Holy cow! What a listen! This is excellent narration! The political aspect of this story is so intriguing. From the first page until the last, I could not stop reading. The pacing of this book was just perfect, making it unputdownable. There is dual timeline (past and present) so be aware of that going in. But the enemies to lovers was so so so good! This is such a great romantasy and I cant wait for the next installment!

This book was originally the Dramione fanfiction called, “The Auction” and reimagined to be its own Romantasy series. The only Dramione fanfic I had read previous to this book is the ultra popular “Manacled” by SenLinYu. This book has very similar vibes to Manacled as it is very dark. Overall I enjoyed the plot and the story and the tense relationship between Briony and Toven past and present. I like the dual timeline as we get glimpses of their connection before the events of this book take place. I listened to the audiobook while following along at times to the e-book. There are A LOT of characters. I found myself rewinding often because I didn’t catch who was who. To make it more confusing sometimes people are referred to by their first name and other times by their last name. This may have been a bit easier if you are reading the e-book or a physical copy, but for listening it is more of a challenge.

I do like the new magic system and how it is explained. As Romantasy goes, this is on the darker side with elements of murder, war, and rape. Some instances with the captures can be very disturbing so please be mindful of trigger warnings before you read this book. Luckily for our main FMC (and for us), she is mostly respected in her captive state. It still is hard to hear of the fates of those around her during such a horrible time for these warring countries.

I loved Ella Lynch’s narration. She does an amazing job voicing Briony as well as all the other characters really pulling us into the story.

Thank you to Julie Soto, NetGalley, Forever, and Hachette Audio for an ARC/ALC of this book.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the ALC!

4/5 stars

This was a great dynamic dark fantasy. The audio brings Briony and Toven to life, both heightening the tension in high risk moments and making their connection feel real as it slowly grows. And is still growing. This slow burn is really burning and I'm here for it. The plot focuses on the war, the dangers, and the twists beautifully without making anything feel too repetitive or hard to handle. Ella Lynch gives a great reading as our narrator and I hope she continues for the other two books, as well. Her voice fit Briony perfectly.

I think it is super important to pay attention to the note on what content will be involved in the book that may be uncomfortable for the reader. If you can handle the darker aspects of the story, and some of the characters that are just pure slime in human form, this is an amazing fantasy with plenty more twists in store for the rest of the trilogy.

Ok, I see you, Julie. You’ve got my full attention.

This book was so interesting. At this point, I’m convinced Julie can write about anything, and I’ll happily eat it up. Ever since The Thrashers, I’ve been hyped to read whatever she puts out next—and she never disappoints. Don’t get me wrong, her romance books? Also straight fire.

This dark romantasy is a work of art. If I’ve ever read about auctioning people before, I must’ve blocked it out, because this felt completely new and shocking. Just a heads-up though—this book tackles some heavy, dark themes. If you’re sensitive to topics like human trafficking, sexual slavery, sexual violence, unwanted contact, rape, assault, forced sterilization, war violence, death, dissociation, or mentions of suicide, consider this your warning.

One thing I really appreciated was how neither of the main characters came off as immature or childish—even though they’re in their mid-20s. And let’s talk about the world-building. Julie nailed it. The magic system was super unique too. Ahh! And the slow burn romance? Absolute chef’s kiss. I usually get a little desperate for the romance to move faster, but Julie pulled off the perfect push and pull. When the tension finally snapped? So satisfying. I was grinning like a total fool.

Also, Briony being so dense about Toven’s feelings had me screaming. But honestly? The enemies-to-lovers angle was so well done, I couldn’t even be mad. And Toven… ugh. I love a morally gray, broody-but-secretly-sweet guy. His vibe was perfect. And Briony’s empathetic, smart, resilient nature balanced him out beautifully. Their dynamic was messy, complicated, and totally addictive. That tension? Delicious.

Now, about the ending… I was bracing for a cliffhanger, but damn! That twist?? I was like, “Ok, let’s see what happens next,” and then—boom! A completely different POV! My jaw literally dropped. 😂 Julie, you’re too good!

Overall, this was such a great read—and the narrator killed it too. Definitely recommend!

ARC provided by Netgalley. Courtesy of Hachette Audio | Forever

What can I say that I’m sure the publisher hasn’t ready in the many, many pieces of feedback they’ve received from other thankful readers…and listeners. First and foremost, THANK YOU for approving my request! I’ve been an ARC reader for Julie Soto in the past with The Thrashers and have always been captivated by her writing both traditionally-non-traditionally published. She is incredible with a unique skill in detailing the most nuanced and intricate stories and characters. Once you read one of her stories, you come back for them ALL.

Rose in Chains is a long-awaited story with audiences spanning many genres, ages and platforms. Having the opportunity to listen to RiC and dive into Evermore was such a surreal yet intrinsic experience that made me nostalgic for my youth as it was when I read The Auction. I knew I KNEW the characters, the plot and the essence of the story. However, as I began to listen, the deep connection I had with the characters was nowhere near what I thought I knew. Julie’s ability to rebuild and expand the RiC universe made my experience as a reader new and exhilarating. The darkness, star-crosse romance, angst, pining, magical system, political intrigue and overall world building was well thought out and intricate. The pacing made me constantly struggle with “this isn’t moving fast enough I NEED TO KNOW NOW” and “NO! I need it to go slower and LAST FOREVER”. I was constantly jumping from one to the other, repeating chapters just to hear it all again and cry or kick my feet just little bit more.

Rose in Chains is a ride I don’t ever want to get off, and if I do, I’ll go back around just to get on it again. Waiting for Book Two will be torture, especially with the ending of RiC, but it’s a torture I’ll willingly strap myself to a table for…just call me Sam Cortland (too soon? 😭)

I am incredibly thankful to the publishing team for allowing me to ride this rollercoaster and I commend Julie and her editorial team for the great accomplishment of bringing me to tears REPEATEDLY so much so, I now have to buy myself a new box of tissues.

There is no sweeter torture than a well written book ❤️

MMC: Toven
FMC: Brianny
Exciting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Romance: 💓💓💓
Slow burn
Enemies to Lovers
Fanfic
Narrator: 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Nice pace, and great voice inflexion
Plot/Story:
My mind kept making comparisons with Manacled for the first half of the book, which was quite distracting; but at 70% this took a turn and the story got to whole new level. With a great world building, political conflict and great character development, this story diverts into story lines and plays with your feelings and love for the characters.
Looking forward to second book!

The magic system is interesting but there was so much telling and not showing. It's hard to immerse into a story when almost all the world building is just telling you how things are. Same with the plot, there was a lot of "this happened and then this happened." I really wanted to dnf at 10% but stuck it out because this was an arc. The audiobook narration is good so that also helped me get through it.

Things did improve in the second half, around the arena and afterwards. I finished the audiobook in a day after that point. More was happening, I cared more about the characters, we see the mind magic in action - it was exciting to see some things play out.

Overall I don't know if I'm the right audience. Had I known the heavy amount of misogyny that surrounds the plot, I wouldn't have picked this up. I hate the focus on virginity and abuse towards women in this. Sure, there might be a good message at the end of this series but the world building is done so poorly that it's hard to believe it's anything beyond shock value right now.

Ultimately I gave in to all the hype of this book and didn't check the cw beforehand. Perhaps more context should be in the story description because this can be quite dark.

I am somewhat interested in how the story goes as things are picking up now. I've heard this author does tackle difficult subjects like these with care so I might read the next book just to give it a fair chance. Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Audio for an early listen!

4.5/5 ⭐️
Rose in Chains is a dark romantic fantasy that follows Briony, a princess and sister to the King, her twin. After an attack from Bomard her brother is announced dead. She is captured and auctioned off to the highest bidder, who is Toven, a long time infatuation of hers but also a high ranking Bomardsun.

I absolutely was sucked into this world so quickly. Julie Soto's world building was dark and immersive that I felt myself there with Briony. The magic in the world is very easy to follow, so it was not a difficult read. Listening to the audiobook was amazing because of the narration. With the narration being 3rd POV, it still managed to create a dark vibe undertone to help the reader immerse into the story.

There is definitely politics that the reader has to understand and Julie Soto was able to introduce the information to the reader smoothly and naturally, rather than it being told to the reader. Because of the politics, there's really not much spice. I would rate it a .5 out of 5 on a scale of spice. It definitely feels slow burn on the MMC side than the FMC but I ate it up anyways!

If you enjoy dark fantasy, ill-fated romance, and a mysterious MMC, this may be the book to add to your TBR! I'd highly recommend the audiobook as well to get fully immersed in the story!

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

This has me dying to read the fanfic because the whole time I was trying to make parallels to the HP world (which wasn’t hard). However, Julie does make this story stand on its own by building a new, slightly similar world. You really get the enemies to lovers slow burn and constant yearning. This story definitely got pretty dark at times but the mystery and tension kept you captivated and wanting more. I cannot wait for book 2!

The narrator was amazing, loved her so much. She gave such Hermione vibes and attitude which really added to the story for me!

Thank you to Forever and Hachette Audio for an ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review!

Let me start by saying that I love Julie Soto!!! This book was so good. As a Dramonie fanfic veteran I was a little worried about how this would translate to trad publishing, but I can’t wait to read the next book in the series now. The slow burning was exquisite and the ending got me pumped. Just shy of a five star because it took a bit for me to get into it. Also loved the narration voice, perfect for the world.

Thank you to Netgalley and @HachetteAudio for the ARC!!

3.5/5⭐️

I love that Dramione fan fics are becoming novels! I never read The Auction, BUT Rose In Chains was good! I read Manacled and it has similar aspects, and has an overall darkness, but I would love to read more to see how they compare.

This was my first Julie Soto novel, and the writing was absolutely beautiful! It was done so well and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

There was a fun revelation at the end and a bit of a cliffhanger, which left it open for book 2. I will definitely be reading it when it comes out!

The only thing I feel like the book lacked was romance. It was slow burn-ish? But I still felt like the Toven didn’t really even like Briony. Even though we alllll know they’ll end up together. I wish there was a bit more connection on that, but maybe I’m book 2 it’ll pick up more?

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for the ARC (audiobook) in exchange for my review.

I am not a huge fantasy person, but I am trying to read a little each month so I can hopefully get more into it. I absolutely loved this. I need the next book now. The main characters have magic. We are dealing with two different types of magic. Mind and heart magic. The main characters are supposed to be enemies, but both secretly like each other. All of it was fascinating. Since I am fairly new to fantasy, I don't know the proper terms and descriptions. Just know the book is great and it will leave you wanting more.

ALC Review
Thank you so much NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC of one of my most anticipated reads of the year!

Rose in Chains is the beginning of an adult fantasy trilogy about what happens in a world where the dark forces win the war, and questioning yourself if there’s the slightest possibility of hope in such a world.

This book was so much darker than I expected, and I mean that in a good way, but I believe it’s really important to mention to check the trigger warnings, because the book gets into some heavy and traumatic situations that can be difficult to read. I will admit it was a little slow paced, but it just made it great to actually get introduced to this world, and also makes you desperate for more in the next books of the series. There was amazing tension and character building, and a really interesting magic system. It was also incredibly steamy.
I love Julie Soto’s writing, she just has a way of transporting you to the story and makes you feel every emotion. I was constantly experiencing this sensation that there are hundreds of secrets and hidden meanings that I couldn’t understand, that there’s something you can’t quite grasp, but it’s also the point of the story, because that’s how Briony is feeling, and all we get so far is her point of view.
I really need the next book after that cliffhanger, but I would also love to get so much more of the politics and magic system of this world.
Something else I would like to point out is the amazing narration we get from Ella Lynch. Her performance was espectacular, and added so much depth to the character of Briony and her story.

Rose in Chains is, in my opinion, a horror fantasy, Dramione-based, and honestly I think that is the core problem. Dramione assumes readers know HP, but RIC decides to devote chapters to how Tovan and Briony were lab partners in agonizingly slow flashbacks. The chapters that do not reflect their time at the magical school NOT called Hogwarts instead focus on Briony's ubervaluable virginity, forced sterilization, and incels ruling the world. Most of this is extremely uncomfortable to read, and by the end there were not enough answers and development to justify the pages I endured more than read. I don't understand the hype with this one. I liked reading The Thrashers by Soto more than this. I wish I had a Kindle to get a word count on the number of times "collarbone" shows up. I'd estimate it at more than 30?
As far as representation goes, a character is ridiculed for being suspected of homosexuality resulting in the character exhibiting anger and shame. It is described in this way with zero character development. I will sadly not be continuing this series.
A note about the audiobook: the narrator was not for me, but I'm not sure if that experience is tainted by my dislike for the content.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this ARC.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Releasing July 8th, 2025!

Content Warnings: explicit sexual content, mentions of non-consensual sex, sexual assault, sexual assault of a POV character, buying and selling of humans into captivity, forced sterilization, forced termination of a pregnancy, minor character deaths, suspense and violence, torture and gore

Briony Rosewood is captured by the enemy when her castle is overrun. The dark forces of Bomard have won the war and Briony’s brother, the one who was supposed to save them, is dead. The Eversuns will enter servitude, imprisonment or death. Briony and the other survivors are auctioned off and she is sold to Toven Heasrt, the person who is her long-time infatuation. His family is ruthlessly ambitious and will use her in any way possible to further their own interests.

This is one of my most anticipated releases of 2025, so I was SCREAMING when I saw I was approved for the audiobook ARC. I crushed this book in four days and I am so excited to talk about it. Typically I am not a fantasy reader. I am very selective about which ones I pick up because I really want to be enjoying what I am reading. I loved Julie Soto’s two romance books, so when she began branching out into thriller and fantasy, I knew I wanted to try it, but I was very nervous. Rose in Chains has a lot of hype and excitement surrounding it, so I was really hoping to like it.

And I did!

I will say that I think I was expecting something a lot darker. This does have its dark moments and I really felt that during the first 30% of this book, but the book ended up not being what I was expecting. Now this book did start off as fanfiction and I can definitely see the comparisons to the original work that it was fanfic for, but I personally felt that there were enough differences for this to stand on its own.

This is the first book in a trilogy, so I was expecting it to end on a cliffhanger. I think some people would consider it a cliffhanger ending, but I was fine with it. There will definitely be so much more to get from the remainder of this trilogy. I definitely have a little bit of my own theory going on as well, so I am excited to see if I am correct.

As far as the audiobook is concerned, I think it was done well. The female narrator did a good job with Toven's voice as well, which is always a big thing for me. It also helped me understand what accents these characters have, which is always helpful. While I think the audiobook is good as is, I think it would be amazing if it was dual narrated. I know it costs more, but this book has so much hype and excitement that I think it would be worth it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It’s not a LOVE, but it was definitely good and kept me entertained. I am giving it 4 stars. I am such a big fan of Julie and am so excited to see what else she releases, including the next books in this series.

I was luck enough to be able to get the audiobook of this book, it was slow to start honestly but as I kept listening I got sucked in and quite enjoyed it. I wouldn't really call this a enemies to lovers because that's like nonexistent with how Toven basically reject briony at every chance he gets and lets her know his dislike for her although he desires to keep her safe for what reason I don't know the story was very push and pull but in the end I quite like it and am eager to see where it goes.

Rose in Chains by Julie Soto

Briony Rosewood always knew her life would never truly be her own. As the ever-loyal sister to her twin brother Rory, the kingdom’s heir, she was raised to be a pawn for peace. But when war rips her world apart, Briony is silenced, captured, and sold to the highest bidder. To her shock, the man who wins her at auction is none other than her old school crush, and sworn enemy, Toven.

Forced to stay on the premises, Briony must fight the system from within and find a way to save the people she loves most.

The magic system in Rose in Chains is intriguing and easy to follow. This is a darker fantasy that touches on themes which may be triggering for some readers, so I recommend checking content warnings beforehand.

Rose in Chains is an absolute 5-star read for me. The court intrigue is masterfully done, and the tension between Briony and Toven had me completely hooked from start to finish.

I’d rate the narration 3.5 out of 5 stars, at times it was difficult to catch every word and I had to rewind certain parts, but the story itself made it so worthwhile.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read Rose in Chains early. I can’t wait to see what Julie Soto writes next!

Omg! Thank you so much for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read and loved The Auction so I wasn't sure what to expect about this. I thought Julie did an excellent building the backstory so that you could feel the longing between the characters. Initially I had some trouble differentiating a few characters but as it went I was able to keep up.

The narrator was not my favorite initially because her voice was a little whiny and privileged sounding. It started to work for the character as the story progressed.

My biggest issue with the rewrite is that it's just not very clear why there is this big divide between the two types of magic. It seems like anyone who wants to be powerful would use both as they have different strengths.

There's also a big scene from The Auction that wasn't included but I was surprised that a lot of the darkness and grittiness of the original remained.

I'll review in IG closer to release.

Julie Soto...THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE! Thank you so much to Hachette Audio for the alc in exchange for an honest review. This is one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and I was sad not to get approved for the arc, but this girl was screaming in the Frankfurt airport when I received my alc approval.

I have to start by saying that I have not read The Auction, the fanfic that inspired Rose in Chains. But just knowing how Julie Soto writes, I knew I would love this. And oh boy did I. This is my perfect romantasy book wrapped up into a lovely, but also deadly, package. Not having read The Auction, I was not prepared for the darker themes of this book, but that made it so much more complex in nature. And the tension in this book...the MF TENSION!! Absolute perfection. It was a taut string that threatened to rip at the slightest touch, but could also cut like the sharpest knife. Their relationship between our main characters Briony and Toven was fraught with complicated emotions given the nature of their arrangement, but I was foaming at the mouth for all of it. Julie Soto could have me eating out of her damn hand for more of these two. Briony's wit and sharp mind was the perfect compliment to Toven's cold and ruthless exterior, especially once she found her confidence. The political climate between the two warring countries kept things interesting and really drove the plot, but we still got enough of that perfect slow burn that I absolutely adore. I'm not sure how long I shall be expected to wait for the next installment, but I fear it will be too long for my little heart to endure 🥲

Y’all, this book has destroyed me and it’s not even published yet. Let the countdown to July 8 begin! 😅 Rose in Chains was beautifully written by Julie Soto and narrated by Ella Lynch. As a fan of Julie Soto’s other books, this release was one of my highly anticipated 2025 reads and it did not disappoint. It took me a bit to hit my groove as there is a lot of world building in this and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss any details. That being said, by roughly 20% of the way in I was so hooked! Rose in Chains has magic, familiars, dual timelines, yearning (oh the yearning!), forced proximity, and a morally grey MMC you’ll find yourself rooting for. This is a great read if you enjoy magical elements, slow burn stories, and Julie Soto! There are content warnings so please take care and review them before reading. Thank you to NetGalley & Hachette Audio for the early audiobook of Rose in Chains. ⛓️ 🥀