Rosewood♡Hearst
I was able to read this book through netgalley. This book was such an amazing read. I couldn't put it down. The world building, characters and story was perfectly put together. This book was laced with crack I couldn't put it down. The political and magical aspects were a perfect balance .The auction scene With toven when he started bidding. I yelled. And cried. The racing scene for the tree. The lake. 😭 this book has easily become top 5 favorite book this year. Julie soto's writing is phenomenal. This book gave me all the feels. It will definitely live rent free in my brain. Julie soto has now become a favorite author for me. Toven is just pure book boyfriend gold and Briony is a great fmc her banter and wit. I cried, laughed, yelled, gasped the whole way through. I need book 2 and book 3 ASAP. Until then I'll just stare at the wall. 5☆ hands down. highly recommend

I haven't read Julie Soto's fanfiction but was still SO excited for this after loving The Thrashers earlier this year. This was a dark romance/fantasy (new for me) and pretty lengthy but still so captivating. Obsessed with these characters and that ending!! Can't wait for there to be a book 2! The narrator was wonderful with captivating the listener while world building in a fantasy novel - usually I have a hard time following this genre on audio but in this particular audiobook, the narrator did a phenomenal job! Thank you @netgalley and @hachetteaudio for the eALC!

🎧 AUDIOBOOK REVIEW 🎧

Thank you to @hachetteaudio for providing me an early copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I am not familiar with the original fanfic of this story (nor any other fanfic of this variety) but it reminded me very strongly of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥'𝘴 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦, in scope and story, with the addition of magic.

The book starts with the “end” of the war between two warring countries, but we also get flashbacks of the “before”. We find that there was a lot of mingling between the two sides in the past, as they all went to school together, so we get a little taste of how things developed into the “after war” period.

I found our FMC, Briony, to be a strong character, fighting back as best she can against so many odds. I was intrigued by the MMC, Toven, who you can tell is keeping many secrets behind the scenes.

I felt the story moved pretty well, and kept my attention throughout, but I did find that the world building was bit lackluster? It was slowly developed as we moved along, but I never felt like I really understood the background to the what and why of certain things.

I also found I had a hard time connecting to many of the side characters (there were arguably too many?🤷‍♀️) whom I felt we were supposed to care for, and I think that took away from some of the more emotional scenes of the book.

And, personally, I saw the big “surprise” at the end coming from a mile away. But, I personally didn’t find the “cliffhanger” to be too bad!

Overall, even though I thought some elements were lacking, I still very much enjoyed the story, and I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.

Audiobook notes: I thought Ella Lynch did well! Single POV and Single narrator, but I thought her voices were all very distinct.

What this book is giving:
✅ Dark Romantasy
✅ Single POV
✅ Slooooooow Burn
✅ Warring Factions
✅ The “end” of a war
✅ Princess
✅ An Auction
✅ Servitude

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
🌶️🌶️ / 5

The war is over and the dark forces have won - princess Briony Rosewood and the remaining citizens of Evermore have been captured and auctioned off to the people of Bomard, their rival nation. Her brother is dead, her friends split up, and her childhood crush… purchased her.

The story goes between present day and the past, providing a good foundation of backstory throughout the novel to prepare the reader for what comes next. This provides helpful context, and helps the reader build an emotional bond to characters who are talked about in the present day, but seldom seen. Julie Soto does a great job of building the world, explaining how the magic works, and not overwhelming the reader with all the information at once. Instead, we are introduced to certain topics and explanations only as it becomes relevant, which really helped with the flow of the novel.

Once I felt up to speed on the inner-workings of magic in this realm, and the tensions between Evermore and Bomard, I had already developed a fairly emotional bond to Briony. I loved that even from the beginning, the story felt both unique and comfortable. While not necessarily groundbreaking, it was creative and inspiring, and kept me intrigued. I always had a list of questions about what would happen next - and it was hard to predict.

There were many nuances as we were introduced to essential characters, but only slowly learned what we needed to know about them. Briony’s curious mind helped keep the reader enthralled about what each person’s role was in the bigger picture of the Bomardi line, and who was loyal to it.

The relationship building was particularly good. We saw it first with how connected she was to her people, and to her brother, Rory. While their childhood could have driven a wedge between the twins, their relationship was stronger due to their hardships - because he saw her value, and made sure she saw it too.

“When they were very young, he used to say that they were answering the questions together, as a team”

We next saw the relationship grow between Briony and her captor, Toven Hearst. Throughout the book, we see the two as classmates, as enemies, and as captor/captive. The slowest of slow burns - politics mean that facing any feelings would risk the safety of many.

If you’re expecting a nice, magical romance, you’re in the wrong place. To me, the romance was secondary to the rivalry between worlds, the other relationships, and the plot to save Evermore. This is a fantasy through and through, with dark themes of captivity, human trafficking, non-consent, and s*xual humiliation. Definitely read your trigger warnings before jumping into this. That said, I thought they were handled very well and I was tied into every moment, desperate to learn more.

This was the longest audiobook I’ve listened to, but I was so impressed that I never once felt bored or like the story wasn’t moving. There was always something to unravel and explore. I’m completely hooked and eager for book two.

I only found out after reading that this was adapted from a fanfiction, but honestly, I never would’ve known if I hadn’t Googled it - it truly didn’t feel like one. If you love fantasy, adventure, and dark, brooding men… you will love Rose in Chains.

“She stared…listening to the echo in her ears of him calling her family”

I really think my only qualm with this book was how heavily it is marketed as a romance - I didn’t think the romance was the primary story, nor do I think it was developed enough to be considered the genre of the book. I would barely categorize this as romantasy… but I really hope book two changes that for me, because I can’t wait to see more of these two. In the end, the adventure and the mystery is really what captivated me, not the love story.

The audiobook was incredibly well done, and I was so impressed with the narrator. She was perfect for this book, the themes, the characters... all of it. She really helped bring the world to life, and brought so much emotion into Briony's character. I think she really helped me feel Briony's feelings and dive into the story more readily.

Thank you so much to Hachette Audio and Grand Central Publishing for the earc/alc combo. I always love that for me.

I did not read the original fan fic, but knowing about it make reading really distracting trying to line up these characters. I really loved the parallels to The Handmaid's Tale and overall dystopian vibes of the book. I did not like the slow slow slow slow burn. They needed to kiss, much much sooner. I am super excited for the next one.

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy of the audio! 4.5 stars. This was actually really good, but I personally was having trouble not comparing this to the original fanfiction It was based off of, mostly because it was so extremely similar that it was hard to separate the two, even though all reference to the actual source material is removed. But all of the basics of the structure that made the original fanfiction so good is still there as far as the plot and the character and everything that is so good from that original Work.
My biggest complaint as far as the actual contents of this book is that the magic system does not seem super well flushed out and explained I feel like I have more questions about the magic system and kind of the world as a whole now that I finished the book that I did when I first started the book which is not great. Hopefully More of the world and magic is built out a little bit more as the series continues, but considering our main character was a princess in this world before the fall I feel like there should be a better understanding of everything imported to the reader through her perspective than what we got in this initial story. That lack of consistent and in depth world building and explanation of the magic system is the main reason I rated this 4 1/2 stars instead of 5. I don’t know if the slight lack of world building is partially due to the fact that in the original fanfiction, we kind of already know the structure of the world and this reinterpretation to make it traditionally published just didn’t take into account how much would need to be different and explained better but I still had a really good time.
In summary, I liked the characters. I liked the enemies to lovers aspect. I think the plot is really interesting and even though I have an idea of how things will play out since I have read the original fanfiction I am really curious to see how the plot maybe changes as the story goes on and how small changes to the character building may influence slightly different choices in the plot as well.

Rose in Chains Audiobook Review
4.25/5 ⭐️
Pub Date: 7/8/25

Thank you so much @hachetteaudio and @netgalley for the ALC! I was SO excited to start as I’ve been looking forward to this for a while.

I wanted to read this back when it was still in its early AO3 days, and even downloaded it, but never got around to actually starting it. I actually think that probably was a good thing now that I’ve finished it. It was exciting to see this new story unfold not knowing what might be coming next.

It’s dark and action packed and I found I could not stop listening. I just needed to see what was coming next. There was a lot going on and a ton of characters to get to know, but I thought the pacing was well done throughout. I thought the world building was pretty well done and the magic system was interesting. It has pretty dark themes the entire time, so check triggers before reading for sure.

Overall, this story is 4.5/5 ⭐️ for me. My (very slightly) lower rating for the audiobook was primarily because I felt like the narrator was better positioned for a YA novel. Don’t get me wrong, she did a great job, I just had to keep reminding myself this is very much not a YA book and it felt a bit jarring at times.

I can’t wait for the book to release and to read the gorgeous physical copy 🥰

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it absolutely did not disappoint. I was SO excited and thankful that I received an ALC of this wonderful book.

Julie Soto is one of my favorite authors. I will forever read anything she writes and she once again blew me away with this book. I listened to this book every spare moment I had. I could not stop. This book has everything you want in a romantasy. Forced proximity, enemies to lovers, morally gray MMC, incredible strong FMC. I do not want to give too much away in this review but absolutely read this book as soon as you possibly can! Immediate 6⭐️ read.

I could not stop listening to this book. The narration was great. I need book 2. Briony and Toven no words. the tension and banter it was good. I enjoyed thr flashbacks to understand the dynamics. The world building was amazing.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Hachette Audio for this ALC!
I really enjoyed this audiobook! Rose and Chains delivered exactly what I was hoping for in terms of romance. It’s definitely a slow burn that builds beautifully throughout the story. The pacing kept me engaged, and I found myself genuinely invested in the characters’ journey.
The narrator was absolutely fantastic and really brought the story to life. Their performance added so much depth to the characters and made the listening experience truly enjoyable.
However, the world building is where this book fell a bit short for me. While we do get some background through flashbacks, I found myself wanting so much more detail about the world these characters inhabit. The magic system, in particular, felt like it had untapped potential. It wasn’t overly complex, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there were definitely some missing pieces that left me with questions. I would have loved to understand more about how the magic works and how it fits into the broader world.
Despite these gaps in world building, the strong character development and excellent narration made this a worthwhile listen. If you’re looking for a well-paced slow burn romance and can overlook some underdeveloped magical elements, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a try.

Perfect for: Fans of slow burn romance, audiobook lovers

Consider if: You prefer extensively detailed magic systems and comprehensive world building

Check your TW!!

This novel was amazing! I received the advanced listening copy of this book. The narrator Ella Lynch was perfection as well, she really brought this book to life. This is my second novel by this author, with the first one being “The Thrashers”. I will say that this book really exceeded my expectations. What initially drew me into reading it was the beautiful cover, the author and the hype surrounding this book. I was beyond thrilled to be one of the early readers of this novel.

This is a medium paced read that includes romance and fantasy. It is a new adult novel that is truly addicting! It is dark, tense, emotional, adventurous and mysterious. It is both plot and character driven, which is filled with rebellion! This book comes with a strong premise, a royal romance, and a forced proximity (captivity)! It is an enemies to lovers romance, where the flaws of the characters are the main focus. It is memorable, atmospheric, multilayered and believable! The tension of this slow burn dark romance was great! I really enjoyed the female main character of this story, the different timelines, the interactions between the main characters and the overall main story! I am so excited for the next novel in this series to come out! I rate this a high 5 out of 5 stars! It was excellent!

“Rose in Chains” is the first book in The Evermore Trilogy. It is a dark romance fantasy novel, where the protagonist Briony Rosewood gets captured and is sold into slavery. Briony gets stripped of her freedom and magic, as she gets sold at an auction to Toven Hearst. As the story unravels, Briony deals with her role in captivity and starts having unexpected feelings for her capturer, Toven. Flashbacks start to happen and we get to understand more of an insight into their relationship.

The narrator did an amazing job as I was listening to this audiobook! I give her a 5 out of 5 stars as well! I highly recommend this audiobook!

I think fans of very dark romantacy novels, that contain complex power dynamics and forbidden love, would really enjoy reading this! The content warnings include violence, sexual assault, slavery, war, rape, abortion and death.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Julie Soto, Narrator Ella Lynch and Hachette Audio | Forever for this ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This book is expected to be published on July 8, 2025! Publication dates can change at any time.

I was hooked from the start and loved every minute of this story. Briony, a princess stripped of her power, is sold to Toven, her old school rival and the enemy. Their dynamic is full of slow-burn tension and emotional push and pull that keeps things interesting. Briony expects the worst from him, but his unexpected behavior throws her off balance in the best way. The plot is layered with lots of characters and moving pieces, so you’ll definitely want to pay attention but it’s so worth it. Ella Lynch absolutely nailed the narration, bringing each character to life with distinct voices and personalities. Can’t wait for book two!

Thank you, Julie Soto and Hachette Audio for the ALC.

Briony is a war trophy and treated as such. In her fight to reunite with her people, she ends up belonging to her classroom nemesis, Toven. Toven is mysterious with unknown motivations. Will he help or hinder Briony’s plight? Or is there so much more at play than what she knows?

This fantasy book contains many dark themes. I was a bit worried about the content warnings, but it didn’t end up being much outside of my comfort zone. I’m so intrigued at the deeper plot I saw hints of in this book. Especially with the way the book ended! What does that mean for everything we know?

I enjoyed Briony and Toven’s push and pull relationship. Their banter and tension was top tier. I do wish Briony was a bit less dense. She had so many signs blaring in her face! At the end of the day, I understand that there were more pressing matters at hand.

The audiobook was a great way to experience this book. It was well produced and high quality. I enjoyed all of the voices used for the different characters. Toven kind of sounded like a dork, but I was about it. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook.

I was lucky enough to get the ALC and the E-ARC of this book so I immersive read both, and let me tell you, that was incredible. The narrator did a beautiful job, absolutely loved her captivating, but also smooth voice. It kept me in the story at all times. Now, this book was absolutely incredible. Briony is captured by the Bomards, and then sent to auction with all her fellow Evermore women and men that were captured, and from there Toven buys her, and what she thought her life would look like as a captive is not at all what it turns out to be. This is a slow burn, almost no burn, but it was done so incredibly well, the tension was building from the very beginning and I can not wait to get the rest of the story. That epilogue was that moment where you jump up and down screaming YES in every movie/book where the tables start to turn in the favor of the hero. I am so excited for the rest.

4.5 Stars Rounded up!

ALC Review: Rose in Chains by Julie Soto!
Narrator: Ella Lynch
Publication Date: July 8, 2025

Thank you to Hachette Audio for the ALC!!

First of all, Ella Lynch, the narrator, did an AMAZING job. <3 I was so impressed with her inflections, emotions, and voices for the characters! I would definitely read more books with her as the narrator.

Julie Soto continues to write hits to no one's surprise! This might be my favorite yet though!

Things I lovedddd: about this book: the mutual pining between Briony & Toven. The post war setting. The world. The writing is so dang emotional that made me FEEL so much as I listened. The concept! I just realized it was a trilogy which makes sense why so much is BUILDING up to something in this book!

I did not read the fanfic of this (The Auction), I do think Soto did a wonderful job of making the story unique and stand on it's own!

Content Warnings: can be found fully on Soto's website & I HIGHLY recommend checking them. This one was a book I needed to be in the right headspace for! If you want me to send you the content warnings, I am happy to do that too!

Often fanfiction that is traditionally published is almost a copy-paste. While the essence of 'The Auction' remains and the much-loved Dramione tropes are present, 'Rose in Chains' still feels original. The enemies to lovers trope is always a favourite, but I feel like characters within this trope go from 'enemies' to 'lovers' too quickly; and this is the case with this story. There is an obvious attraction and some tender moments that occur prior to the beginning of this story and, while they are literally on opposing sides of a war, their relationship moreso resembles the rivals to lovers trope. Still, the backstory and world feel lived in, which is something I often find missing in fanfic-to-published romantasy novels.

The narration of the audiobook was also well-done, with Ella Lynch setting a compelling pace. It did get a bit difficult to keep track of all the characters; Lynch did a great job at giving each character their own voice, but the scale of the cast was rather large. This makes characters outside of the main duo to read like props rather than people; which feels antithetical to the plot where people are literally turned into props or property. Lynch's narration also helped with the pacing; quick in some parts and lingering in others, but always progressing at the necessary pace. This might be one of the few romantasy series' where I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel.

DNF. There was no trigger warning when requesting this book until I began listening to the actual audiobook. I did not realize there would be SA on page and selling of the characters. I also thought the obsession with the fmc's virginity was weird.

A very different read from a favorite author! I'm always intrigued when new genres are put out in the world and in true Julie Soto fashion, she took the time to weave a fantastical story with all of the necessary dark fantasy elements. The world was intricately built, the many characters introduced and story told in a way that kept me curious and turning the page, so to speak. This is a very slow burn, forced proximity, real enemies to lovers story. As a trilogy, go in knowing there is time being taken in this book to set the scene for upcoming segments - it ends abruptly, and perhaps a tad awkwardly.

While I enjoyed the story and narration was on point, I did switch over to reading, rather than listening to this story. The many characters were difficult to track and I found the book itself more digestible for my own reading enjoyment.

I cannot stress enough, please read the trigger warnings. I'm glad this book is being well received, I love Julie Soto's story telling, however this is likely a world I will not be revisiting.

Was so thrilled and honored to get an ALC of this:
I could not have picked a better narrator for this audiobook, she was perfection!
Briony and Toven…the slowest slow burn ever ♥️

The world building was never too much and the story always kept you engaged and wanting to see what came next!

The ending has me wanting the second one immediately.

AN EASY ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4⭐️
I loveeddddd this!

The narrator for this audiobook made this really enjoyable to listen to. I loved the tension between the MCs, the multiple time frames, the magic school, the overall plot line. I enjoyed how fast pace this was and how everything seemed to happen for a reason. So excited for the next book especially after that cliffhanger!! Highly recommend for people wanting a bingeable read/ listen🥰

Thank you NetGalley + Hachette audio for the arc!