5 BILLION STARS.

Spoiler Free Thoughts:

This was one of my most anticipated reads this year and it did not disappoint. This is definitely my favorite read of 2025. Usually, I understand that reading is subjective. But, if you don't like this, you're wrong!

If there is a God, it's Julie Soto. Blasphemy aside, I enjoyed every minute of this book. I read her fan fiction series "Rights and Wrongs" earlier this year and it is definitely my favorite. So I knew I would love this. However, I do think she did a great job building a world separate from the Harry Potter series. When I first started listening to "Rose in Chains" I was trying to figure out which character was Luna or Ginny, but soon realized this is it's own book and I just need to enjoy. There is a lot of world building in this book considering it is the first book in a trilogy, but I found it interesting and well written. The sexual tension between Briony and Toven is top notch.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the ALC. The narrator did an amazing job. I think duet narration would have been really cool, but the female narrator didn't do a bad job with the male voices. I AM SO READY FOR BOOK 2!

Absolute perfection! After hearing my fellow ARC reviewers rave about this book I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype, but the hype is 100% deserved! Julie's way of writing and world building was beautiful to read/listen to and I cannot wait for everyone to have this in their hands!

We are dropped into conflict from the jump with the 2 different magical kingdoms at war, one is led by a tyrannical leader who desires to oppress the FMC's (Briony) country and her people. There are 2 different types of magic, heart magic and mind magic which creates the divide between these magical peoples despite them being educated together. Briony is twin sister to the king and we get flashback chapters of their teenage years at school (very Dramione-coded 🥵) where she met/grew up with the MMC (Toven). Things go tits up and Briony finds herself stripped of her magic and in the care of Toven, her natural enemy -- a Draco/Blake like hottie who is powerful, broody, and not what he seems. As we continue to learn more about this world and the new regime, the dynamics between the two of them grow. All I'm gonna say is holy angst and yearning 🔥!

My favourite parts of this book:
✨ Unique magic system
🧱 World building
🐲🦊 Animal familiars
🤝 Interpersonal dynamics
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 A very f*cked up found family
🌶🌶 Angst/yearning/spice
🌱 Character development
🤯 MASSIVE revelation in the epilogue! Some of that I kinda saw coming but not the POV!

Please read the trigger warnings before diving in. There are some dark themes and events throughout that could be difficult for some. This is an adult book with adult themes. It doesn't end on a wild cliffhanger but I am desperate for the next book nonetheless! I was lucky enough to receive an early audiobook to review and goodness me it was superb! The narrator was perfect as Briony and changed her accent/pitch for other characters which was so well done. I'm an avid audiobook listener and this was one of the best I've listened to in awhile!

"Rose in Chains" is a gripping and emotionally charged read that pulls you into its world from the very first page. This novel excels in crafting a dark, atmospheric setting and populating it with complex, damaged characters, earning it a strong four stars.

Soto has a remarkable talent for building tension. The plot is intricate, with twists and turns that kept me guessing and eagerly turning pages. The stakes feel incredibly high, and the author doesn't shy away from exploring the darker aspects of human nature and difficult circumstances. This isn't a light read, and that's precisely where its strength lies; it delves into the raw, uncomfortable truths of its world with impressive commitment.

The characters, particularly the protagonists, are deeply compelling. They're flawed, carrying heavy burdens, and their journey is one of survival and resilience. Their individual struggles are palpable, and their evolving relationships, whether born of necessity or something more, are fascinating to observe. Soto masterfully portrays the push and pull of their dynamics, creating a palpable sense of longing and conflict.

What truly elevates "Rose in Chains" is the intensity of its emotional landscape. The author doesn't just tell you the characters are suffering; you feel their pain, their desperation, and their flicker of hope. This emotional depth makes the narrative incredibly immersive and ensures you're invested in their fates.

So, why not a perfect five stars? While the intensity is a major strength, at times, it felt almost relentless. A few more moments of respite, even brief ones, might have allowed certain emotional beats to land with even greater impact. Additionally, while the world-building is evocative, there were instances where I wished for a slightly clearer exposition of certain elements, particularly early on, to fully anchor myself in the narrative's unique framework.

Despite these minor points, "Rose in Chains" is a powerful and memorable novel. It's a testament to Jule Soto's skill in weaving a dark, captivating tale that explores the enduring spirit of its characters. If you're looking for an intense, emotionally rich story with a compelling plot and complex individuals, this book is definitely one to pick up.

Oh this was SO good and much better than I had anticipated. Dare I say even better than the original material - I’m such a fan of the magic system and the way heart and mind magic are interpreted in this series (to be, WHERE is book 2!?)

Briony is such a great character and Toven… well you know. 🥵 I found this way more compelling to read than FF so that is saying something as a long-time FF reader - the originality shines. The material is really dark, usually not my cup of tea but I am so glad I stuck with it and finished. I would warn readers about the TW list and pay attention to them prior to cracking the spine.

I loved trying to compare the location/characters to the OG material but the author did an amazing job differentiating both. Truly fantastic read, and cannot wait for the second to come out.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

🎧ALC🎧 review: I fear I’m in the minority with this one. The story was just ok for me. It never really captured my attention. There were so many characters thrown at us, and I had a hard time connecting with any of them. I really wasn’t invested in Briony and Toven’s love story. I requested this once I saw it was HP fanfic, but there were very few connections of the two stories in my opinion. I understand this occurs after a Great War and everything has changed, but it definitely was more of a The Handmaid’s Tale retelling. It was well written and I can see why most people will love this book. I will still recommend this one to others.

I enjoyed the narration. It is a single narration, but Ella Lynch did a great job. Thank you NetGalley for the alc for my review.

As the war ends Briony Rosewood, princess of Evermore, is captured. Stripped of her freedom and her magic, she is sold off to the highest bidder in an auction. Due to her status, she fetches the highest price in a bidding war and is sold to Toven Hearst—her enemy as well as her secret crush in school. Yet Briony soon discovers that in her new world, hope is not lost and she may be able to find it is she learns her new role.

Toven and Briony 😍 I am obsessed with them! THIS is what I want out of a slow burn! The tension. The angst. I LOVED it! I really enjoyed that we got past chapters sprinkled in from their days at school.

I loved the plot of the overall story. The world building was easy for me to understand, the pacing was well done. This is not an action packed story, but I liked that. I felt that we really got to know Briony.

🎧The audiobook was narrated by Ella Lynch. She really brought the story to life for me! She narrated Briony very well as well as the voices of other characters! I would highly recommend listening to the audiobook!

Rose in Chains is book 1 in a trilogy and the ending left me with a ton of questions! Overall I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read the next book!

As a Dramoine lover (for those who don't know means Draco + Hermoine fanfiction in the Harry Potter universe), this one is GOLD! Honestly, it was even better than its mother, The Auction, in my opinion.

Amazing world building. A new and refreshing magic system. Epic emotions. Dark villains. Morally grey bad boys. The forever hairline balance between hope and giving up. Excellent prose. Feelings of foreboding and sexual tension, This one is so good. Simply magnificent. I can't wait for more!

As for the narrator, there are moments she sounds like Emma Watson to me, only opening up even more nostalgia of my first read of the mother work. My only sadness is that there wasn't a male Tom Felton voice to pair with it. Great job all around.

First book by Julie soto and what a disappointment that is it was so hard to get through, the narrator's voice is absolutely horrible I am sorry I couldn't even understand what she is saying sometimes too high pitched and she speaks like a child ,too many characters introduced all at once and the themes of this book mmm I think it's on me that I didn't do enough research but this is not just dark it's weird and disgusting and the things the MMC said or his "friends" are absolutely horrible I couldn't stand to listen to it any longer and degradation of women and comparing them to objects sorry no I can't even if it's fictional.

Even if the core idea may sound interesting, it's not well plotted. Everything is more tell than show and so it's simply plain. Didn't enjoy it, but the narrator was good.

I just finished the audio book arc of Rose in Chains and oh my—narration by Ella Lynch is 🔥! Her voice brought every twist, betrayal, and tender moment to vivid life—it's all slow-burn tension, emotional depth, and even that crushing auction scene hit harder thanks to her delivery. Well done!

About the story: Briony Rosewood is my kind of heroine. Stripped of everything—home, magic, family—then sold as a slave, she finds the strength to fight back. And Toven… the enemy turned so much more. Their chemistry? Unforgettable. It’s enemies-to-lovers done right: respectful, longing, and oh-so-layered.

The world that Julie Soto created is dark and complex, with intricate magic and heartbreaking stakes. The dual timelines and flashbacks flesh out their past without slowing the pace. It’s emotional, immersive, and leaves you craving the next chapter.

If you’re after a lush, dark romantasy with a fierce heroine and slowburn romance—this is it. 5 stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you NetGalley, Julie Soto and Hachette Audio for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! The narration was absolutely amazing. It pulled me in right away and made it so easy to get lost in the story.

It’s definitely a slower-paced read, and it tackles some heavy topics, so I was really glad to see that there were trigger warnings at the beginning. That was thoughtful and helped set the right tone going in.

The focus here is more on political intrigue than action or fight scenes, which I actually really liked. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you enjoy slow burns and behind-the-scenes power moves, it totally works.

One of my favorite parts was the back-and-forth between the present and past timelines. It added a nice layer of mystery and helped the story unfold in a way that kept me guessing the whole time.

If I had one small complaint, it’s that I wish the characters had made smarter decisions in a few situations. Sometimes their lack of preparation felt a bit off, like it didn’t quite match who they were supposed to be.

Still, I’m definitely picking up the next book in the series. I’m hooked and curious to see where things go from here

I’m 100% convinced this book will find its audience but unfortunately it wasn’t me. First the beginning brought in some many characters it was hard to keep up and it felt soooo slow. It took me a lot of time to get through this one. And it didn’t really pick up u til the very end. I will say the audiobook for this saved me otherwise I would have given up.

🎧 Thank you to Hachette and NetGalley for the ARC of the audiobook. Before I begin, its only fair that I mention I am aware of the history/origin of this work, though this is my first time reading it. The parallels are there. HOWEVER, great effort has been made to separate the origin from the current state without it being jarring. You don't NEED to be familiar with the past and that's amazingly well done considering the origin is so iconic. Hats off to Julie and everyone involved in those decisions.

There are two main issues I have:
1. You had the option to modify the story in so many different ways. The creative options open to this story were endless… and we went with bonded dragons 😩 It feels like a missed opportunity to take a really solid foundation that could have reshaped the current climate of reading tropes and introduced something new and unique, but it went safe and went “you know what we need more of? Dragons.”
2. There is a lot of flashbacks. So many in fact that the story doesn’t actually get going till 30-40%. You don't really meet and interact with the MMC in current time until about 35% in. I appreciate the backstory and effort to make the story unique but I feel like I know Briony’s entire life and NOTHING about Toven.
Besides that, this was a great read. The story is solid and unique, I enjoyed the characters and the conflict. Its worth the read or listen for sure and I will be following the story as it is released. I loved the slow burn and I LOVE the dark elements. Very dark romance/dark fantasy.

In terms of the audiobook, it was very good if a bit slow. This is the only book I've listened to at 3x speed. Usually 2-2.5x is where I keep it. 1.7 if I want to set myself to a good simmer and live in the world a little longer. But It was very long and the speed was required in a lot of places due to pacing. The narrator was also definitely chosen based on their resemblance to where this story was originated and while not a terrible choice, besides the speed direction holding her back a bit, I kept thinking “oh this is very xyz sounding” and I was listening. Not BAD, it was enjoyable. She did excellent at differentiating the different tones and voices/accents for the other characters.

✨Forbidden romance
🖤Slow burn
✨Enemies to lovers
🖤Dark


Another Julie Soto banger👏🏼
THE TENSION!! Ugh this book will be living in my mind rent free 🙂‍↕️✨ I loved everything about it. The slow burn was deliciously slow dare I say, and I was just salivating for every single second Toven and Briony had their forbidden-attraction-disguised-in-hate moments. The protectiveness coming from both main characters made my heart melt every single time!!

I am so excited for the next book. I cannot wait to see where the story goes!

Thank you NetGalley, Forever Publishing & Hachette Audio for both my ALC & ARC💖

I was so excited when I got approved for this ALC & this book did NOT disappoint. I couldn’t stop listening & finished in 2 days. My tldr review is “OMG OMG THIS IS SO GOOD I LOVED IT!“ 😂

This is a (verrry) slow burn enemies to lovers Romantasy, and the action starts immediately. The magic and world building are very easy to follow. There’s 2 kinds of magic, from the heart & from the mind, and they are currently at war. Briony Rosewood is a princess that uses mind magic, and her side loses the war. She ultimately loses everything, is stripped of her magic & is auctioned off, with the highest bidder being her enemy & former crush, Toven Hearst. We get flashbacks throughout the book to see how the characters & world got to where they are & it’s all so well done. There are so many surprises & I can’t wait for the next book to see where it goes! Be sure to check the trigger warnings, because there are some very dark moments.

Also, between this book & The Thrashers, I’m declaring Julie Soto as the queen of epilogues!!

The narration by Ella Lynch was so good too! This was the first Fantasy/Romantasy I listened to on audio, since other times I tried it got too confusing & I had to stick with reading them with my eyes. But that was never an issue here. The acting was fantastic, I could really feel the emotion throughout. And the voices she did were all perfect for each character. The way my skin crawled every time Raven spoke, it was perfection.

Thank you to HachetteAudio, Forever and NetGalley for providing the ARC for my honest review!

This book has been one of my most anticipated reads and it did not disappoint. I have read The Auction and was so amazed at the new world and life that the story took on. The twists and turns… and that ending. The narrator was brilliant in her delivery, hooking me in through the whole book, making it feel like there was nothing else going on in the world. I will continue to scream about this book from the rooftops.

AAAAAAAJAAHAAHHBHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Okay, okay, okay.

I can overstate neither how excited I was for this OR how well it lived up to my expectations. Easily the worst part of reading this early will be the wait for book two. I’m OBSESSED.

(Real review stuff- the HP character parallels are still fairly obvious but the world building and plot lines have been thoroughly adapted to something new from the Fanfic roots. Vibes are still very Dramione and descriptions of some settings ring bells but given this has gone through so many levels of AU-ing it’s truly removed and unique at this point.)

((Audio review- STUNNING. I typically have some audio processing issues with fantasy but this worked for me. Whether because it’s not a super high fantasy or because the voices managed to be distinct enough. I really enjoyed this format))

Thank you, Julie Soto, for the content warnings. Those were greatly appreciated.

If you were expecting a Romantasy, you would be wrong. This book was DARK and not at all what I thought it would be. This book covers topics of rape, forced sterilization, abuse, death, and a whole slew of other horrific things.

After finishing this book, I don’t know how to fully feel. On one hand, I liked this book FAR more than I liked some of the other slave romances that were published this year *ahem* Firebird. I appreciate that this book does not target minority groups or have a Stockholm syndrome romance plot line. However, we are still dealing with a book about human rights violations so I am still left feeling very uncomfortable. I am intrigued to see how the next book plays out. I have my predictions and hope that they are right.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Audio ARC Review

Rose in Chains completely won me over. While the beginning took me a little time to get into, the emotional payoff and incredible world-building made this an unforgettable read. Julie Soto continues to prove why she’s becoming one of my all-time favorite authors, and I cannot wait for more in this series.

What Took a Minute:
The start of the book felt a bit overwhelming. Characters were introduced rapidly, and since I was listening to the audiobook without a text copy to follow along, I found myself rewinding to catch details. But once I passed the first 5%, things smoothed out and I was hooked.

What I Loved:
• Enemies to Lovers: A classic favorite and done so well here. The tension was real and believable.
• Slow Burn: One of the slowest burns Julie has written, and I mean that in the best way. The emotional depth had me deeply invested, even with minimal spice.
• Magic System: The contrast of Heart Magic and Mind Magic was such a fresh and compelling idea.
• Dragons & Prophecies: High fantasy fans, you will not be disappointed.
• Found Family & Political Intrigue: Both elements were layered beautifully into the plot, keeping me emotionally connected and on edge.

Content Warnings (as included in the book):
• Explicit sexual content
• Mentions of non-consensual sex and sexual assault (including a POV character)
• Buying and selling of humans into captivity
• Forced sterilization and termination of pregnancy
• Minor character deaths
• Torture, suspense, and violence

Narration:
The narrator delivered a strong performance, especially capturing the emotional nuance of the story. I did find the male voice a little inconsistent, but overall it didn’t detract from the experience. That said, I’d love to see more duet narrations for books like this, it would elevate the audio even further.

Thank you to Hachette Audio, Forever, and NetGalley for the advance listening copy of Rose in Chains. I’ve already preordered multiple editions because this book is living rent-free in my head. The ending hit so hard, and now I’m absolutely desperate for the sequel!

I was so incredibly impressed by this story. The characters, the plot, the writing. I feel like it was exciting enough to keep my attention, shocking enough to make me uncomfortable, and descriptive enough to provide adequate world-building for a trilogy.

Julie Soto outdid herself with this story. It is a combo of a fantasy and dystopian society type book. I will say that many compared it to Handmaid’s Tale, but it was far more explicit. I do think they are comparable for sure though.

‼️Major content warnings: Sexual assault, abuse, violence, death, grief, and many others.

I know some of the girlies probably want romance. If that is the case, I will say that this is a very slow-burn romance. You will see few truly romantic encounters. Do not let that dissuade you. The tension is there, and you know as the trilogy goes on there will definitely be a strong romance.

That ending though… 😳

Thank you to Forever, Hachette Audio/Hachette Publishing, and NetGalley for this ARC read audiobook. The narrator did a spectacular job, and the story was amazing. I can’t wait for the next one.