The Rose Bargain: A Victorian Young Adult Romantasy Novel

Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop

An enchanting romantasy, The Rose Bargain builds an interesting dynamics within the romance and with the friendships.

The Rose Bargain captures elements of both The Cruel Prince and Bridgerton, placing young society girls in a competition for a fae prince’s hand in marriage.

Storytelling

I absolutely loved the ease of the storytelling. Smith sets the stage by introducing the War of the Roses and explains how the Fae Queen intervened, using the chaos to her advantage in order to become Queen of England. As a fae, she is also immortal.

Each season, she offers young men and women a bargain at a cost. Ivy, however, is not interested in any bargain; she only wants to uncover the truth about her sister’s bargain, which caused her sister to disappear for months and tarnished their family’s name. Upon arriving at court, Ivy is presented with a different opportunity to save her family: a chance to win Prince Bram’s hand in marriage.

Together with five other girls, she enters the competition to win his favor and save her family. You might expect the atmosphere among the girls to be extremely competitive, yet I appreciated how they supported each other instead. Each girl has her reasons for entering the competition, but they form a sisterhood and develop deep friendships as they navigate this shared experience. I loved that despite being in competition, they did not allow their desire to win to corrupt their true selves.

I also enjoyed how Smith gave each of the girls their own chapters. These chapters not only enriched the story and character dynamics but also maintained the novel’s pacing. Typically, this kind of structure could disrupt the flow of the narrative; however, Smith made it work beautifully. She crafted backstories for the characters that explain their motivations, adding depth to both their individual arcs and the overall dynamics.

Furthermore, I liked the budding romance between Emmet and Ivy. Their relationship starts off more like a rivalry than anything else. Emmet is the party boy known for leaving broken hearts behind and tarnishing reputations, while Ivy is determined and focused. However, as he reveals his plan to help her win his brother’s heart, the tension between them begins to smolder, and I enjoyed their witty banter. What I appreciated most was how they established a foundation of trust, friendship, and honesty before falling in love.

Final Thoughts
Honestly, The Rose Bargain was addictive. I loved the character development, the way the characters drove the plot forward, and how the story unfolded. The dynamics were rich and well thought out, leading to a jaw-dropping conclusion.

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Prefacing this review by saying I loaned the audiobook from Libby and devoured the book in just 4 days. Still having 16 days left on my loan, I did a re-listen because was this book as good as I thought? Would I have the same feelings listening to it again? I’ve never listened to a book twice in a row, mostly because I don’t have time and a little bit because my TBR is so long, who has time for a second listen/read? And to answer all the questions, yes, yes and me apparently. I feel like an idiot waiting so long to finally listen to it because I’ve had it in my Libby queue for probably 6+months. I typically don’t research books before I read them. I go in blind and hope for the best. This book was one of the best. And on the second listen, I caught more and understood motives more, and actually found myself loving it more. And even tho the narrative is similar to those I’ve read before, the unfolding is so much better. High society England is ready to put their daughters on display so that they may find suitors to benefit their stations. However the fairy queen of England announces that this is the year her son Bram will choose a bride and that she is going to hold a series of contests to find his best match. Each of the girls makes her Rose Bargain with the queen (a deal requiring immediate payment) to make themselves more beautiful, smart or talented. Except for Ivy Benton. Ivy just wants to know why her sister Lydia disappeared for weeks, where she went and with whom. Her sister can’t remember because her bargain with the queen required her to forget all that and that has ruined her family’s already tarnished name and Ivy’s future prospects. After Ivy wins the first contest, Bram’s step brother Emmett decides that Ivy is the one who must marry Bram. He decides he is going to help her win. But why? What’s in it for him? And how is she supposed to fall in love with Bram when she is spending so much time with Emmett??? 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️’s

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!! Such an interesting story with so much drama and suspense. Love the Bridgerton and Selection vibes with fae. Sasha Peyton Smith did a great job with the foreshadowing and drawing in the emotions. I was engrossed the whole time reading and now I need a sequel…that ending was insane. Please make it a movie or tv show