It was a nice cozy read. I love fae in general so I knew it I would enjoy this one. It didn't have as much romance as i thought it would, but it did have found family, which I loved

This is quirky with irreverent humor; think “The Office” meets “The Cruel Prince.” It has the lighthearted tone of “Assistant to the Villain.” If you’re a corporate drone, it will be all too familiar (and hilarious).

However, if you’re seeking romantasy, this book may not be for you. There is little romance to be found; instead, there’s found family.

This is my first time reading this author and I’m sorry but I had to dnf at 7%. This book isn’t for me. The only character I loved is doctor kitten. The characters weren’t doing anything for me. I didn’t care for the characters
Thank you NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

A Fae in Finance is trope heavy and utterly ridiculous, but I loved every moment of OTT silliness that is Miri’s story.

This was so funny I was laughing out loud at some parts! It was an addictive read I didn't want to put down, I'd love more books in this series!

The characters and setting all felt real. This book was funny, the cast of characters was great, and this book was a fun read.

I thought A Fae in Finance was a very cute, sweet story, and I thoroughly enjoyed most of it. If you've ever experienced office life as a millenial/younger worker, you will find many of her office interactions with coworkers/her boss to be relatable, even if it's a bit too ridiculous at times (very sitcom-y feel).

That being said, parts of this fell flat for me and I wish many plot points were expanded on further, or at least for there to be bigger payoffs by the end. The romance was very, very light, and I just had expectations for more (the best tension was between the FMC and someone unexpected, but then it went nowhere!). I felt like there needed to be heavier importance on the title that everyone kept referring to Miri as, than there ended up being (even Miri's reaction was a bit lackluster, with no self-reflection on the news. I would have loved for some sort of additional tie in after she realizes how literal her title was). The resolution to one of the biggest issues at the end also felt too easy, although, very fae fitting, so I actually enjoyed the simplicity of it.

We needed a faerie class for humans as much as the fae needed Miri's human classes.

I'd overall give this 3.5 stars. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC opportunity.

An overworked, underappreciated investment banker gets trapped in Faerie due to an equal mix of her own poor judgement and the incompetence of her useless boss. The good news is Miri’s hot fae co-worker is kind enough to fetch her cat, so she’s not imprisoned alone. The bad news is the lunch server keeps trying to poison her and she can’t stop ogling the Princeling’s emotionally unavailable henchwoman. Miri is passionate about integrating humans and supernaturals, so she agrees to teach “how to be human” classes on top of working her regular job, where she’s constantly apologizing when she does nothing wrong because she’s a young woman in finance. There’s an evil queen gunning for the crown, not enough sunlight, and a colony of vampire nudists that I hope gets more page-time in book 2. We learn that faeries have preferred hobbies, and I was particularly drawn to the one who sits in the courtyard and screams at irregular intervals. Is it better to be expunged or eviscerated? Let’s hope Miri escapes before she finds out.

A Fae in Finance is a delightful little tale of the crossover between the magical world and the current everyday. We meet Miri a corporate finance worker who puts her all into what she does. She thinks that incorporating the magical world of faeries and fae into the financial world of humans will make people more accepting on a quicker timeline than her previous social work job (and it pays better) However, when Miri is intentionally trapped in Faerie to be a human teacher (both species and subject) she falls deeper and deeper. She makes a deal to try and find a way out for herself while staying for a ten year period. She meets many a kind of fae both friends and enemies in this tale.

For me, A fae in finance fell short. It was a brief pause on reality, but some of the elements of the book just weren't for me. While I appreciate the reality of her depressive episode, I just felt that it was a slight blip in the plotline and not an ongoing struggle. I would've loved to see those elements more so scattered throughout. I also would've loved more intense worldbuilding. There a was a definite description of what Faerie was lacking, but not what made its essence and that was fairly disappointing for me.

Dnf after 20%. Didn’t connect with the writing style, characters or story. Expected something else. Felt that the writing was inconsistent, the story felt like a bad parody of a bunch of Romantasy books about fae.

*3.5 stars*

A Fae in Finance is sweet, fun, and laugh-out-loud hilarious. A gentle satire of both the modern work environment and the Fae tropes that currently flood the bookish world, this one was written for readers who dream about faerie while they sit at their desk job, and need a charming and funny read once they finally hit the weekend. If you’re looking for a lighthearted and fun read, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley & Orbit books for the arc! All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

This is actually such a difficult book to rate for me, because I did really enjoy it. But, I feel as if I have unfinished business with it and that there should be a second book.

The book is tropey in the best way. It's absurd, stereotypical and hilarious. The premise drew me in immediately.

I just needed more. More character development, more world building and more plot definition.

In saying that, if you're looking for a quick, fun read on a Saturday afternoon, you're going to enjoy this.

The hint at the romance also seems to lean toward why choose, but the romance takes a seat way back in this novel.

If there's ever a second book, I'll give it a go.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

As a human, woman in finance - woooooow! Some of the scenes with Miri and her coworkers and her boss were so VERY on the nose. I've worked for Jeff, I know Jeff, I *HATE* Jeff. I might like my job a little more if my clients were fae, gnomes, and vampires though. That would make my days a lot more interesting. This was a fun, funny, and sweet story. I enjoyed all of the characters; I loved the side quests and the silliness of Human Lessons. This was a delightfully engrossing world that I loved getting lost in. I didn't even mind the pang of anger when JEFF intruded and reminded me of my day job. The resolution of the story made me whoop and cheer, and I was SO HAPPY for Miri. This was such a fun mix of fantasy and reality.

I giggled the whole time I read this book, which was all of three days because I could not put it down. It gave me some gems I will be adding my conversations like: “while timeliness may be a virtue, I never agreed to be virtuous.”

Apart from being super funny and witty, the book had vivid descriptions and I could picture the magic and the interactions with the characters perfectly. The main character grows in a very satisfying way and the journey is as good as the destination.

I can’t wait to buy a physical copy for my shelf.

Review: A Fae in Finance by Juliet Brooks

This book had me hooked from the start—I couldn’t get enough of the voicey humor, the ridiculous (but somehow believable) premise, and the totally relatable heroine. Miri is everything: snarky, anxious, determined, and just trying to hold it together while being stuck in Faerie with a business plan and a boss who expects her to keep working like nothing’s happened.

As a teacher, I spend my days helping little ones navigate routines and big emotions—so reading a character try to professionally power through a total magical breakdown was oddly comforting and hilarious. The fantasy elements were fun and fresh, the romance was just enough without taking over the story, and I adored the way it mixed modern-day logic with magical absurdity. Plus… 6’5” fae with big wings? Not mad about it.

Funny, fast-paced, and surprisingly heartfelt—A Fae in Finance is such a fun escape. I loved it.

This might be the only type of Fae story that I can get behind nowadays. It's rather unserious and the whole premise is silly, but if you have the right expectations, you will easily have a fun time with this book. It's the story of Miriam Geld who works for a company that integrates supernatural folk into human business affairs and who is currently sitting on a big deal with the Fae Princeling. Her job and her boss are awful and they get even worse when Miri gets trapped in Faerie during a client dinner. She has to make a bargain that not only keeps her in this unbearable situation for the next 10 years, but that also adds yet another task to her already full schedule. Now she's involuntarily living in Faerie, working her day job remotely, and teaching the Fae about the human ways as if she's an expert on it. Of course she's looking for a way to escape her bargain and she even makes some friends among the Fae, where literally everyone radiates chaotic energy. There's this one Fae who's really into Miri's cat and another one who always opens portals but really has no talent for it, and I haven't even mentioned this enchanted wicker basket that's trying to seduce everyone who is looking at it. I can't say that anyone was fleshed out as a character, but they were fun to read about. Some characters would have been worth a deeper exploration, like the sapphic Fae lady knight, but the book stayed really flat in that regard. On the other hand Miri's awful boss was highlighted multiple times throughout the story, making the character work feel kinda unbalanced. He's so over the top incompetent and mean for no reason that it's insufferable and repetitive to read about him. Miri also never stands up to him, so the entire book is her being talked down to. This is hardly the common Fae story, but Miri really could have needed some strong-independent-badass-for-no-reason energy of the basic female protagonist in this kind of books. She is a bisexual queen though, so that was nice.

I think this book is most enjoyable if you just don't question anything. Sure, the worldbuilding is basically non-existent and the reason why Miri gets trapped in the first place is beyond stupid, but the book has other strengths – mostly the humor for me. I laughed out loud multiple times at these absurd situations and the comedic tone is more or less ever present. There just is something about fairies talking on a business video call or about their reaction to the human world in general. The Fae in this book can't lie while Miri can make shit up all day long, and some conversations really cracked me up because of that. I wish there was more of an intriguing plot, though. The synopsis talks about Miri navigating fairyland with her knowledge from reading fantasy novels for all her life and that just … doesn't happen. She is a very passive character and she basically doesn't do anything without someone telling her to first. I don't think that she contributed anything to the plan of escaping Faerie and she's very lucky to be always led by someone. She's dragged onto a random quest pretty late in the book and then everything just plays out in a convenient way for her. But I honestly also didn't expect a grand twist or a clever solution, so it was fine by me. I'm sure this book will not be for everyone, but I had a good time for the most part and I'm not ashamed of it. 3.5 stars.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Miriam works at an investment bank and is in charge of a rather unusual client: the Princeling from Fairie. When he invites her and her tyrannical boss Jeff for a visit to his realm, Miri walks straight into a trap – and suddenly finds herself unable to leave the magical world. At least she’s allowed to keep her cat, and a stable internet connection lets her continue working on her project. The Princeling also assigns her the task of teaching his people about humans. But despite her best efforts, Miri soon reaches the limits of her adaptability. Could a perilous quest into the Queen of Fairie’s domain hold the key to her escape?
Absolutely brilliant and hilarious! This book made me laugh harder than anything I’ve read in a long time. Narrated in the first person, Miri’s voice is irresistibly witty and clever – I loved every page. It’s an absolute delight to follow her as she grapples with the eccentricities of Fairie and does her best to bridge vast cultural gaps. A wonderfully original, sharp, and heartwarming fantasy novel full of charm, humour, and insight. I adored it – and I can’t wait for more!

Miriam, spunky, punny Miriam, she’s working herself sick for what she believes is the best way to integrate supernatural societies into human society. After quitting her job in government, because come on, policies take way too long to bring to fruition that way, she takes a job at a major bank, of course financial institutions working with supernatural companies, that’s the real way to make a difference. Thanks to her literal waste of space boss, Jeff, she ends up stuck in Faerie, there are literally whole ad campaigns against what she did, trying to leave through the portal? Yeah, that will turn her into bone shards and blood mist. Holy crap what has she gotten herself into? Does she make a deal with the Princeling to earn her freedom from Faerie? Has her fae coworker always been this attractive? Do people only want to spend time with her to see Doctor Kitten? I empathize with Miriam so much throughout this book, girl’s a real bisexual disaster. This is funny and flirting but not spicy. a perfect fun fantasy read with a contemporary twist.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved this book! It is cozy and interesting and I love when the fairies are the shifty crafty ones who can’t lie. It was a really nice read that was low stakes and kept me entertained the whole time.

I loved all of the character dynamics and it makes me want to read more from this author!

I definitely recommend this book!

Hooollly faeries, this was so good! I enjoyed the characters, the setting, the LGBTQ representation, and especially the cat!

The author does an expert job at weaving together a comically wholesome story! It’s like you’re in the world itself and experiencing the MC’s worries and loves as well.

I love how Brooks gave her character depression and even experimented on that. I also loved her characters’ determination and how she gave each their own voice. Found myself especially relating to the MC’s cat obsessed behavior.

Overall, loved it. Though I do wish we got a bit more Sahir romance.