In my absence from the online world I've been doing a lot of reading, and I would like to take a moment to talk about my new love, October Daye.

This series, authored by Seanan McGuire, is in the urban fantasy genre, and in my opinion is simply outstanding. The basic premise is familiar -- there's a world out there, unknown to us mortals, where creatures we believe to be myth are very real. The protagonist of the series, October 'Toby' Daye, is a changeling, which is not a fairy child left in place of a human baby as legend claims, but rather the product of a union between a fae and a human. In Toby's case, her father was human and her mother fae. Because the world of Faerie survives by keeping itself hidden, at some point in their lives - it varies depending on how the child develops, but usually happens by the time they reached puberty -- all these half-fae children are eventually presented with the Changeling's Choice. If the choose Faerie, they're whisked away to the Summerlands to be taught what they need to know to protect Faerie, and never again to see their mortal parent. If they choose the mortal world ... well, as is frequently mentioned in the series, Faerie isn't fair.

The adult Toby treads the line between the mortal and Fae worlds as a private detective, and of course there are things about her own past that she is unaware of. The series is gritty, humorous and poignant, and I will warn you it can be quite violent at times. Ms. McGuire delights in abusing her heroine, and in pretty much all of the stories Toby comes out victorious, and covered in blood. Blood is actually a central theme for the character, and becomes progressively more important throughout the series.

MINOR SPOILER ALERT

I became instantly hooked on the series in the prologue of the first novel, Rosemary and Rue. Toby, properly addressed as Sir Daye, as she's a knight, is on a case for the duke she is sworn to, searching for his kidnapped wife and daughter. The prologue ends with Toby being transformed into a fish by the villain, and she spends the next fourteen years swimming around as a koi in a pond in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. This is a major blow to our heroine, as at the time of her transformation she was engaged to a mortal man (who knew nothing of her fae heritage) and had an infant daughter.

END SPOILER ALERT

Transformations figure in several of the novels, though as yet there have been none involving gender. I am hopeful, however, as the author is definitely LGBT friendly, and one of the major supporting characters is in a lesbian relationship.

I find the heroine of the series most compelling, with an unbreakable inner strength that even she isn't aware of. She's far from perfect, but her imperfections only make her more likable, and she is supported by a great cast of characters. This series has mystery, action, tragedy and yes, romance, and I highly recommend it to all.