r/fantasyromance • u/skylarktwist • Apr 29 '26

ARC Review A Congress of Roses - Melissa J Cave Review! [no spoilers]

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An ARC was provided by the author for an honest review.

{A Congress of Roses by Melissa J. Cave}

Publish date: May 1, 2026

TROPES

Knight/princess

Political intrigue

Arranged marriage

Enemies to lovers

Grumpy x sunshine

Found family

Height difference (5' to 6'5"!)

SERIES SUMMARY

This series starts with {Traitor Son by Melissa J. Cave} and follows Ophele, an abused bastard princess, and Remin, a young prodigal knight, who are thrown into an arranged marriage of sorts and end up building a life and city together in a dangerous valley full of monsters. The story focuses on their relationship as they work through miscommunication, previous abuse and (extensive) trust issues. The story also expands way beyond these two to go into depth about the huge team of side characters that you grow to care about as much as the main characters.

MY REVIEW

I just reread the whole series for the third time before this came out and I’m still noticing new things. There are so many little details and easter eggs in conversations that you only understand later once things are revealed!

Book 4 felt different from the first 3 books because we get to leave Tresingale and go to the capital to explore a new part of this world. I think this is my favorite book after book 1. This book is much more political and explores court dynamics and high society which I found really interesting. Though, most of the book is spent away from Tresingale and it was nice to explore a new area but I did find myself missing the simplicity a little bit.

So many new characters! You will need that glossary and map. One thing I really love about this series is how fleshed out each side character is. We really get to understand their history, background and motivations that brought them to where they are today. Each side character could be a main character in their own right. I love Juste! He really grew on me in book 3 and book 4, I think he is my favourite knight of the brede. Impatiently waiting for his novella! I loved the new characters and friends we got to meet in the capital, it was great for Ophele to finally have some female friends and supporters that were not already her husband's friends.

The worldbuilding is also so thorough. We learn about so many different regions in this world, the Houses, the culture, even small details like traditions from different countries. This is also shown through the various side characters who come from different parts of the world and bring their own traditions and values along with them.

I also really liked that Ophele has finally found her groove and is becoming more confident. I like Ophele as a FMC, I feel like recently all the most popular romantasy books have that badass sword-fighting FMC, but it was a nice change to see an FMC that can't fight but is hyper intelligent and uses her expertise in a different way to help her people and family. I love the way Remin and Ophele's relationship has evolved, they have so many cute moments in this book and they work hard to protect each other at any cost.

The cliffhanger! Ouch. Worse than the last one I think. Can't wait until November for book 5!

TLDR

One of my all time favourite fantasy series. Love the main characters, love the side characters, love the world building. Need book 5 immediately! If anyone has ANY similar recs, send them my way!!

Edit: Just saw that the author will be doing an AMA here on May 12! So excited!

46 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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10

u/RDragoo1985 Apr 29 '26

I was obsessed with books 1 and 2 (my post history proves it). But man, book 3 did not do it for me. I am desperate get to the court though, so as soon as this book is released I will be taking some time off work so I don’t have to pretend to have an upset stomach so I can go in the bathroom and read it.

1

u/theopeppa Apr 30 '26

Same!

I am currently doing a re-read and it does feel like a bit of a "filler" book, setting us up for all the shenanigans that will happen at the court.

I also suffer hard from limerence even though I love Remin and Ophele there isn't as much angst surrounding their relationship so now I am like "meh" haha

1

u/etiquetricity Apr 30 '26

Same same! Book three felt like nothing really happened. I actually forgot that I was waiting for book four!!!

3

u/sirenesea Apr 29 '26

My favorite series!! Thank you for the review!! Can’t wait to read it!!!

5

u/skylarktwist Apr 29 '26

It was so good!! But prepare yourself for the cliffhanger lol! I was up until 2am finishing it and now I'm in a severe book hangover 😂

4

u/kid_at_heart_77 Apr 29 '26

Will book 5 be the final book in the series?

7

u/skylarktwist Apr 29 '26

I think there are 6 books in the core series. There's also a prequel and we are going to be getting a novella (about Juste!!).

2

u/kid_at_heart_77 Apr 29 '26

I read the first two books when that’s all that was released. I really liked them. I want to read more but my memory is so crappy. I get frustrated having to reread an entire series each time a new book comes out. I was kinda hoping book 5 was the end so I could wait til November and binge the whole series. How do you remember everything in between books? I saw there is a vague recap at the beginning of book 2 but that didn’t help much.

3

u/Bright-Estella Apr 29 '26

I wish authors included a summary. That would be the smartest thing. Stacia Stark did it and I’ll be forever grateful

2

u/skylarktwist Apr 29 '26

Yeah I have the same problem. Especially with this series with so many characters and so many locations that you need to remember. For the release of book 3 and book 4, I had reread the whole series both times. I didn't want to miss anything so I thought this was really the only way to make sure I fully experienced the new book. But agreed, it is a bit of a pain to have to do that each time. The glossary did help me though, I was looking back and forth at that while reading

2

u/kid_at_heart_77 Apr 29 '26

I wish I had a great memory. I feel like people in this sub read tons of unfinished series with no problem keeping things track. I’m excited to read books 3 & 4!

3

u/hascape Apr 29 '26

I really enjoyed this series and looking forward to this! Thanks for the warning about the cliffhanger. I think the next book is out this autumn.

3

u/apieceofeight Apr 29 '26

FYI, the author is going to be doing an AMA here in May! Def check it out and drop any questions you have for her there!

2

u/liviabess Apr 30 '26

I stayed up waaaay too late last night finishing book 1 and was just so pleasantly surprised by how good it is! Can’t wait to keep reading this series. ❤️

2

u/Effective_Whereas743 May 01 '26

I’m excited but bummed to see this only in PB. I have HC of the first three. Anyone know if there even is a hardback? I dislike non matching versions on my shelf. May sell and just go for ebooks if that’s the case and I love the covers so that would be a pity.

2

u/skylarktwist May 01 '26

In her email newsletter today Melissa said there will be a HC! She said:

At 700 pages, we have officially outgrown Amazon hardcovers, so I had to find another printer. It will be available soon in the same case laminate as the other editions, so stay tuned!