earlier than she had expected. Then imagine that your humble writer, so rudely interrupted in her book review, has had at least 3, if not 4 more drinks than she had before she started the review. Then (Yes, one more then, because that is how I roll.) imagine that the crew, including your humble writer, has finished (yes, finished) the filming of the #sekritvideo and it is now 3 (maybe four (I lost count of hours when I lost count of beers)) hours later. So… Where were we?

Oh, that’s right. We were imagining a secret world of politics, magic, and intrigue. Cue October Daye. She is this secret, amazing heroine who rules the faerie world of San Francisco (except technically she doesn’t rule it, she only works within the parameters of the fae and knows the inner workings of fae society). Using her background in private investigation (which unbeknownst to those of you who haven’t read the book yet (which I’m about to ruin for you, so if you don’t want to know skip to the end of the parenthesis) she had a career in before she was turned into a fish for many years (which I love) (that she was a fish, that is)), along with her knowledge of the faerie society, she must uncover a secret plot, and discover who killed her friend.

Don’t underestimate Toby. Knowing that this is the beginning of a series, one can assume that Toby will save the day. That assumption makes no ass of you or me. Toby is a kick-ass heroine. Believe it. Don’t take my word for it. Read the book. I’m not kidding.

I have to get the next book in the series. I haven’t yet, but don’t worry, I will. You should get it, too.

Now, I have to finish this blog. The editor of the #sekritvideo wants my input and wants to show me the “money shot”. How can I deny him that? Anyway, in a nutshell, movies are awesome, and so is October Daye. Read it.

Note to Seanan McGuire:

I promise, the next time I do a book review of one of your books I will not a) be involved in a #sekritvideo or b) be drunk. I love your work. Please forgive me. And don’t judge. You are amazing.