Synopsis:
Vying for the hand of one brother.

Falling in love with the other.

A new Victorian-inspired romantasy, perfect for fans of Bridgerton, The Selection, and The Cruel Prince.

“If you’re looking for the next YA sensation, here it is.” —Adalyn Grace, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Belladonna

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.

Review:
“Parents warned children to stay away from tall strangers in the woods and to never follow music that seemingly came from nowhere. They did not heed the warnings, and they paid the price.” (Page 365)

This book is AMAZING. It’s got the Victorian society mixed with fairies and magic and love. One of the best parts of this novel is that the faerie aspect is done very well; there is magic, there are bargains, but they all come with a price. While the bargains may be done to make the Faerie Queen seem sympathetic to humans, the duplicity of having to give something away that you often wouldn’t have considered the significance of should have made most realize that the fae don’t consider futures, morals, values, people in the same way that humans do. Yet one by one people send their daughters to ask for a bargain to try to make them more attractive, to elevate their family’s standing and lives, without considering what one may be giving away in return. This book also entwines familial relationships and what one would be willing to do for a sibling that they love more than anything.

This book is gripping, thought provoking, and leaves you wishing for the next book immediately before you’ve even set this one down.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯