I was recommended the Dresden Files series by a friend and told that it "gets better" - I'll take her word for it and read the rest, even if this first one wasn't (entirely) a hit with me.

The protagonist's sardonic narration in times of crisis took me out of some of the action, and his chauvinism definitely grated, but these are staples of the noir genre and I feel like the author is making an (albeit hamfisted) attempt at satire, here. It was funny how many times Harry brought up people's legs - whether women's, for hetero reasons, or his own (we get it, Dresden, you're very tall). Even still, the mystery was well-crafted, the worldbuilding and magic was something I couldn't get enough of, and I'm excited to see where the series goes next, because this was a solid first book.