I physically could not put this book down. I am a very straightforward girly, I read after work and go to bed at 8:30PM. I was up until midnight reading this and ended up reading this in 24 hours because I just couldn’t COULD. NOT. put it down. I have read tons of romantasy in my short life and this quickly became a top 5 for me. It was sexy, it was dark, it was EVERYTHING.

When I finished, I was on my knees trying to contemplate how I would go another year or so until the next book. I YEARN for them. I did not want it to be over.

It was devastatingly perfect.

I really like Julie Soto’s realistic fiction but I loved this. I can’t wait for the next book. She does such a good job with characters. I also really liked how the flashbacks were structured to give us more of the characters’ story.
Spoilers: If I could make changes, I’d like to see a little more progress/admission in the romantic relationship — will no one admit a single thing at any point in the whole book? And the reader can obviously tell some things Briony is misinterpreting and I wish she could clue in or they could have a conversation about at least one thing. But still I want Toven and Briony together so badly and I was enthralled. I’m definitely reading book two as soon as I can, a little bit to see what happens with the kingdoms and all that but mostly to see Briony and Toven fully together and what their Sacral bond and magic looks like. Also really hoping/looking forward to them being in each other’s minds more for their relationship and also to thwart their enemies.
I’ve already started telling everyone I know who likes this genre that they have to read this book.

So, this book made me realize several things. First, I love Julie Soto's writing style. From her contemporary romances to this debut dark romantasy, Soto's storytelling fully immerses me in her books. The descriptions, use of dialogue, imagery, and nuanced characters and relationships make her an auto-buy author (or, in this case, an auto-request on NetGalley).

Second, Dramione-based relationships are not for me. I've never read Draco/Hermione fan fiction, and I didn't read the piece this is based on. And I really dislike bully romances, so the main romantic (kind of?) relationship did not work for me at all. I didn't understand Briony's feelings toward Toven when he was so cruel to her at times. How do you get past the verbal and physical abuses? I guess he does right by her in some regards, and he saved her from a terrible fate at the auction, but for me, that doesn't make up for all the harm he's caused over the course of YEARS. I feel like Toven is the best of the worst, and Briony could do (and deserves) so much better.

Third, I love fantasy worlds and experiences. In this story, the world was interesting with nods to the original HP series and fresh and compelling additions. However, it was way too dark for me. With threats of sexual assault, sexual harassment, violence, and debasing auctions where they sell people for anything their owner desires, including siphoning their magic and other personally violating activities, there were too many disturbing elements for me. I would definitely recommend reading the content warnings before starting.

Finally, I think this was a well-written and immersive dark fantasy. It wasn't a bad read. It just wasn't the right fit for me. But if you've ever wondered what would have happened if the Dark Lord had won and defeated Harry and the rest, you might want to check this one out.

Thanks to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

4.5 stars rounded up. I officially have a book hangover after reading this. Do not start reading late at night -- not only because it's extremely addictive and hard to put down, but honestly the first third of this book is non-stop action, trauma and seemingly impossible situations for the heroine to get out of. This is definitely a darker romantasy than I'm used to reading, but the dynamic between Briony and Toven was really compelling. Despite both thinking their love for the other has been unrequited for years (and really, they've hidden their true feelings so well, it's understandable), their chemistry is undeniable as they navigate the deadly dynamics of the new world order after Briony's family and kingdom are conquered and she and her people become enslaved for their magic under Toven's kingdom's ruler. The stakes are incredibly high throughout as Briony fights to survive and eventually plots how to find the other surviving Eversun rebels, at the same time that she is trying to figure out whether Toven and his family want to help or kill her. It's been a long time since I felt this absorbed in a series, and I can't believe we have to wait until next year for book 2!

Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for providing an ARC for review!

As someone who has devoured and loved everything Julie Soto has published so far, I went into Rose in Chains with high expectations — and somehow, she still managed to exceed them. This book absolutely floored me.

From the very first chapter, I was pulled into the dark, vivid world Soto created, and I couldn’t look away. The slow-burn romance between Briony and Toven was deliciously tense, full of aching moments and quiet intensity that had me hanging on every word. Soto’s ability to craft complex, emotionally layered characters just keeps getting better, and Rose in Chains might be her best character work yet.

The fantasy elements added a new richness to her storytelling, but what stayed consistent — and what I love most about her writing — is the emotional gut-punches she delivers with such grace. Every twist, every stolen glance, every heartbreak felt earned and real.

This is the kind of book that lingers with you long after you finish it. I couldn’t put it down, and honestly, I didn’t want to. If you’ve loved her earlier books, get ready — Rose in Chains is something special.

I really did not enjoy this book. I actually decided to DNF it at 50% because I was just not having a good time with it. I honestly started thinking about DNF’ing at closer to 30% but kept pushing hoping that it would get better.

Firstly, I am not a fan of dark romance. I have a hard time reading about woman who is falling in love with someone who treats her poorly or is abusive to her. That is just my preference and no judgement at all to anyone who does read or enjoy darker romance stories. My problem with this book is that it didn’t feel believable at all that she was falling in love with Toven. He never gave her any reason at all to make her have feelings for him, other than being mildly flirtatious and occasionally making suggestive remarks. Oh, and being handsome of course. I felt like there were no redeeming qualities to him and even when we went back in time to them being in school together, all we got were stories of him being rude and antagonistic to her. I just don’t think there is enough character building for either Briony or Toven to make me believe that they care about each other at all in anyway other than physically.

I also found the writing style of this book to be incredibly juvenile. I understand this is an ARC and may have been edified in some places, but the overall writing was so stilted and unimaginative, details were listed off more like a grocery list than in a way that would help me feel immersed in the world. I know this was originally Dramione FanFic, and I think that translating from a world that we all know and love to a completely new unfamiliar world was not executed properly. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to read this imagining Malfoy Manor and Hogwarts and she just didn’t put in a lot of effort so that we can continue to imagine that, but that would be a huge disservice for those who have never read HP and still want to pick up this book.

And finally the only reason I hung on so long through this book was to see if we would get any actual plot, but even 50% in this book had nothing to keep me engaged or wanting to pick it up to see what happens next. The entire plot was her being trapped in her captors home and trying to find creative ways to learn more about what’s happening in the outside world. But what was the point? She barely talked about escape, it felt more like she was just hoping the rebellion would come and save her rather than her forming her own plan of how to stop what is happening. And if it is supposed to be more of a character study then I would understand, but I also didn’t feel like any of the characters were fully fleshed out either. Briony was written very flat, I feel like I didn’t have any idea what kind of person she was. She loved her brother I guess but even that didn’t come across with any emotional strength. I just felt like I really didn’t care about either the characters what they were going through, or what was going to happen next in the story and it’s ultimately why I decided to DNF.

Not knowing this was dramione fic (Draco Malfoy x Hermione Granger fan fic from Harry Potter series) was unfortunate when I got this arc. As a trans person, I have major issues with HP and will keep it at that as I don't want to have my review taken down.

It's a bummer to see this book being marketed as dramione fic in 2025 when in reality the MMC looks like Draco, they went to a magic school, and that’s kind of the end of the major parallels I found.

Warning for minor spoilers and thoughts for the book but overall, not going to reveal all the secrets and plot spoilers. Read at your own discretion.


In no particular order, major issues I had with this book:

- This book tries extremely hard to include to write up a ‘good slave owner’ plot line to make it not that badTM, but at the end of the day, getting sold into sex slavery is the key component to this plot and relationship.

- Such. Emphasis. On. Virginity. SO MUCH. There are chapters on the need to preserve this 25 year old FMC’s virginity, how to shield it and pretend like she has had sex. There’s literal magic used to put her ‘virginity’ into a glass jar. The number of highlights I have just solely on her virginity is insane to me.

- The bigger villains of the story have their noses described to show their evilness – “twisted, crooked, large” are the descriptors used. They also are the evil men out to rape and abuse the FMC and all other women. Antisemitism anyone??

- Using threats of rape and sterilization to keep the plot moving and to keep the women from doing anything throughout the story.

- All the interactions of the FMC with any other women does not pass any resemblance of the Bechdel Test.

- This is a very cishet book. Women are but vessels and wombs to fuck and men hold the majority of the power and use sexual humiliation and whipping their dicks out as power. There’s a hint of one guy being maybe queer of some flavor, but it’s all very shameful and hidden and homophobic.

- The slaves got branded on their forearms with their owners names.

- Flashbacks were way too common throughout this book, and also contradicted things that the main time frame was supposed to be saying, which was annoying.



The writing was also objectively not great. Examples:

- Many elements of this book was copy-pasted out from other popular works. I understand that most fiction is inspired by other works/media/etc. HOWEVER, good writers are able to make it feel less “copied” and this didn’t work. ACOTAR world building and elements kept appearing. We know characters are meant to be filed off HP characters. If I can see a plotline/character reveal from a mile away, that's not great writing for me personally.

- So many sentences stating the same thing and reiterating the same sentiment. Déjà vu again & again.

- This is stated to be an enemies to lovers situation in the blurb and marketing, but the flashbacks and all current on page interactions show that to be a lie. Weak writing took chemistry that could have been fleshed out as misunderstood enemies to lovers, and just displayed out all the feelings for each MC without any nuance.

- Magic system and lore is weak and underdeveloped. There’s mind magic and heart magic. And heart magic users don’t like heart magic users. There's also no world building besides the different homes people are transported to.

- 200 pages of this could have been cut out to make this more cohesive. We didn’t need the same scenes night after night of the characters doing the same things in order to show growth. There’s only so many times this FMC needs to sit in a lap to show how comfortable she can be touching the MMC. I didn’t need to read chapters of discussion on one woman’s virginity. Or pages of the same guys threatening the same rape and assault to show that she was in peril. We get it, keep it moving.



TLDR: I would not recommend this and wish I could give 0 stars as a rating. This has antisemitism, purity culture, poor world building and magical system lore, repetitive writing and way too much filing off serial numbers of past popular books.

Nothing happens for 99% of the book, and I wish I was joking. The bad guys won and the women get sold as magical sex slaves. The first few chapters are pure exposition (lots of telling), as are most of the flashbacks. There’s a deluge of characters introduced in the beginning, the plot is very thin and repetitive, the characters all one-note, and the magical lore an afterthought.

The story also seems to glorify human trafficking. I know this is not the author’s intention, but the heroine Briony is aware of what is happening to the women of her Rosewood kingdom yet she starves for some sort of similar sexual exploitation from her captor/love interest, Tevon, which gives this story a pretty problematic message and does not handle the trafficking part with any sensitivity as the story hyperfocuses on how brutish and crass most of the Bromard men are, which is deeply unsettling and unnecessarily repetitive. Briony, despite being captured, has full use of her magic, can still study and traverse around the house, and is not mistreated, but somehow still has zero agency and absolutely no plans on saving her kingdom or her friends.

This book is a highly anticipated release, and after reading it, I found out that this is based on reworked Harry Potter (Draco/Hermione romance) fanfic. In 2025, I’m personally not sure why there is still an audience for anything JK Rowling-related.

Special thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest, independent review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5 stars

Honestly, I don't know even know what I read. I felt like this book had no plot whatsoever. Basically, the story comes down to this; princess and her people get sold to the winning side of whatever war they were in as magical sources. Our FMC is sold at a very high price, but isn't used as a magical source. Instead, her buyer/owner/captor is actually very nice to her and wants to protect her for some unknown reason. It's also good to mention that the buyer is someone she had a crush on since forever. In the meantime, she is also trying to find out what happened to her friends and family.

That's it.

On a very vague level, I understand our FMC's motivations. But there's super high level. I want to know the nitty-gritty. I want to know what makes her tick. I want to understand why this book is through her POV. Yes, we're told she's powerful, but how so? We know that there is a prophecy involved, but I need to know more. I felt like there was so little world building. How is this considered romantasy? Romance where?? The main couple barely kisses by the end of the book, let alone has sex. FANTASY WHERE?? I cannot understand how people gave this book a 5 stars. I love Julie Soto, but this fell super flat for me.

This was the first book I have read from this author. The cover is what drew my attention. It's a shame the book is not as good as the cover. The romance...amazing. The world building was mid at best. I actually found out this was based on a fanfiction which is probably why I got Wattpad or AO3 vibes while reading it. The magic felt random which makes sense because I believe this is based on a Harry Potter fanfic. Idk I just think the writing was average, but the romance was good enough I liked it. Would still recommend,

A somewhat promising start to a new romantasy trilogy!

(Small disclaimer: I read the fanwork this is based on, and while I tried not to compare them, somethings still slipped through. I am going to try to keep those comparisons out of this review.)

I think I ended up enjoying this book, but I was worried for a long time that this would be a wash for me. I really struggled with the worldbuilding and magic systems. They felt both extremely bland and rudimentary and also very confusing at the same time. I have a better grasp on them by the end of the book, but I still think it’s very boring re: the fantasy world. In my opinion, it felt like Soto took the easy way out when reworking this in regards to the fantasy setting.

My other big gripe with Rose in Chains comes from the characterizations. And by that I mean we get 0 character development or growth. We are plopped into this fantasy world with these characters, but I don’t know anyone’s motivations or relationships. We were told how the characters feel, but I was never able to fully buy into all of the characters.

Both of those major concerns coalesce into the main problem I have with this book, which is, in essence, why? For these women and men to be sold into sexual and magical slavery, the plot and characters lack a sense of anything actually being dire. Toven is essentially a brick wall, Briony has no traits other than loving Toven and constantly thinking of something to research, and Bomard and Evermore’s war is only because of different types of magic. I wanted MORE. As I said before, I just couldn’t buy into a lot of this.

All of this to say, I still did have a decent time, and I love Julie Soto, so I will continue the series. I think the ending took an interesting turn, and I’m excited to see how it plays out.

Thank you for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Julie Soto the writer that you are….I am obsessed with how unique the magic system is! I enjoyed every second of reading and will be begging and pleading for book 2! Toven & Briony my loves, I am so excited to watch them grow in this series! (Full disclosure I LOVED the auction.so I was worried how she would redo the world building & magic system, SHE DID AMAZING, I would love to spend a day in her mind because wow)

First, thank you SO much to Forever Publishing for the e-arc of this book! I was so excited to read it this year when it came out and getting a chance to read it early and review it was even better.

WOW. Rose in Chains was every bit as good as I imagined it would be and Julie Soto did an incredible job of creating this magical world, a harsh war, and a bleak reality post-war.

I was absolutely riveted by Briony Rosewood, Toven Hearst, and the dynamic of their relationship. The pre-war flashbacks were a peak behind the veil of current situations and how things escalated. Julie Soto gives us readers a peek at this not-so-perfect world from before and how times truly have changed.

Briony Rosewood is a strong, stubborn, but maybe a bit lost FMC. But I think we’d all be a bit lost facing the destruction of our home, our family, and everything we love. Then to only be thrust into a “relationship” with someone she sort of knew as a girl? Woof. She’s doing better than I would be!

Toven Hearst is a mystery and I am SO excited to learn more about this character. Between the scenes from before the war to the current situation he is in, I have no idea what all his motives are and if he’s gonna end up dead or on top? And don’t get me started on his feelings for Briony. Obviously he’s down bad for the girl even if he won’t admit it.

The ending 🫠 I don’t know how I feel. With the surprise return of some characters and their desire to save Briony from her gilded cage, I don’t know how I feel! I mean to the outside world she IS being used and abused in a way so it makes sense they’d want to rescue her but also… I need her to stay with Toven 🫣 for my sanity.

Anyways, really enjoyed this book! I absolutely ate every bit of it up and so fast because when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it and what’s gonna happen next. Julie Soto did an excellent job with keeping us readers on our toes and begging for more! Cannot wait to dive back into the world of Bomardi and Evermore!!

I will admit, I had absolutely no idea that Rose in Chains was the traditional publication of The Auction. I had no idea what I was in for, other than that I love Julie Soto and she wrote a romantasy book so I had to have it.

I was drawn in pretty much immediately and remained hooked throughout! I felt the world had a really intriguing, if not horrific introduction. It became obvious real quick that this book was much darker than I was anticipating for a Julie Soto book, not that it deterred me as I’m also a big dark romance fan. Just, be warned. It IS dark. The context of the book is very dark. Read those content warnings my gems.

I will say, though, that I am unashamedly here for the romance. I always am, I always will be. My struggle with this book, understanding that it is a book 1 of a trilogy, is that there is little to no romance between the MCs. It is VERY slow burn. Not only that, you get slightly detailed scenes of the MC with another woman. That is just never going to sit well with me, so those parts were something I struggled to get through. Could I potentially forgive it in the future books, sure! But when I read romance I don’t want my MCs having any details involving spice with anyone but the MCs (which can include multiple people of course but they should all be MCs for me).

So… if you’re expecting a distant but otherwise obsessed with the FMC man… that’s not happening here. Toven’s feelings are pretty much always guarded and you’re going to get flashbacks of him in a relationship with someone else and flaunting it in front of the FMC. Maybe had I known what this was going in, I would have realized his character would at least begin with a bully type dynamic, but I didn’t. By the end, however, I had convinced myself that I see good potential in the romance in the future and am invested. So hopefully I’m not wrong. Think long stares and silent potential yearning more than any type of declaration.

Now, despite my frustrations with our MMCs lack of romantic exuberance.. I still kept reading because I was honestly hooked and I’m really glad I did! I love and trust Julie Soto to somehow bring this around for me in the romance department. The story felt unique (for me because I’ve never really jumped into any Dramione fanfic type storylines) and it was dark and twisty enough to really make me want to know more. It’s not Julie’s fault I want my men to only have eyes for the FMC.

Thank you SO very much to Julie Soto and Forever for providing me with this very anticipated ARC!!! I couldn’t put it down!

The first thing I had to do was put aside everything I knew about the fanfic and stop trying to connect these stories to their fanfic counterparts and as soon as I did I fell headfirst into the story.

The magic system was interesting—the arbitrary division between mind and heart magic dividing these two countries was so well down because both people had the ability to do both but it was a matter of teaching that made one better than the other.

Briony’s character is clearly on the beginning of her journey. She doesn’t question everything but the reader get glimpses of how strong she is and how her thought process works and that she is willing to question everything. Toven is similarly interesting—we get a very limited version of him based on who Briony thinks he and his family is and this something I love about having a limited point of view.

The flashbacks were my favorite! They do so much to ground the story in the political feelings at the time, Briony’s attraction to Toven and her relationship with her brother, the king.

The content is DARK! The violence, the slavery over magical power, the SA (not graphic yet?) was tough for me to read but the story was so compelling that I didn’t want to put it down.

4.5 stars! I absolutely loved this book! Julie's writing is so captivating and addicting. The beginning was definitely heavy on the world building and character names being thrown at you but once we got settled in things were clicking and I couldn't put it down.

I thought the magic system was unique and I like that there are two different types of magic we see and get to know more about as the story goes. I liked that we got some flashback chapters showing Brionny and Toven's relationship prior to present day; I think getting that back story, it definitely helps the reader sympathize and understand Toven more. I think Brionny has so much potential to be even more badass and to grow as a character. We get glimpses of her having a backbone and standing up for what it right and what she believes in and I hope that will be even more prevalent as the series continues.

The ending left us with just enough to have us questioning things and feral for more!

This is definitely a dark romantic fantasy so check trigger warnings before reading. Thank you Forever for the arc!

**Thank you so much Forever and NetGalley for the free arc**

Wow wow wow. I feel like I need to compose my thoughts. I loved this book. Did it make me very frustrated and emotional at things that were happening to characters I liked, yes. Did I want to keep reading it because it was really good and I needed to know what was going to happen to the FMC and MMC, also yes.

I really liked the FMC in this book: Briony Rosewood. She is an intelligent and strong FMC that was very likable. She made decisions that I understood and made sense to me. As for Toven…loved him. The enemies-to-lovers trope really is ENEMIES-to-lovers done right. With that being said, this is also a slooooooooow burn (which I love). Fans of Dramione will enjoy this book.

The magic system is very unique and took me a little bit to understand but I loved that Julie decided to do something a little different. On to the side characters!!! So good! There were characters I truly felt for and others that I grew to love and some that I literally cannot stand. Lastly, the ending! Great cliffhanger and I’m looking forward to book 2.

Some of the harder topics such as the objectification of the women in this story was heartbreaking and trigger warnings should definitely be reviewed before reading but overall this book is sooooooo good!

oh I ate this UP! it's the perfect kind of slow burn I want in a fantasy. The tension, the slow build, the longing, everything was done so well! I felt like I was constantly on the edge of my seat. I cannot wait for book 2!

This falls under my 6 stars list. I love Julie, I think she is a magnificent author and she keeps surprising me by changing genres and absolutely killing it. I had not read The Auction so I didn't know what to expect... I am blown away with how good this was! The slow burn and sexual tension was astounding. I was panting at parts. The world building and character development was amazing. I loved this so much and cannot wait for the next book!

Briony Rosewood is the princess of Evermore, but that does nothing but put a bigger target on her when the dark forces win the war against her people the Eversuns after killing her brother the king. Briony is captured and placed up for auction to the Bomard highest bidder. Briony fetches the highest price at auction, going to Tobin Hearst. Toven is among the Bomard elite, with his father eighth in the line of succession. Toven also happens to be Briony’s secret crush from school, the only boy who’s ever made her heart race. Adjusting to life as a captive heartstring challenges Briony in ways she could have never expected, but she finds hope and unlikely alliances along the way.

There is nothing Julie Soto cannot do! This book is EVERYTHING. The unique magic system and world building works perfectly, and the twists and turns that she weaves throughout are done brilliantly.

The tension between Briony and Toven should be taught in enemies to lovers school. It’s that good.

I don’t want to spoil anything because every moment in this book is worth experiencing. I just finished it and already cannot wait to get my hands on book two. This is a must read for romantasy fans!