“I’ve spent my whole life on my hands and knees, clamoring for crumbs of love. I don’t know if there will ever come a time I am not hungry for it.”

Was I in a horrendous reading slump? Yep! Did this book cure it? Hell yes 😍

This is one of the best written books I’ve ever had the chance to read!! The writing style is so beautiful and poetic at times that I never lost interest for a second. Ivy, the fmc, is so lovable and relatable, the two love interests are also so well written you can’t help but swoon for them, and the cast of side characters are amazing!!

Not a boring moment in sight, you’ll find yourself laughing out loud at Ivy’s comebacks, and falling for Bram’s charms and Emmett’s wit.

This is definitely a great book for a Romance book lover that wants to dip their toes into Fantasy, as you get a hint of fae and magic that are not difficult to keep up with.

Do yourself a favour and add it to your TBR!!

This beautifully written book draws you in with its vivid storytelling and unforgettable characters. The plot unfolds with just the right balance of tension and heart, keeping you engaged throughout. Themes of love, loss, and redemption resonate deeply, adding emotional weight. It’s a compelling and inspiring read that stays with you long after the last page.

I'm between 3 and 4 for this one. 4 because there were sections I really enjoyed that pulled me in, but 3 because the overall execution felt lacking. This is pitched as The Selection meets The Cruel Prince and the difference between those 2 and The Rose Bargain is that they completely leaned into their plots and developed distinct characters and Rose Bargain just fell short on both fronts. That being said, I do think this book had an interesting premise but it just needed more follow through.

Ivy and Emmett were fine as a romance, but there wasn't much of a build up so it wasn't as satisfying as it could have been. I didn't get to know the other girls well enough so I wasn't as invested in them (although she did try with Faith which was just kind of meh). And Bram... I wanted to root for him, but I just felt like I didn't get to know him.

So yes, I'm rounding down from 3.5 because it seems like I had more issues than likes. That's okay. Still good for a one time read!

The premise of this book was really interesting to me & overall it was decent! I actually found myself pretty invested at the end, despite it taking a little while for me to get into it. I wish this could’ve gone deeper in some ways, it felt like we just got past the surface with many of the characters. Some of the end was predictable, but it was fun! I did enjoy the dynamic between Ivy and Emmett, they were entertaining together & I loved the comfort of their relationship. Interested to see where this goes!

4.5 stars, but rounding up for the last few chapters omg. This was suuuch a fun read. I feel like so many books are pitched as "The Bachelor but romantasy!!" but they tend to miss the mark, that was not the case with this book. The Bachelor-esque premise was incorporated so well, there were fun challenges throughout, you actually got to know the different contestants and they didn't just feel like irrelevant background fodder.

Ivy is the second daughter of a low-rung noble family, and when the fae queen announces a competition to marry her son, Prince Bram, she immediately jumps at the opportunity, hoping she can improve her family's social standing and livelihood. In particular, as her family has become social outcasts because of a scandal/situation with her older sister, Lydia. As these things go, once the competition kicks off, things are not as they seem. Prince Bram's brother, Prince Emmett, is determined to help Ivy win for ~reasons~ and love triangle ensues. I hate love triangles, especially with brothers (ew), but it was well done and not annoying in this instance! I really liked the longing and buildup, the romance wasn't driving the plot or anything but it was there just enough that it didn't feel rushed or anything.

I really liked Ivy's character, she had her moments and was frustrating at times, but she felt real and believable. Especially with her conflicting feelings about others, hating them while loving them all the same. Emmett and Bram were both also wonderful! The other competitors, I also really enjoyed! They all felt unique, and we even got a POV chapter from each of them sprinkled throughout the book and I loved getting to know more about each of them and their motives.

The world was really fascinating! Felt very Cruel Prince with trickster fae and their bargains, but also a Victorian era setting. Super fast faced, entertaining, and well written. I had a wonderful time reading this and can't wait for book 2!!

Thank you HarperCollins and Netgalley for the eARC!

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! One of the first big ARC’s I got approved for. This was being marketed as The Cruel Prince meets Bridgerton. Excuse me? I jumped on that wagon ride.

We start out with the main character, Ivy, perusing the streets in search of her missing sister, Lydia. Others have said that her sister likely eloped or is dead, but Ivy doesn’t believe them. She fears Lydia has been taken by the fae, a fascination that has plagued most of her thoughts since early childhood. With Queen Mor claiming she and her son are the only ones of her kind who live in this dimension now, that is a treasonous thought.

Ivy doesn’t care.

After a scandalous accident in where Ivy ends up in a carriage with the rake of a prince, Emmett, she is returned home where a stumbling Lydia caked in mud is waiting. Here’s the thing though…she doesn’t remember a thing that happened to her. Rumors fly and the Benton family is blacklisted from the scandal. After all, what kind of girl disappears for eight days with no reciliation? A lying one who is likely ruined.

But oh, it is so much more than that.

With a shell of a sister, months later one last invitation from polite society is issued to Ivy as a courtesy to her father’s title: The Pact Parade, held by Queen Mor. Ivy has never fancied making a bargain with the very people she is most suspicious of, but if it can get her sister back to normal, she is willing to make the bargain of her life.

When a child comes of age, they are allowed the honor of making one bargain of any nature with the queen in exchange for whatever she or he asks. Her mother asked to remember everything in exchange for her pinkie. Most of the bargains have small princes like that…but not all. And what’s more, there is a little twist to the Pact Parade this year, a breach in tradition. This year’s Pact Parade has an interesting offer.

Subject yourself to a series of tests to compete for Prince Bram’s hand, whom has chosen this as the year he will take a bride. The catch? You lose and you can never marry. Twenty-four girls take the risk. Six make the cut. Ivy is one of them. The other five are Greer (Ivy’s old childhood friend), Faith, Emmy, Marion, and Olive.

Six girls all vying for the crown.

Two princes, both more suspicious as the days go on.

One winner.

And a young girl who gets caught up in way more than she bargained for.

Ivy herself was a character. She was very judgmental and standoffish, not afraid to bite back, and rightfully so. Scorned as she is and how she has been treated the past few years will do that to anyone. She is, in a word, human. Took me forever to realize she was a blond, even though it was mentioned several times; I was imagining an Enola Holmes lookalike the entire time until I saw the Fairyloot art!

Prince Bram. The good boy. The nice prince. The gentlemen. The suspicious one. 😂 I don't trust nice boys. Especially nice FAE boys. From the start I was like “we all know you have some deep, dark, haunting secret.” He seemed intrigued by Ivy more so than the other girls, but that’s pretty typical of a boy that spends a lot of time in the presence of the female MC.

Prince Emmett. In contrast, starting out as the alleged reckless bad boy, you know it’s the ‘misjudged’ trope. But it works, so I can’t complain too much. My poor baby. He spends the entire novel trying to hook Ivy up with his brother, even while he is falling madly in love with her, albeit denying it. I liked where Sasha took his development, and he DEFINITELY had some HOT moments. *coughs* Teaching Ivy to kiss *coughs*. It was my favorite scene. Why is being partial to baddies a thing? Seems like a good therapy question to ask…if I was in therapy.

Last but not least, shockingly enough, the extra chapters thrown in from the POV’s of the other girls who were contestants was a delightful surprise. Normally I don’t like that sort of thing as it tends to take away from the story, but I enjoyed what little pieces we were given; it added a sense of depth that wasn’t there before. Especially for Faith and Greer.

This was a solid four star read for me. The lost star is from a disconnected feeling I pertained on and off throughout the entirety of the book. It was good, yes, but I didn’t feel I was participating in the way I usually do when reading. However, that ending made it a guarantee that I will be purchasing the sequel so I can’t get the answers to a whole bag full of questions Sasha decided to throw into those last 20 pages. Evil author move, Smith. Evil author move. Plus, I had so much faith in book one that I preordered three copies: Fairyloot’s, Barnes and Noble, and the signed first edition so I could get the preorder incentive. I can’t decide if I regret that, but at least they are all stunningly pretty!

I would like to make a rise bargain to the queen for the next book! Please and thank you!!

The Rose Bargain was so addictive from the first page! Learning how the Others came to rule England and the bargains that followed after was wild. The creativity of Queen Mor’s bargains too, oh my gosh! Greer’s had me cracking up every time it came up.

A little summary: at the beginning of the social season, every young lady who is coming out must make a bargain with Queen Mor at the beginning of the season. The cost of the bargain could be a toe, a memory, a finger, etc. in exchange for something they desire like a new skill or a change to their appearance like height or hair color. When it is finally Ivy’s season to come out, Queen Mor offers a new bargain to become Prince Bram’s wife. Little do the hopeful misses know that the cost of trying to marry Bram may cost more than they would like.

When I tell you the yearning in this story is everything! Not only for romance but for the secrets that must be unraveled. And the povs from the other contestants broke my heart and made me hate the queen even more.

The tropes I loved so much:

- One bed
-Forbidden Romance that will rip your heart out
- Competition
- He falls first

The writing was amazing, and I really liked the narration of the MC (as well as the in between narrations by each of the other characters, that was so cool)

I loved the first half, but I felt that the second half went way too fast? The romance between the MC and Emmett, and all the new friendships between the six contestants were thrown out in order to get to that cliffhanger, but those were my favourite parts :P

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

Sasha Peyton Smith's THE ROSE BARGAIN exceeded my expectations. I really enjoyed this alternate timeline of British history with the fae and how well-developed the characters were. It was like the Bachelorette meets Regency England but you actually get to know the back stories of the other candidates through all the different POV presented so you're not just invested in Ivy--though she's a great main character. I absolutely did not see the ending coming though I knew there was definitely something up with that character (no spoilers) because they seemed too good to be true. Excellent plot development. I really look forward to the sequel and hope it's as riveting as THE ROSE BARGAIN. If you generally enjoy romantasy and liked Kiera Cass's THE SELECTION, THE ROSE BARGAIN is for you.

The Rose Bargain is a YA fantasy in an alternate reality where Regency England is controlled by a Fae Queen. Ivy, to potentially save her family, enters a series of challenges to be chosen as the Fae prince's wife.

I had such a good time reading this book! I really liked the characters, the writing, the world, and the plot. The setting was super creative and I liked how it wove in elements of English history in a fantasy world. It was not afraid of getting gritty, but it did so in a way that was important to the plot. I really liked Ivy as a main character. The side characters were also interesting. I enjoyed getting to learn about everyone's backstories and find out about their motivations.

Alsooo I had NO IDEA this was a duology so I was not prepared for the ending. And now I'm not prepared to wait!

I had an amazing time with this book and highly recommend it if you find the premise at all interesting! 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 from me. Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of this book, my thoughts are my own!

Rating: 5 ⭐️
Spice: 1.0 🌶️
Tags: enemies-to-lovers; romance; love triangle; fiction; fae; multiple POV

This book is one of my few 5 star reads of the year thus far! I literally could not put this book down, and stayed up until 4:30 am to finish the book, knowing I had to be up at 7 am for a busy work day. If you are a fan of Bridgerton, Hunger Games, The Selection, The Cruel Prince, or ACOTAR, then you MUST read this book. Fair warning, it does end on a cliffhanger, and I needed book two in my hands YESTERDAY.
Set against the richly imagined backdrop of 1840s England, the book follows Ivy, a determined young woman caught in a perilous web of politics, passion, and ancient magic. As Ivy vies for the heart—and hand—of the enigmatic Prince Bram, she must also contend with the complex guidance of his charming stepbrother, Emmett, who may have motives of his own. But Ivy’s mission goes far beyond romance: convincing Bram to marry her is the key to securing her family's future and ending the centuries-long reign of his immortal fae mother, the formidable Queen Mor. With high stakes, tangled emotions, and a lush historical-fantasy setting, this book offers a compelling blend of court intrigue and slow-burning romance.
This book provides many great tropes - enemies-to-lovers; forced proximity; love triangle; trials, competitions, and bargains; and fae. I am completely obsessed with the storyline and would recommend this book to almost anyone. I found myself feeling the emotions of each character, and the multiple POV provided great insight to the characters through various lenses. I rated the spice level a 1.0 since there was a smexy scene, however it was not overly descriptive. If you are not a fan of spice, you can easily skim past the scene and it does not take away from the book.

This book, although it follows similar tropes as other fantasy books, did a beautiful job at executing its plot points. I give this book so much praise here and to my friends because Smith's understanding of her characters is so deep to the point that their hurt and anguish bled into my feelings. Specifically, Emmett's character, who's fears and backstory were so clearly written, his POV wasn't pivotal to understanding his anguish. Most of the characters don't wear their heart on their sleeve, but getting chapters from their perspective made it very easy to love them for their strengths and flaws. The only detail that kept this from being a full five stars for me on fable and story graph is that the ending felt too fast-paced for the twist it had. I believe this book could have been longer to slow the pacing of the final twist, I would have enjoyed an extra 50-100 pages of well-paced writing to finish off this first book more than I enjoyed the rushed last chapters. (+Extra: the main couple reminded me so much of Laurie and Amy in little women, I loved it.)

I came in with low expectations, was enjoying myself and then the ending just blew me away.

I fully expected this to be like a solid 3 star read and then the last 10% or so bumped it up a full star. It had me audibly gasping in the grocery store.

I loved the mystery around Queen Mor and the ‘will they won’t they’ of the love interests. The found family, the sporadic chapters where you’d get another pov, and the ENDING AGAIN AH. I cannot wait for the second book.

I listened to this one on audio and highly recommend it. The narrator was great, even at my insane speeds.

Super interesting read! Felt like a cross over of bridgerton and Bachelorette and I loved the ending! Will definitely be requesting this book for my bookclub when it’s available!

This book left me speechless! It reminded me so much of my favorite YA dystopias like OUABH and the Selection. This book combines elements of fiction and fantasy to create a world that is vibrant and new while still slightly familiar. This was such a fun book that instantly drew me in, especially in the last half. While I loved the plot and world, I hope there is more depth with the characters in the next book.

I really liked this tale! I thought the world was fascinating and the characters were well written. Ivy had great chemistry with Emmett. I didn't see the twist at the end coming! I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!

This book was such a fun and wild ride. Magic, royal drama, fae deals with creepy twists—what’s not to love? I really liked Ivy as a main character; she’s smart, determined, and easy to root for. The whole idea of people trading pieces of themselves for beauty or talent was super cool and kinda messed up in the best way. There’s a good amount of romantic tension, some solid plot twists, and just the right amount of drama. If you’re into fae stories with a bit of darkness and a lot of heart, definitely check this one out!!

The Rose Bargain is a promising start to a series that blends romance, magic, and political intrigue. While it may not break new ground in the genre, it offers an engaging and immersive experience for readers who enjoy tales of fae courts and forbidden love. With its compelling world-building and complex character dynamics, it sets the stage for an exciting continuation in the forthcoming sequel.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

4 stars
This book was a wild ride. Thankfully, my mom also read the ARC so I had someone to discuss with because that ending, what?! I went back to read our messages in order to refresh my memory and feel like this kind of sums it up. So here you go, my unfiltered thoughts right after finishing "The Rose Bargain".

Me: I finished the rose bargain last night and you were not wrong about the ending hahaha
Mom: It was just so abrupt
Me: I did like it but geez hahaha
Mom: I had no idea that (spoiler) was not as advertised 
Me: Some of that could have been saved for book 2 surely
Me: No me neither and I liked that twist but kind of wish they'd foreshadowed it more
Mom: Yes! Like about where (spoiler) was
Mom: I did like the (spoiler) they told us about that (spoiler) did of (spoiler)
Me: They should have ended it with her being (spoiler) at the (spoiler) and shit blowing up there
Mom: Yes!
Me: I also was like woah why are we having sex
Mom: I thought everyone throwing up was hilarious
Me: her urgency of being like I (spoiler) WE HAVE TO (spoiler) I HAVE TO (spoiler) WITH YOUR BROTHER had me very confused. 
Mom: yeah, smarter that they do it after she is (spoiler) and (spoiler) to (spoiler)
Me: and then she only (spoiler) for like 5 minutes. I thought for sure that would be a mid next book thing.
Mom: it should have been
Me: It did make me think that you'd really like the cruel prince books if you liked the dark fairy parts of this
Mom: "Dark fairy parts" ;)

The Rose Bargain is a thoughtful and emotionally rich story that weaves themes of sacrifice, love, and redemption into a modern-day fable. Jesse Garcia creates a mysterious atmosphere with elegant prose and symbolic depth, centering around a seemingly simple exchange that carries profound consequences. The characters are subtly drawn, yet their motivations and inner conflicts resonate powerfully. It’s a compact but impactful tale that lingers after the final page—a quiet reminder of what we give up and what we gain in the name of love.