A review by ribbonquest
The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

adventurous emotional 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

4.0

This is like a gaslamp version of The Selection but with fae and actually good. The fae are represented by the Queen of England, who took over during the War of the Roses and has been using England as her play box ever since. It sucks for the humans but you do get to make a bargain with her once, so maybe you get really good hair in exchange for a toe. 

There are two love interests - the good boy fae prince and the bad boy human prince. The human prince isn't part of the competition but he's scheming and attractive. Ivy is our main girl but each of the other girls get a chapter from their point of view. The competition itself is devious. 

Warning: This book ends on a cliffhanger.

Audiobook notes: The narrator for Ivy is very breathy, which took some getting used to. There's another narrator for the other girls' chapters and a male narrator for princely POVs. They're all good but the volume does fluctuate when changing narrators. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings