Early Review: The Rose Bargain (The Rose Bargain #1)

The Rose Bargain, Book 1 in The Rose Bargain Series by Sasha Peyton Smith

Published By: Electric Monkey
Publication Date: February 13, 2025
Date Read: February 3, 2025
Genre: YA – Fantasy
Source: ARC from Publisher
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400

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The Cruel Prince meets The Selection in this captivating duology opener brimming with heart-pounding romance, vicious competition, and beautiful, cruel fae, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven, Sasha Peyton Smith.

Every citizen of England is granted one bargain from their immortal fae queen.

High society girls are expected to bargain for qualities that will win them suitors: a rare talent for piano in exchange for one’s happiest childhood memory. A perfect smile for one’s ability to taste.

But Ivy Benton’s debut season arrives with a shocking twist: a competition to secure the heart of the Queen’s fae son, Prince Bram. A prize that could save Ivy’s family from ruin… and free her sister from the bargain that destroyed her.

Yet every glittering fae deal has a rotting heart—and at the center of this contest is a dark plot that could destroy everything Ivy knows.

Sweepingly romantic and deceptively enchanting, this alternate history romantasy will enthrall readers of Holly Black, Stephanie Garber, and Adalyn Grace.

“That’s the problem with living forever. You have to witness each new generation act like they invented everything. It gets so tedious.”

The Rose Bargain was a book I was really intrigued by from the moment I first heard about this book. I can’t lie though, I was a little bit apprehensive as well. This book is dubbed as ‘Bridgerton‘ meets ‘The Cruel Prince‘ and while I absolutely love everything Bridgerton, I am not a fan of The Cruel Prince series. It’s one that I have tried multiple times and DNF’d it. However, I am thrilled to report that I loved this book. I don’t really see the Cruel Prince elements throughout this first book, but I do believe this may be something explored more in the next book. This book is such a fun and fast paced read and exactly what I needed at the time.

The Rose Bargain, in my opinion is more like The Selection meets These Hollow Vows… and I was absolutely here for it. I remember reading and loving The Selection back in the early 2010s, the golden age of YA, and so I was absolutely thrilled to feel this sort of storyline in The Rose Bargain. This book is a historical fantasy where a cruel faerie queen has taken over 1840s London and offers all ladies who are making their debut a magical bargain… at a cost. Ivy, is a 18/19 year old who is making her debut and finds herself in a competition to win the hand of the Prince. I really loved the concept and found it so much fun to read.

One thing I loved it the seamless addition of faerie magic into real life history. The book beginning in 1066 where the fae queen arrives and helps to achieve victory at The War of the Roses. Then it flips to many moons later in the 1840s. I really enjoyed how effortless this felt. Not once did I think hmm that’s a bit far fetched and I feel like that is such a great talent to be able to do. I really enjoyed the time period. Every time I read a historical fantasy, I always think ‘I really need to read more historical fantasy books’, as I just really love them.

One thing that is a huge focus in this book is the relationships between characters. My favourite relationships were the platonic ones. I loved the relationship between Ivy and her sister and then later the relationship between Ivy and the other girls vying for the prince’s hand. I personally feel like I felt more invested in their relationships and friendships than I did the romantic ones in this relationship. I know we are supposed to really feel and root for Emmett and Ivy, but personally I felt like we were being told more that they did love each other rather than showing us that development of those feelings. There is a point in the book where Ivy is thinking of how in love she is and I was just like ‘are you though? Really?’ I enjoyed both of these characters but felt more friendship and camaraderie between them rather than anything romantic. Maybe that was done on purpose, I don’t know, but I just felt like the romance element was lacking.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Rose Bargain. It was such a quick, fun read and exactly what I needed after reading a few very intense high fantasy books. I can’t wait to read book 2 and see what is going to happen next. I definitely recommend this one to any fans of fae books. You won’t be disappointed.

“I think it was always going to be you for me.”