Never the Roses

Jennifer K. Lambert

$34.99

Paperback

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English

St Martins/Tor
15 June 2025

Romance; Monsters & legendary beings; Fantasy

Unstoppable war. Unspeakable sins. Impossible love.

The Dread Sorceress Oneira has retired. She's exhausted from fighting the endless wars of kings and queens, and has long accepted that her death is near. Alone at last but for a few uninvited companions - a near-mythical wolf, a goddess's avatar, and a feline that embodies magic itself - Oneira realizes that she's bored. On a whim, or perhaps at the behest of fate, she makes an unlikely trip to the most extensive library in existence: the home of her most powerful rival, the sorcerer Stearanos.

By recklessly stealing a book from him, Oneira inadvertently initiates a forbidden correspondence. Taunting notes and clever retorts reveal a connection neither has found - nor could ever find - in any other.

But Oneira soon learns that Stearanos, bound to a vile king, is tasked with waging war on the queen she once served. A relationship with him is far too dangerous to pursue despite their mutual desire - and yet, Oneira can't seem to stay away. A bond with Stearanos could alight the long-extinct flame of life within her . . . or it could destroy her entirely.

'An extraordinary novel! Full of unexpected love, magic, heartbreak and healing' - Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop

By: Jennifer K. Lambert
Imprint: St Martins/Tor
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 233mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 452g
ISBN: 9781035074990
ISBN 10: 1035074990
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 15 June 2025
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jennifer K. Lambert lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her husband of over thirty years, his chocolate-lab assistance dog, two Maine Coon cats who assist no one and plentiful free-range lizards. Her high fantasy novel, Never the Roses, fell on her from out of the sky and became a dream come true. She also writes under the name Jeffe Kennedy, where she is a multi-award-winning and bestselling author primarily in epic fantasy romance, and is a Past-President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA).

Reviews for Never the Roses

Such an extraordinary novel! Full of unexpected love, magic, heartbreak and healing, it completely stole my heart! I absolutely loved it! -- Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop Absolutely exquisite. Never the Roses is a stunning entry into the realm of romantasy with a broken yet fiercely powerful heroine, a hero who will wend his way into your heart and set up camp and a story you will not be able to stop reading until you have savored every delicious word -- Darynda Jones, New York Times bestseling author of First Grave on the Right Every time I think that the borders of fantasy cannot be stretched, Jennifer K. Lambert proves me wrong -- Maria Vale, award-winning author of The Legend of All Wolves series and Molly Molloy and the Angel of Death Both ethereal and sensuous – and with a story as arresting as its pink-pebbled beaches and lavender roses, Jennifer K. Lambert's Never the Roses is a fantasy as seductive (and dangerous) as the Dream through which it often wanders. An absorbing read! -- Connie Willis, Nebula and Hugo-Award winning author of Doomsday Book and The Road to Roswell Jennifer K. Lambert has created a world and characters every reader of epic fantasy will love and reread time and time again -- Grace Draven, USA Today bestselling author of Radiance Never the Roses is never anything less than enchanting -- Jennifer Estep, New York Times bestselling author of the Crown of Shards and Gargoyle Queen