Book Review: The Thorn Queen by Sasha Peyton Smith
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The Thorn Queen by Sasha Peyton Smith
ARC Review: Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!
Published: April 14, 2026
Series: The Rose Bargain #2
Genres: Young Adult // Fantasy, Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️ (Glimpses & Kisses)
Quick Thoughts: Overall, The Thorn Queen was a more engaging read than The Rose Bargain and does a good job answering the questions book one left open. The pacing moves quickly, which means conflict doesn't drag on, but it also means the characters don't get much room to grow. At times, the plot felt scattered and lacked direction. Recommend this to fans of The Rose Bargain or for those looking for a fun, brain off read.
Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org
Learn more about my rating & spice scales here.
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Starvation of prisoners
Blood & physical violence
Stabbing
Broken bones
Violence against an animal (animal ends up ok)
Vomiting
Dead bodies
Abusive relationships (physical and emotional)
Absent parents
Lack of consent
More details: In one encounter, characters kiss/touch each other under the influence of a love potion. In another, one character glamours himself to appear as another.
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Games/Trials
Wicked Fae
Royal Court Settings
1800s/Victorian England inspired settings
Forbidden romances
Secret relationships
Quests
Multi-POV
What is The Thorn Queen about?
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.
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.
The Thorn Queen Review
Note: This is the second book in The Rose Bargain duology, so this review may contain spoilers for the first book in the series, The Rose Bargain.
I have mixed feelings about this one. Overall, it was infinitely more interesting to me than The Rose Bargain but at times it moved a little too fast and the plot lacked direction.
Characters
The Thorn Queen picks up after the fallout of Ivy's wedding and follows her, Emmett, Lydia, and a few other characters on their mission to save England and the Otherworld from Bram and Mor. I liked that we stuck with much of the original cast from book one though I don’t think we got much personality or development from any of them. Although somehow Bram was the most interesting, complex character in the book. He's cold and does some genuinely horrifying things, but there are moments where his desire to understand humanity and emotions peeks through, and I found myself empathizing with him. Ivy, on the other hand, felt pretty flat. She experiences horrible things in both books, but we never really see her grapple with any of it. One theme that keeps coming up is her feeling like she lives in Lydia's shadow, and it never gets addressed. That's a real missed opportunity, especially since Ivy leads the charge against Bram in a lot of ways and her confidence in herself really should have grown. The rest of the characters felt like they were there just to move the plot forward, which is fine, but I think that's why the characters feel so underdeveloped overall.
Pacing
One thing I noticed really early on is that the book never stopped moving. It was nice not to feel like I was waiting for the story to get going, but as I got deeper into the book, I had a hard time telling if I liked the fast pacing or not. The good news is that we weren’t hanging in suspense for very long when conflict came up, especially between Ivy and Emmett. As someone who hates prolonged tension and miscommunication between love interests, that was a win. The downside is that we never really get to see the characters work through problems because as soon as something came up, it’d be solved within a few pages and we’d move onto the next thing. It was hard to grasp the stakes and react to conflict when situations were being de-escalated so quickly.
Plot
Lastly, the plot felt all over the place. There’s a small quest and a coup throughout the book, but also games similar to what we saw in book one, and the two don’t mesh well together. There’s no real reason for the trials, so they felt more like a distraction than a meaningful part of the plot. I think the book would have been stronger if it just focused on the group of characters on their quest to overthrow Bram.
So, should you read The Thorn Queen?
All that said, I think fans of The Rose Bargain will find this one worth reading because it answers a lot of the questions book one left open. I just wish the pacing and plot had been tightened up, and that we'd gotten more room to see the characters actually grow.
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
The Thorn Queen FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
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Yes! The Thorn Queen by Sasha Peyton Smith officially publishes on April 14, 2026. If you're reading this after that date, you can grab a copy now.
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Yes, The Thorn Queen is the second and final book in the Rose Bargain duology.
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Yes, The Rose Bargain and The Thorn Queen together make up a complete duology.
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The Thorn Queen is available wherever books are sold, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and your local indie bookstore. You can also check your local library or Libby if you prefer to borrow. I read an advance copy through NetGalley, but the book is now available to everyone.
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Absolutely, yes. The Thorn Queen picks up right where The Rose Bargain left off and does not recap what happened in book one. If it's been a while, I'd recommend refreshing yourself on the last 100 pages or so of The Rose Bargain before diving in.
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Like the first book, The Thorn Queen features no spicy scenes, just kissing.