Never the Roses is a slow paced character driven fantasy book.

The story follows recently retired Sorceress Oneira as she adjusts to living a more peaceful life after years of being used as a powerful weapon by her queen. Finding herself bored she decided to get a new book, and decides the best place to do so in the library of the royal sorcerer of the enemy kingdom, Stearanos. Stearanos is shocked at the theft of a rare book that he was reading and sets himself to discovering who could possibly enter his home practically unnoticed.

I enjoyed the majority of the story, both narrators do a wonderful job. I also liked the slower and more introspective nature of the story. Unfortunately I disliked the focus placed on the interactions between Oneira and Tristan, I honestly really disliked Tristan. I also did not care for the ending at all, I believe this book is a standalone and honestly for a book being promoted as a romance the ending just didn’t work for me.

This was a dark fantasy, with cozy and slow paced vibes. It had less romance than I was anticipating, which isn't a bad thing, but felt surprising given the marketing. Oneira was a really interesting FMC. It really just felt like she was sad, lonely, and gardening for most of the book, which contributed to the slow pacing. I did appreciate how much care was given to the complexity of Oneira's character. The romance between Oneira and Stearanos was more of a subplot and was an incredibly drawn out slow burn. I listened to the audio which was really well done. Chloe Campbell and Shane East were fantastic narrators who really brought the characters to life.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the advance copy!

Never the Roses by Jennifer K. Lambert is more of a cozy fantasy with some dark elements vs a romantasy. The story didn't capture my attention as I had hoped it would. It was really slow. Like REALLY slow. It had some romance, but personally, I didn't feel like the romance was as prominent as I would expect in a romantasy. The romance itself was also incredibly slow.

I really liked that the story centered around two older main characters. We don't know their exact ages, but we can assume they've had some decent life experience by this point. I found the inner monologue to be annoying. Most of the story focuses on Oneida's self-inflicted suffering because she felt that she deserved it. It made for such a slog of reading. I found myself becoming bored with he story. I didn't like how obsessed Oneida was with death. All I kept thinking was that this book was going to lead to death.

I really wanted to love this book since it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. It just didn't work out for me. I didn't find that spark with Never the Roses. I did listen to the audiobook for this story, and I have to say that the narration was okay. I don't think it is anything special. It didn't help me get into the story at all. I think you can go either way with how you read this book. You can read or listen to it. I am not sure it would make a difference either way.

🥀 I really liked this (dare I say love?) 🥀

This book was absolutely beautiful. The writing was beautiful; the story was beautiful; the characters were beautiful. I especially loved the FMC Oneira, who thinks herself a monster after a lifetime of being forced to serve her queen and fight her wars, commit her sins. And is she a monster? I think there are some good discussion questions that could be raised here. I think this book in general has many underlying themes and provoking ideas that would make for a good book club choice (for book clubs that like fantasy romance at least).

It did take me a while to really get into this book. I was drawn into the writing immediately, but the pace and plot was fairly slow through the first 25% of the book or so. But I’m so glad I stuck with it, as I did love getting swept away with this story. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending, and to hinder any spoilers, I won’t say more. But let me know if you’ve read this one, because I really want to talk about it!

𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝑰'𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐:
Lovers of beautiful, fairytale-like writing, and romance+fantasy readers.

𝑨 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:
The narrators were absolutely perfect. I started reading this one with my eyes, but had more time for audiobooks, so I switched to that about 1/3 of the way through, and I’m so glad I did. I really loved the audio for this.

4.75/5

Great narration with emotional depth, but the story itself felt flat. Slow pacing, little world-building, and underdeveloped characters made it hard to stay engaged. I couldn’t connect with the story or figure out the characters’ ages. Narrators were the highlight.

Thank you to NetGalley + Macmillan Audio for the Arc!

Never the Roses is a slow burn fantastical tale of ancient power, love, and war. I was quickly drawn into Oneira and Stearanos’ dynamic, rival sorcerers. They were the highlight of the book for me, and I often wished the story had stayed closer to their journey.

The pacing leaned slower than I usually prefer, and the political backdrop, though well constructed, sometimes left me wanting to skip to the parts I cared about most, Oneira and Stearanos’ developing relationship. A secondary romantic subplot never fully clicked for me, yet the strength of the central romance carried the story and left a lasting impression.

Read if you enjoy:
✨Slow burn romance
✨Court politics
✨War
✨Magic

I will say the audiobook was a lifesaver. The narration brought the world to life and kept me moving through the dense detail and slow pacing in a way that I do not think I would have managed with the print version alone. In the end I appreciated the story but found myself wishing for a bit more momentum.

Okay story. Slow paced romtancy it didn't catch my attention until 50% in. I like the magic and dream walking from the female main character. Narrators were good

Never the Roses starts out slow, but once it hits its stride around 35%, it picks up. The world Jennifer K. Lambert has created is immersive and richly imagined, with a magic system that feels truly unique—I’ve never read anything quite like the dream magic here, or the eerie beauty of taking things from dreams and making them real. Oneira is a powerful, jaded heroine with razor-sharp edges, and her complicated connection with Stearanos kept me hooked. Their dynamic is full of tension, clever banter, and quiet longing. The ending left me with mixed feelings, and I’m still thinking about it. This is a beautifully strange, emotional, and original fantasy that I can’t wait to continue.

✨🌹 Never the Roses – Jennifer K. Lambert
🎧 Audiobook Review

This story is hauntingly intimate, a slow-burn ache wrapped in rose petals and regret. The audiobook narration is pure velvet—soft where it hurts, sharp where it needs to cut. This may have been 1 🌶️, but emotionally? 1000 knives to the chest

⭐ 4/5 – dark, tender, and quietly devastating.
Only 1 🌶️, yet the slow-burn tension made the ride deliciously satisfying.

If you love:
🔹 enemies to lovers
🔹 tension
🔹 banter
🔹 redemption
🔹 the kind of love that feels like a secret prayer

2.5 🌟

After centuries of brutal war, the Dread Sorceress Oneira is ready to disappear into obscurity… haunted, exhausted, and accompanied by a trio of magical creatures. When a chance encounter at the world’s most powerful library leads her into a forbidden connection with her rival Stearanos, Oneira finds herself caught between the ruins of her past and a dangerous new path.

But despite the promise of rich lore and sweeping romantic fantasy, I found myself wanting more from the story—especially when it came to Oneira’s past. We’re told she endured unspeakable magic and centuries of war, but we barely see the depth of it or how it truly shaped her. I wanted to feel that weight, that loss, that power, and instead it felt brushed over.

And I had a hard time understanding why someone so guarded and magically protected would let a total stranger like Tristan into her home—only for things to escalate immediately… and the constant sexual pressure from him was repulsive. It pulled me out of the story and left me with more questions than connection.

As for the romance with the MMC, it felt rushed. It was weird how he entered her wards, and was flirting with her and pushing romance as the agenda while she had some random stranger Man, who was also pushing his sexual agenda. There wasn’t the tension or slow burn I’d hoped for. Oneira and Stearanos just were suddenly involved, without the emotional build-up that would make their bond feel believable or earned. This book is a basically closed door romance and left me confused— I didn’t even realize that they had been intimate with the way the scene was written.

We spend a lot of time in Oneira’s loneliness and inner monologue, but when the plot finally moves, it does so in ways that didn’t quite add up. I feel like this book had an extremely slow start and when things picked up, I was very thrown off where we were.

The ending—where she sacrifices herself and we’re told Stearanos will find her in the dreamworld, it felt like a leap that didn’t emotionally land for me.

This book had a gorgeous premise and a lot of potential, but in the end, it just didn’t work for me personally. There’s a lot of things that author can do in the second book to really make it shine, but for me, this book was difficult to get through.

As far as the narration goes, I think the narrators did a great job overall—delivering the emotion and bringing the story to life with strong performances. That said, I do wish it had been done in duet style, with both the male and female narrators voicing their characters within the same chapter. I think that approach would have added depth and made the connection between the characters feel more immersive.

⸻

✨ Tropes:
• 🧙‍♀️ Retired magical heroine
• 🐺 Mythical animal companions
• 💌 Enemies-to-lovers (kind of)
• 🕯️ Dreamworld/soulbound connection
• 📚 Magical libraries & stolen books
• 👑 War-torn kingdoms (lightly explored)
• 🖤 Morally grey, secretive men
• 🧠 Internal monologue-heavy heroine
• 🪄 Magical wards and hidden pasts

Thank you to NetGalley for an ALC of this book!

This was just not for me. Took forever to get well nowhere fast and I just had no desire to keep turning it on. People who really enjoy cozy, slow burn fantasy romance this is probably for you.

DNF @ 20%

The narrators Chloe Campbell and Shane East were however fantastic to listen to and I would love to hear more of their work in the future.

Let’s start off by saying, this was my first book by Jennifer K. Lambert and I did enjoy it. If theres a book two, I’ll probably read it. I listened to the audio and the narrators did a great job. Sometimes the MMC’s voice was so low I had to turn the volume up more to understand him.
It was a really slow start so that made it hard to get into at the beginning, but all in all I liked where it went for the most part. I loved the witty banter between the FMC and the MMC! There were times when I laughed out loud. There was some enemies to lovers, then a slow burn for sure. But that being said, I feel like after everything started happening and falling into place, it was just finished! Like it was missing more towards the end. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Never the Roses by Jennifer K. Lambert introduces us to Oneira, a retired sorceress who, after a deadly encounter serving a Queen, has paid off her debt and now lives freely in a warded cottage with her animals, enjoying her peace. However, she quickly finds herself bored and decides to wander beyond her wards to the kingdom's largest library. This library, ironically, happens to be in the home of her enemy, Stearanos, a server of the kings.

Their relationship develops through the slowest of slow burns, as they exchange notes, she visits him in his dreams, and eventually, they have a few in-person encounters. Their budding romance comes to an abrupt halt when Stearanos' king plots war on Oneira's previously served queen, threatening the very peace Oneira has come to cherish. However, it's revealed that Stearanos has a plan that could save them all.

I went into this having read "The Witch's Heart" and "Circe," and while I wouldn't quite compare this book to those, I did genuinely enjoy this story. At times, especially towards the beginning, the writing felt a bit extensive, with drawn-out, complicated sentences trying to explain simple things, which made the story drag on a bit. Despite that, by the end, I was completely all in and eagerly waiting to see how they would tackle all the barriers that came their way. I felt it had a nice, satisfying ending. It could definitely turn into a novella or a full Book 2 if the author chose to go that route, but I also appreciate a good standalone, even if it means you don't get a "full fantasy experience." Overall, I found the characters and plot enjoyable, making it a unique story. Narration was dual, always love having both the male and female voice for characters, so I enjoyed this!

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Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 7/8/25.

This Romantasy story introduces us to Oneira and Stearanos.
It does take some time to “get there” but as we meet more and more characters it is definitely worth the wait.
It is flirty but definitely slow burn.
The narrators were great and the ending has me wanting more. I have already bought my shelf trophy. The cover and edges are stunning. If you love Romantasy and magic. This is for you.

This had a moody, gothic feel with some intriguing twists surrounding the family estate. I enjoyed the subtle hints at hidden motives among the characters. However, the pacing dragged for me in the middle, and I occasionally felt like I wanted more depth from the main character’s decisions.

This was such a nice book. I listened to the audio version and the narrators were wonderful. I was wrapped up in the story and cheering on both Oneira and Stearanos and hoping for their happy ending.

It was a bit hard at first to get into the story as the background information was thrown in, but once you get going it was such a nice story to lose yourself in. I loved being transplanted into Oneira's life after she retires and seeing how she intends to gain peace within herself. The fact that her interactions with Stearanos all starts because she wants to borrow a book, is such a fun way to go about the story.

Overall a fun, magical romance and a set of excellent narrators.

Free copy received from NetGalley.

BK-17
1🌶️
Adult
POV: 3rd Person, 3 POV’s
🎧: 4/5 Dual Narration

Thank you to NetGalley for this audio book for an honest review!

The narrators did a fantastic job on this story! I enjoyed them both.

This was definitely a different kind of book for me. I felt as if we were starting in the middle of the story. It was rather jarring. It also moved very slow in the beginning. I definitely enjoyed the 2nd half more.

There were a lot of moments of redundancy. Multiple sentences just re-written with words shifted that felt overdone.

I would recommend this story to those who enjoyed the pacing and story line of Divine Rivals.

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Spicy Chapters: 19, 27, 33 (Very Little Detail)

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was very different than other books I have read in a good way. I love that the characters are older and more mature, they have lived a life with experiences and this ads to their depth. It was a little slow at the beginning but once I was hooked into the story and characters I really enjoyed it. There was no epic fighting adventure but it was cute and emotional with what she is going through. The growth she went through was my favorite part.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bramble for this ALC!

This is a contemplative novel about two sorcerers forced to use their magic in service to their sovereigns in battle. They've never faced each other because their countries used them in a sort of mutually assured destruction strategy. But as this book opens, Oneira has managed to pay off her debt and has retired to a secluded house where she spends a part of every day decorating her funeral bier. (So she's dealing with some PTSD, OK? At least she's not massacring civilians anymore...)

But as the months go by, maybe she's healing a bit; maybe she's making friends with her nemesis, Stearanos. Maybe MORE than friends...

ROMANCE READERS BE WARNED: this is a tragedy, not a romance. (Although the tragic end is maybe a tiny bit ambiguous?) I did really like the book, which surprised me a bit since there's not a ton of plot. If you are more of a fantasy reader than a romance reader, or if you're one of those people who argues that romantasy doesn't need an HEA, then I think you'd like this one.

I listened to the audiobook and it was great - definitely added a little something to the book. I was especially impressed with how well the two narrators mimicked each other's accents and pronunciation choices, leading to a really seamless listening experience!

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the audiobook.

2.5⭐️
I must say I was really excited to read this book, the premise of it was intriguing but unfortunately this fell flat. It had great potential but bad execution. The MFC Had a very bland personality that I didn't connect with. I don't think I'll continue this series in the future. This just wasn't for me.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ALC in return for my honest review.