Thank you Forever publishing for an arc!!

I don’t know where to begin. I finished this in less than 24 hours and I’m still processing what I just read. It was delectable, fast-paced and like a perfect blend of the updates that trad publishing gives to stories and the fanfiction it blossomed from.

I think this book is going to have a lot of mixed reviews. I for one, really like it, just because it’s such a breath of fresh air of what romantasy currently is as a genre. It is a slow-slow burn which I also like because the tension can be feltttt and the pinning really adds an extra layer! It’s something that I don’t get to read a lot of anymore and I think more stories really need to use it.

Overall the vibes were just incredible and it was really interesting to see how much changed with character names, places and descriptions! I love being able to read a book and feel the passion that the author has for the story flow through it and Julie Soto really accomplished that with Rose in Chains! I will more than likely be spending all my money on every edition of this book and I can’t wait to see what they look like if book box companies decide to do something! (Fairyloot plz I’m begging you)

(The cliffhanger really wrecked me and I’ll be knocking on Hachettes door as soon as the second book is announced!)

Julie Soto or Forever Publishing - if you’re reading this I will do anything you ask if you get me an early copy of the next book in this series once complete. This story has altered my brain chemistry and I NEED more. Are you kidding me with this masterpiece? Thank you NetGalley, publisher and author!!!

Thank you to Forever Publishing and Julie Soto for trusting me with this ARC.

I'll open this review up by saying I read the fanfiction this is based off of - The Auction - back when it was a weekly/monthly updated fic on AO3, so I did carry that with me while reading. However, I do think that this book will be widely loved, even by people who didn't read that fic as it was so, so loved by me.

Briony is a Mind Magician and the princess of Evermore and is almost constantly underestimated and pushed aside in favor of her brother - Rory, who is set to not only be the King of Evermore but the Heir Twice Over, who will put a stop to the war between the Mind Magicians and the Heart Magicians, who reside primarily in Bomard. Veronika Marrow - the first owner of a Dragon familiar in centuries - claims that Mind Magic is dangerous and unnatural and leads the Bomardi people to war with the people of Evermore. On opposing sides of that war are Briony and Toven - her school crush and the flirtatious boy who bullied her. The story opens as Rory is killed and the Bombardi people have taken hostages - including Briony - to siphon them of their magic and use them for other nefarious purposes.

This book was un-put-down-able. I feel like I ate, slept and breathed it from the moment I turned the first page to the acknowledgements at the end - which I rarely ever read if I'm being honest but I felt the need to read these because I didn't want it to be over. The characters are so lovable and multi-faceted and with the story primarily being told through Briony's eyes, we're just as lost as she is when it comes to Toven's character and motives, as well as those of his family. Their wit was sharp, the banter was on point and I'm almost positive that Julie Soto invented the word 'yearning' at this point. All that being said, buckle up for a SLOWWWWW BURNNNNN.

The only bad part about getting an ARC of a book you've been anticipating for a year is that the wait to book two is so much longer in a lot of ways, and with a cliffhanger like this one.... I need book two STAT.

Instagram, StoryGraph and Goodreads links will be added shortly!

I already know this is going to be one of my top books of the year!

I have no notes. It's dark, intense, and doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to all the traumatic things the characters are put through. I was gripped from the first page and ended up reading it over the span of 24 hours! Julie Soto understands the push and pull of a slow burn. It's brutal and delicious.

Please take note of content warnings—there are a lot of them, and the story doesn't gloss over them.

Thank you for the eARC, Forever!

5⭐️ 1🌶️
I LOVED IT!! It was amazing and everything I wanted it to be! Briony and Toven were perfect!
This is based on Julie sotos dramione fan fiction The Auction, so if you enjoyed that then you’re going to love this!

“Toven turned her to him gently, and horror filled her as he placed a hand on her cheek.”
“You’ll come with me to the dance floor now, or I’ll put in a formal request with your father for courtship. It’s your decision.”

“His eyes were so soft and his arms warm, and she didn’t know how to reconcile the man who had hunted her with the man who now held her so tenderly.”

“Think of a lake with still waters.”

“There was a drawer in Toven Hearst’s bedroom that contained a shoebox. Inside that shoebox was a hair ribbon. And try as she may to rationalize it in any other way...that ribbon was hers.”

I not a romantasy girlie but I've heard so much buzz around this book I became curious. Plus it's Julie Soto.

I think this is a great first book. It sets up the characters and their dynamics, the world and the plot really well. It has a great combination of dark fantasy and political intrigue without feeling confusing. Plus the romance is a delicious slow burn. There's pining, there's angst and great chemistry.

I have not read The Auction which is the fanfiction this was previously, so I can't speak on that.

Overall, a great fantasy romance that many readers will love.

Romantasy at its best.

This is addictive and easy to binge. Deliciously slow burn. A little dark. A little magical. A hefty helping of political intrigue. AND SO SO MUCH TENSION!

Y’all I stayed up until 5:30 AM to finish this book - I read it in a single sitting. I am tired and I am DESPERATE for more!

Now the elephant in the room - this is reworked Dramione - so how did it hold up on its own?

If I wasn’t already aware this was reworked fanfic - I would have absolutely NO clue - it is so far from the “source” material! imho the similarities are minor things, hair color, perhaps some of the politics? Even then, these are similarities you might find in a number of fantasy books.

Moral of the story this is a BANGER. The world is unique, the magic is cool, the stakes are high, the plot moves at a perfect pace and the tension is so EPICALLY delicious you’re gonna need a cold shower!

What’s to love…
- SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOW BURN
- pinning, angst, tension, OH MY!
- plotical intrigue
- rival “kingdoms”
- forced proximity
- secrets
- A+ banter
- will have you screaming “HURRY UP AND DO IT” at your book.
- tight plot and great pacing
- binge-able AF
- A DRAGON!!!!!!!!!!!!

My only complaint…
- Seriously, I have only one bad thing to say about this book. I wish the author had a little more faith in the reader’s ability to remember important things & infer using context clues. There were a number of times where the writing repeated “important” things, sometimes within a few pages of each other. The writing was often over explanatory - more times than not, it explained details I could have easily assume based on context. These are things I expect and accept in YA books but something that does detract from my experience when reading an adult novel.

BUT - even with the repetitions this book was un-put-down-able!

GO PREORDER THIS STUNNING EDITION RIGHT MEOW!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

very good I loved this romantasy. very interesting characters and fun to see what happens. I hope to see more from this author

First and foremost, I just want to say that I am devastated that I have finished this book because now I can no longer read it for the first time. Second, I am once again in awe of Julie Soto because of how brilliant yet brutal this book was. The Auction is my favorite Dramione fanfic and getting to revisit this story in a new way was so fascinating and dare I say…. I loved it even more…..

I love and appreciate the way this book explores consent and power dynamics within Briony and Toven’s relationship. This book goes far beyond enemies to lovers and introduces such an interesting and complex dynamic with the pretense that everyone has to uphold. I also LOVE the way this book switches between the past and the present and how much more depth gets added to these characters as more is revealed along the way. If you’ve read The Auction, I hate to say that you will still be unprepared for the ending of this book. Hold on tight friends 😬

Julie's writing is stunning. I was an OG fan of the original work, but this became even more stunning somehow. I would commit crimes for this woman.

Ugh!! I really wanted to read this!! Because of the trigger warnings I won’t be able to read it. I really appreciate the authors listing those at the beginning.

Julie’s a great writer!! Definitely check out the trigger warnings before you read it.

Thank you NetGalley, Julie and forever (grand central publishing) for the eARC!

#netgalley #roseinchains

JULIE SOTO YOU HAVE WRECKED ME. I have been a huge fan of the original work but holy crap... somehow it got better. I am so so so happy that people will get to read this...Julie I love you, thank you forever!!