The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains

The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty promises a witty, cozy fantasy rooted in the clever bureaucracy of fairy contracts. Protagonist Poppy Hill, who previously spent a century cooking for the Wild King, now negotiates these deals in the human world. When a bargain goes awry, she must return to the Otherside to fix it.

While the novel starts strong, it quickly abandons its greatest assets. Once Poppy crosses over, the book stalls, and all the wheels come off. At once. On the freeway. The narrative descends into an uninspiring travelogue, occasionally interrupted by soft-core food porn. Poppy hates her job but does nothing to fix it; she longs for the Otherside, yet once there, she does nothing but whine and get captured. Worse, the attempted romantic triad utterly lacks chemistry, and McCarty’s Faerie feels like a bog-standard fantasy realm less engaging than a 90s video game level you can’t navigate out of. Ultimately, a delightfully snarky protagonist and a clever premise fail due to endless scenic descriptions, a stagnant plot, and a hollow emotional core.