You know, I usually fucking hate when people say "oh, the first book isn't that great, but it really hits its stride [x] books in," but I've been guilty of saying that exact thing about this series. I ALSO hate when people say "oh, it's even better upon re-reading," but I'll be godsdamned if that isn't exactly the case here, too. 

I'm not going to post a bunch of spoilers for later books in the series, but there is honestly SO MUCH in this first book that comes back in a BIG way (much much) later on down the line. 

The first time I read Rosemary and Rue, I probably would have given it a 3 if I was feeling incredibly generous, the second and third times also a 3-3½. Idk if I was just in the middle of a decade plus long grumpy phase or what, bc this time I thought it was mostly delightful. Looking forward to re-reading the rest before book 19 (!) comes out and seeing how many more breadcrumb trails there are to follow.