For Ivy Benton, her seasonal debut will save her family. It’s up to her, ever since her once perfect sister disappeared from society and reappeared without any memories from her time away. The Bentons have lost most of their social standing. Ivy hears her parents talking about losing the house within the year. She will have to save them all.
At her debut, she (and the other girls) will have a chance to make a bargain with the Fae Queen. But before the bargaining can begin, the Queen has an announcement. Her Fae son, Prince Bram, will be choosing a wife this season. The bride-to-be will be one of these societal ladies. The ladies have ten minutes to decide and seal their fate as they compete for his hand.
Ivy is the first girl to sign the contract; she has nothing to lose. Out of the eighteen girls who sign the contract, six will remain contenders. The six girls cannot escape each other; they will live together, fail together, and comfort each other.
Ivy knows that she must do everything in her power to win – and not just for her family.
This book is Bridgerton meets The Selection meets Sarah J. Maas. While it’s a longer book, it’s a quick read with all the plot twists and action. While most of the book takes place from Ivy’s perspective, each of the girls and the prince brothers have a point of view chapter. I do wish the friendships had been a little more developed between the girls. The Rose Bargain is the first book in an addicting duology that ends on a cliffhanger and will make readers want the next installment ASAP.
London, 1848—For four hundred years, England has been under the control of an immortal fae queen who tricked her way onto the throne. To maintain an illusion of benevolence, Queen Mor grants each of her subjects one opportunity to bargain for their deepest desire.
As Ivy Benton prepares to make her debut, she knows that not even a deal with the queen could fix what has gone wrong: Her family’s social standing is in shambles, her sister is a shadow of her former self, and Ivy’s marriage prospects are nonexistent. So when the queen announces a competition for Prince Bram’s hand, Ivy is the first to sign her name in blood. What a bargain can’t fix, a crown certainly could.
Ivy soon finds herself a surprising front-runner—with the help of an unexpected ally: Prince Bram’s brother, the rakish Prince Emmett, who promises to help Ivy win his brother’s heart…for a price. But as the season sweeps Ivy away, with glittering balls veiling the queen’s increasingly vicious trials, Ivy realizes there’s more at stake than just a wedding. Because all faerie bargains come with a cost, and Ivy may have discovered hers too late.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven comes atale that will leave readers eager to bargain for a sequel.