Rose in Chains is a captivating start to a promising trilogy. The setting is richly detailed, with immersive descriptions that bring every corner of the world to life. It is clear that a great deal of care and thought went into building a world that feels both grounded and magical.

The stakes feel perfectly balanced for the beginning of a larger story. Graphic subjects are handled with restraint and purpose, adding emotional weight without overwhelming the narrative. This is a strong, beautifully written beginning that leaves me eager for the next installment.

Wow, I did not read The Auction so I can’t compare it to the original fan fiction. But that was a great dark Romantasy. I wish maybe a tad more happened before the end of book 1, but there’s still plenty of time to get there in the next two books. As for the narrator she sounds just like Hermione, from my very basic knowledge of seeing all the movies several times. I kind of wish she didn’t because then I could have separated this book from HP. This book is truly its own thing, but I can’t help making references back.

what initially drew my attention to this book was the beautiful cover, after reading it I definitely wasn't dissapointed this book was amazing. this was my first Julie Soto book and I will definitely be reading more from her.

not to mention the narrator did a phenomenal job with the story I was completely captivated and before I knew it it was the end of the book, cannot wait for the next one.

this book had me hooked from the very beginning and had me constantly wanting more

Thanks to netgalley/the publisher for the audiobook (e-arc?) of this book. All thoughts are my own.

The mc, Briony, gets captured with the rest of her people and everyone is auctioned off. Her brother is dead. The one who they thought the prophecy was about.

First off I’ve loved everything Julie Soto has released so far. Some more than others. But honestly I think this one was just so amazing. The narrator was great and I don’t think they could’ve found a better person to tell this story.

I personally thought the storyline and world building was great and flowed nicely. I did shed some tears at one point. I think if you’re into Romantasy with a darkish twist this is the book for you. I seriously can’t wait for the second one to come out.

I wanted to love this book, especially since the audiobook was so flawlessly produced! Seriously, I'm a huge fan of the narrator.

But I guess I'm not sold on this Toven character yet. There are some things even a morally gray love interest can't come back from in my eyes.

Also, the whole emphasis on virginity and sexual assault felt a bit weird. It's not like it's portrayed as acceptable or okay in the book, but I wish the torture of an entire country's women could have involved something else. I like to read books to escape everyday horrors, and I don't know many women who haven't endured some form of SA; as a survivor, even if the content doesn't cause me emotional distress (it didn't; I am healed these days), it's not something I want to *read* about/be reminded of the existence of in the fiction I try to enjoy in my leisure time.

I can see how this book will be amazing for a lot of readers, but it's a pass for me. Except, yes, the cliffhanger hooked me enough that I'll be reading the rest of the trilogy when it's released.

⭐️ 3.5 stars ⭐️
The first book of an unfinished romantasy series is not for the weak hearted. The first chunk of the book is devoted to building a world new to you, often with loads of characters and some sort of complicated magic system/ Kingdom or political stage/ often both. The latter part of the novel then proceeds to rip your heart out, whilst promptly leaving you aghast on a cliff hanger. "Rose in Chains" very much follows this model. I've read Julie Soto's other books and I find her writing engaging. It's probably for this reason I found it easier to stay with the story when it got incredibly bleak midway through. I really wish I had the second book to trip right on to as so much of "Rose in Chains" felt like set up (with constant flash backs throughout). Fingers crossed we won't have to wait too long!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

First Impressions & Expectations
I was genuinely looking forward to Rose in Chains—it would have been my first Julie Soto book, and the premise sounded bold, original, and full of emotional depth. However, I unfortunately didn’t make it past the first chapter of the audiobook. While I still think the story itself has potential, the audio format didn’t work for me at all.

Narration & Listening Experience
The narrator’s delivery felt overly breathy and moany right from the beginning, which immediately pulled me out of the experience. It came across as unnatural and overly performative, making the emotional tone feel forced rather than compelling. I found it difficult to connect with the story because of this, and despite a serious attempt to push through, I couldn’t get past the opening chapter. The narration quite simply gave me the ick—something that’s obviously personal, but worth noting for listeners sensitive to narration style.

Format Considerations
I want to stress that my issue wasn’t with the story itself. In fact, I’m still interested in reading this novel in print or ebook, as I suspect I’d have a very different reaction without the narrator’s voice influencing my perception of the characters and tone. Another personal barrier to connecting with this book was the cover. While that alone doesn’t determine the content, it gave off a young adult/cartoony vibe that doesn’t match the intense trigger warnings. It’s also just not a style I’m drawn to visually, and it would likely prevent me from picking up or purchasing a physical copy, even if I did enjoy the content.

Final Thoughts & Recommendation
This was a rare DNF for me, and while I couldn’t continue with the audiobook version of Rose in Chains, I don’t want to discourage readers who are curious about the story itself. If the premise interests you, I’d suggest trying a different format. Julie Soto’s writing has a strong fan base, and I’m still eager to experience her work—just not through this particular narration.

Audio Narration: 4/5 Big fan of the choice of narrator. I think her voice works really well for the character. Pacing, pausing, inflection are all top notch. My only issue is with the male voices, not bad but also not my favorite.

Romantasy at its best.

This is addictive and easy to binge. Deliciously slow burn. A little dark. A little magical. A hefty helping of political intrigue. AND SO MUCH TENSION!

Y’all I stayed up until 5:30 AM to finish this book - I read it in a single sitting. I am tired and I am DESPERATE for more!

The world is unique, the magic is cool, the stakes are high, the plot moves at a perfect pace and the tension is so EPICALLY delicious you’re gonna need a cold shower!

What’s to love…
- SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOW BURN
- pinning, angst, tension, OH MY!
- plotical intrigue
- rival “kingdoms”
- forced proximity
- secrets
- A+ banter
- will have you screaming “HURRY UP AND DO IT” at your book.
- tight plot and great pacing
- binge-able AF
- A DRAGON!!!!!!!!!!!!

My only complaint…
- Seriously, I have only one bad thing to say about this book. I wish the author had a little more faith in the reader’s ability to remember important things & infer using context clues. There were a number of times where the writing repeated “important” things, sometimes within a few pages of each other. The writing was often over explanatory - more times than not, it explained details I could have easily assume based on context. These are things I expect and accept in YA books but something that does detract from my experience when reading an adult novel.

BUT - even with the repetitions this book was un-put-down-able!

A fantastic start to the Evermore Trilogy! As usual, Julie Soto is a master at writing tension so all of Briony and Toven’s scenes were excellent. It's impossible to put this book down and I can't wait for book two!

The narrator also brought this story to life flawlessly! She narrated each character perfectly.

Let me get this out of the way - I LOVE THIS BOOK!! I read the description and knew I'd have to put this on my TBR. Then when I saw the trigger warnings (definitely read those before you dive into the book), I wasn't sure what to expect. Julie weaved such an amazing tale together that I could not stop reading. It's not a small book, but the writing style, the characters, and the plot makes you lose track of time, and you don't realize how much you've consumed of the book until you get to the last page. Which means I am in need of the next one ASAP, please and thank you very much.

Holy good god. Obsessed. Totally enthralled.

When I say I didn’t want to put it down??? Yeah. Unputdownable for me.

Almost immediately, I felt like this world was familiar and that made it so easy to get lost in the story and characters.

I’m convinced at this point that if Julie Soto writes it, I’m going to read and love it.

The slow burn, the tension, the forearms!

Toven Hearst…the man that you are. 😮‍💨

Thank you to Hachette Audio for the ALC. Ella Lynch’s voice was perfection and I feel like I know Briony now. Can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy asap!

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio and Forever for the alc!

I requested this alc as soon as I saw that it was available to request and got so excited when I got the approval email!

This was so good! I didn't want the book to end! I'm adding this to my favorite books of 2025 shelf!
The story, the world, the characters were all chef's kiss!

This audiobook is solo narrated by the amazing Ella Lynch!
This was the first time I've listened to an audiobook that is narrated by Ella and I can't wait to check out any other book she has narrated! She did an incredible job with this story!

This was also my first Julie Soto book but it will not be my last! I'll be checking out the other books she's written and will, of course, check out the rest of this trilogy when the other books are released!

I can't wait for book 2!!

Also, I absolutely love the book cover and can't wait to have my own psychical copy of this as a shelf trophy when it's out.

Thank you again to NetGalley, Hachette Audio and Forever for the alc!

WHEW, this was a reread for me but WOWZA even knowing what was coming next in the story, it was even more intense on audio.

Ella Lynch’s narration took my breath away, quite literally there were times when I was holding my breath because the emotion and intensity of the scenes were through the roof.

Julie’s storytelling like always is phenomenal and she really draws you into her stories from the first page and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I will be not so patiently waiting for the next installment!

Thank you to NetGally and Hachetter Audio for an audiobook arc of this title for review!

I knew I would love this book, I loved the source material and Julie Soto’s 2 adult romance books so I knew this would be 5 stars. Just mind the TW (seriously though). There’s so many reviews about the content and I got the audiobook specifically so I’d like to focus on that.

I think the audiobook narrator does an excellent job with this story. I’ve never listened to anything with Ella Lynch and I think she has a really unique accent (her page says she’s British but she has a cool accent I haven’t heard before).

I think she gives Briony’s voice that naive sort of young sounding but spoiled princess vibe. It fits the character so well.

She does really well with the male characters too, not everyone can pull off both genders. If you’re familiar with the story you know how smarmy and lecherous some of the male characters are and I think she nailed it.

This would be a great title to immersion read to really enhance the story. 5 stars for the book, 5 stars for the audiobook, why not both? :)

Some was able to get the audio ALC for this and so am
So glad I did as it made me enjoy the book a bit more than my first read. It allowed me to get engaged a bit more and the parts where I struggled to stay focused the first time were smoothed out by the narration.

Ella Lynch did a great job with the narration. She has a sweet speaking voice with a clear English accent which adds to the enjoyment; for me at least. She spoke at a great 1x pace and handled the different voices well. She also gave enough emotion to enrich the prose but without going overboard and not affecting the readers ability to create their own picture in their head or make their own interpretations. I look forward to other books narrated by Ms Lynch.
I can recommend both versions equally but the audio does help enrich it a bit more so give it a go!

I was so excited to get approved for this book as I loved another of Julie Soto’s books that recently came out. In the end I am glad I read it and enjoyed it for its solid writing. However, I think I would have been more satisfied had I been a Harry Potter fanfic reader, but I have never read “The Auction” or any other Dramione stories.

It did take me a minute to get into and you have to be super focused due to the split timeline with a ton of information. Many will be unsettled with the slavery piece especially in the light the recent “Firebird” debacle but this was definitely different. I don’t want to give any spoilers so let’s just say that its approach and how it was handled was completely different and more socially/ethically acceptable.

I will say that Ms Soto has a way with words that grabs you and leaves you with an impression long after they are read. By the end of the book I was very engaged and now looking forward to the sequel as I have a feeling I’ll enjoy it even more with where the plot is and my personal enjoyment of topics.

This book comes out on July 8th 2025 with a gorgeous special edition and sprayed edges. So I highly suggest you pre order it now to ensure a copy.


I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary eARC from Forever Publishing and the ALC from Hachette Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

🎧🌹 Five Stars for the Audiobook Magic 🌹🎧

Okay, so Rose in Chain absolutely destroyed me in the best way, but the audiobook?? Took that destruction, wrapped it in velvet and fire, and whispered it directly into my soul.

First of all, the narration is perfection. The voice actor for Briony captures her strength and quiet fury so well, I wanted to cry half the time, and the other half I was blushing on the sidewalk like some sort of Victorian ghost widow. It’s the kind of performance that makes you forget you're listening to a book and instead feel like you’re living inside it. Which, honestly, terrifying.....but hot.

Every emotion hits harder in audio. The despair, the defiance, the insane chemistry between enemies who absolutely should not fall for each other but DO??? I was hanging on every word, pacing my house, completely gone for these two broken souls figuring out how to be whole again.

The production quality is crisp, immersive, and never pulls you out of the moment. Honestly, it gave the entire story an extra layer of intensity and intimacy I didn’t know I needed, but now I’ll never go back.

If you love dark fantasy, forbidden romance, and audiobooks that feel like spells, you need this in your ears immediately.

Arc received from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received an ARC for this as an audiobook and went into it completely blind. Ultimately I enjoyed my experience listening to this - the narration, plot, and world building were very engaging. It took me less than 2 days to finish, and I was genuinely disappointed when I realized I didn't have more story left to read.

However, at the halfway mark I was asking myself why this reads so much like a fan fiction. One of the best written fan fictions I've ever read, but still fan fiction. Sure enough, that's where the original story comes from. If you love that writing style, I'm sure you will absolutely love this book. And if you hate fan fiction then this may be a skip for you. I'm somewhere in the middle and still enjoyed it!

My only true complaint is that this book handles a lot of dark topics, but they are sometimes glorified or shown in a lighter way than what I would have liked. I've even seen a lot of reviews for this book that seem a little out of touch with the topics that it discusses. It's like if someone were to describe the handmaids tale as "sexy". Some of these things are obviously outside of the author's control, and I do appreciate the warning at the beginning of the book. However, there's moments in the actual book that just didn't sit right with me.

I will say that I loved the narration for the audiobook! I can be picky with the way voices sound, but this narrator was great. The voices for some of the "bad" characters occasionally came across a little silly sounding, but there's only so much you can do without a full cast audiobook.

Overall, a solid read. I really hope that future installments focus a little more on the interesting world politics and magic system as a way to work against the darker topics introduced in book one!

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ARC!

4.5 ⭐️

What a ride! Rose in Chains is a romantasy that is (apparently) based on the same author's fanfic work The Auction, a "Dramione" (Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger) story, that I had not read. I am a fan of the Harry Potter world and could definitely see the connections in this book.

I was gifted an advanced listeners copy of the audiobook version and right away I was hooked. The audiobook was excellent, the narrator did a wonderful job taking an already good story and making it more enjoyable.

The story was well-written, with interesting characters and a fascinating storyline. It does end on a cliffhanger, and it appears there will be three books in the series (at this date, but know knows...) I started this book not knowing it was based on fanfic, but almost immediately was able to pick up that it was. I suppose for some people this could be a negative, I didn't have a problem with it. I wasn't totally surprised by the cliffhanger, there were enough breadcrumbs sprinkled in the book to take away the shock. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series and am disappointed I'll have to wait to read them.

Rose in Chains delivers the romantasy vibes I’ve been wanting for a while. I partially read the Auction and stopped once I knew that this book was being published with a revamped narrative. The changes made were fine with me.

The pace is fast and definitely has a hook to keep you reading. At first I didn’t really care for the flashbacks but the appeal grew later in the book. Do I think the narrative can be wrapped up in Book 2? I hope so because we have a lot of ground to cover.

Oh and yes this is a SLOW BURN. The slowest of slow.

The audiobook definitely leans into the Harry Potter notations (trying to sound like Emma Watson as Hermione? That’s a choice that I’m not sure how I feel about. At times it felt like a parody).

Anyways after failing to get a digital arc I want to thank Hachette Audio for audiobook!

This was not my cup of tea. I DNF'd this one at 35%
I am giving this read 2 stars because I know there are many people who will absolutely love this book.

Unfortunately, I went into this not knowing that it is a Dramoine fanfic?
While I love a good fanfic, this one should have stayed a fanfic.

I was struggling to listen to the audiobook, which is honestly surprising to me since audios are usually easy for me to get through even if I am not 100% invested.
I think there is definitely an audience for this book, as I felt that it was written fairly well. I simple found this read to be confusing and boring. I tried to push through but on my third day of listening to it, the simple idea of listening to the book caused me to grimace. I have learned that life is too short to read something I am not completely loving.

I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for a honest review.