Wed to one brother.
In love with the other.
Bridgerton, The Selection, and The Cruel Prince collide in this Victorian-inspired romantasy; the sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller The Rose Bargain.
This limited collector’s edition features an exclusive alternate jacket, gilded holographic edges, an intricately foiled case design, and never-before-seen bonus content.
Having won the hand of the faerie King Bram, Ivy is now Queen of England.
But with his ascension to the throne, Bram unleashed the fae into the human world. After hundreds of years of being kept from their favorite playthings, the Others are looking to make up for lost time—and they do, with wicked revelry that sweeps through the country.
To survive, Ivy acts the sweet, devoted wife. Behind the smile, she plots to banish her husband, save her sister Lydia, and reunite with the love of her life, Emmett.
Yet Emmet and Lydia are trapped in the Otherworld, where fae games are deadlier than ever—and a queen must play most viciously of all. Or see herself dethroned.
Forbidden romance, deceptive bargains, and lethal court intrigue intertwine in this mesmerizing, fae romantasy sequel that will captivate fans of Once Upon a Broken Heart and Belladonna.
In love with the other.
Bridgerton, The Selection, and The Cruel Prince collide in this Victorian-inspired romantasy; the sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller The Rose Bargain.
This limited collector’s edition features an exclusive alternate jacket, gilded holographic edges, an intricately foiled case design, and never-before-seen bonus content.
Having won the hand of the faerie King Bram, Ivy is now Queen of England.
But with his ascension to the throne, Bram unleashed the fae into the human world. After hundreds of years of being kept from their favorite playthings, the Others are looking to make up for lost time—and they do, with wicked revelry that sweeps through the country.
To survive, Ivy acts the sweet, devoted wife. Behind the smile, she plots to banish her husband, save her sister Lydia, and reunite with the love of her life, Emmett.
Yet Emmet and Lydia are trapped in the Otherworld, where fae games are deadlier than ever—and a queen must play most viciously of all. Or see herself dethroned.
Forbidden romance, deceptive bargains, and lethal court intrigue intertwine in this mesmerizing, fae romantasy sequel that will captivate fans of Once Upon a Broken Heart and Belladonna.
Title: The Thorn Queen (The Rose Bargain #2)
Author: Sasha Peyton Smith
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: April 14, 2026
Review:
Thank you to Harper Collins Children's Books, Net Galley, and Edelweiss for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I will be honest and say I didn't expect much from this book. I liked the first book well enough but felt like it had a lot of holes in the plot and the different POVs thrown in often took me out of the story. So I went into this one hoping for something better and Smith delivered very well!
If you didn't read the first book in this duology, stop here as there may be some spoilers. Plus you would never understand this part of the story without that book. But if you did read and want to know what I think, read on!
This story picks up right where the first book left off. Ivy is married to Bram and they are ruling England. We know Emmet and Lydia are lost to Ivy (the first chapter shows us that with Emmet's POV of where he is being held). Queen Mor is locked up in England and Bram is still up to his old tricks with parties and being generally unkind to humans. His plan, to rule England and the Otherworld no matter the cost.
It's so hard to review a sequel in a series without giving things away. I don't want to spoil anything but lets just say Smith does a great job with the narration from Ivy. She is keeping Bram sated enough but longs to be done with him. She tries her hardest to rule England and make good decisions but it's hard when you have Bram's court to contend with. All they want to do is reek havoc which is slowly turning England unrecognizable to Ivy.
This book, like the first, still gives off those Bridgerton vibes. It's not quite the same but you can see the influence of that series throughout this story. I love the regency error so much. And Smith makes it just as fun as you think it would be.
This book is full of action and mystery and suspense. It kept me turning pages from start to finish. This time around I really enjoyed the chapters from outside of Ivy's point of view. Especially Emmet's chapters because I loved being in his head. I kind of wish we would have had some chapters from the villainous side, to be honest. I think that would have made the story even more compelling.
Bram is just as crazy in this book as he was in the last one. I truly thought there were times when he would turn a corner and redeem himself but, alas, that just was not in the cards for him. Nor should it have been, if I'm being honest. But I've definitely known authors to change my mind about villains in the past so I would not have put it past Smith to try and do so.
The book explores more deeply the connection between the sisters. Lydia has so much more depth in this book. We truly get to know her on a deeper level than the first book where I almost feel like Smith purposefully painted her as obtuse so she could deep dive in this one. Plus, Lydia is in a position of power in this book, so it makes sense we see more of her and how she fits into that world.
If you're looking for a book where Ivy and Emmett find each other right away and fight the evil, well, you kind of get that but you don't. There is a slow burn to their relationship in this book for reasons I cannot say without spoiling a huge part of the plot. Suffice it to say, set your expectations low for tons of romance. This book definitely took a deep dive into the politics of the courts and how decisions were made.
So, why didn't I give this one 5 stars? I am still not 100% understanding the magic presented in this series or how the humans come to have any of it. It was hard for me to see how that was laid out.
Overall, Smith does a nice job wrapping up the series with this book. Relationships are strained and become more complex, evil reeks it's havoc, banter is BANTERED, and, finally, questions you may have had after book one are answered. I'm really quite happy I gave this one a chance seeing as the first one didn't grab me as much as I would have liked. Now that I am done with this, I'm tempted to go back and re-read it all just to see if things make more sense to me in book 1 having the knowledge of what happens in book 2. I'm definitely a fan of Smith and her writing and I'm looking forward to what she'll bring to us next!
Author:
Sasha Peyton Smith is the New York Times best selling author of The Witch Haven and The Witch Hunt. She’s passionate about well-curated road trip playlists, soup recipes, and stories about complicated girls. Originally from Utah, she now lives in Washington D.C. with her partner and collection of porcelain hands.
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