Rosemary and Rue (Book Review)

Rosemary and Rue
Seanan McGuire
http://seananmcguire.com/toby.php

I have thought about this story a lot over the past few days because I knew I was going to write this review.
I finished this book over the weekend and I was slightly disappointed.  I really wanted to enjoy this book more but I could never get myself to like the main character, October Daye.  She was very flat, lacked personality and had no endearing qualities.  She was self loathing and a little immature.   Whether it is because she is a 'changeling', the daughter of a crazy woman or weaker in power because she wasn't a pureblood, she had nothing nice to say about herself.  Plus, she lacked sass.

In the beginning of the story October (Toby), a private investigator, mother and girlfriend, is 'cursed' into the life of a koi fish.  She lives in a pond for 14 years before she is freakishly ejected out of the pond and set to resume her life.  She rejects the fae world and tries to live as a human.  We don't find out until about midway through the book that she actually did try to go back to her mortal boyfriend, who does not know about fae, and her daughter, but is rejected.  She bounces through late night jobs (her half blood power is weak and it's easier for her to maintain her human image at night) before ending up as the 3rd shift cashier at a grocery store.  One night she receives a message from an old friend that knows they are in mortal danger.  The message binds Toby under a spell that compels her to find her friend's killer at the risk of her own life if she doesn't.

Throughout the story Toby encounters people from her past and this is how we learn more about her.  She is repeatedly shot and attacked throughout the story.  She eventually discovers who the killer is and is released from the spell.  The story, like the main character is a little flat.  There are a menagerie of different characters introduced, all different fae species whom have a history with Toby.  It was a little much to remember and because I read the book over a week period I got a little lost of some of the characters and their role in the story.

The things that bothered me the most were:
1.  The lack of follow up with her daughter.  The fact that they were estranged was brushed over quickly and then brought tot he forefront during a scene in the story with a doppelganger, but was still left lacking.

2.  There seems to be no plot of revenge against the two people who cursed her into the pond in which she lost 14 years of her life to.  It also seems that she has not crossed paths with either.  Plus the reason she was following the people that put her in the pond was never 'closed'  She was investigating a disappearance of two people and although those people were eventually returned there was no actual reason given as to why they were taken in the first place and how they got back.  There were just unsatisfying hints.

With all that being said, the book did have some good qualities and I did like the premise of the story.  I felt vested enough in the outcome of the book to finish it.  ( I have stopped reading three books in the last year because I really didn't care how they ended).   I will more than likely read the second book in the series because I'm interested in how the relationship between October and Tybalt will turn out.  I get the impression that the author is heading in that direction even though she tried to provide several options for October's romantic life, which I found odd in itself.  This half blood changling with low self esteem manages to have multiple love interests.  I'm also hoping that since it was the first book in the series the writing and character development will improve and that October will grow a personality.

Yes it is easier to find fault and it is the author's first book.  I do have high hopes for the second.

In the beginning...

This is my first attempt at blogging. I figure this will be a way for me to ramble about the things I'm interested in, working on or trying to learn about. If you are entertained, GREAT! If not, oh well, thanks for taking the time to stop by and check it out.