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Never the Roses

by Jennifer K. Lambert

A rivalry rekindled through notes on rare roses

Bestseller Critically Recognized
Regular price $18.12 USD
Regular price $30.21 USD Sale price $18.12 USD
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Print BookAvailable Hardcover $26.78 USD$44.64 USD
Print BookCurrently viewing Paperback $18.12 USD$30.21 USD
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Awards & Recognition

  • Bestseller

    USA TODAY Bestseller

  • Critical praise

    Booklist starred review

    Starred review; Booklist describes the book as a fresh take on enemies-to-lovers romance and a must-add for roma...

AlbakiReads Editorial

A rivalry rekindled through notes on rare roses

Retired after years of war, sorceress Oneira leaves her remote refuge to visit the vast library of Stearanos, the rival she once opposed. A stolen book on rare roses sparks a correspondence of taunts and retorts, creating a connection complicated by their history and by Stearanos’s service to a king preparing for war against the queen Oneira once served. The romance’s central tension grows from that dangerous political divide, alongside the characters’ mutual desire. The source also signals a tragic-romance thread and themes of redemption, set within a fantasy world shaped by sorcery, royal power, and past conflict.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in fantasy romance built around former rivals and forbidden love.
  • Those who enjoy romance framed by war, royal allegiances, and a correspondence sparked by a shared subject.
  • Readers seeking a tragic-romance element and themes of redemption.

Themes

Rivals to loversForbidden loveWar and political allegianceRedemptionRare roses and correspondence

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

The most powerful sorceress in all the world comes face to face with her greatest rival in this enchanting and seductive fantasy romance debut from Jennifer K. Lambert.

"Just beautiful. It's beautifully written. Academic, intellectual, poetic... it's everything." --Katherine Heigl on #booktok

The Dread Sorceress Oneira has retired.
She's fought and won endless wars and has finally exiled herself to a remote forest where the mountains meet the beach.

But with one last curiosity to satisfy, Oneira makes a reckless trip to the most extensive library in existence: the collection of her most powerful rival, the sorcerer Stearanos.

There, she steals a book on rare roses, inadvertently initiating a forbidden correspondence with her once-enemy. Taunting notes and clever retorts reveal a connection neither has found―nor could ever find―in any other.

When Stearanos, bound to a vile king, is called to war against the queen she once served, Oneira knows a relationship with him is far too dangerous to pursue despite their mutual desire.

And yet, Stearanos is far too tempting to ignore...

Exquisitely crafted and bewitchingly lyrical, Never the Roses is like Circe by Madeline Miller meets The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent.

"[A] fresh take on enemies to lovers that will have readers swooning. A must-add for any romantasy shelf." --Booklist, starred review

Expect:
- Rivals to lovers
- Forbidden love
- Slow burn
- Starcrossed lovers
- Tragic romance
- Dark past
- Redemption
- Unexpected ending

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Customer reviews

M
AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

T
AlbakiReads
Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

O
AlbakiReads
Olivia

Smooth.