“Crickets chirped in the tall grass, and the wind blew soft against my skin, smelling like sage and soil. After three years in the human world the stars hardly looked real – the Wild Lands did have places where light pollution dimmed the sky, but out here it was wide and sparkling and unobstructed by buildings or trees. As tired and scared and frustrated as I was, even after a day that might ruin my life, I still couldn’t help but be grateful for it all.”

When Poppy Hill was a child she was kidnapped by the Fae and taken to their realm, the Otherside. Poppy spent a century as a cook in the palace of the Wild Lands where she found friendship and love. Then as an adult she’s suddenly thrown back into the human world of Reality where she has to adjust to a modern world that progressed in her absence. Carter Lane provides a bridge, a place where the Returned can be observed and slowly reintegrated into the world and where deals can be made between humans and Fae. This is where Poppy has worked for the last few years as a negotiator of Faerie bargains, drawing up contracts and looking for loopholes. Yet when a bargain goes wrong and ends with an important figure being taken to the Otherside, Poppy must fix her mistake, return to the world she once lived in, and go on a rescue mission. 

The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty embarks you on a fun journey with a whip-smart protagonist and enters you into a world full of devious and tricksy Fae. 

Our Poppy intrigued me from the very first chapter because her intentions and her loyalties were very ambiguous. Poppy is presented as a rather conflicted character who never felt like she completely fitted in either the human world of Reality or the Otherside. When she’s in the human realm she misses and longs for the familiarity of the Otherside, but then when she eventually goes back and faces the hardship and multiple dangers of the Fae realm, she misses the modern comforts and safety of her apartment. Throughout the narrative Poppy is always trying to find her place and purpose, and in order to do that, McCarty pushes Poppy to confront her childhood. Growing up in the Fae realm Poppy shared a closeness with her Fae friend, Sloan, it was a friendship that gave her love, warmth and companionship when she was vulnerable in an alien world. Yet with Poppy’s return to the Otherside in her adulthood, she realises that perhaps everything was not quite as it seemed. Their relationship was crafted in an emotional, often painful way, showing the good but also the toxic. It works to help Poppy mature, to show us that she’s intelligent, that she’s capable of facing hard truths and finally accept that no matter how nostalgic she feels, looking at your past through rose tinted glasses isn’t the right way to grow. I truly appreciated this even when my heart felt Poppy’s loss. 

The romance in this book was not heavy handed at all and was so well played out. Poppy not only comes face to face with her ex boyfriend Elan but she also has to deal with Theron, a Hunter. Here is where McCarty skirts around the borders of a love triangle but doesn’t fully commit. I was glad to discover that Poppy’s feelings are actually explored in more complex ways, once again demonstrating excellent character growth. Poppy doesn’t instantly forgive Elan, who hasn’t been in her life for several years since she left the Otherside. Yes she still loves him, still longs to be with him, but she also learns not to completely trust him and realises the things she’d have to sacrifice in order to be with him. I agreed with Poppy’s newfound cautiousness around Elan, but on the other hand, I loved Elan so much! I really enjoyed whenever his character appeared because his devious manner, his naughty dialogue and his quite comedic nature of course made me drawn to him. Theron, on the other hand, is kinder, more loyal and has more noble traits, which often made even Poppy feel guilty for some of her actions. There isn’t the usual instant love between them but there’s a friendship and definitely some growing feelings. However, McCarty doesn’t allow these men to overshadow Poppy’s personal journey and allows our protagonist to ultimately choose what’s best for her and her healing.

“There are Othersiders so beautiful it hurts to look at them, and there are those with faces that could peel paint. Elan fell somewhere in between. He had a wide forehead and narrow chin, thin lips and eyes set too far back in his head. His smile could be dazzling, but not if you didn’t already love him.

But his voice could seduce a saint.”

I would not necessarily class this book in the cosy genre as we spend much time in the Otherside, a place full of trickery and peril, particularly for humans. I really loved McCarty’s worldbuilding here as the Otherside may be full of random magic, devious fae and different fae Courts, all of which I have encountered in many other fae fantasy books, but the realm of the fae would be devoid of creativity were it not for humans causing the fae world to diminish, which I found an exciting addition. I really enjoyed the way this linked the Otherside to the human realm of Reality as it created a dependency and a solid reason why the fae had a long history of kidnapping human children such as Poppy, other than just out of being malicious. Then McCarty adds more layers with the history between the Fae Courts, their wars with the Reality realm and the forming of the Grand Bargain, which would create a more protective and fairer way for humans to spend time in the Otherside as they went willingly in exchange for a special gift or favour. However the effect of this ultimately gave more power to the King of the Wild Lands and we all know how that goes. All these conflicts and political intrigues gently simmer away in the background until it becomes a bigger plot point revolving around Poppy who gets caught in the middle and her journey to finding her way out of the mess was absolutely hooking.

The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains is a gripping, multifaceted tale, full of tricks, traps and shenanigans. Poppy is just an irresistible character to root for every step of the way.  

“Some folks might call it giving up, but that never felt quite right. It was more like knowing when to stop kneading and wait for the dough to rise. Maybe later I’d be able to choose a direction. I might make rolls, or loaves, or spread the dough with cinnamon and sugar, or dried fruits or herbs or a dozen other things. Maybe I made a mistake somewhere earlier and the dough wouldn’t rise at all. No way to know, nothing to do but wait. It might even look like being brave.”

ARC provided by Nazia at Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review—thank you for the copy! All quotes used are taken from an early ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains is out 7th April 2026 but you can pre-order your copy on Bookshop.org