I am supremely behind on my RieViews, so I have decided to make Sunday RieView day. I will probably post at least one other at some point today. 🙂
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed Rosemary and Rue, though it took me a bit to get a handle on the new style after reading some of Seanan’s other work first. It was an entirely new pacing and flow, and the switch was not an automatic one. I don’t want to imply that the plot is slow moving — it isn’t, it’s a rich, complex plot that has an appropriate pace for its style and genre — it just wasn’t as non-stop action as Mira’s Feed.
However, once I made the mental changeover, I loved the world she brings us here. The fey she introduces are not stereotypical. We get the gritty side of Faery in a lot of cases, and I really enjoyed this take on the mythology.
Toby is a heroine I can get behind — not perfect by any means, and yet not some helpless female who needs assisting out of every predicament. The supporting cast is lovely (and having read the first sequel, I am glad to see many of them recurring characters.) On the other hand, I was glad to see this isn’t one of those unrealistic societies where no one ever dies, no matter how vile the attacks thrown at them. When you fight evil for a living, at some point you — even the luckiest character — will eventually lose someone you love.
I would have liked to see the prologue woven into the story a little more tightly. It is referred to quite often, but it still felt like something tacked onto the book. This was my only real problem with Rosemary and Rue, but they won’t let me give half stars. 🙂
Rie Sheridan Rose 