The Rose Bargain Summary, Characters and Themes
The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith is a lush, gothic fantasy set in an alternate England ruled by an immortal queen who trades magic for obedience.
At its heart is Ivy Benton, a sharp-willed young woman desperate to save her family from ruin and uncover the truth behind her sister’s haunting disappearance. As Ivy enters a royal competition to win the prince’s hand, she’s drawn into a sinister system of magical bargains that strip girls of their memories, bodies, and freedom. What begins as a twisted fairy tale of courtship quickly spirals into a rebellion against ancient power, faerie magic, and systemic exploitation.
Summary
In an alternate version of Victorian England, Queen Moryen—an immortal being with roots in faerie folklore—rules a kingdom sustained by a cruel system of magical bargains. These “Rose Bargains” require girls to sacrifice parts of themselves—memories, talents, even body parts—in exchange for beauty, status, or survival.
Seventeen-year-old Ivy Benton’s life is turned upside down when her sister, Lydia, vanishes without explanation and returns weeks later, altered and traumatized. Her strange behavior hints at a failed bargain with the queen’s court and a deeper, magical corruption.
Desperate to secure her family’s dwindling future and understand what happened to Lydia, Ivy reluctantly enters a royal competition to marry Queen Moryen’s son, Prince Bram. But it’s not a romantic fantasy.
Each girl must sign a bloody contract forfeiting the chance of marriage forever if they’re not chosen, effectively making them social exiles. Twenty-four girls—including clever Olive Lisonbee, loyal Emmy Ito, and tragic Greer Trummer—cut their palms and step into the queen’s deadly game.
As Ivy navigates the palace and the court’s ruthless social rituals, she discovers that the contest is steeped in manipulation and illusion. Each trial, each interaction, and each girl is monitored, molded, and pushed toward conformity.
Ivy, however, remains determined to preserve her identity and unravel the system from within. Bram shows her kindness and possibly romantic interest, but his role is ambiguous—both a pawn and participant in his mother’s twisted legacy.
Meanwhile, Lydia begins sleepwalking and obsessing over enchanted fruit, showing signs that her mind is still tethered to the Otherworld. Ivy investigates ancient faerie legends and hidden doors within the palace gardens—symbols of portals used by the Others, a mythical race who once traded freely with humans before the queen took power.
Ivy, with help from Emmy and Olive, uncovers lost records, a burned spellbook, and secret passageways that reveal the queen’s horrifying truth. The contest was never about choosing a bride.
It was a ritual. The queen consumes the emotions and vitality of noble girls to sustain her own immortality.
Lydia was one such victim—her memories bartered for promises that were never meant to be fulfilled. As the final ceremony looms, Ivy is chosen not as a winner, but as a sacrifice.
Her blood is meant to renew the queen’s youth in a grotesque ritual disguised as a coronation. Using a spellbook hidden by her childhood cook, Ivy performs ancient enchantments that awaken suppressed memories in the other girls and break the palace’s illusions.
In the climactic confrontation, Ivy and Bram stand against Queen Moryen. He renounces the throne; Ivy unleashes ancestral magic that severs the queen’s power.
Queen Moryen, weakened but not killed, flees through a faerie door, leaving her empire in disarray. The spell over the court dissolves.
The girls, though scarred and changed, begin to reclaim their identities. Lydia, too, starts to heal.
In the aftermath, Ivy is hailed as a hero—but she refuses to take the throne or wield the power the queen left behind. Bram disappears into self-imposed exile.
Ivy returns to her family with a new mission. She vows to dismantle the system of bargains and protect future generations from the seductive cruelty of magical power.
The Rose Bargain ends not with a triumphant fairy-tale wedding, but with hard-won clarity, sacrifice, and a renewed promise to build a better, freer world.
Characters
Ivy Benton
Ivy Benton, the protagonist of The Rose Bargain, is a noblewoman caught in a society driven by magical bargains. Ivy’s character is shaped by her determination to restore her family’s fortune after her sister Lydia’s mysterious disappearance.
Initially, she appears as a young woman driven by duty and a desire for survival in the harsh world of court politics. However, as the story progresses, Ivy’s resilience and intelligence shine through as she uncovers dark secrets about the queen’s manipulations.
Her relationship with her sister, Lydia, serves as a driving force in her actions, as she seeks to unravel the mystery of Lydia’s bargain and protect those she loves. Ivy’s character is defined by her growth from an innocent participant in a dangerous game to a powerful figure who challenges the established order and refuses to be a pawn in the system.
Lydia Benton
Lydia Benton, Ivy’s older sister, is a complex character who plays a crucial role in Ivy’s development. Lydia initially disappears under mysterious circumstances, only to return changed, traumatized, and deeply affected by her bargain with Queen Moryen.
Through Lydia’s experiences, the reader sees the darker side of the bargain system, which robs individuals of their autonomy and memories. Lydia’s character represents the consequences of sacrificing one’s self for societal gain and the price of magic.
Her regression and cryptic warnings to Ivy about the cost of the bargain serve as pivotal moments that push Ivy to confront the deeper dangers of the world they inhabit. Lydia’s struggle with her identity after her bargain highlights the emotional toll the magical bargains take on individuals, making her an embodiment of lost potential and the destructive power of the system.
Prince Bram De Vere
Prince Bram De Vere is initially presented as a charming and seemingly noble figure, caught between his role as the heir to the throne and his personal feelings. Throughout the story, Bram’s internal conflict becomes a focal point, as he wrestles with his loyalty to his mother, Queen Moryen, and his growing affection for Ivy.
Bram’s character is torn between duty and desire, and his struggle to balance these forces is central to his evolution in the narrative. Although Bram begins as a somewhat passive participant in the larger political game, his eventual decision to stand against his mother’s tyranny marks a significant turning point.
His love for Ivy, complicated by the political and magical forces at play, ultimately leads him to rebel against the very system that raised him. Bram’s journey is one of self-discovery, and his eventual choice to side with Ivy signifies a break from the corrupt traditions of his family.
Queen Moryen
Queen Moryen, the ruler of this alternate England, is a character defined by her manipulative and cruel nature. Immortal and all-powerful, Moryen uses the magical bargains to maintain control over her subjects, particularly the young women who participate in the “Pact Parade.”
Her character is a personification of absolute power and the lengths one will go to preserve it. Moryen’s true nature is revealed gradually—she feeds on the emotions and memories of others to sustain her immortality.
This revelation about her power provides insight into her ruthlessness and the systemic exploitation she fosters. As a character, Moryen represents the corrupting influence of power and the lengths an individual will go to maintain control, even at the expense of others’ lives and well-being.
Her eventual defeat, as she is exposed and cast aside, serves as a crucial moment in the novel, symbolizing the collapse of a tyrannical system.
Emmy Ito
Emmy Ito is introduced as one of Ivy’s allies during the contest for Prince Bram’s heart. Initially, Emmy seems to be another contestant vying for Bram’s affection, but as the story unfolds, she reveals herself to be a clever and resourceful individual who is deeply suspicious of the queen’s plans.
Emmy’s courage becomes apparent as she aids Ivy in uncovering the secrets of the palace and discovering the truth behind the bargains. Despite her own vulnerabilities, Emmy’s loyalty to Ivy and her willingness to risk everything to fight the system make her one of the novel’s most sympathetic and brave characters.
Her growing bond with Ivy serves as an anchor for Ivy, providing both emotional support and practical help in navigating the dangerous political landscape.
Olive Lisonbee
Olive Lisonbee is another contestant in the royal competition, who initially appears to be a secondary character. However, as the narrative progresses, Olive’s role becomes more significant as she forms a close alliance with Ivy and Emmy.
Olive represents the various motivations that drive the girls participating in the competition—some are driven by ambition, others by necessity. Olive’s own background and her reasons for joining the contest reveal the complexity of the choices the girls are forced to make in a world where their futures are controlled by magical bargains.
As an ally to Ivy, Olive plays a crucial part in supporting Ivy’s efforts to expose the truth about the queen and the corrupt system.
Greer Trummer
Greer Trummer’s character arc highlights the tragic consequences of the bargain system. Greer begins as a bright and hopeful contestant, but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that her mother has pushed her into making multiple dangerous bargains.
Each bargain chips away at Greer’s sense of self, leaving her increasingly fragmented and disconnected. Greer’s descent into tragedy serves as a cautionary tale within the novel, illustrating the devastating impact of the bargains on the individuals who partake in them.
Greer’s loss of identity and the eventual irreparable harm she suffers underscore the theme of personal sacrifice for the sake of societal expectations, making her one of the most tragic characters in the novel.
Marion Thorne
Marion Thorne is another girl participating in the competition who, like many of the others, is coerced into making a bargain in order to secure her future. Marion’s role is less central than some of the other girls, but she serves as an example of the various types of individuals who participate in the contest.
Her character is representative of the pressures faced by noblewomen in this society, where the threat of becoming a spinster is a constant fear, pushing them to make dangerous choices. Marion’s participation in the contest reflects the broader societal expectations and the desperation that drives many of the girls to take part in the bargain system.
Faith Fairchild
Faith Fairchild is a minor but important character who, like the others, finds herself ensnared in the court’s power dynamics. Though her role is not as pronounced as Ivy’s or Lydia’s, Faith’s involvement in the narrative helps to illuminate the broader societal and magical systems at play.
She serves as a symbol of the many young women caught in the queen’s manipulative games, highlighting the personal sacrifices that these girls make in order to achieve security, beauty, or status in a world ruled by bargains.
Themes
The Power and Perils of Bargains in a Corrupt Society
At the heart of The Rose Bargain lies a complex exploration of bargains, a central practice within the society of the novel. These bargains, involving the exchange of body parts, memories, or even emotions, are a way for individuals, particularly young women, to gain status, beauty, or power.
The system, however, is deeply exploitative and manipulative. As characters like Ivy and Lydia navigate these treacherous deals, they reveal the sacrifices that the society demands in exchange for fleeting benefits.
The bargains themselves, while seeming to offer rewards, often strip individuals of their humanity, autonomy, and identities. They leave them as mere shells of themselves, driven by a need to sustain the power structure that governs them.
The entire premise of the Rose Bargain competition, where women are forced to sign blood oaths, is a commentary on how deeply embedded exploitation is in the hierarchical system. Here, beauty, success, and survival come at an unspeakable cost.
The Trauma of Memory and Identity Loss Under Authoritarian Rule
One of the most poignant themes of The Rose Bargain is the trauma experienced through the loss of memory and identity. The characters, particularly Lydia, are forced into bargains that strip them of their personal history and sense of self.
The queen, Moryen, is a symbol of an immortal regime that thrives on controlling and manipulating the very essence of human existence. The characters’ bargaining, especially in the case of Lydia, serves as a powerful metaphor for the way totalitarian rulers erase or rewrite histories to maintain control.
Ivy’s quest to understand her sister’s trauma becomes an emotional journey of grappling with the devastating impact of erasure, both literal and psychological. This theme reaches its peak when Ivy begins to realize that the queen’s power comes not only from physical dominance but from stealing the very core of individuals—their memories and their ability to remember their true selves.
The loss of one’s identity becomes the ultimate tool for maintaining control in a dystopian society.
Rebellion and the Search for True Power Beyond Royalty
Another crucial theme is the evolution of personal agency and the search for real power in a world dominated by royalty and magical bargains. In the early stages of the narrative, Ivy’s actions are motivated by the hope of restoring her family’s honor and securing a place in the royal court.
Yet as the story progresses, she realizes that true power doesn’t lie in winning the royal contest or becoming the chosen bride of Prince Bram. Instead, real power lies in challenging the established system, confronting the exploitation and manipulation at its core, and uncovering hidden truths about the nature of the magic that underpins the monarchy.
Ivy’s rebellion, fueled by both personal loss and growing knowledge of the queen’s manipulations, marks her evolution from a naive participant to a fierce disruptor of the system. This theme is further emphasized in the climactic moments when Ivy, aided by her allies, unleashes ancient magic to tear down the façade of the throne room and free the girls trapped in the competition.
The theme suggests that true empowerment comes not from adhering to societal expectations but from defying them and embracing a more radical, transformative form of resistance.
The Illusory Nature of Immortality and the Dehumanizing Effects of Power
Queen Moryen’s immortality and her ability to manipulate the lives of others is another key thematic element in The Rose Bargain. While her immortality seems like a symbol of ultimate power, the novel gradually reveals that her eternal life comes at the expense of others—particularly the young women whose sacrifices keep her alive.
The queen’s manipulation of her subjects—especially her ability to feed on their memories and emotions—draws a chilling parallel to how those in power often perpetuate systems of inequality to maintain their position. Moryen’s immortality, instead of being a gift, is a curse that dehumanizes her.
This theme underscores the broader narrative about the destructive nature of power that is sustained through oppression. The revelation that Moryen’s rule relies on the cyclical suffering of the noble girls illustrates the extent to which individuals in power can become disconnected from humanity, viewing others merely as tools to achieve self-preservation.
The Ethics of Love and Loyalty in the Face of Manipulation and Deception
Lastly, the theme of love and loyalty within a context of manipulation and deception is intricately explored in the relationships between Ivy, Prince Bram, and other characters like Emmett. At the surface, Bram appears to be a romantic interest for Ivy, but his position as the queen’s son and the weight of his royal duties complicate their bond.
As Ivy uncovers more about the true nature of the contest and the queen’s manipulation of her son, she begins to question Bram’s agency and whether he can ever truly choose love over duty. Bram’s internal conflict, coupled with Ivy’s growing disillusionment, speaks to the larger theme of how love can be tainted when external forces—be they political, familial, or magical—manipulate the choices individuals make.
The tension between loyalty to one’s family and the pursuit of personal happiness is a key theme in the novel, with characters like Emmy, Olive, and Greer demonstrating the emotional costs of remaining loyal to a corrupt system. In the end, the resolution of Ivy’s relationships—both romantic and platonic—becomes a testament to the importance of personal integrity and standing up for what is right, even when love and loyalty are tested by dark forces.