Unfortunately this was a DNF for me after finding out about the antisemitic content within the book and the lack of comment from either the author or the publisher. which is a shame because Ive always been a big supporter of both. Will not be reviewing anywhere else at this time. thank you for the opportunity to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook (ALC) of Rose in Chains by Julie Soto!

This was my first time receiving an ALC, and I’m incredibly grateful for the experience. From the very beginning, the narration pulled me in and made me feel fully immersed in Briony’s world. The narrator did a phenomenal job capturing the emotional depth of the story, her voice was easy to follow, engaging, and flowed beautifully.

This has easily become one of my favorite audiobook listens in a while! I’m already planning to re-listen while reading the physical copy to deepen the experience even more. If the second book is narrated in the same way, I’d absolutely love to listen to it!

Love love love love love this book.

If you're going to read, check trigger warnings because it gets INTENSE at times!! but so good I would not skip reading it.

Narrator Ella Lynch was the perfect one for the job. She personified Briony PERFECTLY. In my reread of the book, everything in my head is her voice.

Thank you to Hachette, Julie, and netgalley for the advanced listening copy! The audiobook narrator was the perfect Hermione. I ended up immersive reading so I wouldn’t miss anyhing.
A good dark romance, that doesn’t get too dark. Interesting premise with good writing. I think you either need to go into this book fully blind or you need to have read The Auction to feel connected to this book. Knowing it’s a fanfiction, but not having read the auction made this a little tough for me. I was trying to connect Harry Potter dots but it’s been changed a lot and so I’m just left confused. The magic system and background was also not very fleshed out. It had greats moments on its own though, so I think it’s great if you can get HP out of your mind. It’s a good dark romance and I’m very interested in the rest of the series!

I really enjoyed this book. It was the perfect beginning to the trilogy—it pulls you in and makes you beg for more. I love Julie's writing and her foray into romantasy didn't disappoint. Is there anything she can't do?! The magic systems were interesting and I felt like it was me being pulled through the magical threads. The characters were flushed out while also holding back some mystery. The twists and turns had me gasping while the tender moments had me sobbing. The romance was slow and yearning and I'm drooling for book 2. Plus, I'll forever feel like a badass when I eat grapes.

First format I’d like to thank NetGalley & Hachette Audio for an Audio copy of this book. I am forever thankful and this review is a honest reflection towards my feeling of this booo and its narrator..
Forced into servitude after her people are overthrown and held by the leash of a man that angers and arouses her.
To be honest this book was such a complete letdown, to me personally. If this book interests you, feel free to go check it out. Your opinion could be different than mine.
One of my main issues with this book is the focus on women’s virginity’s and just straight up treatment of women in this book.
I get that these topics of conversation are terrible but when the whole book is pretty much repetitive aggression towards woman. It’s difficult to read.
The constant threatening of SA and/or straight up abuse got super uncomfortable that I found myself tuning out and just not even caring if I missed parts of this story. I could probably guess what I missed, which is bad.
I honestly want to take back the time this book stole. But wanted to make sure before getting rid of my physical copy of this book.
Again, this is my opinion. Read it, if it interests you.

I love Julie Soto’s writing. This one is very dark, so definitely check trigger warnings. I liked the world building overall but was a little confused as to all the different characters and magic system while listening to the audio. The. pacing also improved as I listened more. Overall I enjoyed this one, a very slow burn dark romance with a unique magic system, but wish there was a little more character growth and romance. Looking forward to finding out what’s next for Briony & Toven!

I did like the audio, but I think I would have preferred reading this one and will do that for book 2.

I know it keeps being said, 'this isn't the fanfiction rewritten it's a new story.' With this and the other two Dramione fics coming out this month. If you went into this not knowing it was originally a fic I THINK you'd be able to get through it without realizing its roots. So the rewrite part of it I think was done well enough.

I say well enough because the first time the narrator said the MFC's name I had to pause and replay. And then I laughed. I'm sorry but said out loud Briony is so close to Hermione. The narrator was good though, it was just the name similarity that made me laugh. I would have thought that trying to separate this from the fic a completely different name would have been chosen?

Anyway. Dramione was my jam back in the day next to Drarry. And maybe it is because I went into this having read The Auction first a good while back and therefore wasn't new to the story. But it wasn't exactly what I was expecting.

This was not a bad book by any means, and I think if you are okay with the fact that it has been strongly marketed as connected to HP and its author and are okay with dark romance that you will enjoy this one. Slow burn, enemies to lovers, complex magic systems, etc.

However personally it was just. It just was. Again maybe it's because I compare it to the OG fic and I know I shouldn't but it read very slow and very confusing at points with the magic not fully there. And maybe that's because these are, 'new characters,' and not the HP characters from the source material that I already liked as they were in the fic. But I just did not connect with them at all. And therefore anytime we got more and more world building it just felt a lot like info dumping about a lot of things and I kept tuning out while listening. Especially during the flashbacks.

I'm thankful for the ALC I received and I know that this book, and this series, will be a huge hit for the readers who like it. But it simply was not for me. Still 3/5 stars because it wasn't written poorly and had all the material there to be a good story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette for the early audiobook.

Please make sure to read all trigger warnings prior to starting this book. It has dark themes.

I am someone who normally prefers high fantasy, but I loved this book. I really enjoyed the slow burn of the relationship, as well as the POV the book was centered around. While I wish we could’ve known more of what was going on, I also appreciated how we were only given the information that Briony was given as there was only one POV.

I thought the magic systems were unique : the heart magic vs mind magic, and I appreciated how each one thought theirs better and more superior, as that is exactly how it would be. I appreictae the world building, and how the aspects of the world were brought in by both flashbacks and story telling from other characters.

Understanding this is a trilogy, it was frustrating that we didn’t find out more about Toven’s intentions towards Briony, I felt like we learned a lot about his character simply by the things he did and didn’t do. I cannot wait to see what more we learn about him, and everything else, in book 2!

The ending had my jaw on the floor as I scrambled to listen to the last 30 minutes. I did not see that coming at all! Well written and I was kept interested the entire time.

thank you you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc!

this Romantasy had such a a compelling premise. It was set after the war is lost and the chosen hero is dead. Briony is a strong, complex protagonist, and the world-building is immersive. The dynamic between her and Toven is tense and layered, perfect for fans of enemies-to-lovers with a darker edge.

I was surprised to learn it began as fanfic. My personal rating is three stars mainly due to some tropes that aren’t to my taste, and also the whole Harry Potter controversy as I do not support anything promoting JKR but I can easily see this becoming a favorite for many readers. A solid pick for those who love a post-war fantasy, court intrigue, and of course a morally grey magic.

I didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. I went into this one pretty blind and had no idea of some of the elements in it, and I quickly realized Draminone/dark romance just probably isn’t my jam. I felt like there were a lot of plot holes and waaay too many characters introduced all at once to keep track of. The way women were treated throughout the entire book gave me major ick so I probably won’t be reading the next one, and I had for a hard copy on preorder for months that I cancelled because I just don’t need it on my shelf, but I can see other people really enjoying it if they like darker romantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio arc. All opinions are my own.

Maybe dark romantasy just isn't for me? And enemies to lovers doesn't work if they don't actually have a reason to hate each other... In this case they were just cold towards each other?

Idk y'all

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Ok I gave myself 24 hours to process this and here are my more cohesive thoughts. I like romance, I like romantasy, I don't even mind dark fantasy. I think it's the combination of the dark fantasy mingled with the romance that really didn't work for me. It felt like the dark aspects of this book serve as a vehicle for the romance in a way and that made me uncomfortable. I also didn't like going from reading out how these women are being abused and used as sex slaves to the FMC pining over the MMC not long after.

I liked Forget Me Not by Julie Soto and I also plan on reading Not Another Love Song by her. I'll even try a fantasy or regular romantasy by Julie but I'm going to keep my distance from dark romantasy.

Also this isn't enemies to lovers, it's more like academic rivals to lovers if anything.

Well Julie Soto is full of amazingness! Briony is on the wrong side of the end of a war and is imprisoned with little hope. Yet, she finds herself able to keep up hope, and continue to believe in good despite everything!

The pace was great, and nonlinear timelines can be tricky but this was perfect! My only quip is that we now have to wait for the next book!

Thank you to Hatchett Audio, Forever Publishing, Julie Soto and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy (highly recommend you listen)

I am not normally a fantasy reader, but I will read anything that Julie Soto writes… and, as with every single one of her other books, I am impressed! This book hooked me from the start and I found myself so invested in the story and now waiting on the edge of my seat for book #2. The book balances romance, a bit of mystery, and some world-building really well, mixed with the excellent storytelling and fantastic dialogue that are Soto’s hallmarks. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for allowing me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was GRIPPING. From the moment I started it, I knew it was going to be on my favs list. I think it's a 4.5 star read, rounded up. My gripes were minor & I couldn't put it down.

With all the trigger warnings at the beginning, I thought it would be a little more brutal. Or darker. Instead, we got more "hinting at" than actual play by play scenes. I also never felt like the FMC was truly in danger. Oue MMC was a little too hard to decipher which made him hard to understand, but I have a feeling that will come in book 2.

I thought the plot of this was clever. I liked the magic system and overall vibe of the book. I'd love to learn more about the magic system, familiars, etc. as this series goes forward & I think we will get exactly that which I'm excited for. Overall though the novel was just really well paced and written. It was really well balanced, like the perfect mix of everything.

I listened to the audiobook of this one & the narrator was good. I don't think she was the best I've ever heard, but almost all of her voices had a distinct tone or sound to them that helped distinguish who was speaking. Only 1 or 2 were a little unexpectedly odd, but perfectly palatable.
There were bits here and there that were a little recycled or close to other popular books out there (like ACOTAR, Harry Potter, etc.) but it never took away from this book or was distracting. It was all typical Romantasy type stuff that overall added to the text & didn't bother me.

I did feel a little lost at times, there were so many characters with not enough defining features beyond "evil" or "bad news" or "classmate". It wasn't very impactful when good or bad things happened to anyone other than the FMC.

Lastly, I needed moooooore of what happened in that last 3%. I needed more if that fireeeeee. I feel like we had so much baiting that the switchover felt too quick. Just a slight pacing issue but it was so nice when it happened, I was just glad to see it lol.

I am so on board with book 2, just give it to me now 😭

I hated this. Even if it WASNT harry potter fanfic, I would STILL rate this 1 star. I think this works much better as a story as a whole as fanfiction. There are so many characters and things that would only make sense if you’ve been with these characters for a long time. But we haven’t. At least, not THESE characters. It’s blatantly obvious which characters are related to their harry potter counterparts, and none of them were compelling enough to stand on their own.
The whole premise of this book is FUCKED too. It’s basically “yes he literally owns her but he’s one of the GOOD slave owners!” It’s gross. It’s poorly written. It’s contrived. It’s just bad.

THIS BOOK LEFT ME SPEECHLESS!!!

This was my first Julie Soto book, and now I’m addicted! This romantasy gave me everything I love in the genre. With the influx of romantasy books lately, I was hesitant, worried this story would be just another simple romance wrapped in fantasy like so many others – but it was NOT.

Julie has crafted an intriguing magic world divided between those who use magic through the heart and those who use it through the mind. The Rosewood family rules the kingdom as powerful mind magic wielders, carrying a prophecy that terrifies their enemies. The story kicks off quickly when Princess Briony Rosewood is taken captive. Told through dual timelines, we unravel the secrets of the world, its politics, its magic, and how Briony ended up where she is.

This incredible story is full of twists and turns that keep you locked into the plot. It’s perfectly paired with a slow burn that has you yearning for more and more… and yet it barely delivers, and honestly, I’m okay with that! It’s refreshing to read a romantasy that is plot-driven with romance as a secondary element. So many romantasy books have amazing world-building and magic systems but become entirely driven by spice. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – but I loved that this wasn’t the case here. The romance element enhances the plot rather than overtaking it. The characters develop a genuine connection – if it goes that way. Their chemistry jumps off the page even when nothing truly happens between them.

As soon as I finished the audiobook, I was ready for the next book. At the very least, I was ready to buy it and reread a physical copy!

RECOMMENDED FOR:
✨ Romantasy readers who like simple but intriguing magic systems
✨ Readers who can handle multiple timelines
✨ Readers who LOVE slow burn and yearning

AUDIOBOOK:

This narration is done by Ella Lynch. At first, I found her voice for Briony – the female lead – a bit annoying. It had a whiny, high-pitched lilt that made me cringe. However, as the story continued, I became so wrapped up in the plot that it no longer bothered me. Her range of voices for the different characters was well done, and I ended up enjoying the narration overall. I’ll definitely be listening to the next book in this series too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for providing this advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book!!! I am absolutely obsessed with the story. This slow burn was absolute TORTURE!! And the ending left me dying for the next book.

My issues were with some of the world building. I did feel pretty confused about the background of the story and the magic systems. The story also jumps between past and current timelines which can be a bit jarring, but it had a good flow going by mid-book.

I also did have quite a hard time keeping all the characters straight since there are quite a lot of them. I am also someone who did not read the fanfic so I was coming into this story with no information.

Audiobook Notes: This is a single narrator, Ella Lynch, who did a phenomenal job with the entire narration. She did the narration for Save Me by Mona Kasten! She has a great narrating voice (British accent) and does a wonderful job keeping you fully engrossed in the story. I would definitely recommend the audio! She did a great job when she had to switch to different POVs and does a good male voice as well! I can’t wait to hear her narrate the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an audiobook arc!

This is the third arc of Julie Soto’s that I have been granted, and I’ve definitely been a fan of everything I’ve read by her so far! It’s been interesting to see how she’s ventured into other genres, from romance to young adult thriller to this romantasy!

I see this as being a popular fantasy book this year. Briony’s father is a king, and her brother is next in line for the throne…until everything is overthrown, and Briony and several others are captured, auctioned off and kept like property to be used for their magic. Captured women are given an elixir of sorts that makes them complicit, and collars that restrict them as well. This submissiveness allows the to men siphon magic from the women, and Briony is considered particularly sought after because it is said that her family has gold blood. When Briony is auctioned off to a familiar face, she’s conflicted on how to feel. Relief, knowing it could be much worse, but also rage at the circumstances and the leader that everyone is taking orders from. Things between Briony and Taver have always been complicated and rocky- Briony had a crush on Taver when he was younger, despite him being difficult to her sometimes. The present repeats the past, as the two struggle with conflicting feelings for each other as well as the bleak circumstances.

I give this 3.5 stars!! I do recommend this to those that enjoy fantasy novels, however be sure to read the trigger warnings! Things in this book can get dark

unfortunately I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped I would. The world building just didn't feel very well done, and some of the storyline/actions of the characters felt unnecessary.