The Roses of Carterhaugh by Melissa Widmaier is a historical fantasy and fairy-tale retelling that reimagines the old Tam Lin ballad through two linked lives: Jonet, a stubborn noblewoman in Selkirk facing an arranged marriage, and Tam, a knight stolen into the faerie realm of Elphyne for centuries. Jonet keeps getting pulled back to Carterhaugh, the wild clearing where the white roses grow and the veil thins, and her choices ripple outward into family, faith, and the dangerous politics of the Daoine Sìth. The story builds toward Jonet trying to free Tam, while Tam pushes back against the idea that he is just a piece on the faerie queen’s board, even if resistance might cost him everything.

I really enjoyed the voice. Jonet’s narration feels authentic, sharp at the edges, and often funny in a way that comes from frustration rather than punchlines. Early on, she is grieving, bristling, and still somehow itching for freedom, all at once. I liked how Widmaier lets Jonet be difficult without punishing her for it. She can be tender with her sister and downright volcanic with everyone else, sometimes in the same scene. The writing leans into Scots flavor and medieval texture, but it usually stays readable, like the book wants you inside the world instead of standing outside it admiring the wallpaper.

The author’s bold choice is to make the faerie world feel like a real society with rules, grudges, and long memory, not just a misty backdrop for romance. You see the push and pull between Tam’s humanity and the Daoine Sìth’s expectations, and it gets tense in a satisfying way. There’s an honesty to the idea that love is not automatically “pure” just because it is intense. Love can be a vow, sure, but it can also be leverage. The book plays with that discomfort, especially when Jonet realizes how easily magic and rumor can twist what she thinks she knows, and when Tam’s anger finally stops being passive and turns into action.

By the end, what I liked most was the book’s steady insistence on agency. Jonet refuses to be managed, whether by suitors, servants, or supernatural powers, and the story keeps asking what it really costs to choose your own life. Even the closing pages feel like someone leaning in at the edge of the rose clearing and asking you what you will do with the warning you just received. I’d recommend this most to readers who enjoy romantic fantasy rooted in folklore, especially if you like fairy-tale retellings that keep the wonder, and if you have patience for court politics, messy feelings, and characters who fight hard for their right to decide.

Pages: 267 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0G5SKM55R