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. Starting the October Daye series coincides nicely with two things for me: becoming fairly obsessed with the works of Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant, and also getting more & more interested in reading some urban fantasy. It’s also a really cool feeling to read the debut novel of an author with an almost supernatural amount of books to her name…honestly, I’ll never not be amazed by how prolific Seanan McGuire has been since Rosemary & Rue was published in 2009.

This is also the longest series I’ve ever begun, by a pretty decent margin (12 novels so far, and a bunch of short stories). It’s very slightly intimidating, but…one book at a time!

Rosemary & Rue introduces us to October Daye, mostly known as Toby. We basically meet Toby right before her life falls apart, in 1995. She’s half-fae, half-human, living in the San Francisco area, and at this point in her life, she’s working as a private eye. She has a young daughter named Gilly, and a human partner named Cliff (who does not know Toby is part fae…she’s a changeling and can slightly alter her appearance to look more human). She has her own business, and is ostensibly happy.

But then shit goes horribly wrong on a case Toby is working, and she is cursed to be a goldfish (yes, a goldfish) FOR FOURTEEN FUCKING YEARS!

Needless to say, when the curse is broken & Toby returns to land…things are different. Things are…well, totally fucked. She’s lost her family, her business…everything. She’s working nights at Safeway and living in a small apartment with two cats, and trying to move on from her past. But the fae life comes calling, and Toby is forced back into this complex & dangerous world, tasked (actually cursed) with solving a seemingly-impossible murder.

There is a great deal of world building in this book. Lots of moving parts are in play, and at times I felt a little overwhelmed by how vast & intricate this world is. But through it all, Toby is an outstanding protagonist & guide, someone with a lot of darkness & sadness about her, but still she just…keeps going. And Seanan McGuire is VERY unkind to Toby in this first book! Like…goddamn, she goes through some serious & painful shit here! This is a really gritty and atmospheric start to a series.

I think I’ve mentioned this in other reviews of her work, but for me now, there’s just something incredibly comforting about starting one of Seanan McGuire’s books. I absolutely love her voice, and I’m fucking delighted to have finally met October Daye. I’ve got this series in mass market paperback (heart eyes), and seeing them on my shelf every day, all stacked up & waiting to be read…that’s a really special feeling.