The Rose Throne by Mette Ivie Harrison

The Rose Throne by Mette Ivie Harrison (Egmont USA)

Stars: ★★★/5

Ailsbet loves nothing more than music; tall and red-haired, she’s impatient with the artifice and ceremony of her father’s court. Marissa adores the world of her island home and feels she has much to offer when she finally inherits the throne from her wise, good-tempered father. The trouble is that neither princess has the power—or the magic—to rule alone, and if the kingdoms can be united, which princess will end up ruling the joint land? 

For both, the only goal would seem to be a strategic marriage to a man who can bring his own brand of power to the throne. But will either girl be able to marry for love? And can either of these two princesses, rivals though they have never met, afford to let the other live? 


The biggest problem I had with The Rose Throne was that it spends the whole first half of the book building up to fulfilling the prophecy about Ailsbet and Issa uniting their respective magics, unifying their lands and restoring balance to both their kingdoms. It was a slow burn, one that would have been worth it if the whole prophecy business had been brought full circle. Semi-circle even. Not only is the prophecy mostly abandoned in the last fourth of the book, very abruptly and with no warning or afterthought, but so is every other aspect of The Rose Throne that doesn’t include Issa’s attraction to Kellin.

The other problem I had with The Rose Throne was one of the protagonists, Ailsbet. She apparently loves music, so much that we suffer through pages of her playing for her hard-to-please father. She apparently is jealous of Issa, is apparently resentful of her mother, is apparently scarred by the years in her father’s isolated court. Thing is, this should make for an interesting character. A memorable one. Instead of being nuanced, she just comes off flat and disjointed. Even with the many problems I had encountered while reading The Rose Throne, the characters could have salvaged the experience for me. Unfortunately, they failed to leave much of an impression.

Where Harrison does succeed and has before is in her initial worldbuilding. Her magic and her worlds have a distinct feel and the potential to be truly outstanding. Her fantasy is striking, even when it doesn’t do much.

Perhaps my biggest bone to pick with The Rose Throne, as with any book, is failing to be everything it could have been and wasn’t.

tl;dr: A lot of promise, great writing, interesting worldbuilding, but very meh on the overall. Recommended for readers who love lite fantasy and are willing to overlook certain plot issues in exchange for an interesting premise. 

I was given an advanced reader’s copy via NetGalley for reviewing purposes.