This book was DEVOURED in one sitting. It’s like if Bridgerton met The Selection meets The Cruel Prince. The regency era vibes set in London was perfect, combined with fae, political intrigue and TRIALS!!! I loved it. Thank you so much for the arc!

This was a quick enjoyable read, if a little predictable.
I still enjoyed it even though I knew where it was heading as the characters were interesting and had complex relationships & friendships which kept me wanting to read more.
I liked how the faerie lore was included in a regency setting, it was a really interesting alternate England where an immortal fae queen rules & everyone gets to make a bargain but it comes at a cost.

BEST BOOK EVER. hands down my top read it has everything I love in romantasy and the writing was superb.

5 ☆☆☆☆☆

I need this now in everysingle format ever

Cruel Prince meets Bridgerton meets the bachelor.

Set in what should be Victorian England, this book has an alternate-reality setting where the War of the Roses ended with a faery queen on the throne, and who has been ruling for the last 400 years. Every English subject gets to make one bargain with the queen, but the higher the bargain, the bigger the price. For example, someone who wants shinier hair might lose a toe. Ivy is supposed to make her bargain this year, but when she gets up in front of the queen, the queen announces that her son wants to marry this year, and the debutants can enter in a competition for his hand in marriage. The catch: anyone who loses is forbidden to marry someone else. And since these are women living in a time when they weren’t able to financially support themselves, there is a lot for these girls to lose. But some do enter the competition and most fall at the first hurdle, but Ivy and five other girls make it to the last round and now have to endure the queen’s sadistic games. If you like Cruel Prince, you will love this book, but just know, this book is more psychologically disturbing than Cruel Prince, which I think makes it worse (and so much more entertaining).

Ivy decides to join the competition because her sister had a bad debutante year, cannot remember what her bargain was or what happened to her, and ended up ruining her family. Ivy wants to help her family by becoming queen, because then no one would dare to shun her family. But everyone has their own reasons for wanting to win. I love that we get snippets from each character’s POV because it just adds to the tension and excitement, because I don’t just want Ivy to succeed, I want everyone to succeed. And then there’s Emmett, the human brother to the faery prince, Bram. He has his own reasons for wanting Ivy to succeed.

This book was fast-paced and packed full of emotions and twists. I might have guessed the big twist at the end, but it really didn’t matter because the journey itself was exciting enough to keep me reading. If you like a romantasy with a sinister undertone, you need this book in your life.

I am not exaggerating at all when I say that I WILL NOT KNOW PEACE UNTIL I HEAR MORE ABOUT BOOK 2!!!!
Omg that freaking ending blew me away, I did not see it coming at all and I can’t believe that the author hid what was really happening so well!!! Ugh it was such a good last chapter and threw everything that I thought I knew on its head. I am just hoping with every fibre of my being that by the end of this series most of the characters will get a happy ending (because they deserve it after everything that they had to go through!)

Aside from that, this book sounded so intriguing!! Who wouldn’t want to read about regency England being ruled by a fae queen who made bargains with her subjects when they came of age? It sounds so interesting and unique, and it was masterfully pulled off too!
I think that If you’ve watched Bridgeton or anything else set in regency England you’ll have a really pretty visual and a really accurate visual in your head for what everything is meant to look like, all of the clothes and locations. I only say this because the author doesn’t really go into a great deal of detail describing everything, but I really appreciated it because sometimes all of the descriptions can make the book drag. Just bear that in mind if you decide to pick this up.

I think the pacing of this one was ok. It was really interesting at the very start with the prologue being probably the most captivating chapter until a third of the way through, but that makes sense with all of the set up and character intros that needed to be made.
I feel like the pacing slowed down a few times and actually dragged a little bit, but not enough to be that noticeable or take away from just how enjoyable this was to read.

There were so many different things constantly happening, so many characters to get used to, multiple POVs and a lot of scheming/backstabbing. In all honesty things started off really fluffy and tame but as the story progressed, the trials that all of the girls were competing in got harder and there were more mentions of the fae and trying to unseat the Queen, things got so much more cut throat and intense.
It really felt near the end as if the line between good and evil was being blurred and like each of the humans were being more fae than the fae were.

I don’t want to give anything away because there is just so many good plot twists that happen in this book that I think it would really take away from just how enjoyable it is, but the romance was out of this world (even if it is only YA), the banter between Ivy and the prince had me giggling so much, things aren’t at all how they seem at first, and prepare yourself for the ending and how insane things actually get.

Again, I can’t wait to see where the author goes with this story in the next book but I have the feeling that its going to be even more insane than this one was!

When I say I INHALED this book!!! Sasha Peyton Smith notes that this is the book her 15 year old self would have loved to read and I couldn't agree more! Think Bridgerton meets the Bachelor, with an added sprinkle of magic and of course trials! I could not put this down and was fully invested. The forbidden romance was *chef's kiss* and I loved the banter and the feeling of not being able to help falling in love despite desperately trying not to (the heart wants what the heart wants etc). Ivy is a great MFC and I found her lovable (her love for her older sister and family really shines through), relatable and her character development was very well presented/executed. Emmet is the classic Regency rake and it did not take much to be swayed by the 'bad boy's' good side. I also really enjoyed that it wasn't made super clear where the story was going. The story is mainly given from Ivy's POV but the intermittent standalone POV chapters were a clever device and I found it quite original and made all the side characters so much more realistic. The world building is not complex and very easy to follow. The ending felt a bit abrupt and the tying of everything could have potentially been made a little bit better (it felt a bit like turning onto the next page, only to read the last couple of last paragraphs and then - the end) but at the same time it made me 100% excited to read the next installment.
Overall this was a SUPER FUN read and I can't recommend it enough, you will have the best time reading this. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my review copy, all opinions are my own.

2.75 stars rounded up

In an alternate Victorian England, an immortal fae queen sits on the throne, granting bargains to her subjects in exchange for a piece of them; a big toe, their happiest memory, the ability to taste. This season, the queen announces a competition to marry her fae son, Prince Bram. Determined to save her family from ruin and free her sister from the bargain that destroyed her, Ivy Benton enters the competition. She must survive the dark plot at the centre of the contest, and her growing feelings for the Prince’s brother.

This one started off strong, and we are thrown straight into the story at a fast-pace. I was very intrigued by the fae queen and her bargains, and I enjoyed the regency inspired atmosphere. However, after the first third, the story started to go downhill for me.

I was really looking forward to the tests and trials that the fae queen put the contestants through to test their mettle. However, they lacked tension and stakes, and just felt very boring. In a world with fae trickery and magic, there was an opportunity to make these a lot more exciting and high-stakes.

The romances also fell flat for me. The love interests barely spent any time together, and there was no tension and chemistry between them. The love declarations came out of nowhere. The sex scene was also quite graphic for a YA book (not something that bothers me as an adult reader, but worth mentioning if you were planning to buy this for a younger reader).

The characters were all over 18, but acted very juvenile. None of them felt distinct or well developed, and they all sounded the same in the POV switches. In saying that, I did enjoy that all of the girls had their own reasons for entering the competition, and although they were each other’s rivals, they looked out for one another. I was really looking forward to meeting the Prince’s brother, Emmett, who is known as a womaniser that is always getting himself into trouble. However, we never get to see any of this. It felt very much tell rather than show.

The writing felt very choppy, and much like Emmett’s character, we are told rather than shown a lot of the plot; “we went here, we did this, then we went here…” etc. There was also a lack of transition scenes, which felt jarring.

At around the 80% mark, the pacing became frantic. There was far too much happening in such a short space of time, and we jumped from scene to scene very quickly with no room to process what was going on. I saw the final twist coming, and it felt very underwhelming. There was also a trope used that I really hate in fantasy books, but a few pages later it became irrelevant. It felt like it was used to create more angst and drama, but it was unnecessary in an already chaotic plot.

Although this book had a lot of promise, it unfortunately wasn’t for me, and I won’t be picking up the next book in this duology. Thank you to NetGalley and Farshore/Electric Monkey for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall a fast paced enjoyable book.

The plot is light so this a good pallet cleanser book. There wasn't enough happening to get me fully hooked into the characters and the world, but I did enjoy it because it was such a fast read for me.

I will continue the series 😊

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In an alternate world, a Fae queen intervenes in the War of the Roses and gets herself crowned Queen of England. Four hundred years later, she's still on the throne, keeping the country as isolated as she can and making Bargains with each subject, trading some part of them for something they want.

Ivy Benton is about to have her Season. After her sister's disastrous Season two years before, everything rests on her making an acceptable match. A brief interaction with the queen's human stepson gives her hope, before the queen announces that her Fae son is ready to take his first wife. It's the solution to all her problems. If she can make it without being killed by the various plots and secrets in the palace.

This is a lush, beautifully imagined story filled with romance, double crossing and secrets. Ivy finds herself stuck in the middle of a lot of the plans going on in the palace, and with little power and fewer options she has to play along and balance them against each other. The worldbuilding was good, although I would have liked a few more details - how did we reach a perfect copy of Regency England without any iron in the country, for example? But I always want to know the 'why' of things, so that probably won't bother most readers.

This is the first of a duology, and it's the kind where literally every plot line is up in the air at the end of this one. We have answers to some things, but it's only led to more questions and more problems. A reader who finishes this one will definitely want to read the second to find out what happens, and to enjoy more of the beautiful language and intriguing characters.


If you enjoyed this read that seamlessly blends high society intrigue with fantastical elements, here are two recommendations:
Book Recommendation: The Selection by Kiera Cass. Much like The Rose Bargain, this series involves a competition for a prince’s heart, with layers of political intrigue and personal stakes. The blend of romance, rivalry, and worldbuilding makes it a perfect pairing.

TV Recommendation: Bridgerton. While it doesn’t involve fae or bargains, this Regency-era drama is packed with romance, societal expectations, and secrets, evoking a similar tone of high-stakes matchmaking and courtly drama. It’s a great fit for fans of Ivy Benton’s story who enjoy lavish settings and complex relationships.

This was such a good read! I wasn't too sure about the Bachelor style storyline since it's been done a lot, but actually this was such a clever twist. Well written with excellent world building and intriguing magic, I was completely thrown by the ending! Definitely one I'll be recommending.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This book is fantastic! Regency settings aren't usually what I go for, but coupled with a fantasy element and I was hooked right from the start. Whilst there were one or two aspects that felt a little rushed overall I loved the story and the ending completely floored me - very excited for the sequel!