I absolutely loved this book. Never the Roses was exactly the kind of cozy escape I didn't know I needed.It didn't rely on big battles or action scenes, and honestly, that was one of the things I appreciated most.The story had room to breathe, and I found myself completely wrapped up in the characters.
The banter was so well done. It felt natural and had me smiling and turning pages just to see what they'd say next. The bit of spice was just enough to keep things interesting without overpowering the heart of the story. It was subtle and well-placed.
But what really made it special was the character development. You can tell the author put a lot of love into building these people. Their growth felt authentic and their relationships were layered and meaningful. I genuinely cared about them and didn't want the book to end. This is the kind of story that stays with you in the best way. I'll definitely be recommending it to friends who enjoy fantasy with heart, warmth, and a strong focus on character connection.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Jennifer K. Lambert for the ALC of Never the Rose.

This book was narrated by Chloe Campbell and Shane East and I really feel that their voices matched the characters so well! The pacing and intonation was perfect! I felt that the narrators really brought another layer to the story.

That being said, the overall story itself just didn’t hit the mark for me. I did DNF halfway through bc it was too verbose. The ongoing explanations just kept taking me out of the story and I found my mind wandering and missing part that were likely important.

I loved everything about this book. It was such a DELIGHT to find middle-aged fantasy characters who were just DONE with all the pretending and what-not. I devoured every minutes of this. The narrators were lovely, but the tone of the voices made it difficult to listen in the car. I had to keep earbuds in, but that was no big deal. It was beautifully written and I loved every word!

What happens after the war? When the dust has settled, and all that’s left is the echo of your choices—and the quiet ache of learning how to live with them?

Jennifer K. Lambert’s <i>Never the Roses</I> isn’t about discovery or becoming. It’s about the haunting act of continuing. Of piecing yourself together after you've been shattered and seeing what kind of person still exists in the wreckage.

Oneira, once the Dread Sorceress of the Southern Kingdom, has paid her life debt with blood. Her legacy is carved from the devastation she brought to the world through her mastery of dreams and the unwaking realm—but all she wants now that she is finally free is stillness. A garden, a crust of bread with honey, the final quiet of oblivion. Her grief is marrow-deep, but there's a softness to her learning how to feel again—how to want again—that’s painfully, beautifully done.

And then there’s Stearanos. Her nemesis. Her equal. A man who doesn’t flinch, doesn’t posture, and doesn’t waste time pretending he doesn’t care. He knows what he wants—and once he sees her for who she is, he says so. No games. No hesitation. There’s a directness to him that feels rare in romantasy: not brooding, not reluctant, just <i>certain</i>. And with him, Oneira isn’t feared or pitied—she’s understood. And, for the first time in her life, seen.

Though shelved as epic fantasy, this reads more like a quiet, aching character study. Lambert’s prose is atmospheric and deeply internal—reminding me deeply of Rebecca Ross’s <i>Letters of Enchantment</i>, though more battle-worn and bruised. The worldbuilding is purposeful but not the point; like Oneira, you’ll find yourself wanting to retreat away from it. To linger in the sanctuary she’s created, no matter how fragile.

𝑶𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈:
✨Cottagecore, but haunted—think solitude with ghosts, not sunshine
🥀 Brimming with longing—for peace, for understanding, for someone to stay
📜 The letter-writing dynamic is clever, warm, and doesn’t overstay its welcome once its purpose is served
❤️ Dual POV with excellent audio narration (Chloe Campbell and Shane East are dynamic and magical)
💜 Spice-light, but intimacy-rich—what they notice about each other says everything
🪶 One side character is deeply, intentionally loathsome. You will hate him. You are supposed to. I still wanted him gone five chapters sooner.
🌹 The ending is open, not abrupt—but I’m hoping for more

I had a few quibbles with pacing; certain sections ran wild when they could’ve bloomed with a bit more pruning. Still, <i>Never the Roses</I> lingers. Soft and sharp in equal measure—like thorns hidden beneath dark velvet petals.

On the audiobook: This was a true joy to listen to, rather than read. Chloe Campbell and Shane East are dynamic, engaging, and full of the exact right amount of emotion this story needs. There’s chemistry here in the dual narration that works even when they aren’t directly woven together. It’s also the exact kind of fantasy that shines in audio—no complex world-building, or hard-to-track names and places. Will definitely be re-listening to this one!

<b>Thank you</b> to Macmillan Audio for granting me access to the eARC!


𝑻𝑳;𝑫𝑹: <i>Never the Roses</I> is a dream walk through grief and tenuous hope, after resting your head in a solemn, secluded seaside cottage. Melancholic, lyrical, and quietly romantic—this is less about magic and more about what’s left after you’ve burned the world down.

🔮 A Retired Sorceress
🐺 Bunny
🛏 Dream Walking
⚔️ Rivals
❤️‍🩹 Healing
🌹 Roses

The dream aspect of this book is so interesting!

I love the banter between the FMC & MMC. Both of the narrators are some of my all time favorites, they have the most perfect voices for this book! 😍💜 So dreamy. Pun intended.

*I received an advance review copy for free in the form of an audiobook (advanced listening copy) from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is my honest feedback about the book as an avid reader.*

I really liked this book! So cute & cozy! And the special edition coming out is GORGEOUS! 😍💜

Huge thank you to the author, MacMillanAudio, & NetGalley for letting me read & review this book. 💜

4.25 stars
Honestly, I didn’t expect to enjoy it this much. I figured it would be a fun 3 star or 3.5 star read, but it turned out to be an absolute delight. It’s funny and sweet, and I loved the writing style. It’s not a grand expansive, epic world, but it’s intriguing. There’s a cozy fantasy feel to it with a perfect amount of stakes. The romance was exactly what I wanted. I love it when both characters are two powerful equals. I especially loved the FMC’s magic!!

Thank you to Macmillan audio and Jennifer K Lambert for this ALC through NetGalley

3.5/5 ⭐️
0.5/ 5 🌶️
5/5 🎧

First let me start out with the audiobook. Shane East is the absolute perfect narrator for this MMC. I could listen to him narrating the encyclopedia to me and I’d be entranced. Chloe Campbell was new to me but she was fantastic as well!

This book was different than any other fantasy I’ve read before. Due to the FMC, Oneira being self isolated it was very lonely the first third of the book. I would say this is a very slow burn, however, I don’t feel like that is necessarily an accurate description. The story is more about Oneira finding inner peace rather than Oneira and Em finding love. While they do ultimately fall in love, I feel the ending isn’t about that. It’s about her moving on from the world feeling as if she finally had peace with her decisions.

Overall I enjoyed this read. The ending seemed a bit rushed and it doesn’t fit into the traditional HEA you may typically want. But overall the story is beautifully written. The author has written a beautiful fantastical world with new creatures and magic powers I hadn’t seen in other books.

This was definitely not for me. The pace was just way to slow to keep my attention. There was so much inner dialog for the fmc that I forgot what the book was supposed to be about.

I skipped forward to see if it got better but it didn't. I finally had to dnf this one.

Thank NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this ALC.

Thanks to @MacmillanAudio and NetGalley for the advance listener copy of Never the Roses by Jennifer K. Lambert!

I was completely pulled into this story from the start. The writing is sharp, immersive, and full of emotional depth. I especially appreciated that the main characters were older—it’s refreshing to see protagonists with real life experience instead of yet another early-20s lead. Both narrators did an excellent job bringing the characters to life and were perfectly cast. The only thing that would’ve made it better is if it had been a duet narration rather than alternating.

The magic system was unique and intriguing, though I found myself wanting a bit more explanation. There were some elements I didn’t fully understand, and I hope they’ll be expanded in future installments. Some of the action was told after the fact rather than shown in real time, but the author still managed to weave those moments into the plot smoothly.

The ending was heartbreakingly emotional and ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I’m really hoping this means a sequel is on the way. If so, I’ll absolutely be reading it. This book is a beautiful blend of fantasy, love, and loss—with characters you’ll root for and a world you’ll want to understand more deeply.

3.5⭐️ Is heartbreaking love a thing? It is now that I’ve read Never the Roses. 🥀 What an intriguing love story. While this is being heavily marketed as an epic fantasy there really isn’t a plot to the world outside Oniera’s wards. Her exploration of herself outside the war is what this story is. It has a very slow start and it wasn’t until around 75% that I settled in to accepting what this book was not. The epilogue made me round up. It was a heartbreaking ending. Dual narration was so satisfying.

This book had no right to be this amazingly heartbreaking and beautiful. Let me just go curl in a ball and sob into my mountain of pillows. Is this a standalone will there be a second? I don’t know, I’m blown away. I just had to navigate the crowded Friday night store while silently sobbing.

The characters, the world building, the descriptions in this book were amazing. And then the ending? I.. I’m so sad but it was so freaking beautiful. This is an absolute masterpiece.

Lambert- ARC
Audiobook End of chapter 15 glitched. And I think a chapter before did as well.

First, I can’t say enough how refreshing it was that the story starts with older main characters that are retired or close to retirement. The MFC is NOT your typical fantasy character that is 19 years old and somehow trained assassin. Oniera is a middle aged sorceress retired from being a weapon for her Queen and country. Her magic is very interesting and is related to dreams. I am still a little confused by the overall magic system, but that didn’t deter me for enjoying the story. The MMC is a sorcerer named Stearnos, who knows what he wants and he wants the Oniera. I love that he isn’t torn or doubting and grows slowly.
The love story was sweet and I wished we had more of them courting each other.
Spice levels are low and could have been more.
The ending is was also a bit confusing to me. I understood that Oniera was fine with the killing and war. But I didn’t understand how one more death, a death of a sexist war hungry man lead her to her last choice. I will say the ending was very tragic but it was also odd that Stearnos would also choose to end his life since Oniera used her last murder to set him free. What was the purpose of her killing the prince and setting him free for them to both die?

Overall, I would recommend this book and enjoyed the audiobook version.

The premise really intrigued me and it’s a beautiful book. I didn’t love the narrators but they were ok. The beginning is so difficult to get into. It feels like an info dump and slow. I understand this is because the FMC is isolated. I enjoyed the story and appreciated how the author handled such topics as grief and trauma. The pacing was a bit slow and I struggled a bit with the POV format. Overall, I think you’re either going to love this book or not care for it at all.

This really surprised me! Never the Roses is a slow, lyrical narrative that captured my attention immediately. I fell in love with our main character Oneira, who has to rediscover who she is and who she wants to be. This book has tension and humor but also cozy, soft, tender moments. The audiobook is wonderful and coveys the tone of the story perfectly; it made reading the book that much more of a cozy, magical experience.

I'm glad this is getting an edition with a book box because I'm not sure I would have picked this up otherwise. This will absolutely be on my best books of the year list and I'm excited for what the author writes next.

This book was slow to start, but that is because the world building was immense, and the FMC was isolated, so it was mainly just her thoughts. The book then began to pick up and became an enjoyable tale about secret visits and a slow and tender romance. This was the slow burn I didn't even know I needed! Thank you, Macmillian Audio and Netgalley, for approving my request for the audiobook.

3.5 stars! I think I would consider this a cozy, fantasy romance above anything else. The FMC, Oneara, is a retired sorceress/warrior and the MMC is the FMC's past rival (sort of?) though they'd never met prior to this stories events. Oneara is essentially a dreamwalker with the ability to travel and even take/create things from dreams, and she winds up at Stearanos' home and steals one of his books from his extensive library, thus beginning their journey with one another. I truly liked both main characters and was excited to see what would happen with them, but I do feel it was a bit insta-lovey. I wish there had been more build up once they actually met. The atmosphere of this book had such a dreamlike quality and I could easily envision how it would look. This is told via third person, which is not my favorite format - I think first person would've made it a more immersive experience. However, I still enjoyed this story and would be interested in reading book 2 if there will be one. I also really loved the narrators - they did an incredible job. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

“By recklessly stealing a book from him, Oneira inadvertently initiates a forbidden correspondence. Taunting notes and clever retorts reveal a connection neither has found—nor could ever find—in any other.”

I love a bantering, slow burn romance. This book started out a slow, but picked up and was a fun read.

*potential spoilers*
I also looooove that the mfc dream walks and can take things from the dreams.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC!

3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4.

This book overall has a slower start to it, as Oneira is living alone after buying her freedom from her last job. She is able to live "off-grid" and vows to never kill again. While she still uses her magic she does try to go without for some things, like her roses.

Oneira dream walks to Stearanos library to "borrow" a book. Steraranos is a sorcerer like her but has different magic strength, but they are equal to each other. But with Oneira in retirement, Steraranos' king/prince try to wage a war against her kingdom. Which makes Oneira have to decide if she goes back to try and save her last kingdom or stay away.

I will say the ending is sad and we are left on a what happens next cliffhanger. Hopefully there will be a book two if not then may we all imagine a happy ending for our characters.

I do recommend the audio version. Chloe and Shane did an excellent job reading the book and kept me engaged throughout. I believe I would have put the book down had it not been for the audiobook, due to the slow start.

YA Fantasy
Necromancy
Enemies to Lovers
Spice level 1

I received an advance review copy audio version. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the opportunity to listen to this book. Jennifer K. Lambert this book was wonderful.

I have to say I am not a big fan of third person reads, and I'm thinking this one was. I kept spacing off and had to restart the first 15 min a few times. I was so excited for this one too. Maybe I'll just read this one. I am a fan of Shane East, but I wasn't even able to get to him because I kept having to start over. I appreciate the chance at the ALC, but I find this is another one not for me.

This book was really intriguing. From the cover to the plot, it had me intrigued the entire time.

It moves at a glacial pace in most spots, and if you're feeling it's slow, that's because it is. But despite that, I actually really started to love it when I hit about 45% of the way through. It was a sweet fantasy, that has some really deep moments, and good character growth in it. I definitely feel like it teeters the edge of YA and NA, although it has a good mix of both which was interesting as the reader to enjoy.

Such a great plot and premise!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC!