Rosemary and reviews, release week edition.: seanan

Rosemary and reviews, release week edition.

Hey, guys. I realize I've been as scarce as a quality script in a box of direct-to-video horror franchise installments, but I have a totally valid excuse: namely, the plague. I came down with a cold on Tuesday morning that I thought was in the "spend a day in bed and be all better" category, and turned out to be in the "have no memory of Wednesday or Thursday, don't start feeling human again until Sunday morning" category. Seriously, it was just a cold, but I haven't felt this bad due to an infectious agent in years. I wasn't even together enough to whine about the speed of viral amplification. It was scary. Amy arrived Friday morning, and says, of my condition, "You'd just crawled out of a somnolent alien slime pod."

See? I was too sick to even remember being abducted by the aliens! My germs have all the fun. Anyway...

Rebecca at Dirty Sexy Books—which you may remember posted a truly awesome review of Rosemary and Rue, saying, "I predict that this new series will be an urban fantasy powerhouse"—was kind enough to let me come back for a really fun and funny interview. I'm really enjoying the opportunity to do interviews around the Internet, especially since everybody keeps coming up with such different questions. (Questions I have yet to get, sadly: "How do you say your name?" "Do you really sleep with a chainsaw?" "What was the cause of the Black Death?")

Meanwhile, Erin (of Erin-Go-Blog!) decided to go ahead and throw her two cents into the ring, with a rockin' Rosemary and Rue review. Erin says...

"Seanan McGuire's first novel, Rosemary and Rue, is for anyone who has ever believed in faeries, for anyone who has ever wished to step into a wardrobe and out into a world that is magical and every bit as real as our own."

...and...

"If you like paranormal fiction, grown-up faerie tales, urban fantasy, tight prose, well-drawn worlds and characters, sarcasm, murder mysteries, or any combination thereof, pick up Rosemary and Rue. You won’t be disappointed."

Yay, Erin!

It's not a review roundup without a LiveJournal review, and today,

markbernstein is filling that role, with his thoughtful and considerate review of Rosemary and Rue. Mark says...

"The things that most matter to me in a book, that draw me in if done well, are world building, characterization, and humor. McGuire is strong in all of those areas."

...and...

"Rosemary and Rue is about more than the detective plot. It's about re-establishing connections, dealing with guilt, and (to steal a phrase from the book) finding the way home. This adds a depth, a feeling of meaning, that far too many series books lack."

Closing out tonight's review roundup, we have Doug at Sci-Fi Guy, posting his fabulous and shiny Rosemary and Rue review for the consideration of the world at large. Doug says...

"Rosemary and Rue has a rich undercurrent of menace and constant threat of implied violence in its' portrayal of the fae creatures and customs that creates an atmosphere ripe with tension that perfectly complements the action. The fae world is a harsh one and the life of the Changelings even more so. Toby's pursuit of the truth is relentless and I can't remember the last time a main character was put to the test with such fervor. The central mystery and final outcome has enough surprises and twists and turns to satisfy serious mystery buffs."

Swoon. Also...

"Rosemary and Rue also has a delightfully fresh narrative voice. Every page has interesting turns of phrase and observations. It would have been easy to select dozens of quotations to share. The writing style alone would have been enough to keep me turning pages."

...oh, and...

"Rosemary and Rue is a startlingly good debut novel and destined for my top 10 list for 2009."

...and...

"With a dark, edgy mystery, plenty of magic and mayhem, humor and horror, Rosemary and Rue has something for everyone."

pre-ordered!

bookofnights

August 31 2009, 04:43:09 UTC 7 years ago

New comment

It's finally available on the Kindle, so I was able to pre-order it today! Good thing I have Sept 1st off, so I can read it right away! :)

Re: pre-ordered!

seanan_mcguire

August 31 2009, 15:42:24 UTC 7 years ago

Really? Awesome! Where did you find that?

7 years ago

spectralbovine

August 31 2009, 06:10:29 UTC 7 years ago

You keep on raking in the well-deserved good reviews! By the time the book comes out, we'll all have said everything good that can be said. People will have to think of new ways to praise you.

August 31 2009, 15:42:38 UTC 7 years ago

They can just buy me candy corn. I'm pretty easy that way.

all_ephemera

August 31 2009, 11:05:15 UTC 7 years ago

Shhh, don't tell my husband, but I preordered the book!

August 31 2009, 15:42:47 UTC 7 years ago

Yay!

jongibbs

August 31 2009, 11:24:38 UTC 7 years ago

I'm glad to hear you're feeling better :)

August 31 2009, 15:43:15 UTC 7 years ago

I was so sick. It would have been impressive, if it weren't so horrible. I'm still sort of sick, but at least I can think now.

erinwrites

August 31 2009, 12:16:57 UTC 7 years ago

Whee! I'm a little bummed that I wasn't able to make my original idea happen, but I needed to get the review out there anyway. ;)

August 31 2009, 15:43:25 UTC 7 years ago

Well, thank you, sweetie.

la_marquise_de_

August 31 2009, 12:41:21 UTC 7 years ago

Boo to colds (I have one, too).

August 31 2009, 15:43:34 UTC 7 years ago

I hate colds so hard.

jacylrin

August 31 2009, 12:53:31 UTC 7 years ago

I'm finishing up a series I was already reading, but when I went to Borders last week, I did find the book on the shelf (even though their computer, of course, claimed it wouldn't be in store until the first). There were even still 6 copies on the shelf after I picked up mine :-D

When I checked out, the gal at the register said she had a copy on hold until she got her paycheck and she was looking forward to reading it, and she's not even one of your faithful ~~stalkers~~ f-listers.

August 31 2009, 15:44:01 UTC 7 years ago

That is awesome.

I keep hearing from bookstores that it's selling "well" and "surprisingly well."

liamstliam

August 31 2009, 12:56:43 UTC 7 years ago Edited: August 31 2009, 12:57:04 UTC

Got mine Saturday at the Borders in Saratoga Springs, NY. I had a 20 percent discount coupon, even.

Alethea almost bought a second copy yesterday.

I have started. I am hooked.

I had a number of newspaper articles to write yesterday, but I plan on digging into it today.

Yay!

August 31 2009, 15:44:28 UTC 7 years ago

Tell Alethea that she totally needs a second copy. For emergency purposes.

Also, yay!

markbernstein

August 31 2009, 13:25:51 UTC 7 years ago

Let's see . . . "truly awesome", "rockin'", "fabulous and shiny", and . . . "thoughtful and considerate". I think I got the best rating. :-)

(No mention of killing me for the pun, though. I must be slipping.)

August 31 2009, 15:44:48 UTC 7 years ago

I'm too sick for homicide.

Deleted comment

August 31 2009, 15:44:58 UTC 7 years ago

I'm trying!

keristor

August 31 2009, 15:00:58 UTC 7 years ago

You say that you don't want to read reviews on Amazon -- if I post one there would you like a copy sent separately? I can promise that it won't be negative, in fact my problem is in toning it down to avoid the "cures cancer" effect you described...

(Glad you're feeling better, I was starting to get a little worried not seeing anything from you...)

August 31 2009, 15:45:18 UTC 7 years ago

If you cross-post to your LJ, I'll probably see it when it appears there. :)

scholarinexile

August 31 2009, 16:04:13 UTC 7 years ago

I finished it late last night. Loved every bit of it. Thanks so much for an awesome read, Seanan, and congratulations! ::hugs:: You deserve every bit of positive critique that's coming your way.

August 31 2009, 17:15:56 UTC 7 years ago

Thank you!

mishboi

August 31 2009, 16:46:22 UTC 7 years ago

Glad you're recovering from the alien abduction.

August 31 2009, 17:16:09 UTC 7 years ago

It's been difficult, but I'm surviving.

ladymondegreen

August 31 2009, 16:55:47 UTC 7 years ago

Feel lots better soon, and put

sweetmusic_27 on alien chasing duty to keep them from re-infesting you.

Hopefully the fabulous reviews are having a healing effect.

August 31 2009, 17:16:26 UTC 7 years ago

Mostly, I just twitch and vibrate right now. I shall endure!

Got it!

clovisthecomely

August 31 2009, 21:13:19 UTC 7 years ago

I went over to my Borders on my lunch break, on the off chance that they already had Rosemary and Rue available. They'd just put out *16* copies between two different places, and three of the stacks were faced. Now they have 15:o)

Re: Got it!

September 1 2009, 05:14:50 UTC 7 years ago

Wow!

dornbeast

September 1 2009, 00:01:59 UTC 7 years ago

Vaguely related:

I've put up an October Daye page on TVTropes, along with adding a few pointers to it at appropriate tropes. (Tybalt's treatment of Toby is pretty much a deadpan snarker, in my opinion.) Please do not go there unless you have a day to spare; people have vanished into that website and not come up for twelve hours. (I kept it to four, but I got hungry.)

If you get one sale out of it, I figure my hour was well-spent.

September 1 2009, 05:15:14 UTC 7 years ago

Really? I tried to check out the page, and I couldn't find it.

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Rosemary and reviews, release week edition.

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