Fans of The Selection, The Cruel Prince, and Powerless you’ll eat this up.

The book has so many plot twists within its pages. It also is full of so many cliche and roll your eyes moments. I really struggled reading this one. It was advertised as The Selection meets The Cruel Prince. Which are two of my favorite trilogies ever. I was fully prepared to devour this book in one sitting. The last 5 chapters saved this rating. I never expected that plot twist and I’m not kidding when I said I screamed “what” while reading. If you love dating shows like The Bachelor, if you love girly things, if you’re a fan of Stephanie Garber’s style of writing think whimsical/enchanting, and don’t mind love triangles this is for you. I am looking forward to the second book in this series.

The Rose Bargain is a young adult historical fantasy about a group of young women vying for the hand of a fae prince.

Ivy Benton has spent her entire life in the shadow of her seemingly perfect older sister, but now it’s her turn to debut to the Queen of England and London society. However, the throne is occupied by a fae queen who tricked her way into power hundreds of years earlier, making this debut unlike any other. The young women must strike dangerous fairy bargains and compete for the hand of the queen’s son, Prince Bram. Over the coming weeks, the six contestants will find themselves entangled in twisted games meant to amuse the queen—while Ivy fights her growing feelings for the prince’s stepbrother, Emmett.

This is an exciting novel that explores the dark side of the fae, filled with court drama, forbidden romance, and plenty of double-crosses. I enjoyed reading it and look forward to the next installment.

Our main character Ivy has been through it. Her sister went missing and ruined her chances of securing a strong marriage or being accepted in society where a girl’s match is all she is worth. In this London, the Queen is one of the Folk, and the fae love to make a bargain. When her sister returns, her family prospects are still in irreparable dire straights. So when the Queen offers a challenge for this year’s society girls, Ivy feels she has nothing to lose.

I liked Ivy as a character, I do feel like she painted with broad strokes, her personality is a little hard to pin down that being said.

The pacing for TRB is very fast. It’s not hard to keep up or exceptionally complex, though don’t let the pretty cover fool you; there are darker layers. I actually wish the pacing was maybe a hair slower just to allow for each even to breathe a little more, but it does make it an easy read as a trade off. If you don’t squint at it too hard and enjoy it for what it is. I couldn’t help myself, I did have to squint on occasion. For example, why does Ivy hate the Queen? Before the competition starts, I have no idea why Ivy would hate the Queen. Especially enough to try and ***spoiler*** take the crown? After the trials I get it, but before? Not so much.

Emmett is introduced early on, and he’s your typical Lothario and ruiner of women by reputation. He has no reason to trust Ivy but he does instantly which I didn’t love. I understand once again this is very, very fast paced, and you have to bring these characters together. I just didn’t love that part.


TLDR;
Fast paced and enjoyable, just try not to look for plot conveniences.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins children for the ARC in enjoy for a review!

The Rose Bargain is a spellbinding blend of high society 1848 London, faerie bargains, and a forbidden love so achingly romantic it will leave you breathless. Sasha Peyton Smith delivers a lush, atmospheric fantasy filled with intrigue, danger, and longing that cuts deep—especially when stolen glances across a crowded ballroom speak louder than words.

Ivy Benton is a heroine to root for—clever, determined, and fiercely loyal to the people she loves. Her journey through the fae queen’s treacherous courtship competition is layered with tension, as every bargain comes with a devastating cost. And at the heart of it all? A romance built on whispered promises, unspoken feelings, and kissing for practice that is anything but pretend. The just one bed moment? Utter perfection.

But what truly sets this book apart is its female friendships—strong, complex, and deeply moving. Ivy’s bonds with the women around her are just as important as the romance, making the stakes feel even higher. With glittering ballrooms hiding deadly secrets and a fae prince who is both alluring and dangerous, The Rose Bargain is an irresistible mix of dark magic and decadent longing.

For fans of The Cruel Prince and Bridgerton with a wicked fae twist—this book is pure enchantment.

I really loved this!! I haven’t read anything by this author before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But it was great! Definitely had a lot of things that I loved. I’m going to buy a special edition with sprayed edges because the book was great and it’s so pretty! Excited to see more from this author in the future.

This is a fantastic YA historical fantasy romance! Fans of The Selection and The Cruel Prince will love this. While I can sometimes find historical books slow and boring, this book has some great twists and exciting moments that kept me engaged the entire time. The characters are well developed and interesting. The ending is mind-blowing and will make you want the next book asap. Highly recommend.

Wow, I loved this. The Cruel Prince meets The Selection is right. If you like YA fantasy, regency era England, faerie bargains, magical contests, secrets and mystery, court politics, and pining, this is the book for you. I was sucked in from the start.

I was truly surprised multiple times, and the banter was so well written. I also just really loved the format of the book with slow reveals of character backstories as the story unfolded. That ending was wild. I am going to be dying waiting for the next book to come out.

Thank you so much to the author and HarperCollins for the ARC opportunity!!

I really enjoyed this! The setting for this was a magical, alternate history 1800s and so much fun!

The Bachelor-esque competition à la the Selection series is a fairly common plot device these days, but I did enjoy how it worked here in context of the alternate history setting and all the bargains.

The romance parts weren't my most favorite, mostly due to limited development- I'm hoping there will be more development in future books.

It did feel like there were 3 different endings though...

Overall a very fun read though! Eagerly awaiting the next book! Excited to see what direction the story goes.

Good. Grief. I'm being honest when I say that I love everything to do with faeries. I'm intrigued by the magic and the ruthlessness of the court. And then I see this upcoming release endorsed by one of my favorite authors, so naturally I had to shoot my shot and request an ARC.

The Rose Bargain is set in 188os England, but not the England that we're all used to. England is ruled by a fae queen who allows her subjects one bargain, at a cost of course. It is Ivy's turn to enter society, only this year there's a twist. This year there will be a competition to win the hand of the prince. Ivy suddenly sees a way to help out her family and jumps at the chance, not knowing what she was about to face.

I am a slow reader, but this book had me so hooked that I read it much more quickly than I usually do. I was hooked from the beginning. I loved the character development with Ivy and the other women competing to marry Bram. The chapters are mostly narrated by Ivy's, but I loved that there were chapter interspersed by the voices of the other characters. It gave the story a lot more depth. The build to romance was done very well and did not overshadow the story. To date, this stands proudly as one of my favorite books I have ever read. I was left reeling by the twists at the end and can't wait for the next book!

This was an incredible YA romantasy. The premise had me so excited. Marriage competition & trials? The fae? Forbidden romance? Bridgerton vibes? Heck yes! I really enjoyed this one.

First and foremost, this is not a stand-alone. I'm saying that off the bat because I often look for reviews before starting a book for this exact reason, and no one ever says it. So here you go. This ends on a cliffhanger (and although not ridiculously panful, I am supremely upset I have to wait a year for the next one).

Not entirely sure how I feel about this book, but I'm still thinking about it a week after finishing, so I think that's a good sign. Thank you NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in return for an honest review.

It took me awhile to start the book, but once I got into it, I read it pretty quickly. I enjoyed the story and plot. The concept was fun and, although I never actually read the classic YA The Selection, I somehow think it probably had a pretty similar concept. The whole thing about a prince of Faerie finding a mate is classic, but the way the author made this very specific to her world and the trials and drama that come with it.. loved! The main character is endearing and I love her gentle yet resilient personality. I loved how she was comfortable fighting back but also pretty reserved and timid(?). The drama and sort of love triangle reminded me a bit of Once Upon A Broken Heart and it hit all the YA demands I had for this type of soft romantasy. I loved the push-pull relationship between the candidates and how we got a chapter for each character to learn a bit more about them! The romance was really satisfying and hit everything I wanted it to. The forbidden love and hidden moments of longing.. here for it!

I would have preferred for this to be a stand-alone, but the ending had me all tied up in knots and ugh, I am sooo impatient for the next book! If you like Stephanie Garber, I think this is the type of YA romantasy for you. Will definitely reread again when I need this particular romance vibe.

THOUGHTS

I liked this book so much more than I thought I would! My expectations weren't all that high, since it sounds, on the surface, like so many other books that have flooded the market recently. Books written to trend don't usually impress me. But the writing here grabbed me from page one. This book comes with more bite than a lot of the fae books on the market, and I loved that. Beware if you can't stomach a little bit of gore, but I found it a refreshing installment in 2020s fae fantasy.


PROS
Tantalizing: I found the writing in this book utterly absorbing from the first page. It's almost like a forbidden fruit, looking to suck you into the world and not let you go (even though you've got to work and really can't spend the rest of the day reading). It's been a long time since I was so immediately absorbed in a book!

Fiendishly Fae: A lot of the "fae" on the contemporary market just don't live up to their folkloric predecessors. Traditional fae are more than just beautiful people who are superior to regular old people (*cough cough*). And this book definitely takes inspiration from more, well, traditional lore. This fairy Queen isn't afraid to ask bloody prices when granting the bargain-seekers' desires. She isn't afraid to ruin lives. She takes some perverse delight in it even. She's also just bored (immortality and all that). So the competition these human girls find themselves in to win the fae prince's hand is cruel. It's wicked. It comes with a traditional-fairy-tale bite to it. And I liked that a lot.

Bad Bargains: You know what I liked best of all? All of the girls vying for the prince's hand are desperate. They're selfish and sometimes mean but really just desperate to escape the rigid expectations of their regency-style lives. And I appreciate that. I appreciate that they're not just a group of sweet and sappy love interests (with the exception of a main character who is, by contrast, Not Like Other Girls). And I appreciate that they're not all cruel and cunning for the sake of being cruel and cunning. They're desperate girls making cruel and selfish bargains to give themselves whatever leg up in life they can achieve, and that feels fresh and different in a YA marriage competition book.


CONS
Mature Audiences: YA should be a safe space for kids moving up from Middle Grade books or for older audiences who are just looking to relax and unwind. So it must be said that this book... isn't a safe space. It's not fade-to-black. In fact, it's very on-the-page, and while it isn't excessive, it does bear warning that this book isn't a closed-door romance like one might expect in a market meant for minors. All of these girls are... experienced. And some of that experience makes it onto the page.

Regency Trappings: Hey, it's escapism. I get that. And as I've said, the writing is engaging enough to really forgive a lot. But, on a technical level, I was left wondering. Because this fae Queen took over England centuries ago, so the weird pseudo-Regency that this book presents doesn't seem likely. Are you really saying that England would more or less develop in exactly the same way to create a Regency aesthetic? Because I don't buy that at all. And the not-so-Regency parts of this book didn't feel like intentional nods to an alternate history but like mistakes (like, you know, an author wanted to write "Regency" without researching Regency... or with only knowing Regency from romance novels, not reality). Was this a major detractor? No. But if you're wanting a well-crafted alternate history fantasy, this book isn't the right fit.

Chemistry??: I didn't buy the romance between Ivy and her prince(s). And that's kind of disappointing. Don't get me wrong. I could see how they could have jived. I could see the potential. I just didn't get enough of that on the page. It didn't feel like there was enough build-up in this romance for it to really make sense to me, not with a character as otherwise motivated as Ivy, and that was a shame. I wanted more from this romance than I got, but it is what it is.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
8/10

Fans of Keira Cass's The Selection will love this new group of cunning competitors. Those who liked Graham Joyce's Some Kind of Fairy Tale will like these fae royals who pull no punches.

Totally immerse fantasy!! I loved the Bridgerton/ historical fiction vibe mixed with the dark fantasy. The twists were fun and I didn't predict the ending!! I'll look forward to reading book two.

I literally read this entire book in one sitting, I just couldn’t stop. I received this as an arc months ago, and I sorely regret not reading it until now. I think I got approved finals week, so I just never ended up reading it until I started to hear other readers talking about it.. When people say this is the Selection Series x The Cruel Prince, they were being completely accurate. There was the aspect of winning the hand of a prince from the Selection, but the higher stakes and court politics from the Cruel Prince. Ugh I adored Emmett and the way he loved Ivy. I was unsure about him at first, but grew to love him. The slow burn was another thing I appreciated—how they gradually warmed up to each other. The part where they pushed each other away for their shared goal broke my heart, especially with the way the author wrote it: the writing was beautiful, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book. With the way it ended, I’m assuming it’ll be a series. So after reading this, I recommend checking out Sasha Peyton Smith’s other series! I read this last year and was equally invested. 5 stars ⭐️!

I really love stories that show the whimsy and magic AND the absolute horror of the Faerie, and this absolutely does. While not everything was explored as much as I would like, I dia enjoy the dynamics between all of the girls.
In short, it was like a hellish, supernatural season of the Bachelor, and I loved it lol
I actually kind of wish the book was a bit longer to better develop all the relationships and plots, because I really enjoyed it and wanted everything to be more fleshed out.
Regardless, I highly recommend this book and look forward to the next one!!

* will be posting the review to the blog soon*

I flew through this book! As a sucker for fae and court life, this seemed right up my alley. I became entranced by the atmosphere, the court, and the bargains. The bargains were unique. The Queen really put these girls through hell just for her amusement. The level of viciousness in some of the queen's actions was sometimes shocking. Speaking of shocking, the plot twist towards the end surprised the hell out of me.

I liked Ivy well enough. The relationship between her and her sister Lydia was done well. It showed how complex relationships dear to you can be. Ivy had resentment but also love for her sister and seeing her go back and forth with it was humanizing. Along with that relationship, the bond between the girls competing for the prince was also well done. They came a long way from jealousy and backstabbing to coming together against the queen and also developing relationships.

We got a few chapters in POVs of the other girls vying for Bram and it was a good added touch. You got to know them more and learned their reasons for accepting this deal and also the more complex issues they were dealing with.

You're probably wondering why I didn't rate this five stars. That's because of the romance and it not being marketed as a duology. From the blurb, you could tell there would be a love triangle of sorts and it was. It was easy to see who Ivy would be with and I have to admit that relationship was BLAND. The author even added an on-page sex scene and I'm still looking for the chemistry to this day.

Also, I didn't realize that this was going to be a duology until I got to the end and was like where's the rest? I first saw this on Netgalley back in August of last year and it wasn't marketed to be more than a standalone at that time.

Overall, if you like fae court and mind games then pick this one up. After the ending of this one, I might pick the next one up.

The Rose Bargain is a great example of why I continue to read YA fantasy at my age. It’s absolutely beautiful. Ivy is the younger of two daughters. But after her older sister mysteriously disappears only to return months later under questionable circumstances, it now falls to her to restore her family’s reputation and status through entering a competition to marry the Fae queen’s son.

While the plot is clearly a 19th century “Bachelor ” I was not prepared for how many twists this book would take, each one raising the stakes and pulling me in further at every step. Sasha Peyton Smith’s writing is immaculate, plunging you into all the aesthetics of a Victorian era romance, but with an evil Fae Queen at the helm to cause chaos and angst.

But the true highlight of this story is the character depth achieved in such a short novel. Not only is Ivy someone who brings us instantly into empathy and understanding of her impossible position, but Sasha peppers the narrative with a POV chapter for each of her fellow contestants, humanizing each of them in the midst of such a dehumanizing spectacle, and allowing the themes of the novel to find an impressive feminist root that takes the themes of the story to another level, all without overstating the case or pulling us out of the world.

And yes, there are not one, but two princes, and the love story itself is a slow burn love triangle executed with perfection (at least in my humble opinion). Think a mix of The Cruel Prince meets Emily Wilde with the lyrical prose of Rebecca Ross.

Books like Divine Rivals, A Study in Drowning and the The Rose Bargain are precisely why I continue to read YA fantasy. They may not hit as often as I’d like, but when they do, it’s like nothing else.

An AMAZING introduction to this author for me. To be able to write a cast of characters who are ALL individually complex and layered is no easy feat and Sasha does so seamlessly while also driving the plot forward in an interesting and engaged way. I cannot WAIT for book 2 and I think this book can (and should!!) be read by those of all ages regardless of its YA category.

EDIT (wanted to rave even more):
Sasha Peyton Smith you absolute GEM.
Smith's writing perfectly encapsulates the beauty of writing and the joy of storytelling in an accessible and humble way. She took a cast of characters and gave each of them such distinct voices and histories and still managed to have a perfectly paced plot and story and I am in awe of how well I feel I know these characters in just under 400 pages.

I love me a sad boy and Emmett..... you have my heart. I wish I had better words to describe how big my feelings feel about Ivy's relationship with the girls and her sister and Emmett. All I can come up with is that I finished this book feeling like I was there with her and every character I met. I cannot wait for the next book.

I really enjoyed it. Wasn't anything ground breaking, but I stayed interest and it's nice when they bring back the fae that are more evil than beautiful. Makes me happy

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.5/5)

I went into The Rose Bargain expecting a solid YA romantasy, and it delivered! This book has a little bit of everything—intrigue, romance, high-stakes games, and a heroine who has to navigate a world full of deception. If The Cruel Prince, Bridgerton, and The Hunger Games had a bookish baby, it would look something like this.

The plot kept me engaged, with twists and turns that made me want to keep flipping pages. I loved the courtly drama mixed with survival elements, and the tension between the characters was fun to read. The romance had its moments, though I wanted a bit more depth in some places. The writing style was easy to get into, and the world-building, while not groundbreaking, had enough intrigue to keep me invested.

Overall, The Rose Bargain is a great pick for fans of YA fantasy who enjoy scheming royals, slow-burn romance, and a heroine who refuses to back down. While it wasn’t a perfect read for me, I had a good time with it and would definitely check out more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!