I didn’t realize this was going to be a trilogy until after I started it ! This was def slower than the auction since there was a lot of flashbacks that weren’t needed in the auction. Most of the story was pretty much the same until the end and I was not expecting that ending at all, but it was pretty cool and I can see where the series is going! The audio was pretty good. I liked the narrator for the female’s voice. She was not my favorite when she did the male voices though. Tovin and briony were definitely giving Draco and Hermione though. I do wish that there had been some spice between the two mains though.

This book is written so well! I am always a fan of Julie’s writing - that being said I am not in a place to be reading this right now! But I can’t wait to get back into it when I am in a better place!

The tension between the two mc’s was so good!! There were dark topics in this though that pulled me out of the book at times as it was hard to read, but overall I really enjoyed it!

Thank you Hachette Audio for the advance audiobook! 🎧

Rose in Chains is a dark romantasy that had me hooked from the start. With its intense vibes, layered characters, and slow-burn enemies-to-lovers tension, this one is giving Dramione energy in the best way. We’ve got a morally grey, broody MMC and a heroine who’s sharp, unshaken, and absolutely refuses to back down. It’s haunting, gripping, and sometimes heavy—so definitely check those trigger warnings.

Julie Soto builds a world that’s dark, twisted, and emotionally rich. And the audiobook? So well done. Ella Lynch’s narration brought so much depth—it made those soft, gut-punch moments land even harder.

This isn’t your cozy fantasy romance—it’s gritty, raw, and so worth the emotional ride. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I hit play.

What if the good guys don’t always win? This is book 1 in a dark fantasy trilogy that shows you just that. The atmosphere is bleak and there are heavy topics throughout, so please read the trigger warnings! That being said this is one of my favorite reads of the year. The plot is twisted, suspenseful, filled with magic, and completely unpredictable. The characters are well crafted, multilayered, and each one plays a very important role in the narrative. I love the main characters and their complicated relationship with such good tension and yearning. I also appreciate the flashbacks between the past and the present. The ending will leave you reeling and needing the second book immediately! I listened to this as an audiobook and really enjoyed the narration. The narrator did an excellent job bringing the characters to life!

I would like to thank NetGalley and HachetteAudio for the opportunity to review this advanced copy.

From the beginning intro, I really enjoyed this narrator. She only had one character voice where I was kind of annoyed/a hater of. Mostly because it actually had caused me to be slightly gender confused until I pulled up my eARC to compare lol. I'm actually really impressed by all of her character voices, especially the males.

The only hard part keeping up was when the narrator was reading the flashback chapters. I had to have my eARC pulled up to follow along, but after the 20% mark, I was able to solely do the audiobook listen. After 20%, I was also much more invested into the audiobook and story itself.

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC!!

I'm a big fan of Julie Soto's romance novels so that's why I picked this one up! For me, it was way too thinly veiled as HP fanfic to be able to enjoy (magical newspaper that writes itself, death eater symbolism with tattoos, training to fight against mind magic...). The narrator even performed the characters in a way that resembled the actors from the movies. I'll still read Julie Soto's romances but don't think I'll continue with this series! Thanks to the publisher for the chance to read it early.

This is a dark fantasy romance so make sure to check trigger warnings as there is some heavy content. I absolutely lovedddd the story. It was very well written and the flashback scenes were not dragging at all. I normally don’t care too much for back and forth with flashbacks but this was so well done. The narrator for the audiobook did an amazing job conveying the tones for the different characters

I knew it was going to be amazing because Julie Soto never writes anything but amazing stories. I was not prepared for how much I was going to love this book. The world building was new and exciting, the build up to the end done perfectly, and the slow burn done in just the right way. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is going to live rent free in my brain.

Thank you Hachette Audio Netgalley for this ARC!

Rose in Chains follows Briony Rosewood after she is captured when the dark forces of Bomard defeat the Eversuns. Briony is stripped of all her magic and is auctioned off to the highest bidder, but of course the winner of the bidding war is no other than Toven Hearst, her long time and ill-fated infatuation.

I loved the audiobook! The narrator, Ella Lynch, did such a good job of giving each character a unique tone that helped the listener keep track of all the characters. Even in the dark parts of the story the Ella really conveyed the heavy tone in her narration. I would listen to any other audiobooks that she narrates!

The story itself was so intriguing. The first 20-40% was a lot of set up in terms of the magic system, the conflicts between Bomard and Eversun, Briony's upbringing, her relationship to her brother, Toven and all the other side characters. I really liked the magic system and how the Mind and Heart magic differed and really divided the two countries of Bomard and Eversun; which leads to the main conflict. I liked the flashback scenes where we get to see how life before the war was and what Briony's upbringing was like in terms of her always being the side character to her brother Rory, and the infatuation with Toven and where it started...

There are a lot of dark themes and scenes in this book that might not be for anyone, so definitely look at the trigger warnings if you have any aversions. Julie Soto does a great job in building character relationships and creating quality interactions between everyone. She also writes such great witty banter that I found myself cackling to what Toven and Briony bickered about. I could see that towards the end we weren't going to get any huge conflict resolutions and this book was really for setting up the rest of the series, But I never found it boring or that it dragged on at points.

The last 40 minutes of the book had me stressing for what happened and the final chapters were crazyyyyyy. I genuinely can't wait for the next book!

Thank you to the author, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for the Advanced Listener Copy of Rose in Chains.

5⭐️ 2🌶️

To say that I absolutely adored this book would be such an understatement. I have been so excited about this book for months, and it blew every expectation I had out of the water. I was drawn in from the very beginning and had to force myself to drag it out over several days so I could really absorb it all properly, even though I wanted to binge it all in one day.

This book does have dark themes and may be difficult for some readers to get into as a result. Make sure to check trigger warnings if you’re unsure.

The world building was excellent and I absolutely loved dual timelines with flashbacks, which added so much to the story and the back story of the two MCs. Briony is a princess who is taken into captivity after her twin brother (and the King of their kingdom) is murdered. She and every other young woman in her kingdom are kidnapped and forced into a prison cell, where they soon learn they will be auctioned off to the highest bidder from their rival kingdom. She thinks she is going to end up as the property of an incredibly creepy man that has been lusting after her for years, but finds out that Toven Hurst paid a very large sum of money to let her avoid a much bleaker fate. Briony and Toven have years of history of secret pining between them which gives us the most perfect foundation for the romance plot line in this story.

There was not a single moment during this book that I wasn’t absolutely LOCKED IN. I was so obsessed with the characters, the plot, the political intrigue, the flashbacks, and the relationship between the MCs. The slow burn was SLOW and it was painful, but in the best possible way. I was gnawing at the bars of my enclosure waiting for them to even brush hands. The tension and angst between these two people who clearly care for each other so deeply but adamantly refuse to admit it was so addicting and I couldn’t get enough.

Additionally, the narration was fantastic. I will say that the very beginning of the book was very heavy with new names of characters and places and I found myself having to rewind often to make sure I knew what I was hearing was correct. It was fairly difficult to follow until I knew who each of the characters were. With that being said, I have this issue with basically any fantasy book when I am solely listening. This would have easily been rectified if I had the physical copy in front of me as well. Ella Lynch was phenomenal in her portrayal of all of the different characters. It is always so impressive to me when a book like this is narrated by one solo voice actor and it is so believable. Every single character was so believable because of her skills. I also thoroughly enjoyed the British accent and I felt like it really tied it back well to the origins of the book with The Auction and what The Auction was inspired by.

While this was obviously based off a Dramione fanfic, I genuinely feel that if someone didn’t know that’s where it originated, they would not be able to pick up on that. This world and magic system felt so unique and like it was its own entity. I hope that the origins of this book doesn’t dissuade anyone from reading it because they would be doing themselves such a disservice.

I knew this book would deliver, but it truly gave me so much more than I was even anticipating. I am now feral for book 2 which is so unfortunate considering this book isn’t even out yet. Will have to dig deep for some patience to get me through (and I also look forward to rereading this and seeing any details I might have missed the first time!)

I’ve never read The Auction or any of Julie Soto’s other works so she’s fully a new author to me.

And man did I love 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴! The tension, intrigue, magic systems, characters, GAH so good. Briony may be a bit clueless about a certain someone’s affection for her but thankfully it never annoyed me.

Soto does such a good job with bouncing between the past and present storylines. Normally I drag my feet through flashbacks but here I caught myself starting to enjoy both and seeing the glimpses into their tangled past.

While not technically a fast-paced book I certainly flew through it and when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. I will definitely be continuing on with the series and am already dying for book 2! The women secretly brewing revenge in the background and being strong for one another is so nice to see.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio & Julie Soto for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Buckle up- buttercups. This is the start of a thrilling ride!

Now- am I a fanfic reader/ao3/wattpad veteran? Nope.
Have I ever read ANY HP or seen the movies? Nope.
Did I eat this up, love every minute, and felt like I was not missing a bit of context? YEP.

Check your trigger warnings, friends. Vile things happen when vile people are in control. (Oh wait- am I talking about this book.. or America right now? WHO KNOWS!)

Audio was brilliant! I would definitely listen to this narrator again and hope if the next books are in the same POV this narrator will return!!

I thought this was a fun book. It was a bit difficult to keep all of the characters straight, and I was surprised at the lack of spice, knowing the authors other books. The narrator was great. It was easy to differentiate between people’s voices, and her male voices were obvious but not overdone.

📖 𝙍𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝙅𝙪𝙡𝙞𝙚 𝙎𝙤𝙩𝙤
🎧 𝙉𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙀𝙡𝙡𝙖 𝙇𝙮𝙣𝙘𝙝

“𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩.

I was entirely enthralled by this book from the very first sentence. This book had it all! Mystery, suspense, and a budding love story in the middle of a chaotic world. The audiobook was PHENOMENAL. Ella Lynch is a new narrator to me and I LOVED how she brought all of the characters to life and the story. I highly recommend binging this story on audio!

The world building was great. I loved the description between the two types of powers: heart & mind. Tensions had always ran high between the two nations and we got to see that in flashbacks to Briony’s time in school. It really added to the mysterious connection between Briony & Toven, to be able to see their earlier encounters.

Briony was everything I needed an FMC to be. She grew up willingly in the shadow of her twin. No one knew the truth of her powers or her strength other than her school enemy and crush, Toven. There are points in this story when she loses her light, but she ALWAYS finds it again!

Toven was such a complex character. I would have LOVED to see inside his brain and get a few chapters from his perspective. However, I loved being edged to what his true motives are throughout the book.

“𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦.”

This man had me in a chokehold at some of his dialogue and the use of his “imagination” at certain times. (IYKYK) 🤭🫠

“𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦, 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯?”

The friendship and strength of the women thoughout this story really captivated me. These women are going through a truly terrible and unprecedented suppression. In the face of everything being against them, they could have given up but there are so many little moments where you get to see the strength of the Eversun women shining through the darkness.

The side characters surprised me throughout the book! So many are morally grey and it really added to the mood/tone of the book.

This is the first book in the trilogy so the cliffhanger was expected, and man was it a DOOZY! I did not expect that surprise POV.

The moment I finished this book I was immediately ready to start it all over again. I need MORE!

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
❤️‍🔥 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴
⛓️ 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺
✨ 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺
👀 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 & 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺
🤐 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 & 𝘓𝘪𝘦𝘴
🔥 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘸𝘸𝘸 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯
🫠 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘛𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯
🩶 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 + 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴

I just finished listening to the Rose in Chains audiobook and oh my god 🥹😭

I had such high hopes for this book and it delivered just like I expected! If you like books like Quicksilver or Fourth Wing you’ll probably love this (its a bit darker though so check the tags!!) 🖤

I wasn’t sure at first about the narrator because her voice had a bit of a posh, Bridgerton vibe that made it feel almost like a regency romance. It threw me off a little in the beginning, but by the end, I was really into it and to be fair, it’s told from Briony’s POV who is a princess so it kinda works. Her pacing and timing were fantastic, and she was super clear and easy to follow. She also did a good job of adjusting her voice for different characters.

The audio format did make it a bit harder to keep up with the switches between present day and flashbacks, especially during all the heavy world-building at the start. I also missed out on the map and the character family tree that are included in the print edition, which would’ve helped early on. But once I got my head around the world I was all in and couldn’t put my headphones down 🎧.

The magic system is so fun and well thought out, especially the fact that Hurst Hall is magical because of what it’s made from, I thought that was a really night touch and a food way to replace the house elves in the original source material. The politics, the shifting alliances, the new villains… it all pulled me in. Mistress Mallow in particular has so much potential as a character, and I’m really hoping for more of her backstory in the sequel. There has to be more to her than just a lust for power and I want to know wtf is going on with that dragon??

As a longtime fan of the original fanfic this is based on (The Auction), I had the best time spotting all the little easter eggs.

They were subtle enough not to interfere with the story, but added an extra layer of joy for those of us who know. That said, I think the story works brilliantly on its own. If you haven’t read the fic, you’re in for an even better surprise when Toven’s true motivations are revealed.

THE ROMANCE…

This is enemies to lovers but they do have some history of chemistry/ attraction so at times it can feel like more of a rivals to lovers. But with everything they’ve been through since their crushes on eachother in school you can’t see how they’d even like eachother anymore at the start. It’s truly a lovely slow burn build & Julie Soto knows how to tease just enough to keep you begging for more.

Briony and Toven had me in a chokehold with all that tension!! And when chapter 32 hit?? I needed a minute. Actually, I needed several minutes. Same with the whisky scene… How many times did I replay it? Let’s not talk about it. HOLY. HELL…. I was blushing so hard 😂

I’m so sad its finished honestly and idk how im gunna stay sane waiting for the next book but I will say, the ending didn’t fully surprise me I do think it could’ve packed a bit more of a twist if it wasn’t alluded to so frequently earlier on, but it still hit emotionally and left me excited for more.

“There is a lake with still waters."
😭😭😭

Miss Julie, WHEN EXACTLY is the sequel coming?! I need more magic, more angst, more backstory… and definitely more whisky…. 🤭

5 ⭐ 1 🌶️ 5 🎧

Hello new obsession. I never got the opportunity to read The Auction before it was taken down from AO3, but this story stands all on its own. It's dark (seriously, check your triggers) and intriguing and I'm absolutely loving this journey Julie is taking us on.

I'm fairly obsessed with Tovan. There's something about the bad boy actually being the good guy that I absolutely love. Add in a smattering of bully and keeping secrets for your own good and I'm an absolute goner. Briony is a really wonderful character as well and I'm loving her strength and tenacity despite what she's going through.

This one ends on a wicked cliffhanger and I am so freaking excited for what's to come.

The audio was fantastic. Ella Lynch was wonderful and I really enjoyed the way she brought the characters to life. Thank you so much Hachette Audio for the advanced listen!

4.5 ⭐️

WOW this audiobook was excellent!! Ella Lynch's narration absolutely blew me away and made for such an immersive reading & listening experience. Her accents, character-specific intonations (especially for Toven, whew) made each character sound so unique it felt almost like the audio had a full cast.

The story itself was also fantastic. The angst is angsting, the terror Briony and her peers feel is so gripping, and the simmering tension between her and Toven was simply everything. This is such a multifaceted fantasy reading experience, and Julie Soto did a great job of crafting a complex magical world without overwhelming the reader. I loved every second of this, and I can't wait for book 2!!

What a fantastic narration of a book I already adored. Julie Soto’s storytelling with this one is unmatched, but the narrator made for an even better and more immersive reading experience. Best fantasy romance of the year, and maybe ever for me. It feels like it belongs in its own genre. Love, love, love.

Okay I actually couldn’t decide between 4 & 5 stars but ultimately I went with 5 because I do already feel like I’m going through withdrawals. 😂

THE SLOW BURN WAS SLOWLY BURNING AND I LOVED IT.

I only read 20% of the fic that this was based on, and at first it was basically just that copied and pasted. 😂 Not sure if the divergence that finally came around halfway through was an actual divergence or just parts of the original fic that I hadn’t gotten to. But regardless, I was able to enjoy it immensely more then because I wasn’t comparing.

And that’s why I debated knocking off a star. Looking back on the beginning, I do think there was a lack of character development and world building…but I didn’t notice until friends of mine said that because, well, I just inserted the characters they were based on. So the biggest problem with the book is that it couldn’t stand alone on its own beyond the fic.

BUT the ending leads me to think that the rest of the books in the series will solve this, since it’s different. I’m looking forward to the rest of the story. And I need it NOW!

Thanks to Hachette Audio for the ALC!