Review

In an alternative England, ruled by an immortal fae queen since the 15th century War of the Roses, it’s now 1848. Every subject has an opportunity to make a bargain — just one — with Queen Mor: you might give up your fingernails for better teeth or buy a shop in return for losing your sense of humour. In Ivy Benton’s world of high society debutantes, girls always use their bargains to make themselves more attractive on the marriage market. And Ivy needs to be attractive. A few years ago, her sister mysteriously disappeared, then reappeared months later, dirty and bruised, with no memory of where she went. The scandal has ruined their family, and Ivy is their only hope of recovering their social standing… but under these circumstances, her odds of making a good match are slim.

To everyone’s surprise, Queen Mor announces that her beloved son, Prince Bram, a fae, the kingdom’s heartthrob, will take a bride this season, and she invites girls to compete for his hand. Ivy signs up — what has she got to lose? — but finds it much more dangerous and high stakes than she anticipated. She’ll need all the help she can get from the mysterious and brooding Prince Emmett, Bram’s rebellious half-brother, to win. But why is he so keen for Ivy to marry Bram? And is that really what she wants to do?

*

I mostly enjoyed this book, although at various points I did sigh and think… Here we go. Overworn romantasy tropes again. The action is mostly good, though. I liked the premise of the fae queen changing the usual historical timeline by taking over England. The ending is a bit unfair (although engaging): I think the reader is owed a few little hints, even if they can only recognise them in retrospect. The ending definitely leaves the door wide open for a sequel. The audiobook was good – lovely narrators with non-annoying voices. The narrative is multiple first person, with some minor characters getting a chance to tell part of their story.

This should appeal to your fantasy fans, particularly anyone who enjoyed The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and the Bridgerton series.

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Lots of bargains where people lose teeth, fingers, etc; violence, including fantasy violence, but nothing too gory; social ostracism at the start of the book when Ivy’s family is being frozen out for Ivy’s sister’s scandal; Ivy’s sister looks like she’s lost her mind a bit, but it’s all explained later; scary fae & faerie world (not too scary); initially bitchy relationships between contestants for Bram’s hand, though they all become friends in the end; problematic/cold/hostile parent-child relationships, although Ivy comes from a warm and loving family; betrayal; deaths; affairs, including sexual affairs – no detail; towards the end there’s one sexual encounter between Ivy and Emmett — relatively mild and brief, no explicit detail although we know what’s going on — before that there is a passionate kissing encounter and bed sharing via the inevitable ‘one bed trope’ (no sex, but much tension). Romance is mlw. Some ethnic diversity among the competing girls, plus some minor wlw romance. Narrative is first person, mainly from Ivy’s perspective, but occasionally from the perspective of Emmett or one of her competitors.

*

Peyton Smith, S. (2025). The rose bargain (E. Mount, S. Arserio, & J. Meunier, Narr.) [Audiobook]. Electric Monkey.

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