The Rose Throne by Mette Ivie Harrison

This is the story of two princesses, two kingdoms, and the magic that divides them, but could also bring them together.  Ailsbet is a tall red headed princess whose father is manipulative and who relies only on the masculine magic to rule his kingdom.  Her father has all but exiled the feminine magic that helps plants grow and encourages the calm and living aspect of nature.

Marissa is from a kingdom completely unlike Ailsbet.  Marissa's father encourages Marissa's feminine magic, and the kingdom is full and in bloom, although it lacks the masculine strength that Ailsbet's kingdom has in abundance.

These two princesses both want to serve their kingdoms, be who they are, and be loved for their individual selves.  And can either of them make the prophecy come true and reunite these two feuding kingdoms?

This description is a bit vague, and that's because the book's plot itself is kind of muddled.  Honestly, the description of the book and what really happens in the book are rather different.  Apparently Ailsbet is on the cover of the book, although the story certainly holds Marissa up as the "better" princess.  The world created by Harrison is beautiful, if claustrophobic (it seems like the two kingdoms are at the center of the world with very few others around them), but the story was a jumble.  I honestly thought for awhile this was going to be an LGBT story because it didn't seem like the princesses were really in love with anyone in particular that they wanted to marry, so I figured maybe men weren't really what they were interested in.

There isn't much resolution, which makes me wonder if there are supposed to be more books in this series, or if this is just the end and we are supposed to decide what happens next.  I've really enjoyed some of Harrison's other work, but this one was just OK for me.  I did want to find out what happened, but once I got to the end I was kind of left feeling "meh".

This review is based off an e-ARC I was allowed to read.