When investment banker Miri is purposely trapped in Faerie by her client, the Princeling of the Faerie realm, she does what any 20-something would: cries, eats cake, and worries loudly about her cat, Doctor Kitten. Instead of rescuing her, her boss simply confirms that she has solid internet access, leaving Miri stranded in a strange land with only a warning that the quality of her work should not decrease because of a change of address.

This was a fun read, with a great real-world concept. This book had everything: magic, intrigue, folkloric creatures, and a quest! Who doesn’t love quests?
Miri has to juggle work, an unnecessarily mean boss, and living amongst the Fae while trying to figure out a way to get back home with dissolving into nothing. She’s smart, witty with deadpan humor, and she’s trying to do some good against the biases and prejudices the Fae face in the modern world.
This book combines Fae magic, spreadsheets, deliverables, and an awesome, somewhat judgmental cat. I liked the tone of the book, the pacing was well timed, and the characters were fleshed out enough to make this book fly by. I would absolutely read anything else by Juliet Brooks.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

A Fae in Finance is fun, especially if you’re not very picky about world building but are a big fan of lighter faerie stories. Our heroine Miri is getting steamrolled in her finance gig and finds herself trapped in NYC’s Faerie world when she goes against her better judgement and is intimidated by her boss to eat the food.

While Miri continues to overwork remotely in the Princeling’s burrow she also takes on human lessons with the fae and tries to find a way to escape without turning into an explosion of blood and guts. There are a lot of different romantic avenues for Miri and some cute concepts (especially with her cat, Doctor Kitten). I wish there was more around the discovery of otherworldly creatures for humans, Miri’s life before her finance gig, and the Fae’s own backstories to lend some depth to the story, but I thought the current day relationships and Miri’s human lessons were super cute.

This book is the COVID era update to The Devil Wears Prada I didn’t even know I needed in my life. Miri, stuck in a job that doesn’t appreciate her, with a boss who sucks so bad I’d like him to become real for five minutes just so I could punch him back into fiction, gets trapped in Faerie when she’s there for a work trip--because it turns out that having a faerie prince on your client books comes with more downside than upside, and now she’s got to figure out how to escape Faerie, while still working remotely.

Satire is a genre with a VERY high degree of difficulty as Jonathan Swift knows all too well. But when it is done well it can really highlight the absurdity of the current environment. And Juliet Brooks (who I will disclose here is a close personal friend so this review is probably a little biased), does it quite well. Because the unrealistic demands of a faerie prince, it turns out, aren’t all that different from the demands of a boss who’s never heard of work-life balance, and Miri has to deal with both now!

People talk a lot about books they had to put down due to second hand embarrassment. I had to put this one down a couple times from first hand embarrassment, because Miri would do something and I would be like, oh boy, I too have done this embarrassing thing--and I don’t even have the excuse of being trapped in faerie land. I’m not saying Brooks has secretly been recording my work meetings for the last year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it came out that she had been.

Recommended for fans of The Office, Men in Tights, Murderbot, and the Dealing with Dragons series. Also recommended for anyone who says “Gaslight, Gate keep, Girl boss” ironically, or has ever tried to use VLOOKUP in excel. Brooks feels your pain.

Review will be posted and linked closer to pub date.

The idea of this book is quite different from any other I've read. I liked the writing, and it's funny without being too cringe-worthy. The protagonist was also someone I really liked.

This book is what I image the other woman's perspective is in Enchanted. The workaholic with tough boss, who finds the magic in life. This isn't my usual genre but it was fun and cozy. The humor was sarcastic and dry which really made the characters more relatable in my opinion.

This is the perfect "airplane book." I'd grab it before a flight, it would keep me entertained and finish it before landing with no regrets or tears. Juliet does a great job of writing a romcom that blends modern and fantasy without becoming too muddied with details and world building.

If you're a romantic comedy reader who is looking for an introduction to another realm that stays within your comfort zone this would be a great starting point.

This book was not for me. Honestly I was confused right off the bat and it just got worse the more I tried to read. Someone else might like/enjoy it more it’s just not for me.

If he doesn’t bring me a perfect leaf as a gift, I don’t want him 💅

This was such a cute, wholesome and funny debut with witty banter and a super relatable FMC.

Juliet Brooks has somehow found a way to bring humour to the stress of working under an incompetent and mean boss and the overwhelming pressure of trying to do good in the world under the crushing pressure of capitalism.

Combining classic faerie magic, spreadsheet shortcuts and judgemental cats brings a book that I found myself giggling at throughout. The faerie and human miscommunication was definitely the star of the show.

We were introduced to a couple of characters who I felt could be fleshed out a little more, but there is room for this if the series continues. Outside of this I really liked the main characters and especially the found family.

I will absolutely be reading more from this author.

Thank you for this arc read!

I got through the book very quickly, the story was unique and definitely cute! I thought the plot was interesting which a lot of humor which I feel like will definitely be enjoyed by many! The characters were fine, at times I really liked them at times I felt a little iffy about them. Overall I enjoyed the read and recommend the story.

Thank you so much to Orbit and Netgalley for this eARC! I always appreciate the opportunity to read and review early.

I actually ended up DNF-ing this book around 40%, just because the satirical humor vibes weren't quite working for me. I think satire in fantasy is great, but it's definitely super subjective - I don't think my sense of humor aligns, but it's not a poorly written book by any means! I hope it finds the right audience.

I rated this 3 stars specifically because there's nothing wrong with this book it's just not for me! I hope if you're a humor/satire reader and you love fantasy that you'll give it a shot!

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for the eARC opportunity. Possible spoilers. This book was a silly, goofy, fun time. I enjoyed the banter throughout the book, Doctor Kitten and the supporting characters. I didn’t love the fmc Miri at times, and didn’t love the office storyline (which was a major part of the plot) as much as her time in Faerie. It seems to end with a set-up for another book. If that’s the case, I am curious about how Miri’s life in Faerie will evolve.

This was a cute and fun book to read. I enjoyed it. I love the story. I knew this book would be for me since I like fae.

In her efforts to work towards the acceptance of supernatural beings in human society, the Princeling of Faerie traps Miri in the incredibly whimsical Faerie Realm. She utilizes her knowledge of fantasy and her mother's help to devise a plan to circumvent the magic that has trapped her. While in Faerie, Miri is tasked with teaching the fae of his court about humans, and spoiler, they know NOTHING. There are also fae who want nothing to do with humans, and an enemy queen who opposes the Princeling's efforts to begin business relations with them. Miri finds herself unwelcome by some and caught in the middle of political tensions. This is a light-hearted, humorous, easy-read with grumpy cat companions, whimsical beings, magical accidents and gorgeous fae.

I wanted to like this book, but unfortunately, I couldn't get into it. It will undoubtedly be a five-star read for many people. While the stakes are quite high (her being trapped in the faerie realm), it felt like a cozy fantasy read, which I found tricky to navigate. Even when she is trapped in faerie, I just didn't feel stressed for Miri, because she doesn't seem distraught at the news that she will never be able to go home. Like the reader is told, she is sobbing or crying, but I feel like I need more. I also found the plot was slightly choppy at times, and wondered if I had missed a page.

This was a romp. I appreciated the humor and actually laughed out loud a few times. I would have liked a more concrete resolution of certain relationships as well as more information regarding <spoiler>the two other humans in Faerie. Why introduce them if they’re not integral to the plot?</spoiler>

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this one.

I had to DNF this one at 28%.

I grabbed this one of Negalley as it's an Orbit release and I always seem to love their releases, but this book is not my cup of tea. But I can definitely see how it could be someone else's. I have a hard time really getting into stories in a contemporary setting , and while this does go into the Faerie world, the plot is for the main character to teach faire about humans in 2023/2024. So, just too contemporary for me.

However, the author had some great wit and some funny things happen and it was pretty quick to read.

4.5 stars (rounded up)

I went into this one knowing basically nothing and it was a great way to experience it so to keep it really simple, A Fae in Finance follows Miri who, after being trapped in Faerie, is forced to juggle her more-than-full-time ridiculous job and teaching faeries about humans to help build faerie-human relationships.

I absolutely loved Miri- she is one of the most relatable FMC’s I’ve ever read but it somehow manages to never get too cringey! She’s terrible at setting boundaries, not the best friend, and is more worried about emails and her cat than anything else.

One of the highlights for me was Miri’s struggle with depression during her stay in Faerie- it felt a little like the grown up version of those month chapters in New Moon.

The cast of characters in Faerie were all incredible as well- it was a really good mix of being otherworldly and having different morals and lifestyles but never being strangely cruel.

There are some romantic subplots but this is very much a contemporary portal fantasy type story so you’ll be disappointed if you go in expecting something romantasy-ish.

Overall, this is such a fun fantasy story that’s really different from anything else I’ve seen lately. It’s very self contained but I would absolutely read a hundred more stories with these characters and this setting, and highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC- all thoughts my own!

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for this arc.

4.25 Stars

Such a fun and quick read. This is the perfect book to start off my holiday reading. Don’t expect much in the way of a typical romance plot but it was so light and funny. I loved the friends she makes in faerie as well as the cat.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick and very fun read.

Honestly I loved this book could not put it down. Very well written and gripping from the very start. I hope there is more coming with this world and it becomes a series. I would love to read more.

5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fae in finance has been my most unexpected 5 star read of the year, it is hilarious, cozy and quite frankly brilliant.

What I loved in particular:
-Doctor Kitten 🐈‍⬛- a feline friend is always a winner for me and Doctor Kittens thoughts translated by Lene made me laugh every time.
- I really liked Miri’s relationship with Sahir, it was adorable. I also liked her relationship with the Grey Knight, who was terrible in a uniquely fae way.
- Miri’s terrible job captured every office annoyance. I think I’d rather work for the princeling than Jeff.

This is a book for fans of Heather Fawcett, A.J. Lancaster and anyone who loves a story about trickster fae or who has spent time “pining over brooding magical dudes”. It is definitely the book I am buying the members of my fantasy romance book club for Christmas.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Orbit books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was a lot of fun. The descriptions of Miri's work days - Teams calls, Excel sheets and endless emails - sometimes sounded a little too much like my job to be the escape I wanted. (Though luckily I have much nicer coworkers and don't have to deal with a Jeff!) But this was a great contrast and juxtaposition with the traditional faerie lore that was brought in after Miri consumed Faerie food at a work dinner and "working from home" turned into "working from Faerie" - the Fae have Wi-fi, so Miri's boss couldn't care less about her getting stuck there.

I loved the humor in this book. I already knew it was going to be my kind of funny when I saw the chapter titles, and I was not disappointed! I snort-laughed multiple times. The world-building was intriguing, with supernaturals having recently "come out" and now trying to integrate into human society, resulting in some fear and prejudice on both sides. Miri was a great main character. I found her very likeable, funny, and believable in how she reacted to her situation. I also loved Sahir, Gaheris and Lene - Miri's (and her cat Doctor Kitten's) new faerie friends. Miri's human friends and family were great too. I hope they get to play a larger role in the next one. Her mom and grandma were hilarious! There's some very early budding romance in this one that might turn into a love triangle later. If it does, I definitely have my preference but it's not set in stone and I could be convinced to swing either way... or even the non-monogamous way, who knows?

I'd recommend this to fans of Sarah Rees Brennan. A Fae in Finance is the first book in a series, and I'm looking forward to the next one - especially to finding out where the budding romance will go.

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit Books, for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This review will be posted to goodreads on Sep 21st, 30 days prior to publication.

A Fae in Finance is a light-hearted and witty urban fantasy that nonetheless points to important issues in the life of a twenty-something, such as work culture and multicultural relations. Based on the title, I originally thought the book would be more of a romantasy than an urban fantasy. However, I think the book works well with a focus on Miri and romance as a subplot. The romance is a strong subplot, felt realistic, and had me giggling and kicking my feet.

A core reason I kept reading was Miri’s internal voice. The humor is stellar and had me snorting in laughter out loud a few times. I especially appreciate the take on banking (tasteless bowl lunches! Non-banking friends concerned for your well-being! Emails sent entirely in the subject line!) that feels grounded in reality.

The novel uses and subverts faerie mythology tropes, to strong effect in worldbuilding and humor. In line with the humorous tone, the faeries aren’t all preternaturally attractive and suave (though there is plenty of that.) Especially appreciate Gaheris’s hair and the faerie in the courtyard.