Thank you Netgalley for this ALC. Really enjoyed the book. A great start to the triology. Want to read other Julie Soto books now

🌹 5 stars | If this book doesn’t get more hype than Fourth Wing, the system is rigged!

🎧 This was an ALC read and let me tell you, I was slowing down my audio speed because I did not want to miss a thing, and Rose in Chains earned it. I didn’t want it to end. Julie Soto has officially found her genre. This is dark romantasy done right.

We follow Briony Rosewood, princess of the fallen Evermore kingdom. After her brother is killed in the war and her people are stripped of their magic, she’s captured and sold at auction to be used as a “heartspring” to fuel someone else’s power. Her buyer? Toven Hearst, who is a powerful noble from the enemy side, her former school rival, and the boy she's spent years trying (and failing) to forget. But instead of siphoning her magic, he keeps her alive and protected, and the tension between them is everything.

This book has:
✨ Enemies to lovers (slowest, burn, everrrr)
✨ Political rebellion bubbling under the surface
✨ An intriguing, original magic system (Mind Magic vs. Heart Magic)
✨ Flashbacks that add emotional weight (not filler!)
✨ A magical house that gives you what you need
✨ A rich world that’s beautifully fleshed out
✨ So much tension and longing, I was screaming

Briony is such a relatable, layered protagonist. She is strong in quiet, steady ways. Toven is a mystery wrapped in control, secrets, and subtle soft moments that hit hard. Their dynamic is complex and earned. And the audiobook narrator? She was phenomenal. Every voice distinct, every emotion palpable. 🎧 She made this already incredible story even better!

I also adored:
Serena (Toven’s mother): give me a spinoff
Larissa’s mysterious past
The slow unraveling of political alliances
The small, perfect romantic gestures that broke me
The way the flashbacks deepened everything in the present

💥 Trigger warning: this is a dark story. It deals with serious and heavy themes (war, trauma, captivity, systemic abuse, and more). Please check the content warnings beforehand. But none of it feels gratuitous, because it’s handled with care and intentionality.

The only con is that I read it early, and now I have to wait for the sequel like a commoner. The cliffhanger absolutely knocked the wind out of me and I need Book 2 immediately.

If you love slow burn, emotional, high stakes romantasy with a strong female lead and an even stronger yearning game, Rose in Chains is the book for you. Julie Soto’s writing is sharp, immersive, and gut punchingly good.

I already loved her previous books, but she is an auto buy author for me now.

Thank you to NetGalley, Julie Soto, and Hachette Audio for the ALC of this book.

this book had me so confused. I loved Julie Soto other books and I was excited to read her new one but it felt like we weren’t getting to know the world more than we should. I would have liked to know more about the world.

I know a book is good if I find myself changing my audio speed from 3x to 2x because I don’t want the book to end. It was that good. No going back on us Julie, this is officially your genre. If this book doesn’t get more hype than Fourth Wing, the system is rigged and I’ll scream. 10x better world building, characters, story, narrator and potential.

Briony Rosewood, princess of Evermore, has lost her twin brother and kingdom to the war. The remains of their kingdom has been captured with its people to be auctioned off. Briony is captured, put up for auction, and ends up in the hands of Toven Hearst, to be used as his heartspring where her magic will be siphoned to bolster his own.

Amid escape attempts, the resistance rising again, and Toven’s confusing treatment of Briony, absolutely flouting the norm and not using her as a heartspring, it is clear there is more happening than she is aware.

I received an ARC audio copy from Hachette Audio/Forever. The production quality was excellent, and I absolutely loved Ella Lynch as the narrator. Ella’s acting of Briony and her internal monologue was beautifully done.

I also quite enjoyed the story. I was captivated, and connected with both Briony and Toven. Their relationship was executed well, and the growth they both had made sense and worked to move the story forward. This was an excellent start to the series and i am looking forward to reading more in this world.

Briony is a princess. Her country is at war and her twin brother is leading her country in the battlefield. Her brother is killed and everyone who isn’t killed is captured, stripped of their mind magic and put up for auction. She is won by Tovin. she has been going to school with him since they were children, they were rivals. She has a crush on him but knows that he is ambitious and cruel. He and the other Bromardians weld heart magic.
Ok. I loved this. It was so exciting, I read it in 2 days but really wanted to read it in one sitting unfortunately, life got in the way. There is political intrigue, magic, a dragon and a slow burn romance between Toven and Briony. And when I say slow burn I mean the slowest burn but it’s done in a fantastic way that leaves you aching for more.
I loved so much about this book. I loved Toven’s mother Serena. I’m excited to see if we learn more about her and her magic in the books to come. I love the magic house that provides what you need. I would have like to see more of this. We really only get to see this come to fruition in the library. I loved Larissa and am still curious as to what made her father turn her in as an enemy. She is a Bromard yet she is auctioned off with the Eversuns.
The only cons I can come up with is that it’s too short and ends in a cliffhanger and since I read it early i will be waiting forever. Book 2 can’t come soon enough.
This book does have a lot of trigger warnings as it is a dark fantasy so you may want to check those out before you read it. I will be recommending this to all my friends. I have actually all ready started.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hackett Audio for providing me the audiobooks ARC in exchange for my honest review.

OH MY GOD!

First of all, thank you to Netgalley, Forever Publishing and Hachette Audio for both the e-ARC as well as the ALC.

Second, the only negative of this book is that I now have to wait to read the next one. When i heard that this story was being published I was so excited I mean come on Julie Soto? Romantasy? Dramione? Literally three of my favorite things. TBH I never read the original fanfiction this was based on and I'm actually really glad I didn't because I was able to go into this story completely blind. I loved every second of this book. The world is vast and interesting and I can't wait to see more of it. The relationship between Briony and Toven is full of tension and yearning and I'm I devoured the little bread crumbs of them that Julie gave us like a woman starved. I do think it's important to note though that this isn't a light fun romantasy story and please take the trigger warnings at the beginning seriously. This story is definitely DARK and there are themes that I know will be really difficult to some readers. A lot happens in this book but it doesn't feel overwhelming. The pacing is perfect and I love the flashback scenes we get every now and then to give more background to the world. Julie Soto has once again proven why she is one of my auto buy authors. I will not so patiently be waiting for the rest of this series because I know it's going to blow me out of the water.

I haven’t read Julie Soto’s other published works, but years ago I read the fanfic that eventually became Rose in Chains. Back then, it felt like a typical Dramione story — emotional, a bit over-the-top, but entertaining enough within the world of fanfiction. As a published novel, though, it simply doesn’t work.
The plot drags, the pacing is inconsistent, and the characters lack real depth. The romance feels contrived, and the “chemistry” between the leads relies heavily on fanon versions of Draco and Hermione, rather than being built authentically in the story itself.
One thing that really threw me off was the bizarre and almost absurd obsession with virginity. It felt outdated, unnecessary, and awkward — like a leftover trope from old fanfics that somehow made it into a professionally published book. It added nothing meaningful to the story and only highlighted how underdeveloped the character dynamics were.
And honestly, I think I’ve just outgrown fanfiction. What once felt dramatic or swoony now reads as excessive, juvenile, and overly reliant on the reader bringing their own emotional investment from the fandom.
This book is a clear reminder that not every fanfic needs to become a novel. What works in the context of fandom — with readers already attached to the characters — doesn’t always stand on its own.
I also kept asking myself: Would Dramione fanfics be this popular if Draco hadn’t been played by the incredibly charismatic Tom Felton? Because a lot of this story feels like it’s coasting on nostalgia and actor appeal, not strong writing or storytelling.
The prose is overwrought, the dialogue feels stiff, and the constant inner monologues are exhausting. It reads more like a padded-out draft than a finished novel.
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, this one just wasn’t for me.

Synopsis: The prophecy was wrong and Briony's life has been upturned. Now she's at the mercy of those that have always been her enemy, and who killed her family. She's forced into the care, or ownership, of the Hearsts, specifically Toven, her rival at school whose sneers at her in the hallway didn't dim her curiosity in him.

I had very high expectations for this book ... AND IT EXCEEDED ALL OF THEM. Truly, Julie Soto continues to outdo herself and every book is better than the last.

The beginning starts off strong, the middle gets stronger, and the end made me SCREAM. Wow wow wow. Honestly from page 1 I was hooked. I'm fascinated, and impressed, by the world that Julie created. I really love the classic medieval vibes combined with academia then an overall dark tone. Honestly it's all my favorite things combined PLUS animal familiars, side characters I NEED more of, and a romance that is just beginning - this book was perfection for me. There are multiple flashbacks that I became more and more addicted to. I really loved Briony, she was a main character who felt very real to me. She makes mistakes, she hesitates, and yet she's brave and kind and takes risks.

Because it covers so many genres I think this is a book that so many people will enjoy. (I realize I'm biased as a long time fan of Julie's but I STAND BY THIS.)

I absolutely DID NOT see the ending coming and wowwww. I just sat there stunned for a few minutes when I finished.

Plus, the narrator did an amazing job.

I loved loved loved this book.

I received an audio copy of this book via NetGalley ( Thank you @HachetteAudio). All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved the storytelling done by Julie Soto. This book was so much more than I thought it would be, it went way beyond my hopes and dreams. I loved how the story bounced between the present and her past, I think it offered a lot of clarity and let us see how the characters were when they were younger. The cliffhanger at the end caught me by surprise, and I am super excited that this is a trilogy and I am ready for the next two books to come out in the future.

The narrator did an amazing job making me feel like I was right there in the story. I could easily visualize what was happening and feel all the emotions. I wanted to listen to the whole thing in one go and didn't want to stop the audio.

I had HIGH HOPES for this book because I was obsessed with The Auction and it absolutely delivered! I think Julie did an amazing job on the transition from fic to trad. Definitely check trigger warnings because it deals with some heavy themes but l'm so excited to see where this story goes.
Briony and Toven gave me all the feels.
This story follows Briony in a post war captivity scenario where her people are auctioned off to the highest bidder for their magic. She finds herself in the hands of a family she's not sure she can trust and isolated from everything she knows. Reeling from the loss of war and thrown into the chaos of the aftermath, she struggles to come to terms with her new reality.
Toven is a dynamic character that keeps you guessing as to what his motives truly are.

5⭐2🌶️

This book was so good. I want next book right now😩🔥.

This was my most anticipated read of this year. I have read The auction fanfic and it was one of my favourite dramaione fanfic. So when julie soto announced that this gonna traditionally published, i was so excited.

That being said, iam obssesed. The parallel of the two book was amazing. I love julie soto's writing.

Our fmc Briony is the Princess of the eversuns, she was shadowed in background because of her twin brother but losing the war changed everything for her. Her character development in the book was amazing.

Toven is our mmc who is cocky with sherp tongue. He has so layer on him. There's so much more in him then meet the eye.
It was a slooooow burn🔥🔥. The tension between them was so thick.. The plot was freaking amazing and the romance was even Better. The audiobook was so good! I enjoyed the narrator and they way she narrated each characters.


Thank you Netgallary and Hachette Audio for the copy of the audiobook 🥰

I've read a lot of positive feedback for the audiobook and the narrator, but this one it was really not for me, I found the tone way too exaggerated, and at some points it seemed almost parodic to me.

Regarding the story itself, I was really interested in reading this, having not read this particular fic, but having read hundreds of others over 25 years, specially HP ones.

I've seen plenty of fanfic authors repurposing their work, and some of them have done an amazing job, but unfortunately this is not the case here. The book reads as a fanfic to me, not as original work, and it relays too heavily on dynamics stablished not only in the source text, but even in fandom spaces. I've read plenty of post-war fics, and this one is just... another one. Soto does try to create her own world and magic system, but as I said, it's still too close to the fanfic spaces for my taste. Also, the tension in the plot is broken constantly with the flashbacks needed to explain the world to people not familiar with fanfics.

I think it might be best enjoyed by people who are not familiar with fanfic, or at least not with HP ones.

Rose in Chains by Julie Soto 5⭐️! I loved it! I didn’t know what to expect going into this. I’ve never read The Auction before so I don’t know how similar it is. This was like handmaids tale but instead of wanting the women for babies, they want them for their magic. With that being said, definitely check trigger warnings cause it talks about very dark topics and implies that they are happening. I enjoyed the relationship between Briony and Toven. I can’t wait to see where the story will go! The audiobook was very good! I enjoyed the narrator and her ability to give each character their own voices.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for a copy of the audiobook!

Julie Soto has another winner!! Rose in Chains was amazing! I loved it! I was lucky enough to listen to the audiobook. It’s out soon.

ARC and ALC review

4,25 stars

"Rose in Chains" by Julie Soto is the first book in "The Evermore Trilogy".

Thank you Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction for the ARC and Hachette Audio for the ALC (via Netgalley).
Opinions from this review are completely my own.

Before starting the book I did not know much about it and I have to admit that the cover caught my attention.
Also, I did not read "The Auction".
But I love Julie's contemporary romances and I plan to read all the books she writes.

This is a dark romantic fantasy and I am glad that I read the content warnings first because I was prepared for it to be even darker.
Please check these warnings on the author's website before you start reading.

The story is told from Briony's POV in 3rd person and there is a dual timeline.
Briony is the Eversun princess and she is captured by the enemies, the Bomards.
She is later sold to Toven, a high ranking Bomardsun that is also her long time infatuation (even if she tried to get over it).

From the beginning I liked the writing and the world building.
The book starts in the present and then there are chapters from the past that give more context about how the war started.
But since we only have one POV, there are still many things that remain a mystery until the end of the book (hopefully we get more details in the next book).

The audiobook is narrated by Ella Lynch, that did an amazing job.
She used multiple accents for different people and her male voice is very good.
As Briony she managed to make me feel her emotions and I ended up finishing the book in 2 days.
I recommend an immersive read for this book if possible (listening to the audio while reading the physical/e-book).

The romance part of the story is very slow burn with tension and forced proximity.
They start as enemies and are (almost) lovers.

But what I liked the most is the strength of the women. I cannot say more to avoid spoilers.

There is a twist at the end that I suspected during the book but the epilogue made me what to read the next book as soon as possible.

everything I hoped for!!! I can definitely see the similarities with The Auction but there's so much that she's added to and shifted and I loved every single second of it. I think it's smart that she's separating it into a trilogy but I'm so impatient for the next installment 😭 truly honored to have received an ALC but all these opinions are 100% honest and my own!

I was super fortunate to be able to arc read this book earlier in the Spring but I am an audiobook girly so I was super excited to also get to review the ALC! I'll include my original book content review below as well as my ALC review.

I really love to tandem read with audiobooks since I work at a desk and and am often on the go. So I LOVE seamless listening/reading when I am able to do so. That being said...I listen to a ton of audio and the narrator is always the make or break it point for me. I don't believe I have listened to the narrator, Ella Lynch, before but I really enjoyed her! Rose in Chains isn't dual POV but I enjoyed her during Toven's conversation parts as well.

This is a personal preference but I process audiobooks easier around 1.25-1.5x speed and it was crystal clear and still maintained the personalities. This did not feel like a book being read to you, it felt like you were listening in on an emotive conversation. Very much enjoyed this a second time around!

I almost, ALMOST, regret reading this as an arc because I will have to live for another year without knowing what's next. Also the placeholder for the book two teaser without a teaser yet? Existence is pain.

This book sucked me in, like completely consumed me. I went into this book not really knowing much about it at all. I haven't read The Auction but this was available from Discover Forever (tysm ily) and I love Julie Soto so I couldn't NOT read it.

This was dark, lots of heavy themes and topics, so I highly recommend checking the TW's and content. You will feel rage for a large portion of the book. I almost feel guilty for saying I enjoyed this because I felt consistently nauseated by the behaviors of the "enemy" but I think there are going to be strong arcs and resilient characters that come from this story and I can't wait to watch the enemy crumble.

Book one set a great foundation for the upcoming books. We get a great deal of flashbacks/backstory which felt perfectly in place with where we were in the plot. If you're not a fan of flashbacks/memories they may feel like they break up the story of the current plot progression BUT I really think she placed them perfectly based on current events and the character's feelings at the time.

The political intrigue was strong and once you get a handle on the main players and everyone's stance it's easy to follow. There's a lot of secrets floating around between the families and it makes you actually wonder who else is only playing a part.

The magic system was unique and interesting! I think the complexities between the two different types of magic and the familiars is very intriguing. Not something I've read about recently so I really enjoyed this unique magic system!

There was so much subtle yearning and angst. I was screaming at my kindle half the time like figure it out people!!!! I haven't read a good slow burn like this in a looong time. It's very apparent to the reader in the smallest of actions and I LOVE that.

Briony is a strong and resilient main character who is actively looking for solutions and Toven is an equally complex and secretive character. Based on the ending, I think book two is going to be a fantastic time.

This is NOT a super fast paced book, I would definitely go into this book with that in mind. This is setting the stage for what's coming and I have a feeling that it will be a lot of secrets and discovered truths with alliances found in unexpected places. Ok, back to screaming into the void, bye.

Thank you so much to Hachette Audio and Forever for the ALC and ARC! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. :)

Another romantasy to add to my 2025 favourites list.

Her family killed, castle taken, Princess Briony is captured by the enemy and auctioned off to be used as a heartspring - a secondary supply of magic to pull from. The Evermore Princess is also wanted for her virginity, cruel men desperate for power, revenge, and shame. She is sold to Toven, an ex-classmate she has an already fraught past with.

I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this. It sounded like a dark romance that would turn spicy and icky. Instead, we have a soft heroine who has a bit of bite (but not nearly enough for me which would be one of my complaints - grow a stronger backbone!) and a guy who is obviously hiding secrets.

The writing was so addictive and the pages flew past. I did not want to put this book down. Perhaps it is because the relationship never felt centre-staged. It was more characters-driven than lust-fuelled.

It did frustrate me how naive Briony was - in terms of her missing Toven’s obvious care and attention and trying to keep up this sweet, unknowing facade in the flashbacks and present.
Briony is someone who knows she deserves more but holds herself back. But Toven SEES. He knows. He appreciates.

I have not read the fanfiction this was based on (The Auction) and I understood everything.

Arc gifted by Harper Collins.

When her castle is taken by the enemy, Briony Rosewood realizes that her world has changed forever. The dark forces have won, and her people are faced with a choice: enslavement, imprisonment, or death.

Deprived of her magic and freedom, Briony, along with the other survivors, is sold at auction. After a fierce bidding war, she is bought by Toven Hearst, a scion of a family known for their cruelty.

I’m thrilled by Julie Soto’s writing style. I haven’t read the fanfic The Auction and I'm not a fan of Dramione, but I really liked this story.
I liked that, despite the presence of cruelty and numerous triggers in the story, they are not detailed enough to cause disgust.

I took off one star mostly because the fmc annoyed me at times. Plus, there were some unnecessary repetitions of things that had already been said just a few pages before.

That said, I also want to give a special thanks to whoever chose the narrator — I really liked her delivery and the way she conveyed emotions and portrayed different characters. She definitely made the listening experience more enjoyable.

Tropes:
— dark romantasy
— forbidden romance
— enemies to lovers
— forced proximity
— sloooow burn

❗️ The book contains triggers, please review them on the author's website before reading.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio and Forever for providing this eARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.