An absolute masterpiece from start to finish. I loved the care Soto put into this story, not only the characters and fleshing each of them out, but the world they inhabit and the particulars of it all. The scene was so lush and three dimensional, I felt like I was living everything right alongside Briony. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, both from the political intrigue, the war between the two countries, but also with the romance. My god, the slow burn was absolutely delicious. I actually really appreciated the way the romance unfolds and how drawn out it is, because I think given the circumstances, that’s perfectly natural.

OH AND THAT EPILOGUE?!

Everything about this was perfection, and I’m already salivating for book 2.

Rose in Chains by @

I am in a period of mourning for having already finishing this book 😪 I will need 5-7 business days to recover…

As a longtime lover of the original fanfiction, I was excited but also a little nervy to see this book being transitioned into a traditionally published book… I was nervous on how much was going to be from the original? How much would be new? What if a favorite scene was taken out??? I am happy to report that all of those fears weren’t something I needed to be concerned about because MISS JULIE SOTO YOU KNOCKED THAT SHIT OUT OF THE PARK!!!!! Absolutely obsessed 😮‍💨🔥 this is my official application to join the revolution.

Julie seamlessly created a story that was new, and completely its own, while also including a lot of moments and Easter eggs from the fics that I was absolutely kicking my feet, giggling about🤭 and that ending??? Set it up perfectly for an amazing second book to this trilogy and I cannot wait 🫶🏼

Rose In Chains by @juliesotowrites

INCREDIBLE. This book was absolutely addicting. I was on the edge of my seat. Please, please read content warnings at the beginning and take them seriously! There are some very heavy themes in the book but it’s for good reason. This story packs an emotional punch. The magic system is unique and fresh. The world is easy to understand. The villain… well, I can’t wait to find out more!!! The discoveries, the cliff hanger, the questions!!! It is Dramione mixed with Handmaids tale mixed with just good fantasy. AND THE ROMANCE! We just get a taste in this story, a little nibble, but it is FULL of years of tension and longing and history. Its SEXY. It’s addicting. I cannot wait for book 2!

Thank you @netgalley and @readforeverpub for the arc!
Pub date: 7/8/25

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
🌶️.5

I loved this book. This was everything I expected it to be.

The magic system is very unique. Mind magic and heart magic!

Princess Briony is captured after her kingdom is overthrown. She is taken and imprisoned to be sold at auction as a golden heartspring (an amplifier of magic). She is sold to her childhood enemy Toven for a very high price.

Once she arrives at Hearst Hall she is in for a surprise. She is not there for the reasons she thinks and he is actually nice to her. He even helps her.

There is so many more layers to this story, I do not want to give spoilers.

The enemies to lovers in here was written so well! The tension was extremely high. I was screaming at my book for them to figure it out. The time jumps gave me readers whiplash but I know they are pivotal to the story and Briony and Toven’s growth!
I highly recommend this book anyone who loves Dramione and enemies to lovers.

Please check your TWs. Rose in Chains deals with dark themes and sensitive subjects.

I haven't read the original Dramiona fanfic, but this..?
This was bloody brilliant!

I knew this book will be good, as simple as a knowledge like that goes. But it's just even better than I imagined?

"Rose in Chains" comes out in July... And then I'll have to wait even more? Please, end my suffering faster!

Let me just point a few cool things, okay?
* The magic system was actually fresh! Like, I don't think I've read anything like this.
Did I expect wands and brooms? Maybe? And that was ignorant of me, huh?
* The angst! The slow burn? I'm not even gonna start, just know it's THERE.
* And well... Check the trigger warnings, 'cause this entire book will keep you on the edge of your couch, but not in an exciting way.

For now I'll go and try not to be book hangover...

I was admittedly a little worried this story might not live up to the hype it’s gotten, but Rose in Chains was truly a fantastic book.

I picked it up and didn’t put it down again until I was done and immediately wanted to start it again. A vivid world, flashbacks that actually helped the reader rather than take up space, and carefully crafted dialogue made this a show stopper for me.

Easily one of my top reads of the year and it’s only February as I’m writing this! Thank you to Forever for the opportunity to read this one early.

I am so conflicted about this book because it seemed conflicted about what it wants to be. First off I am a huge Julie Soto fan. I don’t know if it is because it is a rewrite of a fanfic or a first book but the pacing and storyline was weird.Is it a girl power story or romantasty or epic story??Every 100 pages or so the tone and focus changed. I still don’t have a good feel on Briony except as a 25 year old she is naive. She doesn’t even ask the most important question until 95% in. If it’s supposed to be an epic romance, it is really lacking romance. Maybe a multi book slow burn. I feel like a little editing might benefit us all. Hopefully book 2 and 3 will be cleared. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I won't be able to stop thinking about Rose in Chains for a long time. I am a HUGE Julie Soto fan 😍 and love her writing. I hadn't read The Auction, but just started reading Dramione fanfic last year. To say I loved this book would be an understatement 🥲 It had everything I love in a romantasy:

-forced proximity
-angst
-slow burn

And a plot that kept me intrigued throughout the book. I literally could not stop reading Rose in Chains until it was finished. And that ending🤯??!?!?!?! I'm already looking forward to the second book.

If you're even considering this book, I highly suggest you add it to your tbr. I will be shouting about it for a long time.

Soto continues to show that she is a master at writing interesting, deeply engaging and unforgettable stories. This book is dark, gritty yet has next level tension. So excited to read the rest of this series.

THIS. DAMN. BOOK. Words cannot express how much I loved it. I read it while simultaneously reading The Auction and it was the best decision I ever made. My love for HP is never ending, but this version of the story is just incredible. It's dark, and wrong and so very spicy but also so beautifully written. I couldn't get enough of Draco, like, perfection. I am absolutely on edge waiting for the next book. I will definitely be rereading this multiple times until book 2 comes out.

Thank you Forever publishing for an arc!!

I don’t know where to begin. I finished this in less than 24 hours and I’m still processing what I just read. It was delectable, fast-paced and like a perfect blend of the updates that trad publishing gives to stories and the fanfiction it blossomed from.

I think this book is going to have a lot of mixed reviews. I for one, really like it, just because it’s such a breath of fresh air of what romantasy currently is as a genre. It is a slow-slow burn which I also like because the tension can be feltttt and the pinning really adds an extra layer! It’s something that I don’t get to read a lot of anymore and I think more stories really need to use it.

Overall the vibes were just incredible and it was really interesting to see how much changed with character names, places and descriptions! I love being able to read a book and feel the passion that the author has for the story flow through it and Julie Soto really accomplished that with Rose in Chains! I will more than likely be spending all my money on every edition of this book and I can’t wait to see what they look like if book box companies decide to do something! (Fairyloot plz I’m begging you)

(The cliffhanger really wrecked me and I’ll be knocking on Hachettes door as soon as the second book is announced!)

Julie Soto or Forever Publishing - if you’re reading this I will do anything you ask if you get me an early copy of the next book in this series once complete. This story has altered my brain chemistry and I NEED more. Are you kidding me with this masterpiece? Thank you NetGalley, publisher and author!!!

I already know this is going to be one of my top books of the year!

I have no notes. It's dark, intense, and doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to all the traumatic things the characters are put through. I was gripped from the first page and ended up reading it over the span of 24 hours! Julie Soto understands the push and pull of a slow burn. It's brutal and delicious.

Please take note of content warnings—there are a lot of them, and the story doesn't gloss over them.

Thank you for the eARC, Forever!

5⭐️ 1🌶️
I LOVED IT!! It was amazing and everything I wanted it to be! Briony and Toven were perfect!
This is based on Julie sotos dramione fan fiction The Auction, so if you enjoyed that then you’re going to love this!

“Toven turned her to him gently, and horror filled her as he placed a hand on her cheek.”
“You’ll come with me to the dance floor now, or I’ll put in a formal request with your father for courtship. It’s your decision.”

“His eyes were so soft and his arms warm, and she didn’t know how to reconcile the man who had hunted her with the man who now held her so tenderly.”

“Think of a lake with still waters.”

“There was a drawer in Toven Hearst’s bedroom that contained a shoebox. Inside that shoebox was a hair ribbon. And try as she may to rationalize it in any other way...that ribbon was hers.”

I not a romantasy girlie but I've heard so much buzz around this book I became curious. Plus it's Julie Soto.

I think this is a great first book. It sets up the characters and their dynamics, the world and the plot really well. It has a great combination of dark fantasy and political intrigue without feeling confusing. Plus the romance is a delicious slow burn. There's pining, there's angst and great chemistry.

I have not read The Auction which is the fanfiction this was previously, so I can't speak on that.

Overall, a great fantasy romance that many readers will love.

Romantasy at its best.

This is addictive and easy to binge. Deliciously slow burn. A little dark. A little magical. A hefty helping of political intrigue. AND SO SO MUCH TENSION!

Y’all I stayed up until 5:30 AM to finish this book - I read it in a single sitting. I am tired and I am DESPERATE for more!

Now the elephant in the room - this is reworked Dramione - so how did it hold up on its own?

If I wasn’t already aware this was reworked fanfic - I would have absolutely NO clue - it is so far from the “source” material! imho the similarities are minor things, hair color, perhaps some of the politics? Even then, these are similarities you might find in a number of fantasy books.

Moral of the story this is a BANGER. The world is unique, the magic is cool, the stakes are high, the plot moves at a perfect pace and the tension is so EPICALLY delicious you’re gonna need a cold shower!

What’s to love…
- SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOW BURN
- pinning, angst, tension, OH MY!
- plotical intrigue
- rival “kingdoms”
- forced proximity
- secrets
- A+ banter
- will have you screaming “HURRY UP AND DO IT” at your book.
- tight plot and great pacing
- binge-able AF
- A DRAGON!!!!!!!!!!!!

My only complaint…
- Seriously, I have only one bad thing to say about this book. I wish the author had a little more faith in the reader’s ability to remember important things & infer using context clues. There were a number of times where the writing repeated “important” things, sometimes within a few pages of each other. The writing was often over explanatory - more times than not, it explained details I could have easily assume based on context. These are things I expect and accept in YA books but something that does detract from my experience when reading an adult novel.

BUT - even with the repetitions this book was un-put-down-able!

GO PREORDER THIS STUNNING EDITION RIGHT MEOW!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

very good I loved this romantasy. very interesting characters and fun to see what happens. I hope to see more from this author

First and foremost, I just want to say that I am devastated that I have finished this book because now I can no longer read it for the first time. Second, I am once again in awe of Julie Soto because of how brilliant yet brutal this book was. The Auction is my favorite Dramione fanfic and getting to revisit this story in a new way was so fascinating and dare I say…. I loved it even more…..

I love and appreciate the way this book explores consent and power dynamics within Briony and Toven’s relationship. This book goes far beyond enemies to lovers and introduces such an interesting and complex dynamic with the pretense that everyone has to uphold. I also LOVE the way this book switches between the past and the present and how much more depth gets added to these characters as more is revealed along the way. If you’ve read The Auction, I hate to say that you will still be unprepared for the ending of this book. Hold on tight friends 😬

Julie's writing is stunning. I was an OG fan of the original work, but this became even more stunning somehow. I would commit crimes for this woman.

Ugh!! I really wanted to read this!! Because of the trigger warnings I won’t be able to read it. I really appreciate the authors listing those at the beginning.

Julie’s a great writer!! Definitely check out the trigger warnings before you read it.

Thank you NetGalley, Julie and forever (grand central publishing) for the eARC!

#netgalley #roseinchains