Synopsis: Eversun Princess, Briony Rosewood is captured and taken to auction when her kingdom is attacked by their rivals, the Bomardsuns. She is shocked to find out her highest bidder is Toven Hearst, son of a high ranking official, and her longtime childhood crush.

Thoughts: Is there a genre Julie Soto can’t write?! Yes, this is an adapted fan fic - but that doesn’t mean it’s not super unique! I thought the magic system was really intriguing, the characters layered and well-developed, and the plot well-paced and captivating. Let’s talk about the romance - Briony and Toven are somehow both the most unlikely yet most inevitable couple. If you love a morally grey mmc, you’re going to love Toven. The slow burn is (deliciously) slow, and I expect that things will be heating up in book two! The story was a lot darker than I had expected, so be prepared for a lot of intense moments and difficult subjects. A note on the audio: Ella Lynch narrates this one perfectly! Loved every minute of it!

Read this if you like:
🥀 dark romantasy
🥀 enemies to lovers
🥀 rival kingdoms
🥀 morally grey MMC
🥀 magic
🥀 slow burn
🥀 dual timeline

NARRATION
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

STORY
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

SPICE
🌶️ < mild

RECOMMEND
💳 100% yes

If you’ve read The Auction, a Dramoine fanfic on A03, under Julie Soto’s pen name, then you’ll recognize the plot of Rose in Chains. However, the Characters, locations, and events are different. I prefer Rose in Chains. The narration is wonderful and the performance made the story easy to follow and visualize.

The cliffhangers, yes - there’s more than one - has me itching to get my hands on the next book, and this one hasn’t released yet.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to listen to Rose in Chains in advance. I’m looking forward to the release of the book so I can do an immersion read.

Rose in Chains by Julie Soto
Rating: ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑

“There is a lake with still waters”

I was in the biggest reading slump and just like that *imagine a snap here* I’m sucked out of it. Julie Soto did the thing, as always.

As many may know this story under a different title by this author with the same concept, it’s best to know that it is a different story. I urge everyone to read the content warnings before reading. That being said…

JULIE WHY DO YOU PUT CRACK IN ALL OF YOUR BOOKS?! I’m so serious, you won’t catch me not in love with a book written by Julie. She really has me screaming about socks at 3am…

I’m in love with Toven Hearst, there I said it. He has me in a chokehold. The ribbon??? THE RIBBON!!!

I’m a sucker for reading an ebook or a physical copy while listening to the audiobook, and so I did just that. The audiobook narrator, Ella Lynch, was a perfect match. She gave a great voice to Briony and I felt her emotions come through. I liked the way she portrayed the other characters as well! I truly felt disgusted hearing the characters I hated, but also happy when I heard the ones I liked. The range was really great!

Rose in Chains is Julie Soto’s debut Romantasy novel, it’s perfection and it IS the moment. It’s now available in the UK and will be available in the US on July 8th!

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and Forever Publishing for the ARC. Thank you to NetGalley.

Audio:
The narrator is too preppy but it fits the idea I had for the character who was sheltered and privileged so that works. However, the voice for the man doesn't sound like a man, it's giving evil twink type of voice. Overall, it's pretty clear and easy to understand even at 2x speed!!

Plot:
The start has a lot of telling and info dumps. 50% of the book is establishing how badly treated and exploited the women are. And the cruelty of the men. BUT not our MMC or FMC, just other people. I did not feel comfortable about rooting for them when the FMC and MMC was a part of the whole exploitation where their relationship was posing to be simar to the other girls. I couldn't really root for them to get together when Im more concerned about the two DOING something to change the injustice but for 60% of the book, we just see how them observing and having to participate in the whole thing to survive.

I don't think our FMC fully understands what it means to be given the elixir. To be so out of control and manipulated. She's so incessant about humiliating herself in front of the men who hates her and lust after her just to she can speak to her people. I know it's the point for a plot but it's so tiring.

Okay so if I completely ignore the fact that the women in these books are drugged, manipulated and exploited, their "romance" might have legs to stand on because the tension is there, they are trying to figure out a way to fix things but they're so caught up in pretending to be lusting one another that the world building feels like a simple add-on to make their relationship building full of tension, stakes and intrigue.

This is coming off as a scathing review and I wish to clarify: this book will find its audience. I'm just tiredddd of interesting and high stakes world building taking a back seat in favor of a romance with a HUGEEEE power imbalance

Thank you so much for this ALC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
.5🌶️(tension)

Dark & gritty, tension filled DARK romantasy. We follow Briony, a princess of a newly fallen kingdom, as she faces life as a captive. After being sold at auction and stripped of her magic to Toven, her former class bully, Briony realizes her circumstances are suspiciously… decent? Toven is cold and calculated. Briony knows she has to play whatever role is demanded of her to survive the Toven and his family. I loveeeedddd the suspense in the budding romance. The secrets and deception. The magic system is so fun! There’s heart and mind magic, and the animosity between the two sets a very interesting political atmosphere. Julie Soto created a beautiful dynamic world in this book. . I truly recommend it to anyone who love a darker romance!

When it comes to the audiobook itself, I really enjoyed it. However, there were 2 aspects that left me feeling underwhelmed. The first, was that the narrator gave the obviously evil characters a really corny villain voice that very much took me out of the story. Since these characters weren’t on page all that often it wasn’t too much of an issue. The second, I feel like with the tones the narrator used in some instances were exaggerated and made the story feel less serious. Aside from these 2 issues, which really didn’t affect the story all that much, I absolutely adored how the narrator really brought the story to life!

One of my most highly anticipated reads of the year! 🖤 I fear I held it to a certain level of expectation and struggled through the first half, it felt like things were missing and I was finding it hard to connect, but the second half turned it around for me and fully immersed me! I love the direction the story went in and I'm very much looking forward to book 2 & 3.
The narrator did a great job with all of the voices (especially the baddies! they made my skin crawl!) It kept my attention well throughout and really helped the immersion!

Rose in Chains is a tough, haunting dive into what it means to be broken—and to rebuild, piece by piece, in a world that demands resilience. It’s not a light read—it punches hard, but leaves a bittersweet imprint of survival and self-forged strength.

If you’re drawn to intimate psychological journeys, fierce character growth, and stories that don’t flinch from pain, this novel is a powerful, unforgettable trip through darkness into light.

5 ⭐️’s

I’m a dramione girly and I read this as a fanfic first and I think I might have loved this even more?

The story was amazing-dark and suspenseful. I love audiobooks and how well they can project the vibe into the narration, and this one was done phenomenally 🙌🏼

This is a fantastic Romastasy read if you like

* forced proximity
* slow burn
* banter
* political intrigue
* rivals

I will be recommending this to everyone!

Please read the trigger warnings before you crack it open it may not be for you!

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette audio for the ALC

Julie Soto really said “feminine rage what?” and fed this to me 😁 The way I was seeing red through this book and wanted to kill off almost all men. Gosh!

💖What I Liked

• The magic system is very visual. Mind magic, heart magic, spells controlled by special signs. It was all very thrilling!
• The dark aspect of the story really scratched my brain in the right places. The women’s oppression, their quiet rebellions — it all made me eager for the moment when someone will make all those men pay.
• Toven. Yeah, this secretive, protective, charming silver fox of a man.

🌓Downside

I do not agree with how this story is marketed:
• enemies-to-lovers: in my opinion this does the book a disservice. The main characters are not enemies. Maybe rivals at best. And from the beginning is pretty clear that their animosity is reluctant and imposed.
• romantasy: Briony has been having a crush on Toven for quite some time, yes, but the romantic arc is underdeveloped. And while I am aware that this is the first book in a trilogy, I would prefer a little more development between the two, or at least some insight into Toven’s mind and actions.

My personal preference:
• A little more magic or romance would’ve been nice. So far the book was more focused on the court and political intrigues mixed with a lot of sexual situations (and here I mean both good and bad).
• The FMC is often very slow 😅 The main characters are all 24+ years old, so I was expecting them to be a bit more mature.

🎧Audiobook

The narrator read the story in an UK accent which is always a bonus for me. But specifically in this case, the sweetness of the narrator’s voice created a striking contrast with the book’s darker themes, sometimes making it feel like I was switching between an adult fantasy and a YA novel.

⚠️Notes

While I wouldn’t say this is a dark story, there are some truly dark moments in the book. Check the trigger warnings!

✏️Conclusion

I think this is a compelling story for all the romantasy lovers out there.

Will I read the next books? Yes! I already have theories of how this is going to go, and I really want Briony to take her sweet revenge.

I really enjoyed ROSE IN CHAINS! It's challenging to develop a believable romance in book with a premise as dark as this one, but Julie Soto did it beautifully. Compulsively readable (or listenable, as I had the ALC) with complex and likeable characters, this book left me wanting the sequel immediately after finishing.

I absolutely LOVED the narrator, Ella Lynch, who not only showcased a range of character voices, but also added a pathos and poignancy to the prose that made it more compelling.

Without Julie Soto’s name on the cover and encouragement from my fellow ARC readers, I probably would have DNFed this book. The first 30% or so dragged in a big way. It was clunky and heavy and upsetting. There were so many names— my brain felt like an information tornado.

It is worth noting that I have little to no familiarity with Harry Potter (if you are unaware, this book is reworked Dramione fanfic). I have never read the books or seen the movies, other than them occasionally being in the background throughout my life. I found that this lack of knowledge worked to my advantage. While other readers are trying to figure out who each character’s HP equivalent is and being critical of the similar magic system that has been simplified (so I’ve heard), I simply did not have that burden. I was able to read this story as its own thing.

The premise of this book is very dark and upsetting. It took me a while to get into it, and if things had worked out less in Briony’s favor after the auction, I may not have been able to continue reading. The more I read, the more immersed and obsessed with this world I became. The burn was slooooooow. I cannot believe that I will have to wait to finish this series. I want the next two books right now.

I switched from the eBook to audio at around 35%, and I really ended up enjoying the narration. I usually have to speed my audiobooks up to 1.75x for them to be a reasonable listenable speed, but this book was listenable at 1.25x.

I ultimately ended up really enjoying this book and world, and I am very excited to see how the next two books unfold. However, because of the very slow start, I had to dock my rating. 3.75/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this advanced copy! You can pick up Rose in Chains on July 8, 2025.

Julie Soto, you could never let me down. Her writing and Ella Lynch's narration captured me IMMEDIATELY, and I was swept away within moments to the fantastical lands of Evermore and Bomard. As someone who read the original source material, I LOVED how Julie built this world and magic system. Heart magic vs mind magic, animal familiars, siphoning magic from human beings. It helped contextualize the auction much better, and the story flowed easily once I found my footing in this new world.

Part of what makes Julie one of my favorite authors is the way she writes her characters and their interactions. Toven and Briony not only had sizzling chemistry throughout the story, but the vulnerable and intimate moments between them also meant a lot to me. I loved the inclusion of flashbacks to their school days and beyond, so we could see the foundation of their connection. This is still a slowburn romance, so while there are hints at spicy moments (and WOO are they spicy), for the most part Toven and Briony are still building a relationship by the end of the book.

Also, this is a huge warning to unsuspecting readers out there, but there are DARK elements to this story. It is still dealing with the forced auctioning of men and women, and the disgusting behavior done to them. Please check the content warnings at the beginning of the book and on Julie's website!

All in all though, this is my new latest obsession. Thank you for feeding me, Julie Soto!

Narrator: Ella Lynch
⏱️16 hrs 1 mins
My Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✋ Emojis to describe this book: ⛓️‍💥🪄🐉📚🔥

If you are looking for a dark romantasy where the FMC is strong, smart, and capable this book is for you! Briony may be a princess who is captured but she isn’t just waiting to be rescued.

Probably one of the closest enemies to lovers slooooow burn I’ve ever read. The plot, pacing, world building, and magic systems are done incredibly well. Only a few instances of heavy foreshadowing or repetitive emphasis on important details.

Knowing that it was originally a fanfiction that has been rewritten was distracting for me at first. I spent the first 10% or so looking for the similarities in characters to the original inspiration material and I wish I had not. I think Julie Soto wrote a completely separate world and magic system with a few hints of similar physical descriptions and characteristics. I did not read the original fanfiction so I can’t speak to how much was changed.

I think Ella Lynch was perfectly cast as the narrator. The performance delivered of Briony was exceptional although I didn’t love some of the male voices.

Content Warnings: Slavery, SA, Violence, War, death of family

Thank you to Hachette audio for the gifted copy!

Thank you to Hachette Audio & Netgalley for the ALC.

Admittedly, I don't typically read much romantasy but I've loved all Julie Soto's contemporary novels so had to give this a try. It took a bit for me to feel engrossed into the story, but once it progressed I was hooked.
It was packed full of magic, intrigue, dark themes, and so much tension and yearning. The romance is a slow slow burn, but I'm excited to see what happens with them in future books. It ended on a pretty incomplete note and big cliffhanger.

Loved the narration and felt like she really made each characters individual personality stand out.

Just finished listening to the book, Rose in Chains. This book is about to be released on July 8th. This is a fantasy book about a woman named Briony, she is the princess and her twin brother is the heir to their throne. When her brother goes along with their soldiers to fight in the war but doesn't return, the castle is then swarmed by the enemies who capture everyone in the castle. Briony and everyone who was captured get their magic stolen and are held captive until they are each sold off to the highest bidders. She is sold to a man named Toven, a former classmate she had a crush on when they were kids but his family is known as bad and ruthless with their magic. Now she has to navigate this new home she lives in, new people she lives with, and new life she finds herself in. She finds things aren't always black and white, and there are good people hidden in bad places trying to help. She finds hope, courage, and determination throughout the story. I felt like the story was kind of confusing in the beginning, with all the names and places being thrown out and the world building, it was a lot to absorb right at the start and I wish there would've been a character chart or something to help keep people and their positions straight. There were parts that felt slow, but when the action picked up in the story it definitely got good and I was invested. I just felt like it took a while to get there, but I am eager to see how the story continues after that cliffhanger and epilogue, I feel like it was set up really well for book 2! 💜📚

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this audio ARC of Rose in Chains, in exchange for an honest review.

From the beginning I became very absorbed into the world in this book. The narrator not only does a great job of setting the scene so you feel like you are a part of the story with the characters but also brings through the character’s emotions well.
I really liked the relationship development between the FMC and MMC as they have tension between them that leads to some interesting interactions.
I liked how their story has a slow burn romance as you appreciate the moments when they can be themselves with each other.
The storyline deals with dark themes but you can’t help but root for the FMC. The high stakes plot had me on the edge of my seat at multiple points in the story.
The ending was great with a teaser for what is to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*spoilers below*
Thank you to Hachette Book Group and Forever for this ARC. I was anticipating this book for the year and it did not disappoint. The novel is about Briony Rosewood and Toven Hearst and their journey in the book. Briony is part of Evermore as a princess and she is sold into slavery after her brother is killed. In this world the heart magic wielders use slaves as heartsprings to help increase their magic. The book is told in alternating timelines so we see Toven and Briony at school and also in current day. The book is a great start to this new series and I am excited to see what happens next. Briony is afraid of Toven at first because she does not know what is going to happen to her. As she is Toven's slave, she is expected to do certain things for him. In this world there is a lot of focus placed on sex magic as well as the heart and mind magic. The girls who have been sold, some of them have to take a bond with their captor. This is done through sex magic. I will say at times the discussion around the SA and r*pe of these girls got a little too much. The author has put trigger warnings on her website so you can be prepared before going in. I really liked exploring Toven and Briony's growing relationship. We see in the book that Toven really is working to protect Briony from the outside world. The cliffhanger at the end of the book also makes me want to have the second book now. I really enjoyed the narrator for this audiobook. Book is published July 8, 2025. I am also going to see the author at one of her events on July 9, 2025.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this arc.

I had a lot of fun listening to this. It did take me a little bit to get used to the narrators voice as it is quite breathy but after the first 10% or so it grew on me and I couldn't picture Bryony having any other voice.

The narrator really took me through the emotions and I think this is a pretty emotional book in places.

Definitely one to check the trigger warnings for but it is also very interesting and I would recommend especially as an audiobook.

This book! That ending!! I need book 2 ASAP!

I loved how Briony and Toven’s relationship progressed throughout the story and I’m excited to see what will happen between them in the next few books. With Briony, we had a sense of her feelings pretty early on, but not with Toven. He seems cold, and definitely has a lot of layers, but the details are in the actions and what he does.

I loved the magic system (heart vs mind magic) and although I do wish the author explored it a little bit more, I also get the feeling that we’ll get more information about it during the rest of the series.

I will admit, it took me a little to truly get into the story, but once I did it was hard to put down. I needed answers and I wanted to see what was going to happen next and I wanted to see if my “theories” were correct.

This was my first Julie Soto book, and I can say that it won’t be my last. I am truly excited for the rest of the series. I NEED answers 🤣

If you like Dark Romantasy, I would definitely check this one out.

Please do not forget to check trigger warnings!

🎧 AUDIOBOOK REVIEW
The audiobook is a single narration and I think the narrator did a great job enhancing the story. She was emotive and I never felt like she was monotonous. She made slightly different voices for each character. No mouth noises. No breathing into the mic.

Thank you Julie Soto, Forever Publishing, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for gifting me the e-ARC and ACL in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Hachette audio for an advanced listening copy!

This IS my new romantasy obsession! Having read Julie Soto’s contemporary romances before, I knew she could do no wrong—but she absolutely nailed this genre. The storyline was gripping from the very start, filled with tension, mystery, and emotional depth that hooked the whole way through.

In the aftermath of the brutal war between the Eversuns and Bomardy, Briony is captured and enslaved by the Bomards—then put up for auction. Her buyer? None other than her long-time school crush, Toven Hurst. Suddenly, she’s isolated in a world ruled by her enemies… and the one person she never expected.

⚠️ Content Warning: This book explores some very dark themes, so definitely check those before diving in.

The romance is serious slow burn—but oh, the longing! The pining between the characters was beautifully done. The story is written in third person and follows Briony’s POV, but somehow, you can still feel every ounce of emotion pouring off Toven. I was so emotionally invested in their dynamic and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see how it would all unfold.

Just a heads-up: this story ends on an incomplete note and a pretty intense cliffhanger—so be prepared! I will 100% be grabbing the next book the second it comes out.

Ps. With regards to the narration, the performance was great but I personally found the voice to be a little annoying. Maybe she was accurately portraying the characters and it certainly didn't impact on the story so it's definitely just me being picky about on the audio.