Good urban fiction is hard to find. There's more than one hopeful newcomer who manages to get past the first hurdle of getting published, only to stumble when their work fails to capture the public eye. More than one author has attempted to publish a series, only to then be told that the publishing house doesn't want more of their work. (Such was the case with the ill fated Katie Chandler series that only had 4 books published before the author's contract wasn't re-upped & that series was pretty decent.) Hopefully McGuire will have far better luck than that because this book was very entertaining. 
 The book begins with October "Toby" Daye on a stakeout, only to be spotted by her quarry & spelled into the form of a fish. She remains as a fish for 14 years, during which she loses everything- her home, fiancee & child. When Toby finally manages to break the spell somehow, she makes the decision that she will never again involve herself in the world of magic. This decision proves to be futile when the murder of one of the older fae causes her to be bound by a curse- find the murderer or die. 
 I didn't really know if I'd like this series or not. Urban fiction is a funny beast. Sometimes it works & sometimes it doesn't. For every Kim Harrison, there's another author whose works are bland & boring. The premise of the novel was intriguing, so I finally gave it a chance. I'm glad I did. 
 McGuire's tale of fairies & changelings isn't entirely new, but she does manage to breathe a little freshness into it. McGuire focuses greatly on the role of rules & vows in the world of the fae, which is oddly enough something that isn't usually done. Many books will mention it, but then choose to focus on something else such as magic or sex. McGuire also brings in the several different kinds of fae into the mix, which is something that is also not done very often... and she makes a lot of sense when she does it. With the functions of many of the fae, McGuire makes their purposes seem very natural for the storyline. 
 I liked the character of Toby & I liked her potential love interests, which I won't discuss here for the sake of space, spoilers & to save you from the beginnings of fangirl gush. I'm looking forward to finding out more about each of the characters, including the reasons as to what makes Toby so special to so many powerful people. She's not that terribly powerful, so there's go to be something besides her personality that drives people to be so driven to help her. (It's not like there's not a hundred or so changelings in the San Fran area, after all.) 
 The only big flaw of this book is that occasionally there's a few points to the book where the book just kind of drags while the plot points shift gears in order to move the story along. It doesn't ruin the book, but it does make for the occasional moment where your attention wavers. I also didn't understand why Toby's ex-fiancee was so angry at her. Either there's more to their relationship that we weren't told or he's under a spell that compels him to stay away from her or makes him believe she abandoned them on purpose. (Or he could just be a royal jerk. Either way, Toby should be able to see her daughter.) 
 I really enjoyed this book & I while this book wasn't perfect, it's incredibly promising. I can only hope that the next few books do a bit more explanation & work out the kinks.