Never the Roses

The epic slow burn enemies to lovers romantic fantasy that will steal your heart!

By: Jennifer K. Lambert

Narrated by: Shane East, Chloe Campbell

With dual-narration from Chloe Campbell and Shane East.

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.

When she recklessly steals 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.

The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec meets Madeline Miller’s Circe in Never the Roses, an epic and deeply romantic fantasy by Jennifer K. Lambert.

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

Critic reviews

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)

Gentle, powerful and heartfelt, this is original fantasy at its best

The romance had me desperately waiting for each new encounter . . . I need the sequel.