The Rose Bargain

By: Sasha Peyton Smith

Narrated by: Emily Mount, Shiromi Arserio, James Meunier

Vying for the hand of one brother.

Falling in love with the other.

A new Victorian-inspired romantasy, perfect for fans of Bridgerton, The Selection, and The Cruel Prince.

“If you’re looking for the next YA sensation, here it is.” —Adalyn Grace, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Belladonna

London, 1848—For four hundred years, England has been under the control of an immortal fae queen who tricked her way onto the throne. To maintain an illusion of benevolence, Queen Mor grants each of her subjects one opportunity to bargain for their deepest desire.

As Ivy Benton prepares to make her debut, she knows that not even a deal with the queen could fix what has gone wrong: Her family’s social standing is in shambles, her sister is a shadow of her former self, and Ivy’s marriage prospects are nonexistent. So when the queen announces a competition for Prince Bram’s hand, Ivy is the first to sign her name in blood. What a bargain can’t fix, a crown certainly could.

Ivy soon finds herself a surprising front-runner—with the help of an unexpected ally: Prince Bram’s brother, the rakish Prince Emmett, who promises to help Ivy win his brother’s heart…for a price. But as the season sweeps Ivy away, with glittering balls veiling the queen’s increasingly vicious trials, Ivy realizes there’s more at stake than just a wedding. Because all faerie bargains come with a cost, and Ivy may have discovered hers too late.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven comes a tale that will leave listeners eager to bargain for a sequel.

©2025 Sasha Peyton Smith (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers

The most Yearning I’ve felt in ages.

This was nearly a 6/5⭐️ read for me- I loved it that much! The writing style was delicious to devour and encapsulated so much of what I love in a “Fantasy of Manners” book. There was a love triangle with two very charming suitors, and a devilish fae queen prompting evil obstacles for our FMC. All of the characters were so wonderfully layered with complex relationships among themselves where love and hate intermingle.

I did think that one twist was out of character & created some plot holes, but it didn’t undo the chokehold this book had on me.

The narrators were perfectly cast and lent such truth to the characters portrayed.

There was mystery and intrigue, but best of all, the YEARNING was outstanding!! I was genuinely moved to tears more than once, aching for these characters I now love to get what they want most.

🔥- There is one open-door scene in this book. That may be of interest for other readers to know, since this is marketed as YA. I don’t consider this a spoiler, since it may be real or a dream sequence, and I’m not telling which.

Surprises at every turn!

I enjoyed this story immensely. Barnes and Noble described it as a cross between Holly Black's Cruel Prince and Netflix adaptation of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton and it did not disappoint.

Great plot! I couldn’t put it down

Great read!!! If you like the selection series with a touch more magic you will love this

the bachelor but make it fae

wild and entertaining very cruel prince vibes the cliffhanger will make u want the next book asap

Breakneck twists and turns

This is one of my favorite books I’ve heard in over two years!! Can’t wait for the next

People weren’t lying when they said it was a cross between Cruel Prince and Bridgerton

This was my first time reading from this author and I loved it. I can’t wait for the next book. Overall.

I will say, that it takes a little while to get hooked in- roughly around ch 10 for me. But it goes by so quickly. It’s engaging and it’s pretty well written while building wise. The time spent went fast!

The only ‘critiques’ I kinda have are more audio related— when you go into different PoVs with the girls, other narrator, I believe, they sounded more like a robot. And Ivy’s narrator sounded grate- but can still put you to sleep.

Other than those things: you’ll love it. They weren’t lying when they say it’s a cross between the Cruel Prince and Brighton. (Maybe even the selection but I haven’t read that series to confirm, just the premise).

Bridgeton with Fae

Loved it! Only mild spice. Good characters. Can’t wait for the next one. The performance was great. Appropriate for teens and adults.

Perfection

This got me out of my reading slump. I loved everything about this… jaw to the floor!!

Ughh why isn’t the second book out yet!!

Really good! One of those books that keeps you locked in! Wish the second book was already out.

Watch Out Jude, Feyre, and Katniss, there’s a new heroine in town and her name is Ivy Benton!

What an absolute delight of a well-told and well-paced story!

Things I Loved:

🌹The “Then” Beginning: How badass is Sasha to just remove hundreds of years of very bloody, very intriguing history?! Poof!! Gone!!😅 Move over Platagenets and Tudors! There’s a new Queen in England…and she’s immortal!👸🏻🧚🏻‍♀️

🌹The Romance: the dislike-to-allies-to lovers, the yearning, the triangle, the fabulous use of the “Only One Bed” trope!☺️

🌹The Sibling Bond: Explored with such depth; the love and the not so lovely emotional damage that only a sibling can wrought.😢

🌹The Girls: What an interesting “Found Family”! I cannot wait to see how these relationships continue to develop in the sequel.🫠

🌹The “Tests”: Hunger Games level of intensity!😰

🌹The POV’s: All the girls and Emmett get their own chapters and I loved how they were expertly woven into the story!👌🏻

🌹The Time Period: Such an interesting premise of The Cruel Prince meets The Bachelor meets Bridgerton!🏰

All in all, just a gem of a twisty, intriguing, romantic story and I will be anxiously awaiting the sequel!🤗

🎧The audiobook is expertly performed by Emily Mount and two other narrators and I highly recommend it as well!

🎶Also, if you like playlists, you can find the author’s Spotify playlists for Ivy, Emmett, and Faith. I love how the musical choices help to continue to flesh out these characters.🫶🏻