This booked ended up being not for me. Narrator was great though and that part I enjoyed. I couldn’t connect with the characters

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC
I really enjoyed this book, it’s clearly an introduction to a much bigger world, and I’m already excited for the sequel. The magic system felt fresh and unique, which kept me engaged throughout. The world-building was also compelling, though I did find myself a bit lost at times, especially with the number of names and places introduced. Toven was definitely a standout character for me. He’s complex, with both strengths and flaws, which made him feel real and intriguing. On the other hand, I found Briony a bit underwhelming, I’m hoping her character will be developed more in the next installment.
Also loved the audiobook, very immersive, I hope we can hear Toven’s narrator for the sequel.
Overall, a promising start to a new fantasy series

OH MY HEART.
First of all this is DARK.
Please check your trigger warnings before reading/listening.

I was gifted the ALC for this book and got really lucky that my Fairyloot copy of the book arrived in June before release.
I was able to listen and read at the same time.
The narrator has such a wonderful voice to listen to. (Dare I say reminded me of Emma Watson iykyk).
This is a slow burn and has some of my favorite tropes.

If you are looking for a book that will immediately grab your attention and destroy you emotionally, this is it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC

Thank you Hatchette Audio and NetGalley for this ALC.

Rose in Chains is a story that has the foundations to be a interesting one, had it started several years prior.

The story start with Briony, princess of Evermore, as she watches the enemy nation seige her castle and defeat her twin and chosen one Rory. Now in the hands of the enemy, citizens of Evermore are auctioned off to those in power to syphon their magic.

There is magic, familiars, grey characters, a chosen one, a dragon, things that makes a fantasy novel; however, when the hero is killed, and darkness reigns, I didn’t care.

The follies of this book mainly lay in the shallowness of the world building and characterization and I mean not in vane personality but in depth of creation. This book starts with established relationships and war. We are introduced to many of name, our enemy, our magic system, but we don’t get to spend time with any of it at all to fully understand or feel the weight of their losses or impact. We are given flashbacks interspersed, yet, these are only given to show the “connection” between our two main characters. Further, these scenes all take place during school, which does make these character feel a lot younger. Had we started this story during their school years, seen the start and duration of the war, it would have given the time to development the reader’s connection to the story. Spending this book only in Briony’s POV is also limiting as she is shielded from the majority of the brutality and is naive. For always covering for her brother, she didn’t have much impact. In general, the character development was lacking. I didn’t care for the dark romance either. Magic system wise, it was there but I honestly don’t get why the enemy would disavow mind magic when mind invasion and cloaking is being used in warfare and something I feel they would use.

Narration wise, it was fine, just not my preferred listening voice. Ella Lynch’s voice, is sweet and princess-like which fits Briony, but it just clashed with the dark tone of the story (which I guess is also Briony too). She did have conviction in her storytelling at times.

I don’t read dark romance and I’m finding romantasy is increasingly not for me. The storyline of what if the enemy wins is intriguing, but not executed.

Last thing, I’ve been made aware of antisementic character descriptions of an antagonist character. I’m not familiar with these descriptions and will be doing more research.

I loved all of Julie Soto’s books and this was no different. The auction trope is not my favorite but her writing made it so much more. This was a fun read, it did take me a little bit to try to understand who all the characters were in the line and who was who. Granted not everyone was as important as others. I loved the magic systems and the duel timeline. I would have enjoyed if the chapters after the past would have said present, would have made it a little less confusing at times. I would have to say the narrator did make this book, she did just a great job and I will listen to more of her. I hope that the next books explain for of the world and we continue with more plot development. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC.

while this book isn’t for me, I appreciate this is a really well written, engaging story. I tried it because I really love Julie Soto books, which I still do but think I should stick to her romance books! I appreciated the world building, character building, and captivating storyline. But ultimately this isn’t a book for me.

(not related to my rating) when I requested this book I was unaware this was related to the Harry Potter world. I do not support anything having to do with HP or JKR because of their anti-trans affiliations. and therefore I will not be rating or reviewing this book anywhere.

I went into the book blind and fell in love immediately. Once I started seeing it on socials and realized it was rewritten, I started to get nervous about how it would toe the line between the dark themes and the romance, I'm not a dark romance girl at all, but this was done perfectly. I look forward to reading the rest of this series!

I would have liked some more background on a few of the characters, but I also think there is so much more in store for the remaining books so it is a minor complaint.

Rose in Chains by Julie Soto 🥀 - Audiobook review - Hachette Audio @hachetteaudio

The prophesied saviour of the Eversuns has fallen and the dark forces of Bomard have won.
As the remaining Eversun are captured, their magic is nullified and they are auctioned off to serve the Bomardy, who plan to siphon their magic to make themselves more powerful.

When it is Briony Rosewood’s turn be auctioned, she sparks a bidding war. Between her magic level and being princess to the Eversuns, she is in high demand. When it is down to two final bidders, Briony ends up with Toven Hearst, a former fellow student with a dark history, but one that Briony has always been inexplicably drawn to.

As the battle between good and evil continues, sides become blurred and secrets come out, jeopardising more than just freedom, but hearts too.

Rose in Chains is Dramoine inspired and is not a nice and soft romantic story. It is dark and what the characters go through is upsetting to say the least. There are a lot of troubling themes in the story so please check the trigger warnings before reading.

That’s not to say it isn’t a compelling story. With stellar world building and an engaging storyline, it’s no wonder Rose In Chains has been such a highly anticipated release. I was fortunate enough to receive an audio arc from @hachetteaudio that I was hooked on. It’s been a while since I’ve whizzed through an audiobook so fast and actively picked it up every chance I got.

I think the narrator did a good job, particularly with the female characters voices. It helped set the scene for the class of characters, particularly among the elite. The story flowed and was easy to follow as an audiobook.

Rose In Chains is an extremely slow burn. I don’t even know that the “burn” part really counted, but it’s got the potential to combust as the series goes on!!!

Thank you to @hachetteaudio and @netgalley for the chance to listen and review. ⛓️ 🌹

#roseinchains #audiobookaddict #audiobooks #newrelease #audiobooklover #audiobook #dramoine #fanfic #magic #fantasy #fantasybooks #newbooks #netgalley #bookreviewers #audiobookstagram

I liked the books by Julie Soto that I got to before and I was excited for this one. I love romance, but I love fantasy even more and I was curious how the author would approach a different genre.
When I saw the trigger warnings, I deflated pretty fast. That being said, I knew that sexual assault, non-consensual sex (referenced), slavery, torture, forced sterilization, captivity, violence and death would not be my cup of tea. Yes, I have read dark romance and fantasy with dark vibes, yet forced sterilization and women enslaved, kept in chains naked and sold out left me very uneasy.
The story has magic, enemies to lovers and a good plot. If not for the triggers, I would have enjoyed it more.

Audio Review:
I am picky about narrators, this one was not for me. A lot of the characters came across as stereotypically uptight and whiny, and I wish the vocal range had been lower for the male characters.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, but I wanted to love it. I am obsessed with The Auction, which is the fanfic this book was based on.

What I enjoyed:
Some of the characters, like Toven's parents, are fascinating, and I loved scenes where they were present - they brought an air of mystery and I always wondered what they were really thinking.

The soft moments between Toven and Briony are rare, but sweet. He's obviously presenting a different version of himself to those outside his circle of trust. We love a yearning MMC.

What could have been better:
The pacing feels slow - there's a lot of information and what feels like an enormous cast of characters to keep track of. I know there's a lot of history between the characters and plot setup, but the flashbacks felt hard to keep track of in the beginning.

For me, it didn't seem like Briony or Toven experienced much growth during the first book - she's still confused and attracted to him, while he's keeping all sorts of secrets. There are little details here and there, but they felt lukewarm by the end. I didn't really feel like there was a moment where they experienced a connection with each other in the flashbacks, but that could be because Briony is oblivious.

Other than revelations from past interactions between Toven and Briony, it feels like the plot crawls. Briony keeps learning new information, but not much is done with it, and it's as if the world just keeps happening to her. I think this would have been alright, except the book ended at such a strange point. It feels like we were trying to make this a trilogy instead of a duology. I'll definitely read book 2, but I don't feel like I will be thinking about these characters until I know what happens next. Hopefully things pick up between them in the next book.

3 stars

I always love a morally ambiguous MMC and Rose in Chains really delivered on that front. The world is creative and I really invested in the characters. When the FMC finds herself forced into the home of the family responsible for deaths of those she loves, she has to sort through what she believed to be the truth and the family she is witnessing that are so at odds with what she believed them to be.

Thank you so much read forever pub for this arc!

I love Romance Julie Soto but fantasy Julie Soto is even better. The plot, the magic system, tension is too good. This book is definitely set up for the next two in the series!
This is such an interesting world and I need more! I love the flashbacks and the setup for the conflicts that will come in the future. Yess this was a dramione fanfic but Julie really made it her own such a refreshing romance fantasy. If you love enemies to lovers with a real extra slow burn you will eat this book up.

I did my second reread with this ALC and it really brought the world to life. The narrator did such an amazing job that every time I closed I was shocked that this world wasn’t real

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley!

Rose In Chains was a fun and entertaining read that kept me engaged from start to finish. The standout element for me was the main character—outspoken, determined, and proactive. It was refreshing to follow a protagonist who didn't sit back and let things happen around her but instead took charge and made real attempts to influence her situations, and not be the one to screw things up.

That said, while the book had a lively energy, I found that it lacked meaningful development. As enjoyable as the story was moment to moment, it didn’t feel like we truly learned anything significant or made much progress in the larger arc by the end. The plot seemed more like a series of entertaining scenes than a cohesive journey.

Additionally, the first third of the book struggled with pacing and structure. The narrative jumped around in a way that made it hard to follow, though the flow improved significantly in the latter two-thirds.

Overall, Rose In Chains is an engaging and character-driven story with strong moments, but it left me wishing for deeper plot development and a more consistent beginning.

Rose in Chains was a solid read — the characters were compelling, and I was especially drawn to the slow burn romance, even if I found myself inwardly shouting every time the protagonist missed the glaringly obvious signs of affection. Despite its undeniably dark themes, the tone leaned unexpectedly toward YA, with only the occasional flicker of spice hinting at a more mature edge. The plot held my interest, and the antagonists were satisfyingly sinister, but something still felt just slightly out of reach. Perhaps the pacing dragged a touch, or the frequent flashbacks and flash-forwards became a little too repetitive. That said, I’m curious enough to continue with the series — I just hope the next installment picks up the pace and expands more fully on the world that surrounds these characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

4.25⭐️

Rose in Chains was my first read by Julie Soto, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I do recommend checking the trigger warnings before diving in, as the story delves into some dark themes—but overall, it’s a compelling and well-crafted tale.

Knowing the book began as a fanfiction, I was curious to see how it would stand on its own. Soto delivered beautifully, creating an original story with layered characters, a unique magic system, and a slow-burn romance that kept me hooked from start to finish.

Ella Lynch’s narration was phenomenal. Her performance brought the story to life in a way that made me forget I was listening to just one person. She captured Briony’s voice perfectly, and I was especially impressed by her portrayal of Toven. I’ll definitely be listening to the next installment when it’s released!

I can’t wait for the next book in the Evermore Trilogy. Whether you’re a longtime fan of the original story or completely new to the world, this fresh romantasy release is sure to be a success.

I loved everything about this book and I’m begging for more, Julie!!! The audiobook was so well done! Thank you so much to NetGalley for a copy of this ALC!

The book starts off with a lot of info dumping.
They lose the war and are sold off as magical sex slaves? This was my first Julie Soto novel and I wasn’t not sure if she’s the author for me. Maybe her contemporary romance books are better but at 30percent in, I felt the book dragging.
I also didnt know when I started this, that this book was a dramoine fanfic.
Okay, but at 45 percent, I was INVESTED. I’m not sure if the beginning half dragged because of the writing or if it was just the audiobook and I would like it better as a physical copy?

Overall, I would say this book had a bit of a slow start but i AM SAT for the rest of this series. I’m obsessed with Briony and Tovin.
I enjoyed this book so much that I already went out and bought a physical copy.

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review. ( thank you Netgalley!)
The narrator was fine for the female parts but was so nasally for the male roles, it immediately took me out of the story. Even the MMC was so nasally, it was hard for me to romanticize him.

4.25 ⭐
I´ve only tried to read one Julie Soto book before this, which was Not Another Love Song, and I had to sadly DNF it because it just wasn´t for me.
But the cover and premise of this book intrigued me so I decided to give this author an another shot and I must say I was pleasantly surprised.
This ended up being one of the better romantasy books I´ve read.
The world building and the magic system were very interesting and I´ve loved the slow build up of tension inbetween the two main characters. Finally a romantasy book that was actually slowburn. I can´t wait for the second book.

For a book about magical sex slavery, this ended up being incredibly dull and asinine.

But if you want to dip your toes into dark romance, then this will suffice as an intro to the subgenre.

This is definitely for the Dramione fans (lbr, there's absolutely no way to separate the fanfic and Harry Potter IP from this, however hard you wanna try). and anyone else who prefers their romantasy with the worldbuilding as an afterthought. (I can't judge. I loved Divine Rivals.)

I'm not a Dramione fan. I read some dark romance every so often, but the sex slavery trope isn't my thing. I tried reading The Auction (the fanfic that this was adapted from), but everyone was so unbelievably OOC that I just couldn't get past the 10% mark.

So in my naivety, I thought maybe the trad pubbed edition of the story would work out better than the fanfic. OOC fanfic characters meant that the Rose in Chains characters have space to be their own people, right?

Like I said, I was naive. Feel free to judge me. I should definitely be shamed.

This novel was so ridiculously boring. I liked the intense parts in the beginning with the auctions, the human (magician?) trafficking, etc. But then everything went downhill after that.

Toven was boring as hell. He was the typical shadow daddy cardboard cutout. It felt like he was cosplaying a bad boy instead of being an actual bad boy. Like a terrible actor working with a terrible script. It's giving Twilight. It was stupid, annoying, and frustrating. I was anything but turned on.

Briony wasn't any better. I honestly thought she was a teenager before she told Toven that she was 24. Wow. Could've fooled me.

I'll be brutally honest. Nothing stood out to me at all. Not the mind magic or the heart magic. Or the barely there Big Bad and whatever her endgame was supposed to be.

Actually, I lied. Toven's special ability to kill people was pretty damn cool.

I finished this audiobook over a week ago and I'm still not sure how I feel about Ella Lynch's narration. Her voice and inflections and intonations didn't really fit the dark romantasy vibe. They way she narrated the book made everything sound so trivial and lighthearted.

But then again, that might be because this book was trivial and the author was terrible at conveying the intensity and emotions of a magical world at war, much less the (absurdly posh) life of a prisoner of war.

I added in my updates that the stereotypical whiny villain voice that the narrator used wasn't doing any favors to beat the antisemitism allegations about this book. So, there's that.

The only thing I found interesting was when Nagi—I meant the dragon—was giving off vibes that it wanted to fuck the Big Bad. I'm totally down for whatever the hell that's happening there. I probably misread that entire exchange, but I really don't care anymore. #MonsterFucker4Lyfe

When the credits rolled, I was so happy to be done.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for this arc.

This was absolutely freaking incredible! I can’t believe this is similar to the Auction FF but made in a way that was still so unique and interesting, the flash backs were a great addition in a way that it wasn’t boring but added to the story! The way that this book still was completely its own entity, and the endings plot twist was not something I saw coming and felt my heart heal in a way! I was so shocked to have seen the dragon being a good friend in a way and having a good relationship that this will be something truly important in the future of the trilogies!

There were small graphic sexual moments but nothing actual sexual and the romance was very slow burn and I can tell that it will be growing more and more in the next two books!

Thank you NetGalley and Hackett audio for honoring me with the audiobook for this, the voice actor was amazing! I loved how she was able to make literally every single character different; via dialects, tones, attitudes, draws, etc each and every single person was different! She truly put me in the book, details were just right, and I didn’t want to leave the world!