Book Club: Rosemary and Rue (Spoilers Within)

[Pedersen]

Okay, as I noted elsewhere, this has been a less than stellar month for reading for me, so my opening contribution to this is going to be pretty minimal (mainly because I've not finished the book yet).

I will say this, though: I'm having a harder time connecting with the characters. I'm about 1/4 of the way through the book, and reading feels like a chore to me. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I'm not enjoying one so much. Maybe it will change later, and I'll be able to contribute more positively when I finish the book.

What about you? What are your thoughts on it?

[DaDairyDruid]

I was somewhat excited to be reading this book. Mira Grant of Feed? Writing Urban Fantasy? in a Noir type setting?

Wait, it's in the Young Adult section of the Library? Well that doesn't mean anything...

Wait, It's intended for Teenage girls? Well I should keep an open mind...

I was so very disappointed.

October Daye is quite possibly the worst female character I have read in recent memory. Every decision she makes in the course of the novel is cringe worthy. It is understandable for a young woman to make mistakes, but she is supposed to be in her late 20's. Not only that the Author spends way too much time trying to world build, and it seems as though the plot of the murder is an afterthought.

The biggest disappointment in the whole thing? She is lost and in trouble and who does she turn to for help? Her Liege lord? her friends? Her Family? NO she turns to her Fagin-Esque Abusive ex-boyfriend! who (guess what) DID IT! A Supposedly educated woman doing something like that?!? After all she may not have had a full education, but she passed her PI license test and that takes serious knowledge and training.

I was hoping for something like the Dresden Files, but with a female twist. Instead I got a muddled plot, overdone details, unlikable characters...

Please don't get me wrong I have read and enjoyed novels with difficult and/or simpleminded female characters, Dunleavy Mallorough, or Gloriana St. Clair, or even Elizabeth "Betsy" Taylor. But October Daye I actually wished would DIE at the end of the book.

I am sorry. Big thumbs down.

[Kheldarson]

I'll post more when i have a steadier connection but i do enjoy this novel. So hopefully i can give a proper defense when i get power back.

[TheSHAD0W]

Read through the series, and I thought it was pretty formula, mirroring the Anita Blake novels. Tough female protagonist, has relationship issues, gets beat up and nearly killed a lot, comes back and kicks ass. I can't say I actively disliked it, but meh.

[ArcticChicken]

Read through the series, and I thought it was pretty formula, mirroring the Anita Blake novels. Tough female protagonist, has relationship issues, gets beat up and nearly killed a lot, comes back and kicks ass. I can't say I actively disliked it, but meh.

There was more character growth than Anita Blake. Not much, mind you.

[Pedersen]

Okay, I finished this up two days ago, and I have to admit that it got a lot better. For some reason, it took longer than normal to reach that point, though.

However, October Daye is truly a moron. The end scene, where she goes to confront the killer? "Let's see, I can go visit the killer, alone, on his turf, in a building that none of my friends can find the entry for. Sounds like a plan!" Seriously? That's the idea? The only reason she walked away from that one was because the killer didn't blow her away on entry!

She had backup. Lots of it. If she had waited 10 more minutes, she would have had 3 trained knights, at the least. And she couldn't do it. Stupid.

I didn't want her to die, but she definitely deserved it.

Aside from that, it actually turned decent enough to finish. I'm not going to seek out the other books in the series, though. The connection and interest wasn't strong enough.

How about everybody else? What did you think and feel about this?