Book: The Rose Bargain
Author: Sasha
Peyton Smith
Pages: 400
Date(s)
Read: February 22nd, 2025 to March 13th, 2025
Date
Published: February 4th, 2025
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Fantasy
Characters: 4/5
Writing style: 5/5
Story: 4/5
Ending: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
Format: Hard Cover
Date Bought: February 4th, 2025
Book Cost: 15.99
Review:
The Rose
Bargain is an effervescent storybook fantasy that is a unique amalgamation of a
BBC period piece drama and fae romantasy. What it lacks in detail and depth it
makes up for in whimsy and ambience. It's a fun and twisted fairytale that will
keep you entranced.
The Rose
Bargain takes place in an alternative world where Faerie Queen Moryen became
the queen of England during the War of the Roses in the 1400s. It's now the
1800s and she's been ruling for over 400 years. When girls come of age and make
their debut in society they make bargains with Queen Moryen where she takes for
everything she gives. This year there will be bargains, and something
momentous, her son will take a wife. The Queen holds a contest for her son
Bram's hand in marriage. To restore her family name and honor, Ivy Benton steps
forward as a competitor for the groom. While trying to win the affections of
Bram Ivy finds herself falling for his brother, Emmett.
This story
did a lot of things well. The characters are interesting, you're given snippets
of the other girls points of view and those are quite compelling. I loved the
relationship between the girls competing and found myself more invested in each
girl as time went on. Ivy Benton is a charming heroine you won't have a problem
rooting for.
That all
being said, there are some niggling issues for me that got in the way of this
work being a 5 star read. I found the world building lacking in depth and
dimension, we are told that the queens rule is deplorable and she has to be
toppled, but we're never really given any specific acts of her malfeasance that
make her villain worthy. There was a lack of chemistry between Ivy and Emmett
even though it's a principal part of the story. She's attracted to Emmett, but
I never understood the reasons for the allure that she felt for him. Everything
about the story is superficial, including the world itself. Moryen has been
Queen for over 400 years, but we know nothing of the political system and
societal rules that govern this world. If you are looking for comprehensive
world building you won't find it here. There's also a twist at the end that I
could see a mile away.
Despite The
Rose Bargains' imperfections, I will be coming back for the second part in this
duology to see how the story ultimately transpires because I found that while
the world itself felt a bit hurried, I have more than a cursory interest in
what happens to Ivy and the other girls. If you're looking for fairytale vibes
and preternatural beings, this book will certainly scratch that itch.
No comments:
Post a Comment