The Bard’s Bargain is going to be a love or hate book for some readers. For me, it ticked all my favourite trope boxes, delivered strong character development, transformed a very unlikable character in incredible ways, and gave me a proper to-enemies-to-lover vibe with visceral hate and animosity dripping off the pages. The writing is gorgeously descriptive, bringing to life intriguing world-building in this fantasy realm, with high-stake plot twists, creative light and touching moments, and a dual POV for the main characters, Alexandra and Tyram/Tom, giving added depth to the conflict from both sides of the divide of war. These features kept me reading from the lulls in the pacing, which had a lot of chop and change throughout the narrative and could be a little repetitive in the push-and-pull parts of the storytelling.

The characters are complex, rich, and varied from across all walks of life of the two central kingdoms at the heart of the plot, making them feel like flesh and blood people. I loved the character arc growth for Alexandra, whose transformation is very visual in the plot. She grows from an unlikable character who is petulant and arrogant, and she does only the minimum of her duties for an easy life while being passed over to her brother, heir to the throne. Her journey with Tyram allows her to reach for the untapped potential for kindness, empathy, and compassion she lacked at the start.

Opening doors for her feelings to grow for Tyram, sparked by the little sweet moments they share in their simple village life full of cozy, warm fuzzies feels of falling in love. Through the secrets and lies being outed, Tyram and Alexandra have a lot to work through in their relationship (lots of groveling) for the sake of their love and to secure a peaceful resolution to the war-ravaged between their countries being stoked by enemies seeking to profit from their nations being at war with each other.

An enjoyable reimagined romantasy with a warm, whimsical feel, full of wonderful character development, and a perfect enemy-to-lovers plot uniting two hearts from different sides of a war with sizzling chemistry. If you love a good reimagining or retelling of a fairytale with a cozy feel, high-stakes plot, and real enemies-to-lovers like the ones you can find in the Crimson Moth, Divine Rivals, and The Hurricane Wars, The Bard’s Bargain might be a book to charm you.

as a retelling of a classic fairy tale (king thrushbeard), i thought this did a great job of keeping to what a fairy tale does (teach morals) while adding something new 💫🤍

overall, it was good to see alexandra develop into a self-aware person but she was very hard to connect with. tom had more patience than myself so good on him. the smut threw me, it just feel at odds with the otherwise whimsical/ya tone of the story. the ending also felt a bit rushed but i think that will get remedied in the next installment!

i had a good time reading it: the character development of the main characters was well-written, i love fairy tale retellings, and the set up for book 2 was interesting (love my girl angharad) 🕯️🖤

thank you netgalley for the e-arc!

This was a fun fairytale read! It was low stakes and would recommend if you are looking for a quick read!
From the very beginning, I found myself rooting for Alexandra, even though she could come across as a brat I thought her reasonings made up for it. I thought she had great character growth! The chemistry between her and Tom was fantastic, and the slow burn and spice was good!
That said, my biggest issue with the book was how quickly everything wrapped up toward the end, everything happened so rapidly that it felt a bit rushed and predictable.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read, and I’m intrigued by the potential of the sequel. The epilogue sets up future developments nicely, and I’m excited to see where Alexandra and Tom’s story goes next.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher Joan Anderson, and Vanessa Green for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun fantasy romance book and an exciting start to a series! I thought the author did a really great job with character arcs and development. The OC in particular goes through a really interesting character development arc that I’m excited to follow through the rest of the series.

a most unlikely redemption by way of a bards bargain

A War-Torn Kingdom. A life of splendor and privilege came to an abrupt end for a princess who fell from grace. The prince of a rival kingdom is due to ascend his throne. One chooses to live among their humble people, the other forced by the bargain of a bard. Will their hearts survive the year?

| fantasy romance | time piece | redemption | hidden identity | quest | slow burn | netgalley | loss of parent | indie author | humbling | prophecy | rival kingdoms | riches to rags | to fate of the kingdom | the bargain | witches | peasants | war | fueding |

We all know and love the classic tale of Cinderella. A meek girl destined to become a queen. From humble beginnings, her heart was soft and kind. Would Cinderella have been so kind if she had grown up in a life of privilege and splendor? Would she know what it was like to be a peasant? Could she govern a kingdom with that same kindness, humility, and understanding?

This story is about a princess who has fallen from grace. Her vanity, self-righteousness, and lack of tact led to her sudden change of station. In the pursuit of upholding her father's legacy, her overwhelming and entitled desire for power set in motion a path meant to redeem her. Can living amongst the people she is meant to protect help her understand her true duty to her kingdom? Tom the bard sure hopes so.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Bard's Bargain by Vanessa Green. I enjoyed the humor, the writing, the language, and the overall development. The story was a fresh take on a somewhat classic tale however instead of rags to riches, we had riches to rags.

I did not know what to expect when I began this story, but it did not disappoint. I will absolutely be reading more from Vanessa.

Happy Reading, Friends xx

Thank you to Vanessa Green and NetGalley for access to this title in exchange for an honest review.

First, kudos to Vanessa Green. It looks like this book is pretty successful for an Indie published book. Indie authors are truly amazing, and I was so happy to have the privilege to read and review this title. This author is clearly very talented. Her prose left no crumbs. However, I almost died of boredom the first quarter of the book. Girlies, I totally understand the need to set the stage. I think there are more effective (quicker) ways to present our MCs as spoiled rich kids. This portion of the book could have benefited from an intense edit to get to the story faster. Hang in there though, because if you make it through the trenches there is a very special treat waiting for you. The remainder of the book is very demure, very mindful. Very as you wish, Buttercup.

I docked the stars, primarily for the early portion of the book. I would still recommend this one based on how hard the remainder of the book ATE. But, genuinely, did this book have the same cover artist as Alison Saft’s A Far Wilder Magic? I am not doing any due diligence research into this or making any accusations, I am just noting those covers are very, very similar in my opinion.

I think this is a good book to read in between dense or more challenging books. On its own, it's a decent story. The strongest thing it has going for it, in my opinion, is the FMC's character development from a selfish, self-centered, casually cruel, spoilt brat, to someone who manages to care about people. That kind of change is always fun to see play out. The way that it happened, with the scheme, felt a little melodramatic, but overall it was fine. The writing style also makes the book very easy to get through.

The story is nothing new, so if you've read a similar story before where an unlikable, privileged character changes when put in the place of the people they look down on and with the help of a counterpart character who challenges them to make them better, then you know how this will go. The beats it follows are very expected. That predictability doesn't make it a bad book, it just makes it an average one.

Also, I want to say I hated the spice. It felt very out of place and I don't think it was at all necessary for the relationship development. Moreover, this has an epilogue that makes it seem like the story will continue in a sequel or something, and that also feels unnecessary. It should've stayed as a standalone and I don't think there's anything here to expand on at all. I certainly wouldn't be interested in continuing, so this is a standalone to me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.
The first thing that caught my eye was the cover, it’s simply gorgeous and captures the vibe of the book quite well.
Unfortunately I did not connect with the main female character. I’m not a fan of insufferable characters and the slow burn was honestly killing me.

3.5⭐️

I really enjoyed this fantasy romance! It’s a light fantasy with no stressful elements. It’s definitely a nice palette cleanser! The writing style was really good as well.

It follows Alexandra, a spoiled princess, and Tyram, the steward of Norwen. Without giving spoilers, I would classify their story as an enemies to lovers and a low burn.

There were times when I was bored and pulled from the story. Not based on writing or characters but based on the slow pacing. As I said before, this is a very light fantasy, and there were times when that really showed. Especially when you’re used to fast paced, action packed fantasy.

I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Vanessa Green for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK: THE BARD'S BARGAIN

AUTHOR: VANESSA GREEN

PUB DATE: NOVEMBER 2024

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REVIEW

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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I've not really read a book like this, a book about a princess slumming it as she deserved. It's actually surprising to me that I didn't notice Alexandra's bad, haughty behavior until she left the palace. I feel like her parents were to be blamed for the flaws in her behavior. She was taught and brought up to be a princess to protect the throne, not the people. The only thing she knew about the people were numbers and data on paper. It was really nice watching her get humbled.

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I liked Tom/Tyram from the beginning of the book. He had my heart because he was a pacifist and he was actively trying to put a stop to the wars between their countries. In addition to this, I enjoyed how he effortlessly fit in with the peasants and how he played a bard. I really liked him because he was my kind of royalty plus he was the perfect person to deal with Alexandra and her tantrums.

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While reading the book, I read how Alexandra changed from a war monger to a pacifist. I liked how realistic the author portrayed her situation. It was hard at first for her and she was obnoxious about it, but she changed especially after spending time at Little Snail Village. At the end, I was really glad of progress. I'm sure she would make a good leader.

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Alexandra and Tom's relationship was really nice  but often overshadowed by Tom's deceit. But, I didn't really mind it. But, both of them fell on love with each other with no burden associated with their countries. It was really nice to read.

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At the end of the day, Alexandra went back to her country and made the decision to end the wars plaguing her country. I really liked to see how she changed and rose to the challenges of leadership. Unfortunately, I wanted more of this, but I didn't get it. In addition to this, I was quite disappointed by the epilogue. I wanted to read more about the after of Alexandra and Tom, they got their HEA, but it was not enough for me.

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For the record, my least favorite character was Bryan, Alexandra's brother. He never rose to the challenges throne. And I feel there's still more to the situation at Norwen and lenwen and I would definitely read the next book.  You should too!

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I really enjoyed this one even though it definitely felt like books I've read previously. I thought the characters were interesting as well as the plot.

The Bard's Bargain shows massive character development in both the main characters, but especially in the FMC. It really puts into perspective the lower class vs upper class during the time period it was setting, although it is fictional. The FMC is truly intolerable at the beginning of the book. She is selfish, spoiled, and unafraid of consequences. The MMC only wants peace. How far will he go to get there though? This is a slow burn love story & I enjoyed it very much! Thank you NetGalley & Vanessa Green for the advanced copy.

DNF. I honestly can’t keep going. The FMC is so deeply irritating and insufferable. I understand that there’s supposed to be a huge character growth throughout the story, but right know I don’t feel like I can keep reading about someone without an ounce of empathy and concern for other people. I might give this book a chance another time, but for now it’s just not for me.

⭐️⭐️.5
Rounded up to 3 stars.

This book was a really easy read and had a lot of great qualities about it however it was also lacking some key things that I hope for in my fantasy reads.

Some of the main strengths that I really enjoyed was the obvious character development from out FMC Alexandra. Alexandra starts off being very difficult to like. I empathize a lot with her trauma and her grief but her attitude and her arrogance makes her a very unlikeable person. This is written well because I felt my skin crawl at a lot of her decisions. Throughout the book she is forced into hardship and it changes her for the better. By the end of the book she is a humble and likeable character and I really enjoy character growth like this.

Our MMC Tom/Tyram was also quite likeable throughout the entire book. He was even tempered and understanding. He was much nicer than I would have been given the circumstances and I really appreciated a "softer" man like this one. My main concern with him would be how he is seemingly okay with uninformed sexual consent. I will touch on this in a moment.

The things that this book could have improved in my opinion have to do with the kind of writing mixed with the level of spice. Before there were sexually explicit scenes I would have made the assumption that this was written for younger YA readers. When we got the first spicy scenes it was very clear that this wouldn't be appropriate for younger YA readers so there is a bit of a juxtaposition between the simplicity of the writing and the nature of the love scenes. For me this contrast was a bit too stark and it didn't mesh well for my reading experience. The only other real criticism I have is more so a personal preference as I have seen this trope in other books and that is uniformed consent. I don't love when a character chooses to consent to sexual acts with another character when they don't have valuable and important information. If they wouldn't say yes with all the information it seems a bit icky to me. I have given this feedback with *almost* all uninformed consent I have read in books.

Overall this read was uncomplicated and easy. It is a good book to look to if you want to read for vibes and not think too deeply on world building or complicated politics. A good entry level NA book if you are looking for YA style prose with spice. For me it didn't really hit the mark so that is where my star rating comes in!

Unfortunately, I really did not like this book.

The beginning did have some positives: the princess was flawed but likable, and I especially appreciated that the two main leads were not instantly attracted to each other the first time they met.

However, it quickly devolved and was a drag to get through. The plot is a little nonsensical - not enough effort was put into believable politics/war/government structure (why even have a king/steward if he's just going to pretend to be poor and assign a regent? BOTH countries did this!?), let alone individual character motivations. Dialogue was awkward. There were a lot of boring chapters spent on things like washing dishes and pickling vegetables and then it rushed through a kidnapping in just a few pages.

Some of it was ridiculous enough to be funny, but overall this did not work for me at all.

I really enjoyed The Bard's Bargain, not only because it’s a retelling of my favorite fairytale, but because it’s such a well-done retelling that truly captures that cozy, magical atmosphere. The character development felt natural, especially with the main character, who is intentionally unlikeable at first—it was a pleasure to watch her journey and growth. I only wish Tom had been more in focus as well, as we learn much more about Alexandra than about him.
The two main issues I had were with the pacing, which at times dragged and at other moments felt rushed, particularly toward the end. Additionally, the writing style leaned more YA than NA, which made the spicy scenes feel somewhat out of place. But that doesn't stop me looking foward to the second book.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was such a delicious read, it feels just like a cozy fairy tale but has everything else you want too!

Incredible descriptive writing, complex characters with realistic flaws, character development, slooooooowwww burn, forced proximity, one bed trope, a little spice sprinkled in, secret identity, found family, court intrigue, abuction etc.

While I found the start of the book a little slow it lays the foundations of the story so well.

Alexandra is a petulant, self centred princess fueled by selfish ambition- unwittingly she sabotages herself and is forced to face the consequences of her actions... who arrive in the form of a handsome, witty and talented bard.
Tom/Tyram quickly lands himself on my list of dreamy book boyfriends. He's humble, benevolent and charming. The two are very much at odds but despite their unlikely pairing, their forced proximity allows a mutual respect and passionate love story to develop.

There are little twists and turns throughout that push them apart and pull them back together. The tension is unreal and I found myself mentally screaming "just kiss already!!!". The supporting characters feel like old friends and following the journey that the Bard's Bargain takes you on is an absolute pleasure.

An easy 4.5 stars for me 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Thankyou @netgalley and @vanessagreenauthor for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own and based entirely on my reading experience.⚘️

I thoroughly enjoyed <i> The Bard's Bargain </i>. It's fairytale-esque, whimsy, and a light and cozy read. The character growth was realistic and much appreciated (the FMC was a bit insufferable in the beginning) and the story itself is so magical. It's a great read for in between longer books.
It did read a bit YA but had some spicy scenes so that bit was bit... *off putting* but overall, a great read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review :))

3⭐
I must say I was a little disappointed with this book.

But let's get to my pros and cons:
PROS:
👍 slow burn -and I mean BURN - it was really great although sometimes it was just too convenient for my taste
👍 Tyram - in the beginning I thought I'd never like him but he definitely grows on you - thank god for dual POVs
👍 found family - if you like this trope this book for sure will be up your alley
👍 FMC development was one of the best in recent books I read - it gave me some Nesta from ACOTAR vibes sometimes

CONS
👎 pacing - it was really jumpy for me, some things were really dragging and then BoOM and then dragging again - it almost made me DNF it
👎 Alexandra - I just didn't like her. I loathed her in the beginning then she had some ups but still I just couldn't make myself to like her
👎 Ending was rushed and chopped and it made the plot flat

Overall it was a fun read but I definitely won't remember anything about it in a few weeks

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

The Bard’s Bargain is a retelling of King Thrushbeard, the Brothers Grimm fairytale, and the author kept the message of the fable close to the book’s heart while weaving a tender, heartfelt romance. The FMC, Alexandra, has been left alone with her grief since the death of her beloved father, and she wears her spoiled princess persona like armour to keep people at arm’s length. All she wants is to be named her brother’s regent and wear the crown, and she truly believes that she’s the best person for the job, despite her mother’s protestations. She rightfully points out that Alexandra is prideful, selfish, and knows nothing about the kingdom’s subjects - and worse, she doesn’t even care to try and empathise with them.

Alexandra is not a likeable character at the beginning of this novel, but she is a sympathetic one. The reader can tell that underneath her snooty exterior, she is desperately lonely and just wants someone to see and accept her for who she is, instead of her title. She lashes out at everyone around her, and as a last ditch attempt to give her daughter some perspective, the Queen makes a bargain with Tyram (a.ka. Tom the Bard), the newly-appointed Steward of their enemy kingdom.

During the following months that Tom and Alexandra spend together, we see her heart soften, and the once haughty, uncaring princess becomes kind, warm, helpful, and even happy. She makes friends with people in the village, who actually do appreciate her for who she is (even when she treats them rather disrespectfully at first) regardless of her being dressed in rags, without the jewels or pomp she’s used to presenting herself with. The romance between the two main characters was definitely a slow burn, with both of them questioning their feelings and trying to push them away - Tom because he’s lying to Alexandra, and Alexandra because living in a hut in poverty doesn’t align with her goals, and, anyway, she’ll be going back to her normal life at the end of the year. Despite their obstacles, there are lots of sweet moments where we see how their feelings progress and how deeply they come to understand, respect, and love each other. The spicy scenes sprinkled throughout were very romantic and realistically written, and I liked that they were fairly spaced out instead of having to skim through one every other page.

My one criticism is that I wish that Tom’s character was more developed. I finished the book feeling like I barely knew him any better than when I first started reading, and the only real details divulged were things that he had in common with Alexandra. Because her character was so well fleshed-out and her development was so apparent, Tom fell to the wayside slightly.

This book is perfect for those who love fantasy romance with complex relationships, couples who bring out the best in each other, and just a dusting of political intrigue. I’ve been thinking about this book since I finished it, and I’m looking forward to picking up the sequel! 4/5