I really wanted to love this one but I think it was just too constrained trying to stay in line with the fic. I wish she had just kept the concept instead of a more literal interpretation. The world building was also just a bit too clunky and choppy for the beginning so took me a bit to get into it. I still liked the characters a lot just didn't like the pacing of the plot.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have a lot of feelings about this book and not all of them will be popular. Actually maybe none of them.

I love Julie Soto's work. Her romance novels are wonderful, and her writing is beautiful.

So it pains me to say that this one... is lacking. The world building is extensive and interesting, the politics are intriguing, the characters themselves are fleshed out and complex. But the MC. Maybe it's because I know the source material for this particular work and therefore am biased, but if Briony is meant to be HG coded... I think the mark is missed. How is she brilliant and yet clueless? People have consistently talked about plans right in front of her and she still has an air of confusion.

(SPOILERS)

This man spent a literal fortune and apparently traded something unspeakable for her and she doesn't understand why? She has her own room, consistent meals, clean clothes, AND bodily autonomy, yet never questions why this is? He cannot look at her, touch her, talk to her too much, and yet has saved her from an unspeakable fate, and she can't read between the lines? There is a very big difference in being sheltered as a princess and being comically naive. Her fellow schoolmates and friends are being drugged, SA'ed, used as magical batteries and she just... reads. There is no way a person who consistently fights for the oppressed is given all these privileges without asking nonstop questions and fighting for answers. She is perfectly fine to just accept the answers as they are given to her on a silver platter, and to me that is the opposite of her origin character.

Again, maybe I'm basing too much of this on what I know of HG. But lets be real. Even as her own character, Briony needs to get a f*cking clue.

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, 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.

Thank you for the review copy! I want to state that I deeply appreciate the trigger warnings at the start of this book. I made it to chapter 8 before I no longer felt comfortable reading the book. I want to emphasize that that is a me thing, and in no way should reflect negatively on the book. The trigger warnings are there for a reason and I urge everyone to read them.

Briony Rosewood's brother and heir to the thrown of Evermore is dead and she has been captured. They have loss the war and there is nothing she can do about it. Stripped of her magic and sent into auction Briony tries to keep her head high for the other survivors. However, during the intense auction Briony is sold to Toven Hearst, a former classmate known for his family's cruelty. Just as all hope seems lost she begins to find beacons of hope and rebellion all around her. A fire is reignited in her to fight this dictatorship from the inside, and her allies may be closer than she ever imagined...

Soto has created an intense and dark world full of secrets, power plays and deception; I hung on to every word. Briony while a captive never lost her strength nor her fight. She does not need a dark cloaked prince to save her. She is intelligent, witty and so lovable. I throughly enjoyed her character development as bits of her history were revealed. Toven Hearst is determined, cunning and intentional. He has set expectations, plans and does what he thinks is best for those he loves. Together they are a powerhouse, but this isn't just a romance, it's not even mostly a romance. This is the story of two characters who are fighting for those they love and for what they believe in. I am so excited to see where their story goes next, I already know this will be put on my re-read shelf.

I have emerged from Rose in Chains absolutely unhinged. Julie Soto has officially ruined me, and I am so, so grateful.

From the very first page, this book had me in chains—obsessively turning pages, breathlessly devouring every lush, decadent, and tension-filled moment. The stakes? Sky-high. The yearning? PAINFUL. The slow burn? DIABOLICAL. I was on the verge of throwing my Kindle multiple times, but I was also clutching it like my life depended on it.

This book delivers EVERYTHING.
🔥 Enemies to lovers (with a history)
🔥 Political intrigue and shifting alliances
🔥 Banter so sharp it could cut
🔥 Forced proximity that had me screaming
🔥 DRAGONS.

Julie’s storytelling is magic. The world-building is immersive, the characters are flawed yet irresistible, and the romance??? The kind of gut-wrenching, all-consuming pining that leaves you wrecked in the best way.

And THE CLIFFHANGER??? I am feral over it. I need book two like I need air. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in a corner, rereading and spiraling.

Final verdict: Read this. Lose sleep over it. Join me in my suffering. You won’t regret it.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Julie Soto, and the publisher (Read Forever Pub) for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

I ate this book up.

Rose in Chains attempts to adapt a wildly popular Dramione fanfic into an original IP, and mostly pulls it off. This book tackles some very heavy themes, so I would recommend checking the trigger warnings before diving into the story.

Where this book really excels is with the romance plot. If you’re someone who loves your romance to be slow burn, messy, where they’re both down bad but won’t admit it, you’re going to LOVE this, like I did. One second, they’re trading barbs, and the next, they can’t keep their eyes or hands off of each other. Chef's kiss, no notes.

The world-building in this book wasn’t great. The great part about writing fanfic is that you don’t have to develop the world because it already exists based on the existing IP you’re drawing from. When adapting a fic to an original work, you need to essentially rebuild the world from the ground up, and Julie Soto didn’t really do that. The world exists just barely enough to allow the plot to move forward. I’m hoping that, going into future books, we get to learn and see more of the world.

The main villain does not translate well from the fic (Voldemort). Nothing happens that justifies how this person was able to essentially take over the kingdom or why they evoke such fear and loyalty from people. I think this also stems from the fact that these characters needed a lot more backstory than what we ultimately got. This book doesn’t have the luxury of an eight-book series to pull context from.

If you’ve read The Auction or HP fanfics, you’ll enjoy this a lot. If you haven’t, I think the amount of enjoyment you’ll have will depend on how much stock you put in world-building and character development.

I really enjoyed this book. I think Julie is a brilliant writer. Will be ordering for our library. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this arc!

Where do I start? This book is magnificent.
If you love a mysterious, plot-heavy slow burn, read this book.
If you love a secret yearning, broody, protective MMC, read this book.
If you love a headstrong, capable, somewhat dense FMC, yep. Read. This. Book.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review one of my most anticipated reads of 2025!
Rose in Chains is an upcoming fantasy romance novel, the first in a trilogy by Julie Soto. Two kingdoms, each with a different primary style of magic: heart magic where our MMC lives, and mind magic where our FMC lives. The MMC (Toven) lives in the kingdom of heart magic, where a new ruler has come to power on a platform of propaganda that FMC’s (Briony) kingdom’s mind magic is a form of brainwashing. Briony is the princess of her kingdom, and when it falls she is sold at auction to Toven - a boy she knows from the magic school where both kingdoms sent their magical children to be trained. Briony navigates her newfound situation while Toven rises in the ranks of power in his kingdom, and they fight the feelings they’ve denied since their school days….

This is a very dark, sloooooow burn enemies-to-lovers story that doesn’t get very spicy in the first book. (Have faith, I know from the source material that that burn will absolutely EXPLODE when we get it.) What do we get? Top-tier 🥵fantasies; delicious tension; yearning; chemistry; forced proximity; secrets; political intrigue; and a DRAGON. Before you read the book, review the trigger warnings if you’re a sensitive reader.

As a huge fan of the source material, I can confidently say that I am MORE than happy with this adaptation. After a month-long reading slump, I finally cracked Rose in Chains…then barely set it down for two days. Not only does this book fulfill every “Saturday Girls’” expectations, it gives us a whole new setting, new magic systems, and intriguing new plotlines to keep the adapted version from feeling redundant. Not that we would have cared. 😁

Every scene and “Easter Egg” you could hope for is here, guys! The way I kicked my feet and squealed out loud so many times haha 😍If you loved The Auction, you’re going to love this book. If you’ve never read The Auction, you’re still going to love this book.
I thought Briony was a much more polished character (and less annoying) in this version. I really like her. Toven is perfection, just like his OG version. Toven’s parents, Serena and Orion, are just as wonderful as their OG versions as well.

I do wish the magic system was a little more sophisticated, but I suppose we still have time to see it develop. The ending had something I expected and something new that I never suspected–which left me gasping for more. I’ll be eagerly anticipating the next release!

*screams in I didn't realize this was a trilogy*

As a Julie Soto fan and a former Harry Potter fanfic writer, I was thrilled to read this. I also went in fairly blind, which was both great and terrible. Generally, I knew too much to be able to forget that this was based on HP, which distracted me from an otherwise interesting and very dark storyline. I also thought we would see more romance in this book since it's being marketed as such. Instead, it was a slow burn that went nowhere and I have to deal with that until a second book arrives. Or until I read the fanfic it was based on. Either way, I look forward to the conclusion and will be impatiently waiting until then.

I was BLOWN AWAY by this book. From page one this book had me in a chokehold! The world and its magic systems are so cool, and the characters go through so much both physically and mentally. Briony’s kingdom lost the war and in doing so she lost her family and herself. She’s sold at an auction like cattle, and forced to watch everyone she cares about suffer the same or die. Her journey as a captive, figuring out how to survive and pick up the pieces of her broken kingdom, was so emotional and thrilling to see happen on the page. I love this book sooo much and I’m already salivating for book2!!!

Rose in Chains by Julie Soto combines a unique system of magic with a classic slow burn romantasy. Although I have not read The Auction, I was really surprised when I enjoyed this book. I loved characters, and I honestly felt very connected to a lot of them. This book follows a similar plot line to Rain of Shadows and Endings by Melissa K. Roehrich in a way. I have seen this book marketed as YA in some places, and although there is nothing super spicy, there are mature themes throughout the book.

Features-
- Rivals to lovers
- Slavery
- Mentions of r@pe
- Fantasy/romance
- Slowwww burn
- Cliffhanger

There are no words right now. What utter perfection.

Julie took the story and made it even better, which was hard to even imagine. I loved every page. I cannot wait to read the other two books in this trilogy.

Toven Hearst is the new LOML. Briony Rosewood is my new favorite character. Julie Soto remains my favorite author.

I want to read it again and again and again.

I must have every edition of this book possible. Everyone needs to experience this book.

Star rating? Unlimited. Perfection.

This is absolutely a dark romance, so be sure to read the description and the content warnings (given by the author at the beginning of the book) before deciding if it's for you. It's complicated for me to review this one, but there are a few prominent things that can give an idea of how I feel. Some parts of it were really hard to read for me, specifically the sexual assault pieces and the auctioning of people. That said, I also read about 70% of the book in one day, so I was clearly invested in what would happen and I do plan on reading the other books in the trilogy when they come out. To be completely honest, I think part of the reason I became so invested is that I want to see them get vengeance. Also, I love a story of a woman coming further into her power, which it feels like we're going to get.

Full disclosure: Rose in Chains is one of my most highly anticipated reads of this year. I loved the source material and wasn't sure how this would hold up, but let me tell ya, this Saturday Girl was not disappointed. The yearning! The sloooooowww burn! The confusion! The tension! I had to force myself to take this one really slow, so I could truly absorb it all.

I really enjoyed the backstory and the pacing of the world-building reveals. Although I definitely preferred the scenes set in the present, the flashbacks are necessary and added a lot to the story. I have a lot of questions about the magic in this world (but so do the MCs so I guess I will have to be patient).

The hype is real! I devoured this dark, scintillating, captivating tale from Julie Soto. Handmaid’s Tale crashes into mind magic in ROSE IN CHAINS, one of the most anticipated reads of the year.

Briony, a captured princess, is auctioned off to the highest bidder when her country falls. In a series of flashbacks, we learn of her relationship with her owner and that their relationship goes far into the depths of what we could have imagined. Will their bond survive this new world or is she truly his captive?

This haunting tale, reminiscent of Atwood's Handmaid’s Tale, is sure to captivate readers long into the night!

Thank you, THANK YOU to Team Forever for this early copy!

I may be in the minority, but this book did not work for me.

- The world-building and magic system felt underdeveloped, making it difficult to fully immerse myself in the story. The lack of clarity surrounding the world was a significant drawback.

- The FMC (Briony) is curious but often asks the wrong questions aloud, which slows the pacing considerably. The story drags, and concrete answers are not provided until the very end—only to conclude with a cliffhanger.

- While the beginning was promising, the middle lagged, and as a result, my engagement waned. By the final chapters, I found myself skimming.

- Despite the FMC’s difficult circumstances, I struggled to empathize with her situation. Compared to other women in the story, she is relatively well-treated—she has her own space, meals, clothing, freedom to roam, and eventually, access to her magic. Because the stakes for her felt significantly lower than for others, I found it difficult to connect with her struggles or understand why readers should be invested in her journey. At times, even she seems to forget that she is a captive whose people have been taken or killed.

- The flashback scenes to the main characters’s time in school felt disjointed and disrupted the narrative flow. While they hinted at a past connection, they lacked enough depth to meaningfully contribute to the story.

- The motivations of the MMC (Toven) were unclear for most of the book. It is implied that he purchases the FMC at the auction because of lingering feelings for her, but his actions remain ambiguous, and he maintains an emotional distance throughout.

- Both main characters felt one-dimensional, and their relationship lacked compelling chemistry. The romance was slow-burn, but not in a way that built anticipation—it felt underdeveloped. Additionally, the side characters were often more engaging than the protagonists.

- Readers expecting a high level of spice may be disappointed, as the spice is minimal (perhaps a 1🌶️). While I appreciate slow-burn romances, this one didn’t quite deliver.

- The writing was easy to follow, but leaned heavily on telling rather than showing, which may have contributed to my inability to connect with the characters or the story. There was an overall sense that something was missing, making it difficult to stay engaged.

Overall, while the book started strong, the lack of character development, slow pacing, and lackluster storytelling made it a disappointing read for me. I kept waiting for something exciting or meaningful to happen, but it never quite delivered.

I appreciate the opportunity to read an early copy and am grateful to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me.

How do I go on? This book has completely destroyed me, and I fear I don’t know what to do. The wait for book two is going to be so, so hard.

I started Rose in Chains with basically no knowledge of what to expect. Was I in for a surprise! This book was stressful!!! My stomach was in KNOTS the entire time! And it’s also one of my new favorite books?

The storytelling in this book is impeccable. I did not want to put it down for even one second. And when I did have to put it down, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. This is the kind of book that changes you and lives as part of your forever.

I’ve adored everything that I’ve read by Julie Soto, and this was no exception! This book made me an even bigger fan of her work than I already was. I can’t even describe all the feelings I felt while reading Rose in Chains.

I’ve been a long, long time fan of Julie Soto and her writing. The first thing I read anything of her was when she had just started posting the fanfic that inspired this book. I remember waiting every week for a new chapter. Rushing to it when I got the notification that it had been posted. Lingering in the Facebook group as others discussed the chapters. The excitement and frustration at the gif clues Julie would leave us before posting the next chapter (those gifs never revealed ANYTHING but after reading the chapter, they would leave me head banging on my desk in the obviousness).

When she finally finished the fic, I felt empty because she had scraped every emotion possible out of me. To this day, it is still my favorite fanfic I have read (in ALL fandoms).

When I heard she was turning it into a book I was ecstatic, but also a little afraid. How was she going to take the essence of the fic and turn it into original work? But this is Julie Soto, so of course she exceeded my expectations and then some.

I am in love with all of these characters. Briony, my heart; Toven, my soul. Rose in Chains is written in much the same way the fic was written; with elegance and a touch of darkness.

The only thing I dislike is that I am going to have to wait for the next book to come out 😭