A really amazing book in-between. It was light, the character development was well written and also did not felt forced but grew naturally. Also the cover is wonderful. I fell in love.
Really recommended!

I would like to first mention that I am in love with this cover!! The artwork is stunning and that is what first caught my attention and drew me in.

I am a sucker for folktale retellings as well, and I hadn’t ever seen one of King Thrushbeard. There were parts of this story that were hard for me to follow as far as the writing and story telling goes, and though I was annoyed pretty frequently by the FMC in the beginning, it was necessary to be able to see her growth throughout the story. Overall, I loved the angst and banter between the FMC and MMC and this was an enjoyable read!

The writing in this one was easy to read and follow, but unfortunately did not quite capture my attention as I hoped it would. I originally thought based on the cover and synopsis that this was YA. I do read a fair amount of adult and new adult as well, but I find it jarring sometimes with how spicy this got, given how it didn’t feel like it gave off that vibe at all. The tone was a little scattered.

However, I did find the characters really compelling and I want to learn more about them, see their characters grow, etc.

Overall, a decent read that holds a lot of promise for future books.

I would like to thank you for the opportunity to read this book!

I loved the couple and both characters individually. It was great to follow the growth and development that the female character had and see how she became a person with better values ​​than she had at the beginning of the book.

I also really liked the writing and the romance between the characters. It was all quite lovely, although it wasn't an incredible or revolutionary read.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Firstly, the cover is stunning.
This book is a retelling of an old folktale, which I wasn't familiar with before, and I loved discovering it through this story. It has a dreamy, almost lyrical quality that makes it feel like stepping into a legend.

The story follows a bard who makes a dangerous bargain, and I was kind of intrigued because bards are rarely the protagonists in books I read. It’s a tale of love, sacrifice, and the power of stories themselves, woven with a touch of magic and intrigue. The steamy scenes were well done, and the overall journey was worth it.

If you love fairytale retellings with a bit of spice and a lot of heart, The Bard’s Bargain is worth picking up.

I unfortunately decided to DNF this book, I found it really hard for me to get into and connect with the characters. While this one wasn't for me I hope someone else finds that they love it!

The Bard’s Bargain isn’t just a gorgeous cover—it’s a fresh, angsty, and irresistibly romantic read! Alexandra’s growth was compelling, and Tom? Absolutely everything. Their chemistry, paired with political intrigue and found-family vibes, made this book unputdownable. I’m definitely picking up more from this author!

I have this awful habit of proceeding to read every book I start, even if I don't enjoyed it, as I believe each piece should be rated and perceived as a whole. Faithful to that, I have finished "The Bard's Bargain", despite the numerous times I wanted to DNF it.

Perhaps I am just too tired of romances where the FMC is written as a spare, a narrator that has to undergo a drastic change, while MMC is this perfect from the start figure that clearly is meant to enchant a reader, equally like, if not more, than his love interest. Tyram and Alexandra are the perfect example of this cliché. And it was infuriating. Despite their age, she acted like a spoiled five years old, while being exaggerated with every element of her character. At first I've despised her, later on I've pitted her. She was indeed manipulated by everyone around her, and for some reason the author believes that contact with poverty and drastic loss of everything is the perfect solution to any "spoil brat" characteristic. Besides its cliché, it is also extremely desensitised towards those "poorer" characters. I thought we left the idea of "suffering ennobles" deep in the past.

Meanwhile Tyram (or Tom) is a character I cannot understand. On the one hand, he is this perfect love interest, not only for Alexandra, but also supposedly for the reader. He is the one we are meant to admire, he is good-hearted, understanding, handsome, basically the perfect man. On the other hand, he is also a liar, he made a pact with Alexandra's mother and proceed to put FMC through a lot – theoretically, it all was for her "own good", but I'm sorry, at the point when Alexandra gets lice or meets orphans from burned village something breaks in her. And I don't mean this magical change, I mean she starts acting like someone abused. It's extremely weird and uncomfortable, especially because of this patronising tone of "the poor are poor, but they are happy". Such narration could have stayed, but a different tone would make a drastic difference.

There is also a case of so called romance, and something that stroke me was this discord between the writing style and what was happening. Basically, this book follows the trope of forced proximity and reluctance-to-love, yet between the main characters there is lust from the very beginning. I was surprised when somewhere in the first one hundred pages they were almost sleeping with each other, even though few pages earlier they were bragging about how annoying they find each other. It wouldn't be such a problem if the writing style was different; for now, the book is written as it was for someone somewhere between teenagers and young adult. There are little to none clever intrigues or a proper tone when it comes to more serious topics, yet there are few intimate scenes, which did caught me off guard. Why so early? Why write it that way?

I will admit, I am a foul for pretty covers, and here I fall a victim to one. And the more I think about this book, the less mad I am. It's not good, certainly a mile away from what I've expected, but it's far from bad – just needs a little of polish, to make it feel less debut-ish, and more like a proper story. Especially when its topic is meant to cover such serious agenda.

<i>Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!</i>

Don't be fooled; this is not your traditional fantasy romance. This book, above all else, is a fairytale. The tale is a retelling of King Thrushbeard and follows a young, spoiled princess named <b>Alexandra</b>, sent to live with a peasant bard by her mother to learn a lesson of selflessness. But she doesn't know that <b>Tom the bard</b> is actually <b>Tyram</b>, the Steward of a neighbouring faction, and this is more political than just a lesson in humility.

Going into this book, I had zero expectations. But I was pleasantly surprised; I enjoyed it and had a fun time reading it! I binged it in a day, and it was so easy to get through.

At first, it reads like a basic fairytale where the spoiled princess turns humble and finds love with a common bard, but the story is so much more than that. It touches on grief, loss, friendships, family and society, and there's also a political aspect that focuses on the empathy of people of different social classes while in a war.

Definitely wish this was longer and that the political aspects of the plot were more fleshed out!! The book started very fast-paced, and tbh I didn't know where the story was going because the plot was quite scattered and rushed, but at about 15%, it switched up and hooked me in. Also, the end was rushed, and the villains are very much fairytale villains - they pop up now and then, but for the main part, most of the conflict is the character arcs.

Alexandra was such a spoiled brat, and I LOVED to see her humbled, especially by Tom!! Tom is such a cutie - he's kind and funny and everything good. Idk how he put up with pre-lesson Alexandra, though, that required patience 😭😭 I also loved that Alexandra wasn't a basic badass princess but actually someone who had to work and undergo a lesson to become a better person. And though usually in these books the parent(s) are the horrible ones, forcing their kids into arranged marriages, but in this book I AGREED with Alexandra's mother!!! That princess NEEDED to be taken down a notch; the first half made me cringe so bad at her horrible entitlement. I'm glad she had such an organic character growth, though. It was so sweet to see her demeanour change for the better!

Would recommend for fans of whimsical fairytales, with a dash of spice and sweet romance!!

*Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC; the review is my own.*

I almost DNF'd this book a few times, even after the 50% mark. I could not stand Alexandra, for one thing. Ultimately, I'm glad I finished it so I could see how it ended. Would I read it again or continue on with the sequel? Unlikely. Certain things about this book just didn't work for me, but that doesn't mean other readers won't enjoy it more than I did.

Although the overall story was interesting and had promise, I did not particularly like the writing. It started out feeling very much like a middle grade fairy tale retelling. (I had to familiarize myself with King Thrushbeard, as it that was not a story I really knew.) The way it was written was very simple, sometimes a little overdone, but very accessible. But in terms of content, this was not middle grade at all and included several sex scenes and some strong language that have no place in books meant for that age group. I'm not claiming that this book was intended for tweens; in fact, I'm confident it was aimed more at the new adult group. But the disparity between the writing and the content created such a clash that the whole thing just felt awkward.

And I must say that, in terms of story and character, I don't feel like the physical intimacy included truly fit. You have two characters who despise each other. Tom (22) is lying about his identity (Tyram--it's explained early on), frequently feels guilty about it after (somehow) developing feelings for Alexandra (19), and is supposed to be exceptionally honorable. Yet he continues to sleep with her. And Alexandra, knowing that she has no intention of remaining with Tom past the year's end and even sometimes thinking about what she could have had if she had agreed to marry Tyram, does the same. I would have much preferred there to be more yearning and less giving in to physical desires. Perhaps a few kisses. All the rest of it just didn't fit, I'm my opinion, and even felt cringy.

I think the book's last 10-15% was its strongest part. (Though some of that even got really awkward.) I think Alexandra's character growth really showed itself, and some much needed drama broke up the happy little life she and Tom had made for themselves. Usually I don't like it when something gets in the way of the relationship, but in this case, it was necessary in order to get through the lie that they'd been living.

The book is set up for a sequel, but unless the writing has undergone a drastic improvement between this book and the next, I will sit that one out.

Note: Some language, including an f word. Really cringy open-door sex scenes.

Whenever I pick up a book because I love the cover, I’m always hoping that I’ll love the story. Thankfully, not only does The Bard’s Bargain have gorgeous cover art, but the story was fresh, angsty, and romantic as hell! I almost couldn’t put this book down!! I adored watching Alexandra grow and develop as a character, and Tom is everything to me. Their dynamic and chemistry were definitely my favorite parts and the political intrigue mixed in with the wholesome, found family vibes was a perfect mix. I’m definitely going to pick up more from this author and think many people will truly enjoy The Bard’s Bargain!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for sending me a free copy!

This is a retelling of King Thrushbeard and I must say I really enjoyed it! I can see some people being annoyed by our heroine Alexandra but to me I felt like her her progression from spoiled princess to a kinder and more humble lady was really well done and felt very natural. At times the writing was a bit over the top and some of "bad guys" seemed a bit cartoonish, but I think it was just a fun and cozy story. I loved Tom, boy was a saint for putting up with Alexandra in the beginning and I respected his love for his people. I really enjoyed their journey together and adapting to a new way of life.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

There are two categories of books that I tend to enjoy: the technically brilliant and the entertaining, and this book falls into the latter category.

Obviously this won’t be for everyone, but if you’re looking for a feel-good, fun read with some substance, it’s worth checking out. I had such a fun time reading this!

Admittedly, I think the first chapter went through too many rounds of editing—the prose felt stilted and the dialogue felt unnatural—and lacked some of the authenticity that the rest of the story had. The beginning was also a victim of the classic “make the character laughably awful so the character development is more obvious” trope, which I don’t love. I wish the main character’s motivations were given more nuance, or that we got to see more facets of her personality early on.

That being said, I don’t think this book sets out to be anything that it isn’t. The slow burn romance at the heart of it was sweet and perfectly paced, and the overarching themes were well defined. This could have been a less complex story and it still would have worked, but I loved that the author layered conflict and interesting twists to make it more compelling.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book started off really strong for me. I was immediately interested in Alexandra and Tom’s story. Alexandra was a little annoying at first which was the point, but she got so much better as the story went on.

I gave this book 3 stars because although it started really strong for me, I lost interest about half way through because It became sort of repetitive. Also, I’m not one to complain about steamy scenes, but the second half of this book was per dominantly steamy scenes without much plot.

Although this wasn’t necessarily my favorite read, I still enjoyed it enough that I plan on reading the next book in the series.

At first, I thought that Alexandra was right for her anger at her situation, but boy she really needed a reality check. I do think it was rich coming from her mother who was just as steeped in prejudice and had not made any changes that benefited the working class though.

Alexandra, after embarassing herself, the royal family, and all of her suitors at her debut, is forced to become the pretebd wife of a poor Norwen bard in a bargain with her mother to return a year later and become the regent of Lenwen. Unknown to Alexandra, the whole plot was determined by her mother and the Norwen Steward to make Alexandra be a more understanding ruler and later marry into the Norwen royal family. And of course, the poor bard Tom is actually the Steward himself, so a little love between the two surely couldn't hurt.

While living in the village, Alexandra realizes the difficulties of life for those not born to power, and is shocked by the kindness that everyone seems to have even with little wealth themselves.

I thought this was fun, if not slightly predictable, and definitely want to read the second book following the village hedgewitch, Angharad. My man issue is that the reveal of the deception to Alexandra is so late that there is practically no time for her to get over the betrayal before they ultimately reconcile. It was also just way too easy for her to be like "well sure everything is fine now let me hop on that d". Like hun, he lied to you for almost a year. That kind of long-term deception has got to have lasting impact on your ability to trust. But nope, pretty much instantly Alexandra lets it go.

This was surprisingly more adult than I expected, and by that I mean so much sex. No complaints there though.

Anywho! This is a good spoiled princess to poor village girl story where the main character actually learns something about morals and tries to make changes when she returns to her life.

While I did enjoy the book there was parts of it that moved slower and I would lose my interest a bit to the point where I wouldn't read it for days. On the flip side there were also parts that I just couldn't put the book down.

ׂ╰┈➤ ★★★★☆
Wow!! This was perfectly addictive… Cottage-core with hilariously sweet enemies to lovers that are also grumpy (she) x sunshine (him). I NEED more…

・❥・Enemies to Lovers
・❥・Forced Proximity
・❥・Grumpy x Sunshine
・❥・Cottage-Core Setting
・❥・Secret Identities
・❥・He Falls First
・❥・Political Viewpoints

𝐓𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲, 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲…

「 ✦ Princess Alexandra of Lenwen’s attitude is shrewd and has no consideration for others, her only focus is to become regent. However, with the passing of her father, the King, from a brutal form of war weaponry, her brother has taken the crown and hopes of becoming regent is closer than ever. Until her mother, the current Queen Dowager, finds Alexandra’s attitude appalling, especially since she has rejected every suitor at her debut ball, turning down the idea of marriage.

Little did Alexandra know, that with her lack thereof, sparks an idea within the Queen Dowager in order to bring peace to the kingdoms. The idea formed between the Queen and the current Steward of the neighbouring kingdom of Norwen.

Upon hearing the Queens notion to strip Alexandra of her Princess title, she is forced to live in poverty with a bard named Tom, in hopes to change ✦ 」

“𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥.”

“𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵,” 𝘛𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘛𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵. “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦, 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘥. 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭.”

^^ agh my heart… Tom is such a sweetheart.

Very fun read and I am in love with this author now. I need to have more of her adventure and romance. It was already given to us the other characters for the next book, and I can’t wait to read it!! A hedge-witch and selfish lord who cares for nothing but power and money?! Sign me up 🤣

Besides the adventure and steamy moments, there were a few things that I did not like which I guess made up for it when it got closer to the ending. Firstly, it was Alexandra’s character. She was such a whiny baby and she cried so much I hated it. But there was so much growth, I’m so glad she didn’t go back to her old ways!!

Secondly, tho I loveddd the spice, there were a few things that were a touch unsanitary 🤣 like bruh they f-ked in the woods near a stream, but there was no info given whether they had washed after doing the deed 😅 I mean I get that it’s set in a specific time, but surely they’d think about washing right!!

Lastly!! There could’ve been a little more pages to explain whether or not they had found Bess and her sibling’s parents. Cause like what happened to them after!! And the people of the town they stayed in!?

But thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this title. Without coming across it, I never would’ve found something to love. I hope to see more from this author too!

The Bard’s Bargain is a really fun retelling of King Thrushbeard. It follows princess Alexandra, who is forced to live as a commoner with Tom, a bard who is not quite what he seems. It was nice seeing Alexandra grow from self-absorbed to self-aware and her chemistry and romance with Tom was great.

The story’s fairy-tale vibe was charming and fun. I will be reading the sequel if it comes out.

If you love lighthearted romantasy with some personal growth, this book is for you.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book!

The cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous!

Overall, my reading experience was pretty enjoyable. I almost always enjoy romantasy books. I liked the development of Alexandra and Tom’s relationship. However, I wish the book was a bit longer. I would’ve liked the conclusion to be further drawn out.

I think this book would be good for lovers of fantasy, retellings, and spice!