Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

34 reviews

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Where do I even start, I love this book so much! It literally had everything:

Games & trials
Yearning
Magic
YEARNING
Fae
Bridgerton setting
Did I say yearning?

There’s LGBTQ+ & POC rep (both minor, however I have a feeling this may ramp up in the next book)

I can’t believe I have to wait so long before it next instalment

I was expecting that there would be a twist, I was not expecting it to be what it was however, Sasha really did have me fooled with the innocent act of Bram. Goddamn I’m so ready to find out more about Lydia too. Praying for Emmett & Ivy
 

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Yeah I like actually loved this. I picked it at the store by chance, and I couldn't put it down when I started reading.

It's literally perfect. And I didn't even know I wanted to read something like this.

However towards the end, the last 100 pages or so, I wasn't really that satisfied with all that happened. And it's gonna sound weird but it got too fantasy ish for me.

I love Ivy, very nice main character. So fucking funny. But yeah, I enjoyed the book more in the beginning before things escalated for real. I always find the yearning and ache and "no we shouldn't" better than when they actually confess their love.

I'm giving it 4.75 starts now, because I'm not sure I can give it 5. But maybe I should, it was a delight to read.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I desperately wanted The Rose Bargain to be my next 5-star read. It seemed to have every ingredient for it: a storyline with “The Bachelor” vibes similar to The Selection (a series I love), set in a Regency-inspired world like Bridgerton (another favorite), with a fantasy twist. I won’t lie, the blurb hyped me up so much it felt like this book was tailor-made for me. And that set my expectations way too high. My optimistic energy lasted for the first third of the book before it started to irritate me in a way that shattered me to admit. The book focuses on three major themes: fantasy, historical setting, and romance, but I don’t think it delivered well on any of them, some to a worse degree than others. I’ll go through them in order from tolerable to borderline offensive. 

Starting with the fantasy aspect. This carried the most weight in terms of world-building and potential. I loved the concept of the bargain system, where people receive one wish in exchange for giving up something. That idea was brilliant and had so much potential. I expected it to become a commentary on appreciating what you have and learning to value the hard journey over shortcuts. But in the end, it felt like little more than a gimmick to spice up the plot. The bargains never truly developed into something meaningful. They served more as light mystery fodder—especially regarding Ivy’s sister Lydia—and gave us a few “hah-hah” moments, but that was about it. The big reveal about Lydia’s bargain felt rushed and random, and the weight it should have carried simply wasn’t there. Ivy doesn’t even make a bargain herself, at least not for most of the book, and when she does, it hardly matters. One element I did enjoy was the queen’s tests for the girls. The riddles and puzzles were creative and genuinely engaging, but when I realized there were only a few of them, it took the wind out of my sails. It was one of the book’s only real strengths, and it was underused. 

On the matter of the regency aspect. I'm not a historian, and I'm not claiming to be an expert on the subject. My judgment is only based on other works I've either seen or read in comparison. With that out of the way, it just didn't feel too believable. Most of the time, I forgot it was supposed to be set in 1800s England. Sure, I understand this is an alternate universe England from the one we know, because history changed during the War of the Roses. However, it seemed it was still aiming for a pretty close to reality version of Regency England. But most of the characters, especially Ivy, didn't seem too concerned about the social pressures of the ton. One of the things that is appealing to me about Regency-inspired fiction is the way it alters the romance and romantic relationships—how even a small misstep can lead to scandal. It is improper for a lady to be in the presence of a man without another witness or chaperone present. That means the romance has to develop in the presence of high society and through a few sneaky stolen moments. It creates yearning and adds a societal pressure that isn’t as prevalent in contemporary romance novels. Yet this book doesn't seem to understand how relevant a public persona is. It's stated quite often that the parents care deeply about their reputation. But I just don't believe it's as big of a deal in this universe. Every interaction that Ivy has with either Emmett or Bram is through mostly these "stolen moments". It completely forgets to flesh out any of the balls during the season. I would’ve loved to see more of the public events during the season, like the balls, where characters have to speak in code and hide their feelings beneath polite and formal conversation. That kind of subtlety was completely missing, which made the setting feel more like window dressing than a meaningful influence on the plot. Instead, we see Ivy sneaking around recklessly without consequence. This is why it isn't believable. There should be consequences for being this reckless. But Ivy's social standing seems to be unaffected by any of the things she does. And it’s not like Emmett and Bram being princes automatically shields her from scandal. 

Now for the romance, which was by far the weakest and most frustrating element for me. Through this book, I was reminded how difficult it is to pull off a good love triangle. Ivy has two options: Emmett or Bram. And as a reader, we’re expected to choose one to root for. But that always comes with a risk—there’s a 50/50 chance you’re going to pick the wrong one, and I definitely did. The rest of this review will go into heavy spoiler territory, so proceed with caution. 

The problem with love triangles is that they force the author to break hearts, one way or another. And when one option is clearly given more focus, it becomes harder to feel satisfied if you preferred the other. In this case, so much time is spent on Emmett that it’s obvious he’s endgame. But I just couldn’t respect him. His entire plan is to unseat the queen and end the bargain system. For that to happen, Ivy has to marry his brother Bram—a brother he claims to love. So why does he keep meeting up with Ivy in secret, knowing it could ruin everything? This is supposed to be Regency England, where a ruined reputation is serious. Yet Emmett doesn't seem to care about Ivy’s virtue, his own plan, or how this affects Bram. He’s essentially manipulating the one person who genuinely loves him for his own gain. I didn’t see any real chemistry between him and Ivy either, which made their constant meetings feel even more forced and frustrating. 

That left me rooting for Bram, who from the beginning was kind, respectful, and good-hearted. I vibed with him way more than with Emmett’s rake-ish bad boy persona. So when the big twist came—and Bram turned out to be a traitor in the same vein as Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard—it completely ruined the character for me. I absolutely loathe that kind of “Prince Hans from Frozen” reveal. It doesn’t feel clever—it just feels cheap and distasteful. When I say I want a book to play with my emotions, this isn’t what I mean. 

I could go on, but I feel like I’ve made my main points. On a slightly more positive note, I did enjoy the inclusion of POVs from side characters. They added a bit more depth to the story and helped flesh out the other girls, even if only a little. It was a nice touch that served the narrative. 

Since this is a duology, I’ll likely read the second book just to see how everything ends and to see if there’s any redemption. But I’ve definitely learned not to go into it expecting a new favorite read of the year. 

Overall, The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith gets a disappointing 2.5 stars. 

|—TL;DR—| 

Focus Genre: YA Historical Romantasy 
Nostalgia: Disqualified 
Personal Enjoyment: 3⭐ 
Plot: 3⭐ 
World-Building/Setting: 3⭐ 
  • Historical Accuracy/Immersion: 2⭐
Characters: 3,25⭐
  • Relationships: 3,25⭐ (Includes romantic and non-romantic connections)
Romance: 2⭐
  • Chemistry: 2⭐
  • Fluff: 2,5⭐
  • Steam: Disqualified | There is 1 sex scene, yet it’s not long nor too detailed, so it’s not included in the rating
Magic: 3⭐
Writing/Prose: 2⭐
Pacing: 3⭐
Relatability: 2⭐
Ending: 2,5⭐

=Overall=
2,61-stars⭐ 2,5-stars⭐
 
~21/06/25~

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dark emotional funny tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

If you can overlook the fact that a girl who has lived her whole life preparing to stake her future on her Victorian debutante season without ever learning to dance, then this is the book for you. 
If you like brothers who aren't actually related
If you like revenge and evil queens and the most brutal season of the bachelorette ever
If you like your boys so beautiful they hurt to look at
If you like extra complicated love parallelograms or whatever that was...rhombus? Oval?
If you need your romantasy to force a found family and include an unlikely One Bed with the only purpose of advancing romantic development AS IT SHOULD 
And finally if you like confusing grand finale villain reveals, this is the book for you. 
I really enjoyed the sections of other character voices placed thoughtfully throughout the narrative. It illuminated character motivation and added freshness to the plot I didn't know I was looking for. I'll be reading the next one. This is fun fae romantasy. Don't think too hard about it.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

“𝘪 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘪 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪 𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘪𝘧 𝘪 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘪 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺.”

5✩

it felt like time was stopped whilst i was reading this book, i flew through it, and found myself just wanting to continue reading. we are brought into such an immersive, and magical world, with great characters and dynamics to root for.

ivy benton, you are so incredibly special to me, truly the youngest sibling representation i always long for. the way she felt like she had to protect her family, no matter what it took from her own happiness, and the responsibility she feels to be perfect- it really did tug at my heartstrings.

what stood out to me most, next to the magical world this book was set in, was the characters, because not only ivy was incredible, i truly loved every single one of the girls selected to compete to win over the fae prince’s heart and emmett as well, my only complain about them would be that i want to read more about them!

the ending?! wow, that was wild! i don’t know what i expected, but it wasn’t that. i cannot wait for book two to come out, whenever that is.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Proper review to come later

Apparently
faeries can lie after all and the kindhearted Prince they're competing for is evil and a sexual predator.
Just felt like some really cheap plot twists. The characters were great but the romance was not. Also, it is not Beauty and the Beast-inspired at all, for people who may have thought it was based on the title and description.

Probably should've known I wouldn't like it with The Selection being a comp title, but The Cruel Prince also was and I did quite like that one so I'd thought I'd give it a shot.

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