Ratings6
Average rating3.8
The Cruel Prince meets The Selection in this captivating duology opener brimming with heart-pounding romance, vicious competition, and beautiful, cruel fae, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven, Sasha Peyton Smith.
Every citizen of England is granted one bargain from their immortal fae queen.
High society girls are expected to bargain for qualities that will win them suitors: a rare talent for piano in exchange for one’s happiest childhood memory. A perfect smile for one’s ability to taste.
But Ivy Benton’s debut season arrives with a shocking twist: a competition to secure the heart of the Queen’s fae son, Prince Bram. A prize that could save Ivy’s family from ruin… and free her sister from the bargain that destroyed her.
Yet every glittering fae deal has a rotting heart—and at the center of this contest is a dark plot that could destroy everything Ivy knows.
Sweepingly romantic and deceptively enchanting, this alternate history romantasy will enthrall readers of Holly Black, Stephanie Garber, and Adalyn Grace.
Featured Series
1 released bookThe Rose Bargain is a 1-book series first released in 2 with contributions by Sasha Peyton Smith.
Reviews with the most likes.
The more I think about it, the less anything in this book makes sense.
I did like the girls and the nuance given to their relationships, trying to work together while not trusting each other. Also the writing was pretty good.
Unfortunately, I didn't like anything else.
(I would've preferred if Bram had been the love interest and she'd been genuinely trying to win the competition, to make the ton regret turning their backs on her family. It wouldn't fix all the plot holes, but it would've been a lot more interesting.)
Wow I loved this so much!
The slow building of the world and the story really had me captivated. It was a lot of fun to be part of Ivy and Emmets slow burn.
Can't wait for the next book in the Duology
Aaahhhh this damn book! I have so many complaints!!!!
* This is not like the cruel prince at all. So a prince is cruel, but only for the last hour or so. That too wasn't shocking because you advertise the book as cruel prince and then nothing happens for majority of the book. Cruel Prince had so much going for it. This was leftovers of leftovers.
* The romance sucked! It wasn't insta love but it was also not built up properly.
* This wasn't a StAnDaLOnE?!? (This one's on me).
* Who is advertising all these romantasy books? 100 years of jail for you!
* You'd expect that a book advertised as being similar to cruel prince would have similar characters like Jude or Cardan. Nope.
A knife? A single knife? Nope.
Smart and cunning MC? Nope. (Bland)
Slow romantic build-up? Nope.
The only similarity was that it had faeries. Bram was soooooo boring. Whatever Emmett and Ivy had going on was beyond my comprehension. My ass is too demi for this.
The only good thing is that the audiobook was done well, chapters were short so I flew through them.
Future me, avoid the sequel! It's not worth it gurl.