I was SO thankful to have been approved for this audio because anytime I was not eyeball reading it, I was NEEDING it to continue and the narrator did a wonderful job telling the story.

Loved the Auction and the two interconnected works on AO3 and I loved what Soto did to make the story work for mainstream consumption. I am obsessed with how Soto adjusted it with the magic system, kingdoms, and the politics of it all. THE ANGST!!!! I cannot wait for the rest of the books in the series!!

If loving this dark fantasy romance is wrong, I don’t want to be right🙂‍↔️ I went in hoping to fall in love with this story and came out OBSESSED. JULIE SOTO YOU DID THE DAMN THING.

For “not a love story” I’m on the knife’s edge of tension. The story is so captivating and idk where it’s going next but I’m IN IT.

I will say it took me a bit to fully click into the world since it starts off with jumping to and fro in time with a big cast of characters that I couldn’t keep straight initially (this didn’t stop me from being intrigued though!), but once it locks in it doesn’t let you go. The magic system is unique but so easy to digest and the world is terrifying but you can’t help but hold out hope. A book fueled on feminine rage and there’s no sign of slowing down.

Please check trigger warnings before you start-the topics are HEAVY. This is a dystopian world where abuse is common so please proceed with care💜

I received an ALC for an honest review. With regard to the audio itself, it’s a single female narrator as the book is from a single female point of view. She’s got an English accent, but since this is a Dramione it works well for me.

In terms of the story itself, do check trigger warnings as there are dark themes throughout the book. This is the first in a trilogy and there’s lots of threads left open at the end of the book, to be further explored and elaborated on in books 2 and 3 and you can’t quite predict exactly where the story is going. I did really enjoy this book and will definitely be continuing the series as released.

Rated 4.5 Stars

What a wildly amazing ride this book was!! Rose in Chains had my emotions in a chokehold, my heart in my throat and my full attention. I was wholly invested in this story and it's characters. I loved the world and the magic system. I thought they were both well done. There was so much tyranny, anger and rage inducing moments but man did I love it. I gobbled this book up. It kept me on the edge of my seat eagerly anticipating what would happen next. I loved the way the author told the story going back and forth between the past and present. She did her thing with this book. It's definitely hands down my fave book by her. I so cannot wait to dive back into this world. It's packed with tension, angst and dark themes. I most certainly recommend it. The narrator did a phenomenal job bringing this world, its characters, tension and angst to vivid life. I loved her portrayal of Briony and I'm so looking forward to listening to her narrate the rest of the series. It was utter bliss listening to her.

Boiling this down to just dramione is such a massive disservice to not just this story,but also the author. This story, the characters and world building go beyond what it started as, as a fic and reducing it down to that in my opinion hurt more than helped. This had such wonderful writing and an incredible magic system along with the buddings of a beautiful romance which questions if they're actually enemies or not. I can't wait for the rest of the trilogy.

I devoured this audio book, seriously finished this in like two days because I could not stop. Was this absolutely perfect? No, there are a few things I still need answers to. Did I love it? Yes. I am already itching to read the next book and can't wait for it.

4. I listened to this audiobook as an ALC and I also loved it.
5. I loved the narrator!!!
6. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in the trilogy.

I devoured this book in 10 hours because it was so gripping. Clever plotting allows for the action to take off right away with flashbacks to help the reader learn about 1) how they got to this point and 2) a different side to many of the characters. I’ll admit that there are a lot of characters to keep up with, which can be difficult with an audiobook, so I’m glad I have a copy of the book on the way soon! We are left with a cliffhanger, but this trilogy is on course for being pretty great. Ella Lynch narrates and offers a sophisticated voice to our FMC

HOLY TENSION.

All I knew about this book going in was that it derived from a dramione fanfiction. I didn't have any expectations and I also was in a fantasy slump. Then, Rose in Chains came into my life and I was HEALED. It cured my romantasy hangover and I am craving so much more.

Now this book is what I call a SLOW BURN. I feel like a lot of books get marketed as slow burn because it's a trendy thing nowadays, especially in romantasy, but this book was truly a SLOW BURN. The ache and the tension was burning through the words and the pages. Julie Soto is a writer I can trust my slow burns going forward. The plot was initially a lot of information, info-dumping fashion at the beginning of the book with world building terminology, but it was easier to catch on to about 20% in.

Now, this is DARK. I don't mind the heavier themes in the book, but I think Julie Soto's execution of it was clean and almost nonchalant in some ways which I appreciated. It helped with the world building and the state of the universe. I CAN NOT WAIT until book two!!! UGH

In terms of the audiobook aspect, I liked the narrator for the most part. Her Briony voice was very Hermoine-like which I thought was little nod/if-you-know-you-know moment. I wasn't sure if that was intentional, but I appreciated it! The other voices were okay, sometimes I got the ick but I think that was intentional because the characters were icky.

Huge thank you to Forever and Hachette Audio for an advanced copy of this book! You guys are the best!!!

LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS!!! The story, the characters, the plot. 5 stars all around!

Julie Soto is already an auto-buy author for me, so I was so excited when I got the opportunity to read this book with an advance listening copy! I am so thankful to Hachette Audio for the opportunity. The narrator for this was perfect! I thoroughly enjoyed the entire production.

I can’t wait to physically read this story again when it is published. It definitely lived up to my expectations as one of my most anticipated releases of 2025!

Princess Briony Rosewood's world is turned upside down when the prophecy that her twin brother would defeat Bomard and save the kingdom of Evermore turns out to be false when he dies on the battlefield. The castle is overrun and prisoners are taken and auctioned off for their bodies and magic. Briony is purchased by a former schoolmate, and she begins to learn that the war isn't over; there are still those in opposition to Mallow, the woman who holds the seat of the Bomardi line and whose followers are committing atrocities to Evermore prisoners. 

I was drawn in immediately. The characters were well done and the magic system was simple enough to understand but complex enough to always have more to learn. It conjured a lot of unease at times and I never knew what was going to happen. I am very excited for the next in the trilogy and was sad when this was over- I wanted to keep listening!
I'd recommend it for anyone who likes Romantasy, with a caveat that it is on the darker side.

I really enjoyed the narration a lot. It was easy to tell the characters apart, everything was clear, and the emotions were done well. Couldn't ask for more from an audiobook.

I rated it 4.5/5 rounded up to 5. 
Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ARC!

umm, where do I even begin? Prepare to be sick of me with this being my whole personality. Julie can already do no wrong, but MAN, I was enthralled the whole time. I am so dang excited that this is becoming a trilogy because I am obsessed!
The tension, chemistry, and slow burn were EVERYTHING.
I am so invested in Briony and Toven's forbidden romance and I cannot freaking wait to see where this series goes. This dealt with some HEAVY topics and themes and had me running through every emotion possible. I would have lovedddd dual narration, but Ella did a good job of using distinct voices so that you never got any characters confused and capturing their nuances.

I absolutely loved this book! I loved the series this was inspired by but I'm so happy it's by a different author. I have never read anything like this. Even though he bought her he made it clear to everyone she was to be respected and not to be touched. He seemed to be incredibly annoyed the situation he was in at all times and she was just trying to make it in this new world. She wanted nothing to do with him but slowly noticed he was infatuated with her. The spice was perfect and I'm so happy I had the chance to read this ARC. I will definitely be picking up a SE.

Story: 4 ⭐
Spice: 1/2🌶️ (I will go into more detail below)
Narration: 3 ⭐

This was read in a single narration with Ella Lynch. Ella did a great job when voicing the different female parts, you could feel the emotions through her performance, but I was having a hard time getting into the male voice she created. I really wished they did this as a duet because it would really been a spectacular performance but overall, the production was great, you were able to listen to Ella at high speeds and not lose any quality of the performance. She does make Briony sound a lot younger than she is (25) at least in my opinion, but it doesn't really change the story much for me.

I never read "The Auction" before it was re-written and traditionally published, but I did know going into this book that was a Dramione Fanfic. I also like to state that I'm not a huge Dramione fan (I've read only one other book) so I feel like my review can be more bias.

Knowing that this came from the HP world I could fill in what I wasn't understanding with the plot. If I went into this completely blind with no understand of the HP world, I would have been extremely confused as to what really was going on. I do like that the flashbacks help answer questions, but it takes a while to start understanding whats happening in world. For the first 50% of the book, I just kept asking myself, *Why are they fighting????* I would have really like to see more world building.

If you are a fan of an actual slow burn, then this is for you. It's book 1 in a trilogy and you really don't get any romance. So be prepared! With it being a slow burn, you do get the tension and angst between the characters and there are years of tension between them. There is some on page spice (of the dream/mind reality) but mostly it's what is being described at what's happening around the main characters. There's a lot of forced acts happening as a lot of the characters were auctioned to be owned by another. Please check your triggers as there is SA and other lewd acts.

I really hope I don't deter you from reading this, because even though it had its flaws and darker themes, it was a really good story. I couldn't put it down and rated it overall as a 4⭐ I just wanted to give some warning to what the book is actually like.

If you like dark fantasy romance, enemies to reluctant allies, slow burn, tension/angst and longing for years, war between kingdoms and a FMC fighting for her life and those around her than you will love this!

What an ABSOLUTE honor it was to get an audio ARC of this book 😭😭😭

This book deals with dark themes but is very thoughtful about how they are approached. If you are triggered by dark themes, I suggest visiting Julie Soto website for a full list of trigger warnings.

I really enjoyed the dual timeline where we get more insight into life before the school was shut down and kingdom split off in war. We also get to see moments to see the bond Briony and Rory share and better understand their sibling dynamic. My favorite scenes of the dual timeline were Toven and Briony and their rivalry at school.

I am OBSESSED with Toven and I need Briony to realize EVERYTHING he has done is not because he loathes her but because he loves her! Including the 4 deaths she is mad at him for - I have a feeling we will learn more about that in a future book 👀👀

This book has the SLOWEST burn and I am here for it! The lusting for each other was *chefs kiss*

Also the scene where he is in her mind?! 🥵😍 yes please!

As soon as I saw it was a trilogy I KNEW there was going to be an insane cliffhanger and of course I was right! When do we get book 2 & 3? 👀

Ella Lynch is a fantastic narrator! She did a great job with the distinct voices and bringing every emotion to life.

Thank you so much to Hatchette Audio, Julie Soto, Ella Lynch and NetGalley

Julie Soto does it again!!! Rose in Chains is one of the best romantasy novels I’ve read in a long time. From the very beginning, I was completely gripped. I actually listened to the entire audiobook in one sitting it’s that good.

The worldbuilding is rich and bleak (definitely check content warnings this story is dark), and I appreciated the snippets of history that gave insight into Briony and Toven’s shared past at school. Despite the darker tone of the world, Toven and Briony’s dynamic is full of care, trust, and consent, something that stood out and felt intentional. Toven never tries to intentionally cross a line, and their budding relationship is written with thoughtfulness and emotional weight.

And let me just say this is how you write a slow burn. The tension, the longing, the miscommunications, the ache it’s all deliciously drawn out. I’m not joking when I say they only kiss around 95% (genuinely what I want from a fantasy series). While the middle section is a bit light on action, I don't mind watching the characters live in their world. The pacing felt right for the emotional development. Action picks up around the 70% mark and doesn’t let go.

If I had one critique, it’s that I wished for a bit more clarity in the worldbuilding, magic system, and the overarching conflict. That said, it’s possible that some of that nuance was harder to follow in audio format.

The audio book was fantastic! Even though it’s a single narrator, the performance was dynamic and full of emotion. Every character, including Toven, felt distinct and alive.

And that ending? I'm unwell. I need the next book ASAP.

4.5 stars.

This was a good book. I enjoyed it. It was compelling. The characters were fun and different.

I wish I had gone into this without knowing the history. I don’t think I needed that, and I don’t think it really added to the story to know where it came from.

It is inspired by its source material, but only very loosely. The characters all have their own background, and the setting is totally different.

I will be picking up the sequel, and likely the audiobook, as I did really enjoy the narrator.

Thank you NetGalley for this ALC.

Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

This book was the very definition of mid. From the world building (or lack thereof) to the boredom the FMC brings about, everything was just mid.

The worldbuilding had such potential. It was very clear that there was a deep world and lore behind it, but we weren't told any of it. The magic could have been done so well. The war could have actually had meaning. But we got none of that. Instead we got sexual sacral magic and a random war that we have no idea why it even exists or why these people hate each other enough to literally enslave one another.

The characters were flat and could not hold my attention at all. The flashback chapters were clearly meant to build a relationship between the MCs, but they were also flat and provided only to show the FMCs naivety without giving us any actual depth.

The only time I was ever actually intrigued was the very end, which was not nearly soon enough.

I personally loved every minute of this audiobook. The narrator was a perfect choice and really added to the story telling. As an avid Dramione fanfic lover this was everything I was hoping for and more. If you go into this world without the context of what this story originated as then it could be quite confusing to follow. Personally I thought the magic system was interesting and the world building was paced well. And the tension and yearning was top notch. Can't wait for the rest of the series!!

Thank you for the opportunity to review this ALC!

Briony Rosewood has always lived with the knowledge that her twin brother Rory is the key to an ancient Evermore prophecy. It's why she's always used her mind magic to enhance his own and it never became more important than when tensions between the Eversuns (mind mages) and Bomardi (heart mages) intensify.

When war breaks out and fighting comes to a head, Rory is slain in battle and Briony is taken captive by the Bomardi. Subjugating the remaining Eversun sympathizers to captivity amongst the elite Bomardi families who will use them to syphon their magic to enhance their own, Briony is bought at auction by Toven Hearst - a former classmate with dubious loyalties.

Once Briony is instilled at Hearst Hall she is faced with more questions than answers and the mysteriously cold Toven is not forthcoming. Briony doesn't know who she can trust or if any help is coming, but she's not done fighting.

This book was one of those pleasant surprises where you don't want to put it down and you can't stop thinking about it. I love reading but it's not often that a story just consumes me and there's really no rhyme or reason as to why or when or what books. So when it comes around I just lean into it.

The audiobook narration was done really well. One narrator who had a lot of characters to account for. I wish the male characters had been a little more unique as I sometimes found myself unable to distinguish between the more secondary characters, but overall I was pulled into the story and the emotional moments of building tension were done very well.

I've read Julie Soto's previously released contemporary romances. So I was really excited to learn she was branching out into Romantasy.

It's a very slow to unfold story but that is due to the fact that it's the beginning of a trilogy. Julie Soto does great in setting the groundwork.

I like Briony's character because although she finds herself in such a dire sitution, having just lost her twin - her other half essentially - being kept, sometimes literally, in the dark, she continues to move forward. Is it a huge disservice that those around her are keeping things from her? Yes, because in the few flashbacks we get, we see that she is very intelligent and resourceful. She hasn't been a princess just sitting around being served. She's been observing. So I hope that we'll get more of her strategic input in the coming sequels.

Of course we have to talk about Toven and Briony. They are **chef's kiss**. It's very clear that they both, at first, underestimate the other. Part of the tension comes from this underestimation. But it's in the discovery these overlooked parts of themselves where they start to understand one another. I also really appreciate that even at the end, it's still very unclear what side Toven is on and what the ultimate endgame is for the Hearst family. The morally gray casting is done really well where he's concerned.

This story is told entirely from Briony's point of view. I understand this because it puts readers in the mind of not knowing what's fully going on either which helps to drive the momentum of the story forward. I do wish there were other POV's just because I love to see all the sides of a story.

There will of course be two more books so I think it's safe to say that the ending is very unfinished. Although I will say that it does not end on a huge heartbreaking cliffhanger so while I'm eagerly anticipating the next book, I am satisfied. I almost feel like this whole book was the prelude to everything we'll see next. It's certainly a delicious build up.

I cannot recommend this one enough. Just know if you have been eagerly awaiting this book, rest assured it delivers.