Aletheia's

A friend recommended A Madness of Angels last year and even lent it to me. But after a few chapters I abandoned it.
I'm not surprised. As I said, the very unclear beginning(s), staying this way for some thirty-fourty pages. Myself I really liked it not even in the middle of the first book, but later. Maybe I began really appreciate it not before the second? Especially the style - there's more quotable snippets in later parts than in the first.

Seanan McGuire ... Tanya Huff ... Kelley Armstrong
But any of them doesn't write 'magic from urban reality', just 'magic having its place in/next to urban reality', if I understand it well, right? I'm not going to deny other authors their qualities and ideas, but I want to point at what makes Griffin's idea essentially different - not 'magic co-existing with civilisation', but 'magic being the product of civilisation'. It's not 'fae in the city'. It's 'come on, why always fae?'. That's the point.

I admire world building, but it is not enough on its own, whether it is the Discworld or modern London.
Yeah, for me too. This is why I didn't like China Miéville - interesting ideas; totally boring story & characters. Thankfully I found in Griffin's stories enough to like - good action and a few lovable characters. Alas, you really get them after some time, not so immediately. So - yes, if it didn't appeal to you enough in the first fifty or so, no sense in struggling. But if you'll ever willing to give it the second chance, may I suggest the author's blog for a start? The link is up there, just under the covers.