Review: The Rose Bargain

The Rose Bargain

Written by: Sasha Peyton Smith

HarperCollins

2025

An enchanting romantasy, The Rose Bargain builds an interesting dynamics within the romance and with the friendships.

The Rose Bargain captures elements of both The Cruel Prince and Bridgerton, placing young society girls in a competition for a fae prince’s hand in marriage.

Storytelling

I absolutely loved the ease of the storytelling. Smith sets the stage by introducing the War of the Roses and explains how the Fae Queen intervened, using the chaos to her advantage in order to become Queen of England. As a fae, she is also immortal.

Each season, she offers young men and women a bargain at a cost. Ivy, however, is not interested in any bargain; she only wants to uncover the truth about her sister’s bargain, which caused her sister to disappear for months and tarnished their family’s name. Upon arriving at court, Ivy is presented with a different opportunity to save her family: a chance to win Prince Bram’s hand in marriage.

Together with five other girls, she enters the competition to win his favor and save her family. You might expect the atmosphere among the girls to be extremely competitive, yet I appreciated how they supported each other instead. Each girl has her reasons for entering the competition, but they form a sisterhood and develop deep friendships as they navigate this shared experience. I loved that despite being in competition, they did not allow their desire to win to corrupt their true selves.

I also enjoyed how Smith gave each of the girls their own chapters. These chapters not only enriched the story and character dynamics but also maintained the novel’s pacing. Typically, this kind of structure could disrupt the flow of the narrative; however, Smith made it work beautifully. She crafted backstories for the characters that explain their motivations, adding depth to both their individual arcs and the overall dynamics.

Furthermore, I liked the budding romance between Emmet and Ivy. Their relationship starts off more like a rivalry than anything else. Emmet is the party boy known for leaving broken hearts behind and tarnishing reputations, while Ivy is determined and focused. However, as he reveals his plan to help her win his brother’s heart, the tension between them begins to smolder, and I enjoyed their witty banter. What I appreciated most was how they established a foundation of trust, friendship, and honesty before falling in love.

Final Thoughts

Honestly, The Rose Bargain was addictive. I loved the character development, the way the characters drove the plot forward, and how the story unfolded. The dynamics were rich and well thought out, leading to a jaw-dropping conclusion.

Cynthia Ayala

Cynthia Ayala-Bujnicki majored in Writing and Publishing from Emerson College. Editor-in-chief of Cyn's Workshop, she loves to read and write while tending to her pepper plants. She currently lives in South Florida with her husband, two kids Dante and Selene and two furbabies Mr. J the Kitten who Thinks He's Batman (yes, that is his full name) and Nyx.