Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
The Blurb On The Back:
The world of Faerie never disappeared: it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie’s survival - but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born. Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, these second-class children of Faerie spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Or, in the case of October ‘Toby’ Daye, rejecting it completely. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the fae world, retreating into a ‘normal’ life. Unfortunately for her, Faerie has other ideas.
The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose, one of the secret regents of the San Francisco Bay Area, pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening’s dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby is forced to resume her old position as knight errant to the Duke of Shadowed Hills and begin renewing old alliances that may prove her only hope of surviving the mystery ... before the curse catches up with her.
October ‘Toby’ Daye used to have everything. Married with a daughter, her mixed human/Faerie background allowed her to straddle the two worlds - working as a private investigator in our world and as a knight errant for the Duke of Shadowed Hills in the land of Faerie. When the Duke’s daughter and wife are kidnapped by his twisted brother however, Toby walks into a magical trap - one that held her for 15 years.
Rejected by her family (who believe her to have abandoned them), she has given up on her life - turning her back on the world of Faerie and working a deadbeat job in a local store. However the murder of the Countess Evening Winterrose, an old friend of Toby’s, forces her back into the Faerie world. Before her death, Winterrose placed a curse on Toby - obliging her to find the murderer or be killed herself.
As Toby reluctantly engages with people she has not spoken to in 15 years, she finds herself having to re-learn everything that she used to know. Things have changed since she disappeared - old enemies have the capacity to be new friends and old friends may have new agendas. Toby has to find a way to navigate the new world and her own history if she is to find a murderer and take back her own life.
Seanan McGuire’s novel, the first in a series, is an entertaining introduction to a carefully constructed urban fantasy world where Fae and humans live an awkward side-by-side existence - the Fae retreating into their own territories and the humans ignorant of their existence. Only half-Fae/half-humans like Toby know the truth and they are generally outcasts from both worlds.
Although the novel is structured as a mystery, the identity of the murderer is pretty obvious, as is their motive. The investigation however gives McGuire a perfect opportunity to take the reader through Toby’s past and the way in which her world operates. The idea of different Dukedoms among the Faerie worlds is well executed, as is the limited ability of the half-Fae. Toby is an interesting character with a genuine reason for her reluctance to engage with the world and Tybalt, a prince of cats has potential to be a fascinating counter-foil.
There’s a great set-up for an overall story arc and the quality of the writing was such that I definitely want to read more.
The Verdict:
An interesting urban fantasy whose central character is very different to the type usually found in this type of fiction and a carefully constructed world with a huge amount of potential, this is an entertaining novel and I will be reading more of this series.
Cross-posted to bookish and fantasywithbite.
The world of Faerie never disappeared: it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie’s survival - but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born. Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, these second-class children of Faerie spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Or, in the case of October ‘Toby’ Daye, rejecting it completely. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the fae world, retreating into a ‘normal’ life. Unfortunately for her, Faerie has other ideas.
The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose, one of the secret regents of the San Francisco Bay Area, pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening’s dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby is forced to resume her old position as knight errant to the Duke of Shadowed Hills and begin renewing old alliances that may prove her only hope of surviving the mystery ... before the curse catches up with her.
October ‘Toby’ Daye used to have everything. Married with a daughter, her mixed human/Faerie background allowed her to straddle the two worlds - working as a private investigator in our world and as a knight errant for the Duke of Shadowed Hills in the land of Faerie. When the Duke’s daughter and wife are kidnapped by his twisted brother however, Toby walks into a magical trap - one that held her for 15 years.
Rejected by her family (who believe her to have abandoned them), she has given up on her life - turning her back on the world of Faerie and working a deadbeat job in a local store. However the murder of the Countess Evening Winterrose, an old friend of Toby’s, forces her back into the Faerie world. Before her death, Winterrose placed a curse on Toby - obliging her to find the murderer or be killed herself.
As Toby reluctantly engages with people she has not spoken to in 15 years, she finds herself having to re-learn everything that she used to know. Things have changed since she disappeared - old enemies have the capacity to be new friends and old friends may have new agendas. Toby has to find a way to navigate the new world and her own history if she is to find a murderer and take back her own life.
Seanan McGuire’s novel, the first in a series, is an entertaining introduction to a carefully constructed urban fantasy world where Fae and humans live an awkward side-by-side existence - the Fae retreating into their own territories and the humans ignorant of their existence. Only half-Fae/half-humans like Toby know the truth and they are generally outcasts from both worlds.
Although the novel is structured as a mystery, the identity of the murderer is pretty obvious, as is their motive. The investigation however gives McGuire a perfect opportunity to take the reader through Toby’s past and the way in which her world operates. The idea of different Dukedoms among the Faerie worlds is well executed, as is the limited ability of the half-Fae. Toby is an interesting character with a genuine reason for her reluctance to engage with the world and Tybalt, a prince of cats has potential to be a fascinating counter-foil.
There’s a great set-up for an overall story arc and the quality of the writing was such that I definitely want to read more.
The Verdict:
An interesting urban fantasy whose central character is very different to the type usually found in this type of fiction and a carefully constructed world with a huge amount of potential, this is an entertaining novel and I will be reading more of this series.
Cross-posted to bookish and fantasywithbite.