Omg, this book. It’s like when you walk into a restaurant and can smell how good the food is, and you just know you’re in for a treat. Rose in Chains is the first book in a new trilogy from NYT Best Selling Author Julie Soto, and she’s finally getting to show the masses her fantasy chops. As this is the first in a trilogy, a lot of it is setting the scene, building the tension, highlighting that these two boneheads are still boneheads even through all the political scheming and brilliance of their minds.

And HUGE props to the audiobook narrator as I LOVED her! Hachette is knocking it out of the park with their audiobooks for me!

I really enjoyed the new world Julie has crafted and the magic system to make this world her own, and while I can still see the original themes from the fic Julie put into the world, you can also see the growth of her as a writer and storyteller. I’m very excited for the next book to be in my hands.

Thank you Hachette Audio for the gifted copy!

Brione has been captured. Her brother, the heir that was supposed to save them all, is dead. She has been sold to her childhood crush/enemy Toven. Even though all seems hopeless, Brione continues to fight and search for allies.

I loved this book. If you like romantasy, this better be on your radar. The content warnings are real, but the book isn't as dark as they make it seem. I love Brione. My only complaint is that I didn't get enough, and I hate that I have to wait for the next book.

The narrator is fantastic. The production quality is top notch. I highly recommend the audio. I also plan to reread once I have the hard copy in my hands.

A Slow Start with Glimmers of Potential – 3 Stars

This was my first experience reading a novel by Soto, and while I was intrigued by the premise, the execution left me feeling somewhat disconnected.
From the outset, I struggled to find my footing. A large cast of characters is introduced quickly, but without sufficient world-building to anchor me in the story. Key elements—like the details of the war, the political upheaval, and the prejudice against Mind Magic—were either glossed over or explained much later in the book. As a result, I found it difficult to fully grasp the stakes or emotionally invest in the characters.

The heroine’s close relationship with her brother, for example, is frequently referenced but never truly shown in a meaningful way. I wanted to feel that bond, but it remained largely surface-level. Likewise, several secondary characters were introduced only to be swiftly removed from the story before they could make a lasting impression—leaving their emotional moments feeling hollow.

Pacing was a major issue for me. I typically enjoy a slow burn, but the first half of this book felt tedious rather than tantalizing. The plot moved at a crawl the first 70%, and despite the high stakes, there was a surprising lack of tension early on. The magic system, while intriguing in concept, wasn’t fleshed out enough to feel immersive, and the overall world felt more like a backdrop than a lived-in setting.

The dynamic between the main characters also left me conflicted. The FMC often came across as entitled, while the MMC behaved like a petulant child at times, expecting her to understand his intentions without communicating them. Their relationship suffered from years of miscommunication, which was frustrating rather than compelling. I found myself wishing for more depth and nuance, particularly in the form of earlier flashbacks that could have illuminated the MMC’s past and added layers to his character.

That said, the story began to pick up significantly in the final third. The darker tone, real conflict, and high-stakes tension—especially in scenes involving the arenas—were compelling and delivered the emotional weight I’d been missing. While certain aspects were disturbing, they also added a gritty realism that gave the story depth. I appreciated the suspense and complexity introduced in these later chapters.

The romance, while a very slow burn, did grow on me. Still, I found myself wishing the hero leaned more into a morally gray space—it would have made his character arc more intriguing. The potential for this series is definitely there. If future installments maintain the momentum built in the final portion of this book, I think it could evolve into a strong and gripping fantasy series.

In summary: the book was a slow and occasionally frustrating read, but the last third hints at a richer, more engaging story to come. I’m cautiously optimistic about what’s next.

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Audio, for this opportunity in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have been anticipating this books since I first saw it announced and, man, did it live up to all my expectations. I am a slow-burn girly so having to wait until 95% of the book for any actual romantic action to happen between our two MCs was diabolical and also perfect for me.

The only issue I have with Rose in Chains is that it's not a finished trilogy yet. I am so fortunate to have received an ALC of this book (for which the narrator did a great job, Raven's voice in particular was just grating enough), but it is torture to have to wait to know what happens! I loved loved loved this story and am eager to continue! Whenever you're ready, Ms Soto, we'll be here.

Brilliant and breathtaking: Rose in Chains is everything I’d hoped for and more, magnificent in every way and I truly am obsessed.
(And it left in a massive book hangover)


WORLDBUILDING
While I don’t want to base my review on a comparison to The Auction, I couldn’t help but try to imagine what this book would be like for someone who hasn’t read the fic first.
Alas, I have and from what I can see, I have to applaud Julie Soto for the world she created. It felt intricate and alluring while remaining simple and approachable, no pages long explanations of politics or history necessary.


PLOT
She lured me in. I can’t say much without spoilers but I will say that Julie made me feel safe and secure, only to drop twists and surprises when I not only least expected it but also had deluded myself, comfortable in my assumptions as to where this was going.
The pace is amazing, building just enough impatience before introducing the next arc, dropping information and conflicts at exactly the right moments. Honestly, the build up in general is as cruel as it is brilliant.

Side note: I know there are very different approaches to adapting a fanfic to a book but for me personally, this is exactly what I'd hoped for - the foundation of the story I fell in love enhanced by meeting that sweet spot between familiarity and novelty.


CHARACTERS
Once again, I kept wondering how these characters feel for someone entirely new to this, not sure how much of the character traits I simply projected.

The side characters (new and revamped) built a perfect framework for our main character’s story and while I had a lot of fun connection the dots, I had just as much joy meeting every one of them. Julie Soto has an undeniable talent for playing with shades and differentiation, challenging the divide of good and bad, even with her side characters.

No one, literally NO ONE, is surprised by my love for the main characters. No one. For me, they were perfect - intricate and three dimensional, multi layered in ways that feel consistent even when we get only glimpses.
Briony is exactly what she needed to be for this story and I love how, already, with this being only the first book in a trilogy, we see so much character development. And it doesn’t only feel vital, it’s also amazingly timed.
And Toven.
Toven is perfect and I love him deeply.
I will have to leave it at that as my obsession is so intense, I don’t think I’m able to say more without spoilers.


WRITING
I’m in awe of Julie Soto’s writing by this point. I knew I liked her style, even more so after I read The Thrashers and saw an entirely different side of it.

But this? This feels like the kind of book that excels on every level and leaves the appropriate impact.

Sure, I might be biased but to me, this is a masterpiece of romantasy.


NARRATION
I am so glad I got the audiobook. Sure, actually seeing the words on paper, holding this beautiful book can hit harder, but the narration is impeccable. No notes.


BOTTOM LINE: Perfect
I’m in love and in pain and utterly amazed. Rose in Chains blew me away and even with an idea of what to expect, I was swept away in this breathtaking tale of love and pain, loss and devotion. It felt like coming home.

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

Rose in Chains by Julie Soto
⭐ 5/5
🌶️ 3.5/5
🎧 5/5

Rose in Chains promises the slowest of romantasy burns, with perfect layering of enemies to lovers, yearning, and dark tension, and does not miss the mark once. I finished listening to the audiobook yesterday morning, and it wrecked me in the best way possible. I immediately grabbed my Kobo to start re-reading The Auction in anticipation of the book's release in July heheh. The plot was perfectly paced, and the world-building and magic system were gorgeously constructed - as the first book in a trilogy, I am already on the edge of my seat in anticipation for the next book!

The audiobook made this story for me - Ella Lynch was a wonderful choice as narrator, and was great at bringing this story to life. Perfectly paced at a normal listening speed, but on the odd occasion where I bumped it up to x1.5, it was still really clear and easy to follow. Her distinct voices for each character totally enhanced the narrative and prose, and her narrative style sucked me right into the emotion.

100% hooked from the first chapter! I appreciated the differences between this story and the original fanfic; the alterations are fantastically thought out and detailed to allow it to stand on its own in a gorgeous fantasy world, but still contained some of the best page-turning moments of the fic.

I may have gone a bit wild in advance and pre-ordered several different editions of this lol so until the book is released on July 8th I have some gorgeous new additions to my bookcase, I’m away off to yearn over Toven Hearst for the foreseeable future.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy in exchange for a review.

My most anticipated read of the year. I was so excited when I got this ACL. I loved every second of it and can't wait for the hardcover to be in my hands. I know I'll be collecting every single edition that will be put out because I just love this book and Julie Soto so much.

I don’t know if I was just instantly sucked in because I knew the original source material this was drawn from but this type of story? I eat it up every time! Dark and tension filled and just sooooo good! I need more!! Would someone who has never read HP understand the world building? I don’t know but I did so I had a great time!

I listened to the audio and it was very very well done!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

Ella Lynch as a narrator is phenomenal


I havent read The Auction, but this gave me Harry Potter, Zodiac Academy, Touch of Chaos vibes. So if you are in the mood for dark romance/fantasy, this is a good place to start.
But seriously, heed the trigger warnings. I’ve read all of Soto.s romance books and I wasn’t expecting it to be THIS dark.

I did feel like there wasn’t a big character development on side characters. This is JUST book one though, so I’m holding out for book two to expand more. I feel like book one is always setting the scene of a new world and creating the main conflict. I feel like a good book two should work on character development so please give me more JS!,

So after listening to this book, I have realized that the only thing I liked about this was the narrator. The story felt unoriginal and boring.

Julie Soto, our enemies-to-lovers queen, here to feed us with a dark and magical Handmaid's Tale - 3.5 stars.

I really liked this! Briony and Toven are full-on yearning, a frustrating-but-intense push-pull that you can't stop reading.

I will immediately cop to being a Dramione fan (s/o to my FanFiction.net account, circa 2008) and having previously read (devoured) The Auction.

However, I think Julie Soto did a fantastic job of adapting this work from her fanfic and building a new world unique to her.

Briony and Toven are fleshed out well, and their dynamic is tantalizing. Briony as a FMC is frustrating because of how many limits she's allowed to be placed on her, but I'm eager to see how she evolves over three books. Toven is mysterious and volatile, exactly what we're looking for in a dark and gloomy love interest.

The plot flashes between the present and past to give context, and while it starts off lightning-quick, the second half dragged a bit without a big conflict to address.

In general, adapting from fanfic has some downfalls that books can easily fall into, largely in characterization and world-building.

I thought Julie Soto did a fantastic job of fleshing out Briony and Toven, and their dynamic really shines throughout the second half of the book. However, there are a large swath of characters who are named but we learn little about, so they become difficult to keep track of. (I'm eager to see if others who haven't read The Auction feel the same or if my struggle is due to trying to imprint these characters onto their fanfic counterparts).

On world-building, the magic system was exhaustively explained and differentiated, but the world itself (and a lot of the dynamics of the world) were less thorough, which was detrimental when discussing the President of neighboring county so-and-so and General somebody who is maybe an ally?. I never felt solid in my understanding of the world in which these events are taking place.
- - -
A large part of my enjoyment was the audiobook narrator, Ella Lynch, who does a fantastic job as Briony. She was emotive and engaging, and the way she presented Briony and Toven's tension was fantastic.

I listened to the audiobook in one day, finishing just after midnight, and immediately checked to see if there was a Book 2 release date. The Dramione girlies are finally coming out on top.
- - -
Thank you to NetGalley and Hatchette Audio for the ALC.

So I went into this somewhat blind — I adore Julie Soto’s contemporary romance novels and that’s why I wanted to read this. Then I realized oh, this is giving Dramione vibes only to find out it’s The Auction but rewritten! While I haven’t read The Auction I saw it come up A LOT as a rec, I just never got around to it. All of that to say this review is coming from a ~unawares~ perspective.

I realllllyyyy enjoyed this one. The vibes? There. I love the world building and just the overall feel of the world in this book. I don’t always like flashbacks but they were done well within this book, providing just enough background to set the scene, as it were.

Why not a full five stars? One, I wish the Toven was a little darker, a little more enemy-y. And two, I wish the romance had been dialed up. I’m all for a slow burn but to make us wait until book 2? Rude 😅

The cliffhanger was spectacular and now I need book 2 like right now. No pressure.

In terms of the audiobook, the narrator did an incredible job. Her voice for Toven was 12/10.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and hachette audio for this audiobook ARC. First off the audio voice of Ella Lynch was absolutely perfect. I enjoyed how she changed her voice for each character. Orion and Toven were the perfect pretentious mix with condescending. Her pacing was perfect and I was able to understand everything. Ella really helped bring the audiobook to life for me.

I have to start with the fact that I am a huge draimone fan and Julie Soto is one of the queens that feeds the alter draimone fans worship at. Myself included. With that being said, Rose in Chains was a dream come true. It is an ode to draimone while still standing on its own two feet as a very intriguing fantasy story. The writing was beautiful and the imagery was detailed. The story line stayed close to the Auction. But I loved the magic system. It was intricate but understandable. I loved the different twists vs the auction and especially enjoyed the flashbacks that revealed the connections between characters. I will highly recommend this book when published and will be waiting on pins and needles for the next installments.

This was so intriguing! The twist and turns have me very excited for the second book.
The FMC can be a little annoying at times, but I also find the character she is inspired from annoying as well. So that could just be me.
The middle was a little slow for me, things really picked up in the end. It was the right balance of seeing some of the twist coming while others I was completely shocked by.
Lots of angst and yearning in this slow burn. The magic system is unique and complex. This has the potential to
be an epic series, l'm excited to see where it goes.

Rose in Chains is a dark romantasy with a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance.

I have not read The Auction but I devoured this book in 2 days. It sucked me in immediately and kept my attention throughout. I was drawn into the world and the politics. The magic system was interesting and unique. I love Briony and Toven.

I can’t wait to see what will happen in the rest of the series. I absolutely loved this book.

Thanks to Netgalley, Hachette Audio and Forver for an ARC.

I LOVED this book! Soto has truly created something special, and I cannot wait to keep reading the series. Once I started, it was near impossible to put down.

Rose in chains follows Briony, a former Eversun princess after the dismantling and destruction of her lands. Her family is dead, she has been captured, and now she will be sold off to the highest bidder.

This is definitely a book that needs its trigger warnings. It’s dark, and emotional, there is violence (both on the page and talked about), and yet Soto has managed to see the seeds for a beautiful life story. The TENSION!! *chefs kiss*

I love how she has managed to create a brand new, quite complex, magic system, and lay it out in a way that is both understandable and exciting.

Briony is a strong character, who despite the fact that she has been imprisoned and SOLD continues to look for ways to fight back.

I cannot wait to read the rest of this series, and literally anything else Julie Soto writes!!

Thank you so much to Net Galley for the early ALC!

2.5 sad stars. Thanks to Hatchet Audio and Netgalley for the ALC. I was so excited for this read and I just don’t think the overall execution was for me. I did not vibe with the world or the characters in any capacity unfortunately and I’m so sad to say. But I can see other people really enjoying this book.

It was well written but I had a lot of trouble with the pacing of the book. You would be thrust from present day and back to when they were in school 4, 5, 6 years ago without a real rhyme or reason. It didn’t really add to the emotional impact of the story it just made it feel inconsistent for me. I didn’t really buy the slow burn / yearn romance or the reason why the MMC liked the FMC so much.

None of the characters really stuck out for me. The FMC was kind of vapid and also kind of all over the place. She would constantly do things that jeopardized everything without a second thought…idk. Maybe she’ll grow in the second book. She was frustrating. Otherwise random characters would reappear in the book and I would have a lot of trouble remembering who they were and why they were relevant. They were all kind of one dimensional.

Everything was fine it just wasn’t clicking for me. The plot was a lot of court drama and intrigue and none of it was really keeping my attention personally. But I am so happy for others who enjoy this!

I honestly feel relieved to be done this audiobook. I’m not sure if it’s because I had the audio vs the physical book but it fell flat for me. I look forward to reading other body’s of work from this author in the future.

this book was an *experience*. I fully expect everyone will be obsessing over it. First, a note on the narration: expertly performed, so well done! Ella Lynch even sounds like Emma Watson, which was simultaneously amazing and made it difficult to forget the fanfic origins of the book, but overall wasn't a bad thing!

The world building all felt original and so interesting, the tension between the characters, the slow reveal of true motivations, was all brilliant. I ate this book up.

Julie Soto is an autobuy author for me and Rose in Chains was one of my most anticipated books of 2025 and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT! I am OBSESSED!

Briony Rosewood’s life is turned upside down. The world as she knows it is changed forever in less than a day. She is quickly stripped of her magic, held against her will and auctioned off to the highest bidder. That highest bidder just happens to be Toven Hearst, her enemy and former school crush, whose family is known for their cruelty. Briony is preparing for a life of servitude but finds hope in unexpected places.

Rose In Chains is book one in The Evermore Trilogy. This slow burn romantasy will keep you guessing from start to finish! It is full of the best yearning and tension. It is told in dual POV and you get pieces of the puzzle to put together throughout the story. The action in this book starts in the very first chapter and does not let up. The world building! The magic! The pacing! The twists and turns! That ending! How long will we have to wait for book 2?!?!?! I listened to the audiobook and it was phenomenal! The narrator brought the story to life! This is the easiest 5 stars I’ve given this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the opportunity to read an ALC of Rose in Chains in exchange for my honest review.

Rose in Chains had me fascinated from the first chapter, with superb world building and just enough political intrigue to keep me interested. The magic system and the amount of detail added to the universe kept me interested throughout the novel, and the character development was fantastic. The romance in the book was not as overbearing as in most Romantasy novels, which I enjoyed. And the enemies of lovers were truly enemies of lovers. Thank you, NetGally, for this opportunity to have the ALC.