Geneva Lee’s Filthy Rich Fae (2024) isn’t just another urban fantasy romance—it’s a seductive, shadow-drenched plunge into a world where fae royalty runs the criminal underworld of New Orleans, and one desperate woman makes a deal that alters the course of her soul. Book one in the Filthy Rich Fae series (followed by Fallen Court, 2025), this novel offers a fierce heroine, a lethal fae prince, and a magical bargain that crackles with desire, secrets, and slow-burning vengeance.
If you like your fae stories dark, your romance enemies-to-lovers, and your worldbuilding rich with old-world decadence and modern grit, then brace yourself—because Geneva Lee delivers a heart-clenching, high-stakes fantasy that blends magic, mafia, and morally grey seduction.
Plot Summary: A Bargain Bound in Blood and Desire
Cate Holloway is a trauma nurse trying to hold her life together in a city quietly ruled by the powerful Gage crime family. When her younger brother Channing winds up in the ER with a Gage-special bullet in his shoulder—and a criminal debt to Lachlan Gage, the reclusive prince of the family—Cate is left with only one option.
She marches straight into the gilded Avalon Hotel, demanding an audience with Lachlan, who turns out to be more than a cold-hearted mob boss. He’s fae. And he wants her soul in exchange for her brother’s life.
When Cate accepts the bargain, she finds herself bound—literally and magically—to Lachlan, swept into the treacherous world of the Otherworld’s Nether Court. What follows is a month-and-a-day countdown in which she must discover why Lachlan made the deal—and how to break it—before she’s bound to him forever.
Character Analysis: Shadows, Sisters, and Soul Ties
Cate Holloway: A Survivor’s Fire
Cate is a refreshingly resilient heroine, forged in the fires of foster care, ER chaos, and family loss. She’s protective to a fault, determined to keep her brother alive—even if it means sacrificing her own freedom. What sets her apart is her gritty inner monologue, dry wit, and her refusal to be steamrolled by the fae machinery around her.
Lee writes Cate with emotional authenticity, grounding the character’s anger, guilt, and resistance in real-world trauma. She’s messy, brave, and painfully human in a world that thrives on otherness. Her journey is not just about romantic surrender—it’s about reclaiming autonomy in a realm built on trickery.
Lachlan Gage: The Unhinged, Untrustworthy Fae Prince
Lachlan Gage is the kind of fae prince who looks like sin and acts like the devil’s favorite weapon. A gun-wielding, tattooed ruler of the Nether Court with secrets etched into his skin (literally), Lachlan is all arrogance, cold calculation, and magnetic danger.
At first, his motives appear strictly transactional. But over time, we glimpse fragments of vulnerability—a prince weighed down by ancient traditions, impending court alliances, and the corruption of his magical drug empire. His emotional withholding, murky morality, and razor-sharp banter with Cate make him an unforgettable antihero in the vein of J.T. Geissinger’s Zane or Sarah J. Maas’s Rhysand.
And yes—the chemistry between him and Cate is electric. Think: rage-fueled eye contact, knife-point intimacy, and kisses that feel like battlefield victories.
Supporting Cast: Sisters, Shadows, and Political Schemes
- Channing is Cate’s brother and the catalyst for the entire novel. His recklessness adds tension but never steals focus from the central plot.
- Ciara and Fiona Gage, Lachlan’s sisters, offer interesting contrasts—Ciara as the warm, unsuspecting bride-to-be in a political match, and Fiona as the caustic realist. Their presence adds layers to Lachlan’s façade and complicates the bargain’s stakes.
- Roark, Lachlan’s penumbra (fae bodyguard/shadow), is a standout with quiet menace and loyalty. His backstory is hinted at but not yet explored—likely material for future books.
Worldbuilding: Glittering Decay and Faerie Courts
The most immersive part of Filthy Rich Fae is its seamless blending of New Orleans noir with old-world fae mythology. Geneva Lee paints the city in sin and starlight: bustling hospitals, corrupt police departments, haunted jazz clubs, and opulent hotels where fae princes rule from hidden courts.
Meanwhile, the Nether Court brims with lush gothic grandeur: floating gardens, whispered glamours, and politics disguised as parties. Lee’s use of Equinoxes, “bargain bonds,” and fae courts (Nether, Infernal, Hallow, Astral) establishes a universe with wide narrative potential.
Fans of Emily A. Duncan’s Wicked Saints, Danielle L. Jensen’s Bridge Kingdom, and Carissa Broadbent’s The Serpent & the Wings of Night will feel right at home here.
Themes: Power, Consent, and Survival
At its core, Filthy Rich Fae is about what we’ll trade to protect those we love—and how dangerous those trades can be. Through Cate’s eyes, we explore:
- Bargains and consent: Cate’s deal with Lachlan is the backbone of the book, and its gray morality is never sugarcoated. She didn’t understand what she was trading until it was too late. But rather than frame her as a victim, Lee lets Cate claw back control.
- Desire vs. autonomy: The chemistry between Cate and Lachlan is intense, but it’s built on suspicion, antagonism, and slow-won respect. Their power imbalance is acknowledged and interrogated throughout.
- Family as both anchor and burden: Channing’s mistakes shape Cate’s fate, but their bond also defines her resilience. Meanwhile, Lachlan’s duty to his sisters—and his court—fuels his secrecy.
- Escapism vs. reality: The Otherworld tempts with beauty, magic, and indulgence, but it’s also a gilded cage. Cate’s longing for control and truth keeps the plot grounded.
Writing Style: Edgy, Sensual, and Snark-Laced
Geneva Lee’s prose is quick, sharp, and emotionally punchy. Cate’s inner voice is laced with gallows humor, emotional bruises, and raw resolve. Dialogue crackles with tension and double meaning, especially between Cate and Lachlan. Every kiss, every insult, every political maneuver carries weight.
Lee masterfully keeps the plot character-driven while layering in reveals, betrayals, and world-expanding magic. The pacing is tight, the stakes always rising, and the last 25% is an unputdownable spiral of secrets, soul-binds, and confrontations.
Pacing and Structure
The book wastes no time hooking readers with a high-stakes hospital scene that throws us straight into Cate’s world—and it never lets up. The chapters are short, compulsively readable, and structured around Cate’s countdown to break the bargain.
Lee also avoids common fantasy pitfalls—there’s no sprawling info dump. Instead, worldbuilding is integrated through character interactions, magical consequences, and political fallout.
Critique: What Keeps It from a Perfect 5 Stars
While Filthy Rich Fae is a standout in the Fantasy Romance genre, it isn’t without flaws:
- Worldbuilding terminology can be overwhelming: Terms like “penumbra,” “abismine,” and multiple court names arrive quickly and without glossary. It may take some readers a few chapters to orient.
- Fae hierarchy isn’t always clear: While we get a strong sense of the Nether Court, the inner workings of other courts (especially the Infernal and Astral) remain vague by the end of book one.
- Lachlan’s motives remain opaque: The mystery around why he made the bargain is intriguing but stretches credulity by book’s end. The “I’ll release you if you guess my motive” twist teeters on feeling artificial.
- Limited exploration of the hospital subplot: The initial setup in New Orleans is gripping, but the real-world consequences fade too quickly once Cate is drawn into the Otherworld.
Still, these critiques are minor compared to the sheer emotional propulsion and immersive storytelling at play. Readers seeking a blend of action, dark fae romance, and court politics will find plenty to love.
Series Outlook: What to Expect in Fallen Court (Book 2)
With Fallen Court releasing in 2025, fans can expect:
- A deeper dive into the Infernal Court and its prince (who may or may not receive a bride).
- A resolution to the soul-bond mystery and Cate’s potential breaking of the bargain.
- Political fallout from new alliances.
- The evolution of Cate’s own magic—hinted at in Book 1 but not yet realized.
Also likely: more murder attempts, morally ambiguous kissing, and a continued breakdown of everything we think we know about Lachlan Gage.
Final Verdict: Darkly Addictive, Viciously Romantic, and Unapologetically Fae
Geneva Lee’s Filthy Rich Fae is a sharp, sexy, and tightly written fantasy that plays with power, passion, and peril at every turn. With whip-smart banter, vivid worldbuilding, and a romance that simmers with risk, it stands out in the crowded field of dark fantasy romance.
This book isn’t about easily won love—it’s about consent reclaimed, identities questioned, and bargains made in blood. It’s a story for the readers who wanted S.J. Maas’s Feyre to pull a gun on Rhysand, or for those who prefer their heroines feral, flawed, and fighting fate tooth and nail.
Recommended for fans of:
- The Serpent & the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
- A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova
- Ruthless Fae by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti
- King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair
If Filthy Rich Fae is any indication, the Filthy Rich Fae series is about to become your next fantasy obsession.
