Thank you NetGalley and hachette audio for this audiobook ARC. First off the audio voice of Ella Lynch was absolutely perfect. I enjoyed how she changed her voice for each character. Orion and Toven were the perfect pretentious mix with condescending. Her pacing was perfect and I was able to understand everything. Ella really helped bring the audiobook to life for me.

I have to start with the fact that I am a huge draimone fan and Julie Soto is one of the queens that feeds the alter draimone fans worship at. Myself included. With that being said, Rose in Chains was a dream come true. It is an ode to draimone while still standing on its own two feet as a very intriguing fantasy story. The writing was beautiful and the imagery was detailed. The story line stayed close to the Auction. But I loved the magic system. It was intricate but understandable. I loved the different twists vs the auction and especially enjoyed the flashbacks that revealed the connections between characters. I will highly recommend this book when published and will be waiting on pins and needles for the next installments.

This was so intriguing! The twist and turns have me very excited for the second book.
The FMC can be a little annoying at times, but I also find the character she is inspired from annoying as well. So that could just be me.
The middle was a little slow for me, things really picked up in the end. It was the right balance of seeing some of the twist coming while others I was completely shocked by.
Lots of angst and yearning in this slow burn. The magic system is unique and complex. This has the potential to
be an epic series, l'm excited to see where it goes.

Rose in Chains is a dark romantasy with a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance.

I have not read The Auction but I devoured this book in 2 days. It sucked me in immediately and kept my attention throughout. I was drawn into the world and the politics. The magic system was interesting and unique. I love Briony and Toven.

I can’t wait to see what will happen in the rest of the series. I absolutely loved this book.

Thanks to Netgalley, Hachette Audio and Forver for an ARC.

I LOVED this book! Soto has truly created something special, and I cannot wait to keep reading the series. Once I started, it was near impossible to put down.

Rose in chains follows Briony, a former Eversun princess after the dismantling and destruction of her lands. Her family is dead, she has been captured, and now she will be sold off to the highest bidder.

This is definitely a book that needs its trigger warnings. It’s dark, and emotional, there is violence (both on the page and talked about), and yet Soto has managed to see the seeds for a beautiful life story. The TENSION!! *chefs kiss*

I love how she has managed to create a brand new, quite complex, magic system, and lay it out in a way that is both understandable and exciting.

Briony is a strong character, who despite the fact that she has been imprisoned and SOLD continues to look for ways to fight back.

I cannot wait to read the rest of this series, and literally anything else Julie Soto writes!!

Thank you so much to Net Galley for the early ALC!

2.5 sad stars. Thanks to Hatchet Audio and Netgalley for the ALC. I was so excited for this read and I just don’t think the overall execution was for me. I did not vibe with the world or the characters in any capacity unfortunately and I’m so sad to say. But I can see other people really enjoying this book.

It was well written but I had a lot of trouble with the pacing of the book. You would be thrust from present day and back to when they were in school 4, 5, 6 years ago without a real rhyme or reason. It didn’t really add to the emotional impact of the story it just made it feel inconsistent for me. I didn’t really buy the slow burn / yearn romance or the reason why the MMC liked the FMC so much.

None of the characters really stuck out for me. The FMC was kind of vapid and also kind of all over the place. She would constantly do things that jeopardized everything without a second thought…idk. Maybe she’ll grow in the second book. She was frustrating. Otherwise random characters would reappear in the book and I would have a lot of trouble remembering who they were and why they were relevant. They were all kind of one dimensional.

Everything was fine it just wasn’t clicking for me. The plot was a lot of court drama and intrigue and none of it was really keeping my attention personally. But I am so happy for others who enjoy this!

I honestly feel relieved to be done this audiobook. I’m not sure if it’s because I had the audio vs the physical book but it fell flat for me. I look forward to reading other body’s of work from this author in the future.

this book was an *experience*. I fully expect everyone will be obsessing over it. First, a note on the narration: expertly performed, so well done! Ella Lynch even sounds like Emma Watson, which was simultaneously amazing and made it difficult to forget the fanfic origins of the book, but overall wasn't a bad thing!

The world building all felt original and so interesting, the tension between the characters, the slow reveal of true motivations, was all brilliant. I ate this book up.

This book was one of my most anticipated releases of this year. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. Julie Soto is quickly becoming my favorite author. Everything she writes is pure gold.

I love Toven and Briony so much! They are the slowest of slow burns and I am so here for it. I love that she challenges him and he allows her to be herself as much as possible. I cannot wait for Briony to finally figure out that Toven cares for her.

After that cliffhanger, I need the next book immediately. I cannot wait to see where the next book goes.

The audio started out really slow for me. I had to start it over four times because I kept losing track of what was happening. Once I got about 10% in, though, I was hooked and I did not want to stop listening.

Julie Soto is an autobuy author for me and Rose in Chains was one of my most anticipated books of 2025 and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT! I am OBSESSED!

Briony Rosewood’s life is turned upside down. The world as she knows it is changed forever in less than a day. She is quickly stripped of her magic, held against her will and auctioned off to the highest bidder. That highest bidder just happens to be Toven Hearst, her enemy and former school crush, whose family is known for their cruelty. Briony is preparing for a life of servitude but finds hope in unexpected places.

Rose In Chains is book one in The Evermore Trilogy. This slow burn romantasy will keep you guessing from start to finish! It is full of the best yearning and tension. It is told in dual POV and you get pieces of the puzzle to put together throughout the story. The action in this book starts in the very first chapter and does not let up. The world building! The magic! The pacing! The twists and turns! That ending! How long will we have to wait for book 2?!?!?! I listened to the audiobook and it was phenomenal! The narrator brought the story to life! This is the easiest 5 stars I’ve given this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the opportunity to read an ALC of Rose in Chains in exchange for my honest review.

Rose in Chains had me fascinated from the first chapter, with superb world building and just enough political intrigue to keep me interested. The magic system and the amount of detail added to the universe kept me interested throughout the novel, and the character development was fantastic. The romance in the book was not as overbearing as in most Romantasy novels, which I enjoyed. And the enemies of lovers were truly enemies of lovers. Thank you, NetGally, for this opportunity to have the ALC.

I was SO thankful to have been approved for this audio because anytime I was not eyeball reading it, I was NEEDING it to continue and the narrator did a wonderful job telling the story.

Loved the Auction and the two interconnected works on AO3 and I loved what Soto did to make the story work for mainstream consumption. I am obsessed with how Soto adjusted it with the magic system, kingdoms, and the politics of it all. THE ANGST!!!! I cannot wait for the rest of the books in the series!!

If loving this dark fantasy romance is wrong, I don’t want to be right🙂‍↔️ I went in hoping to fall in love with this story and came out OBSESSED. JULIE SOTO YOU DID THE DAMN THING.

For “not a love story” I’m on the knife’s edge of tension. The story is so captivating and idk where it’s going next but I’m IN IT.

I will say it took me a bit to fully click into the world since it starts off with jumping to and fro in time with a big cast of characters that I couldn’t keep straight initially (this didn’t stop me from being intrigued though!), but once it locks in it doesn’t let you go. The magic system is unique but so easy to digest and the world is terrifying but you can’t help but hold out hope. A book fueled on feminine rage and there’s no sign of slowing down.

Please check trigger warnings before you start-the topics are HEAVY. This is a dystopian world where abuse is common so please proceed with care💜

I received an ALC for an honest review. With regard to the audio itself, it’s a single female narrator as the book is from a single female point of view. She’s got an English accent, but since this is a Dramione it works well for me.

In terms of the story itself, do check trigger warnings as there are dark themes throughout the book. This is the first in a trilogy and there’s lots of threads left open at the end of the book, to be further explored and elaborated on in books 2 and 3 and you can’t quite predict exactly where the story is going. I did really enjoy this book and will definitely be continuing the series as released.

Rated 4.5 Stars

What a wildly amazing ride this book was!! Rose in Chains had my emotions in a chokehold, my heart in my throat and my full attention. I was wholly invested in this story and it's characters. I loved the world and the magic system. I thought they were both well done. There was so much tyranny, anger and rage inducing moments but man did I love it. I gobbled this book up. It kept me on the edge of my seat eagerly anticipating what would happen next. I loved the way the author told the story going back and forth between the past and present. She did her thing with this book. It's definitely hands down my fave book by her. I so cannot wait to dive back into this world. It's packed with tension, angst and dark themes. I most certainly recommend it. The narrator did a phenomenal job bringing this world, its characters, tension and angst to vivid life. I loved her portrayal of Briony and I'm so looking forward to listening to her narrate the rest of the series. It was utter bliss listening to her.

Boiling this down to just dramione is such a massive disservice to not just this story,but also the author. This story, the characters and world building go beyond what it started as, as a fic and reducing it down to that in my opinion hurt more than helped. This had such wonderful writing and an incredible magic system along with the buddings of a beautiful romance which questions if they're actually enemies or not. I can't wait for the rest of the trilogy.

I devoured this audio book, seriously finished this in like two days because I could not stop. Was this absolutely perfect? No, there are a few things I still need answers to. Did I love it? Yes. I am already itching to read the next book and can't wait for it.

Huge thanks to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for an early Audio copy of Rose in Chains by Julie Soto.

As someone who has read the entire Rights & Wrongs series, including The Auction, I went into Rose in Chains with high expectations; and while it wasn’t perfect, it still delivered a lot of what I love about Julie Soto’s storytelling. There were moments of brilliance, even if a few structural and character related issues held it back from being a full five star read.

Let’s start with the strengths. The magic system in this book is fascinating. The author introduces a fresh twist that feels both inventive and deeply woven into the original world. I won’t spoil anything, but the way certain magical mechanics play out had me genuinely surprised in the best way. The familiars were another highlight; their presence added charm and depth to the story, and I found myself wishing we got even more of them (seriously, give me more).

Briony, our 25 year old FMC, is undeniably sheltered and naive, which sometimes made her frustrating; but she does have her moments of quiet strength, particularly as the story progresses and I have to say this is where she really shines as the FMC.
Toven, meanwhile, is exactly what you’d expect from him; scheming, often cowardly, and constantly trying to stay three steps ahead while failing to fully hide his true motives. While his personality occasionally felt predictable, there’s an intriguing tension in his character that kept me engaged.

That said, my biggest struggles were with the flashbacks and the romance. The frequent jumps to the past disrupted the flow of the present narrative, and many of the school era scenes didn’t feel necessary. Instead of deepening Toven and Briony’s connection, these flashbacks made their early “relationship” feel forced, like the story was telling me they had history rather than making me feel it. Their dynamic works much better later in the book, but the foundation wasn’t as convincing as it was trying to be.

The pacing was uneven in places (some sections dragged, while others rushed through key moments), and the worldbuilding occasionally felt lopsided, detailed in some areas, vague in others. I do fear a lot of people might struggle with the world and magic if they have not read the original work.
Still, the core plot and magic system were strong enough to keep me invested. The last 20% of the book had me on edge and I truly enjoyed some of the twists and turns we see! I can’t wait for book 2.



•Please make sure you check the trigger warnings before picking up a copy of this book as they are 100% needed.

4. I listened to this audiobook as an ALC and I also loved it.
5. I loved the narrator!!!
6. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in the trilogy.

I devoured this book in 10 hours because it was so gripping. Clever plotting allows for the action to take off right away with flashbacks to help the reader learn about 1) how they got to this point and 2) a different side to many of the characters. I’ll admit that there are a lot of characters to keep up with, which can be difficult with an audiobook, so I’m glad I have a copy of the book on the way soon! We are left with a cliffhanger, but this trilogy is on course for being pretty great. Ella Lynch narrates and offers a sophisticated voice to our FMC

HOLY TENSION.

All I knew about this book going in was that it derived from a dramione fanfiction. I didn't have any expectations and I also was in a fantasy slump. Then, Rose in Chains came into my life and I was HEALED. It cured my romantasy hangover and I am craving so much more.

Now this book is what I call a SLOW BURN. I feel like a lot of books get marketed as slow burn because it's a trendy thing nowadays, especially in romantasy, but this book was truly a SLOW BURN. The ache and the tension was burning through the words and the pages. Julie Soto is a writer I can trust my slow burns going forward. The plot was initially a lot of information, info-dumping fashion at the beginning of the book with world building terminology, but it was easier to catch on to about 20% in.

Now, this is DARK. I don't mind the heavier themes in the book, but I think Julie Soto's execution of it was clean and almost nonchalant in some ways which I appreciated. It helped with the world building and the state of the universe. I CAN NOT WAIT until book two!!! UGH

In terms of the audiobook aspect, I liked the narrator for the most part. Her Briony voice was very Hermoine-like which I thought was little nod/if-you-know-you-know moment. I wasn't sure if that was intentional, but I appreciated it! The other voices were okay, sometimes I got the ick but I think that was intentional because the characters were icky.

Huge thank you to Forever and Hachette Audio for an advanced copy of this book! You guys are the best!!!

LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS!!! The story, the characters, the plot. 5 stars all around!

Julie Soto is already an auto-buy author for me, so I was so excited when I got the opportunity to read this book with an advance listening copy! I am so thankful to Hachette Audio for the opportunity. The narrator for this was perfect! I thoroughly enjoyed the entire production.

I can’t wait to physically read this story again when it is published. It definitely lived up to my expectations as one of my most anticipated releases of 2025!