I blow hot and cold on Isana. I can't quite put my finger on why. I should like her, but there's just something that puts me off a bit.

Sounds like there's more to it than I'd get using TVTropes or a Wiki then. Well, I have a library card and time, if nothing else! :) I keep expecting Tavi to have some sort of revelation and wind up with, like, super-control over furies or something. That could be The Last Herald-Mage bleeding through, though.

So far I think the book's leaning too heavily on fae-related references, and that Dresden Files and Wicked Lovely did blending with the real world better. But the protagonist just stopped being a fish, so we'll see.