chocchip_bread 's review for:

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith
2.5
fast-paced
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
What in the smutty YA is this? This is NEW ADULT. Not YA. This is 18+. This author went all in with detail on a steamy scene which felt so out of place in a regency pastel world of embroidery competitions for a princes hand in marriage aimed at the 14+ audience.
When Bram says “I heard you both that night.” GROSS
I did like that those competitions involved
pain and distress
. 

This book oddly toed the line between frothy and dark and I actually think it could have been fantastic if it leaned even harder into a bubblegum horror world. The girls actually just didn’t seem scared or upset enough. We aren’t shown them bonding enough after each activity. The horror elements didn’t give enough emotion. For an example of something similar done well I point to T. Kingfishers A Sorceress Comes to Call. 

We waste too much time on the girls actually pining for the boys.
The entire way the story was manipulated for Faith to bother Ivy to create conflict was silly.


Others have mentioned this and I agree. Everyone else around our FMC is more interesting. I enjoyed the POVs of the other girls so much more. I wish we had more of them. 

This book could have been great. I like the overall idea. I don’t plan to continue. I thought I was walking into a standalone until the end. Argh! 
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