Whoa…what an ending! I went into this book blindly and didn’t hear about original idea of the fanfic until halfway through. I could see that underlying story, but also the vibes of A Handmaid’s tale and ACOMAF.

This magic system and world still felt unique despite so similarities to other romantasy books out there. The twists and turns, the harshness of their world and the layers of secrets all kept my attention from the beginning. With the market flooded with romantasy books right now, this one stands out among the crowd. And, while this was a little darker than what I typically read, I’ll be patiently waiting for the rest of the books in this trilogy!

A note on the audiobook: the narrator is excellent! Ella Lynch was great at differentiating characters, but it was really hard sometimes to know when you were transitioning from a flashback to current time.

Thank you NetGalley, Hachette Audio and Julie Soto for the ALC. All thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rose in Chains by Julie Soto
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️

I had the absolute privilege of getting an ARC of the Rose in Chains audiobook from Hachette Audio, and I am NOT okay (in the best possible way.) 😭 This story absolutely wrecked me all over again!

If you’re a long time Dramione lover like myself, you might think you know what’s coming… but trust me, you’re not ready whatsoever! Julie Soto has taken one of my all-time favorite fics and completely reimagined it into something intensely dark, emotional and DEEPLY romantic.

Please, please, please read the content warnings. This story and the themes it tackles are NOT for the faint of heart. I’d describe it more as a dark romantasy that happens to be a slow-burn, rather than your typical romantasy. But if you're still in after the long list of trigger warnings, or if you were obsessed with The Auction, then buckle up—you’re about to fall in love all over again. 🙂‍↕️

Briony and Toven circle each other in the most spectacular way, and the slow burn between them is positively SIZZLIN’ ! The romance is subtle, perfectly paced, and full of nuance. Toven is everything I’ve ever wanted in an MMC and MORE ! Oddly enough though, Toven’s parents—Orion and Serena Hearst ended up being two of my fave characters after the main duo!

Rose in Chains has all the addicting, can’t-stop-reading, sleep-ruining magic of the best fanfics, but it’s also a fully realized novel with a stunning original world and characters who truly hit you smack dab in the heart.

And I have to shout out Ella Lynch, who narrates the entire beast of a book all by herself and absolutely BLOWS IT OUT OF THE WATER!!! I was briefly disappointed it wasn’t a duet or dual narration, but honestly? I have zero notes. Her portrayal of Briony and Toven is absolutely PHENOMENAL. I can’t imagine anyone else capturing the horror, grief, and the quiet moments of hope woven through this story the way she did.

It’s a rare and amazing feeling to go into a book with incredibly high expectations… and still be completely blown away. BRAVO, Julie Soto!! I’ll just be lying here in my reasonably-sized puddle of tears, waiting (not so patiently) for the next installment!

-1st book of a trilogy
-releasing July 8th
-dark romantasy
-Enemies to lovers
-Slow burn
-Force proximity

-listened to this with in 24hours.
-ARC review audiobook review (ALC)
-I loved everything about this audiobook
As a fan of The Auction. I’ve been waiting to read this for a very long time and it was not a disappointment at all. The yearning and tension between Briony and Toven had me wanting more and more of them. Banter on point! Now the ending had me wanting the 2nd and 3rd book asap.

-audio narration is so good! She did an excellent job for portraying Briony’s voice and how she was feeling emotionally and physically.

Favorite quote: "I'm not sure how many more times I need to say it. That heartspring is mine. Her mouth is mine, her magic is mine, her skin is mine. You will not touch her, under any circumstances. I purchased her. I do what I please with her."

I received ARC audio (ALC) of this from NetGalley and publisher Hachette Audio. So thank you! My own opinions of course

Loved this! Thank you for the audio arc. Let’s start with the narrator. She brought a comfort and familiarity to this story that allowed you to reminisce on the origin of the creation while not distracting from the new story itself. Her voices for characters, emotional inflection, and timing were truly flawless. The story itself…the twists! The turns! Thrilling from start to finish.

2025 is the year for Dramione-inspired novels and Rose in Chains by @juliesotowrites was my first, and I have to say I loved it! I'll start off by saying I generally stay away from dark romance because there's often times a lot of reference to rape and sexual assault whether on or off page and it just isn't my thing. With that said, the first few chapters of this book did make me uncomfortable. I had conflicting feelings because I was very intrigued by the relationship between the two main characters, but the references to the mostly off page SA was still disturbing. I would say this is a "lighter" dark romance, but rape, SA and sexual slavery is a recurring topic throughout the book, so just FYI if it's a trigger for anyone.

Moving on. There's some world building to explain the two warring lands and the differences in the magic they each use. I wouldn't say either the world building or magical system is really detailed, but you get enough for your imagination to fill in the rest. The slow burn between Briony and Toven was what got me. I was very invested in their growing relationship and I thought @narrator.ella did a fantastic job narrating all the various characters. I particularly loved her as Toven because it's sometimes hard to connect with a character when they're voiced by a narrator of the opposite sex, but I was loving the audio! Ella did a great job making me hate the bad guys even more with her interpretation of them.

I finished this book within a day, which is saying something! Even with audio, I still have to take a lot of breaks, but I binged this one even though it had difficult themes. This one is definitely a top contender for my favorite Dramione-inspired book!

I need to preface this review with the fact that I have not read the “Dramione” fan fiction that this originated from. It would also be very remiss of me, should you be interested in reading this book, to not strongly advise you to look up the trigger warnings prior to reading. They are not mentioned lightly, but truly prevalent throughout the book and a main part of the plot. Now that all of that has been said, my thoughts are in the comments because there is not enough room here.

Rose in Chains was a highly anticipated title for me due to all the buzz around its release. I was excited to receive an ARC and excited to read it. Unfortunately it did not come anywhere near close to meeting my expectations. If you go into this read knowing what to expect, you should be prepared (as I was) for a very dark book with very dark themes. It delivers in that aspect. What I was not prepared for was the complete lack of character development and world building. The reader is thrown into this deeply upsetting world full of deeply upsetting people, with no backstory and no understanding of how we all got to this bleak timeline. With no foundation to stand on, I found it impossible to care about any of the characters, or become invested in the romance. The lack of support bleeds into the entire book, and because of the intense themes involved, I think that its absence was exacerbated.

The romance is scarce and heavily overshadowed by abuse. By the time we finally get to a spicy scene, it was uncomfortable, unbelievable, and frustrating. The pacing is medium, which worked well with the plot. The plot itself kept me interested, but near the end, I felt like it unraveled into a cheesy mess.

I can’t imagine the original fan fiction had these issues, as the world building and character development in fanfiction is already there for you. I’m curious about how fans of the fanfiction will react to this book, and I can’t wait to read more reviews.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for this ARC! Opinions are my own.

***ALC REVIEW**

This was an absolutely delightful experience!

Let's get straight to the things I LOVED.

- This story. I don't know what it says about me, but I love the dynamic of an Auction in dark romances. Especially when the purchaser is doing it for noble reasons... even if those reasons are a secret.

-The flashbacks. They were placed in a way that made sense and moved the story forward even though it was going back in time.

-The Pacing. I was never bored. I feel like every scene and exchange had a purpose and I was perpetually in a state of wanting to know what happens next!

-The relationship between Briony and Tovin. There's so much secret yearning and desire on both sides. It's a SLOW SLOW BURN that is still burning at the end of the book. I can tell we are in it for the long haul with this one.

-Briony- She's so smart and brave and loyal.

-Tovin- He's a dark and broody boy, but I can tell he's so soft and gooey inside. Even without getting his POV, I can see his love for Briony. I have a feeling he's trying to keep his feelings locked up tight for the safety of Briony and his family. I'm sure more of that will play out in the next book.

Now for the audiobook aspect specifically. It was really well done. The narrators voice was pleasant. She emoted the proper mood for each scene really well. She also used a unique voice for the characters and even use a lower register voice for Tovin which was fantastic. It wasn't distracting at all which it sometimes can be in other audiobooks. The sound quality was fantastic. It was a very enjoyable experience to listen to this story.

As far as world building goes it's hard to objectively say how well this book stands on its own. I went into this book knowing that it was a rework of an HP fanfic, but I had never read it. However knowing it was based on the HP world, made it hard to separate the original world to the new one in this book. In the beginning I spent time trying to connect the dots on which character the new character was based on. It also made it difficult to be able to judge if the world being built in Rose in Chains was solid or if my brain had already constructed the HP world in my mind when reading it so it felt like there was a bit of a head start on the world building front.

Overall, it was a five star experience and I would recommend it especially ff you love a dark romantic fantasy with power dynamics, an MMC who is absolutely morally grey (Does super bad things, but also is secretly Nobel-ish), and an ending that will have you wanting more!

Thank you to Hachette Audio, NetGalley, and Julie Soto for the chance to listen to this book early!

What a ride!! This is a bit of a mixed review so bear with me…but know I did really enjoy it overall.

I have never read The Auction prior to reading this. However it’s surprising to me that it’s a Dramoine fanfic because aside from the descriptions and the use of a magic system I wouldn’t have known that or guessed that? This book was predictably obvious to me and I was never surprised by anything that happened but it was still an enjoyable read!

I do wish that the magic system was more descriptive and the setting as well. I never knew things like portaling was an option until they were doing it. I did like the idea of the girls banding together and wish we got more of that and the idea of the boys club with that concept. The audio was really well done and I’m very excited to see where the next book goes!!

I'm conflicted about this one. To start with, if you don't know this is a rewrite of a Dramione fic (The Auction). I never read the Auction, but you can still sometimes see the scaffolding of the stories and characters that this used to lean on. please check all trigger warnings before reading this - there are a lot of horrible things that happen to women in this world.
So yes, this originally was based on a story based on characters by JKR. Just want to make it clear that I do not support her in any way, and intend, to the best of my abilities, to treat this as a work separate from its source material.

To start, I love Julie Soto's writing, and this book solidly confirms my opinion on that - I just love how she builds relationships and layers tension so perfectly so that when romance eventually happens (at the 97% mark!!!!! talk about a freaking slow burn), it feels earned. Her characters feel real and solid in their world. I really just enjoyed the relationship between Briony and Toven - their shared history, the tension and slow burn between them, their whip-quick banter and interactions. (Toven had me yelling and shaking my fists at him for how slowwwwwww he's making things go)

However, the world building is a bit rough. Don't think too much about it, and it won't bother you (I got over it quickly). If you're a stickler for strong world building, maybe stay away from this one. But there are dragons, and I have a feeling that they're going to be a larger part of future stories. So there is that. I'm also intruiged by the greater things going on in the rest of the world that we haven't gotten much of a peek at yet.

That being said, this is a rough book. I like fantasy for how much it can remove me from what's going on in the real world. This is not a great book for that. the men in power are horrendous and abusive to women. there are talks of racial purity and racially motivated hatred and violence. lots of talk of sterilization and the value of virginity (among many many other things). it is a captive/captor/slave romance.

But it is, still, a romance. As someone who believes that we can still continue to have good things while the world burns around us, I am a huge fan of the romance against a bleak, horrendous backdrop.

I listened to the audio, and I would say that the narration is fine. not the most spectacular thing I've ever heard, and there were a lot of moments that I wished I had a physical copy in front of me. The narrator did a solid job.

I devoured this audiobook! I thought the world building was wonderfully complex and interesting. The characters were multidimensional and didn’t fall flat. I enjoyed the plot with its secrets & twists and the ending was just enough of a tease to keep me hooked for the next book!!

The audiobook narration was wonderful as well! I felt the narrator did a good job adding inflection and the pacing was perfect! 😊

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!!