If You Love Holly Black, You Need to Read This — The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty: Review

Dark fae, messy loyalties, zero trust.

Synopsis

‘Unforgettable and utterly addictive’
Lyra Selene, author of A Feather so Black

Discover a world of enchanted contracts, faerie intrigue and French toast, in this delightful debut packed full of wit, charm, adventure and heart, with a dash of magical bureaucracy and a sprinkling of romance.

When Poppy Hill was a child, she was stolen from her family’s Montana homestead and taken ‘Otherside’ to the land of the fae, where she spent more than a century as a cook in the Wild King’s castle. Now back in the human world, she works for a company that brokers faerie bargains, checking for loopholes in their contracts.

But when a bargain that Poppy is negotiating goes disastrously wrong, she must return to the world she grew up in to try to rectify her mistake, facing danger, intrigue and a pesky ex-boyfriend along the way.

‘As irresistible as a faerie bargain, this book is riveting, magical and wonderful! I absolutely adored it!’ Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop

‘The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains snatches you away into a world of enchanted contracts, faerie intrigue and French toast that you’ll never want to come back from’
Molly O’Neill, author of Greenteeth

‘A charming and warm-hearted tale of family and friendship with a plot as twisty as a faerie bargain’
M. Stevenson, author of Behooved

‘The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains is a brilliant, tongue-in-cheek weaving of folklore and the hell of modern bureaucracy, combined with a twisty adventure and a dash of romance . . . A book that I was reluctant to close at the end. McCarty is a talent!’
Brigitte Knightley, author of The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy

Review

The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains
5 stars — and such an excellent debut!

First, a big thank you to Orbit Books for my copy—because once again, I had an amazing time reading this urban fantasy.

If you’re a fan of Holly Black… I really think you’re going to love this one. I know, I know—we’re not supposed to compare authors. But sometimes it’s just the easiest way to explain the vibe. And this book gave me those same deliciously dark, tricky fae FEELS.

I went in with zero expectations… and got completely sucked in.

This is a world where faeries love bargains—and even more, they love twisting them. And these are not the cute, winged kind. Think more along the lines of dangerous, manipulative, slightly cruel—even when they like you. Humans? Definitely beneath them… even if they depend on them to survive.

Poppy has lived for one hundred years in the Otherside before suddenly waking up back in the human world. The adjustment is rough, to say the least—and she misses her fae life and friends terribly.

Now, she works in the human world overseeing faerie bargains. Basically making sure humans don’t get completely destroyed by the fine print. (Because let’s be honest—they would.)

But of course, things go wrong.

When a bargain turns very bad, Poppy is forced to return to the Otherside—and track down her ex-boyfriend. Yes, the one who hasn’t given her a single piece of news in three years.

What follows is a full-on journey: traveling the King’s Road, meeting a new mysterious fae, dealing with betrayals (some of them painful), and navigating political intrigue.

Poppy will have to outsmart creatures who live to trick others, survive shifting alliances, and somehow make it back alive.

What really stood out to me, though, was the characters.

Poppy feels so real. She’s constantly torn—missing the Otherside when she’s in the human world, and then missing the human world when she’s back with the fae. Push and pull…

She’s also caught between old loyalties and new promises, and none of it is simple. Every relationship is layered. Every connection comes with doubt.

And the fae? Exactly how I like them: complex, morally grey, and impossible to fully trust.

Nothing is ever what it seems. Everyone has their own agenda.

This book is complex, nuanced, full of adventure, and packed with complicated relationships—and I adored it.

The concept of an agency overseeing faerie bargains felt fresh, the worldbuilding was rich without being overwhelming, and the story never dragged. I was always engaged, always curious, always slightly suspicious of everyone. Such a strong debut, and I already know I’ll be reading whatever Reena McCarty writes next.

Thanks for reading.