Share <Embed>

Buy New

$6.84

List Price: $7.99
Save: $1.15 (14%)

FREE Shipping on orders over $25—or get FREE Two-Day Shipping with

Only 5 left in stock (more on the way).

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Ship to:

Select a shipping address:

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 2 images

Rosemary and Rue (October Daye) Mass Market Paperback – September 1, 2009

by Seanan McGuire (Author)

376 customer reviews

Book 1 of 11 in the October Daye Series

See all 14 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

eBook

"Please retry"

$1.99

—

Paperback

"Please retry"

—

$7.20

$12.06

Audible, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Mass Market Paperback

"Please retry"

$6.84

$4.28

$1.27

MP3 CD, Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$12.60

$8.72

$54.97

Multimedia CD

"Please retry"

—

$54.62

$53.40

New York Times-bestselling October Daye faerie series • Hugo Award-winning author Seanan McGuire • "Top of my urban-paranormal series list!" —Felicia Day

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.

Outsiders from birth, these half-human, half-fae children 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, Toby must resume her former position as knight errant to the Duke of Shadowed Hills and begin renewing old alliances that may prove her only hope of solving the mystery...before the curse catches up with her.

Rosemary and Rue (October Daye)

$6.84 FREE Shipping on orders over $25—or get FREE Two-Day Shipping with Only 5 left in stock (more on the way). Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Frequently bought together

Total price: $22.30

Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Show details

Buy the selected items together

This item:Rosemary and Rue (October Daye) by Seanan McGuire Mass Market Paperback $6.84
Only 5 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
A Local Habitation (October Daye) by Seanan McGuire Mass Market Paperback $8.42
Only 17 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
An Artificial Night (October Daye) by Seanan McGuire Mass Market Paperback $7.04
Only 11 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Seanan McGuire

148

Mass Market Paperback
$8.42
Seanan McGuire

125

Mass Market Paperback
$7.04
Seanan McGuire

114

Mass Market Paperback
$7.50
Seanan McGuire

131

Mass Market Paperback
$7.99
Seanan McGuire

158

Mass Market Paperback
$7.99
Seanan McGuire

196

Mass Market Paperback
$7.99

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Singer-songwriter McGuire adeptly infuses her debut with hardboiled sensibilities and a wide array of mythological influences, set against a moody San Francisco backdrop. October Toby Daye is half-human, half-faerie, a changeling PI with a foot in both worlds. After spending 14 years as a fish following a botched assignment, she's desperate to avoid magic, but the dying curse of a murdered elven lady forces her to investigate the killing, with the price of failure being Toby's own painful death. Toby struggles with court intrigue, magical mayhem, would-be assassins and her own past, always driven by the need to succeed and survive. Well researched, sharply told, highly atmospheric and as brutal as any pulp detective tale, this promising start to a new urban fantasy series is sure to appeal to fans of Jim Butcher or Kim Harrison. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Praise for the October Daye series:

"The top of my urban-paranormal series list! I am so invested in the worldbuilding and the characters.... The romance is real and awesome, but doesn't overshadow the adventure." —Felicia Day

"Everything you'd ever need in an urban fantasy. It's a smart story, cleanly told that allows both humor and heartbreak to take their turn on stage." —Tanya Huff, author of An Ancient Peace

"Rosemary and Rue is one of the most successful blends of mystery and fantasy I've ever read—like Raymond Chandler by way of Pamela Dean." —Tim Pratt, author of Dead Reign

"McGuire knows her fairy lore, bringing the wonder and the danger of the fair folk to the streets of San Francisco so vividly you can smell the rose goblins." —Jim C. Hines, author of Libriomancer

"An incredible mix of action, mystery, fairy, urban fantasy, and just a smidgen of romance artfully woven into a story impossible to put down.” —Sacramento Book Review

"I can't believe McGuire can come up with another adventure as riveting as this one. But then I say that after every book in this series." —SFRevu

"McGuire has never lacked for courage in her writing.... The phenomenally inventive October Daye series showcases her narrative daring and ingenuity beautifully." —RT Reviews

"Prepare to be dazzled.... Like the best of urban fantasy, with each reveal and mystery solved, Toby's world grows ever more enticing. As seductive as faerie itself, this is one series I could never give up." —All Things Urban Fantasy

"These books are like watching half a season of your favorite television series all at once.... More than anything else, it's the fun of it all that's kept me returning to McGuire's books and to this series." —SF Signal

"The plot is strong, the characterization is terrific, the tragedies hurt...and McGuire's usual beautiful writing and dark humor are present and accounted for. This has become one of my favorite urban fantasy series." —Fantasy Literature

"With Ashes of Honor, McGuire has crafted a deeply personal and intense story that will keep you on the edge, hoping to be pushed over. In my opinion, it is, hands down, the best Toby to date." —The Ranting Dragon

"An urban fantasy detective series featuring a resourceful female detective.... [October Daye] should appeal to fans of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files as well as the novels of Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, and similar authors." —Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Start reading Rosemary and Rue (October Daye Series Book 1) on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product details

Series: October Daye (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: DAW; 1st Printing edition (September 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0756405718
ISBN-13: 978-0756405717
Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (376 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5180 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Paranormal & Urban
- #19542 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States

If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

Related media

Customer reviews

376

4.1 out of 5 stars

5 star		48%
4 star		28%
3 star		13%
2 star		8%
1 star		3%

Write a customer review

See all verified purchase reviews

Top customer reviews

Nice addition to the Urban Fantasy genre...

ByJannaon March 7, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Wow!

Okay, I don't know why I haven't stumbled across this series yet... because it's been out for several years. I read the sample on Amazon and got completely hooked by the prologue. It starts off with a bang... and ends up in a fish pond for fourteen years.

Seriously.

But wait... it gets better...

The main character, October (Toby), is a changeling (part-fae, part-human). She runs around doing investigations for the fae, makes an error in judgment, and *POOF* she's transformed into a fish for fourteen years. Pretty awesome beginning, right?

Unfortunately, after the prologue, the book dragged a bit. It starts off fourteen years after the prologue, and October has completely renounced the fae world. This bothered me a bit because it didn't make a whole lot of sense. All of a sudden we're faced with a whole lot of questions and October (Toby) has spent months throwing herself a pity-party and not bothered to find out about what happened to just about... everyone (with few exceptions). I mean, who cuts off everyone and everything thing without even letting them know you're still alive?

The book picked up after the first chapter (yay!), and there was quite a bit of action. There were a few inconsistencies, plot holes, and character issues. These pulled me out of the story and why I can't rate this book a solid 5/5. The author does a great job though of explaining the different types of fae (down to every single eye-color) and at times, it was almost like a faery encyclopedia peppered with action.

Even so, it's definitely a fantastic addition to the library of any Urban Fantasy lovers. Parts of the book reminded me of the Alex Craft series by Kalayna Price, and even a little bit of the Hollows series by Kim Harrison. For fans of either of these series, you should check this one out.

This review was originally posted on The Novel Lady.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Good Start but a Downhill Ride

ByJason Pastoriuson March 29, 2016

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

Spoiler alert.

This book's first, world-building act was interesting and sucked me in. However toward the end I reluctantly admitted to myself I was bored and the plot was so full of holes, inconsistent/unbelievable details and dangling subplots that it destroyed the enjoyable immersion I had at the beginning. A couple of examples. When Evening is killed by iron, the fact that iron was used is solemnly repeated in the same way we would talk about chemical weapons, but Toby takes two iron bullets and recovers fine with some help. Why was she knighted? Why did the Queen react the way she did? What about Connor's wife? What did she owe Tybalt at the end? What about her mother? No follow up with husband/daughter, simple as that? What happened to Luna and daughter when they were kidnapped? What happened to the guy who turned her into a fish -- I thought this thread would reappear at some point. Is it true that Devin could edit Evening's blood memories, which Toby didn't think possible, and if so why and how? The trip to Evening's knowe -- how did so many other people find their way in after telling us that it would be too dangerous for the kids to enter? What was the real story with Evening's involvement with Home? Too much repetitive description of how beaten up and bloody Toby is with few believable consequences.

0Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Frustratingly Emo Urban Fantasy

ByAmazon Customeron March 11, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

At first blush I thought this book was going to be like the Mercy Thompson series, where a relatively low-powered heroine unravels her murder mysteries with skill and cleverness, rather than Supernatural muscle like Jane Yellowrock or Harry Dresden. Nope! What we actually have is someone the book refers to as a detective, who seems incapable of detecting anything.

It's not that hard; to be a detective you make observations, and draw conclusions. You hypothesize motive, and investigate people who have it. You ask questions, and compare their answers against what you already know. You use the tools available to you to establish the facts, try to make sense of them, and act.
Toby Daye doesn't do *any* of that.
At the start of the book she's investigating a kidnapping, and winds up caught by the bad guys and trapped for 14 years as a fish. This is kind of traumatic! So upon escape, does she ask what happened to the bad guys? No. Does she ask what happened to the kidnapped victims? No. Does she attempt to put her life back together? No, no, she doesn't. This is a theme.
Once she's drafted into the murder mystery, and has a magic clue finding tool *literally delivered to her by the deceased victim*, does she make a list of suspects based off of the victim's enemies or the clues she discovers? No, because that would be detective work. What does she do instead? She drinks the blood of dead people, and watches a Spirit-TiVo of their relevant experiences. This is how she solves the case, by the way. No deductions, no big reveals, no figuring it out ahead of the reader, just, "drink blood, receive answer." But you know what, okay, if that's your magical superpower that's great. If you are in the business of solving Mysteries, you'd think you'd use that as frequently as possible. Does she? No. Of course not! Once the beginning, once at the end, that's all we get.
What occupies the middle of the book you ask? Why, she meanders through the wreckage of her old life feeling miserable for herself while surrounded almost entirely by caring friends. I am not even joking; this woman makes a point of obsessing about how lonely and friendless and hated she is while literally surrounded by people who are thrilled to learn she is alive and overjoyed to have her around again.

This is a kind of literary virtue-signaling: having the main character tortured over things they are not responsible for while being forgiven by surrounding characters is a way for the author to say, "This is a good person," --but let's conveniently ignore all the things they *are* responsible for that they're *not* doing.

Oh, and the ending was pathetic. There was a beautiful opportunity for a satisfying ending, for the heroine to find purpose and make a positive impact... and the author literally burned it down.
I love Urban Fantasy, but I'm not reading any more of this.

0Comment 15 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Most recent customer reviews

Endearing heroine within s great story

I thought fairies couldn't be reinvented to capture my interest, but this book overturned that notion. Reminded me of a female Dresden.Read more

Published 5 days ago by Valerie A. Lindsey

Excellent start to a fantastic series

I love this entire series (so far -- as of this writing, it is 10 books long). The heroine is brave and strong, but not stupid.Read more

Published 7 days ago by Coral

Amazing Fantasy Mystery - Must Read!

Hooked. That is the word I ascribed to this novel. I was hooked from the beginning and had to finish it! This book is well written (I never highlighted a misspelled word!Read more

Published 9 days ago by Jada Marnew

This is just an absolute amazing series and I loved rereading this novel again

I reread this novel for a book challenge. This is just an absolute amazing series and I loved rereading this novel again.Read more

Published 13 days ago by Monica

Fun fae intrigue

I really loved this book. It was my second venture into McGuire's writing, and the first that really hooked me.Read more

Published 15 days ago by J. Zimmerman

Interesting world

I think this is an interesting world and the characters are well developed. I'll definitely be continuing with the series as I'm interested to see what happens next.

Published 23 days ago by Michelle M.

Dark story, with a refreshing take on the Fae/Faerie

A fellow urban fantasy lover freaked out, and then pointed me to this book when I told them I had heard of, but hadn't yet read Seanan McGuire.
Well, call me a new fan.Read more

Published 1 month ago by A. M. Kaspar

Toby

I was looking for a new supernatural series and this one is great. Different from Gin and Mercy, but still a strong heroine with a good sense of humor.Read more

Published 1 month ago by Harriet

Dresden, eat your heart out

Mcguire spins urban fantasy that cares as much about its city as its heroine. Nowhere is the fake, whitewashed Chicago of the Dresden Files.Read more

Published 1 month ago by Tim Childree

Five Stars

I love this series. Giving this book as a present.

Published 1 month ago by Anne Thornley

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway

This item: Rosemary and Rue (October Daye)

Set up a giveaway