A lot darker than I expected and as much as I enjoy this author’s writing I couldn’t get into this one like I was hoping to. 2.5 stars

This was just so interesting. The concept felt a bit inspired by The Handmaids Tale and so the themes did get a little bit darker at times. And important to note is that despite this being a Romantasy, it is very slow burn. But especially the dragon plotline got me really hooked at the end. I am looking forward to see how this story unfolds, since this is only the first book in a series.

Princess Briony Rosewood has lost everything, her family, and her people have lost the war against the Bomardi. She has lost all hope, then she is captured and sold off to the highest bidder. She wasn't expecting for her childhood school enemy Toven Hearst to win her, but she is determined to find a way to make right everything she believes in.

This book was exactly want I wanted it to be, I just wish we had gotten all of the story in one volume but alas I understand why the story was spilt the way it was. My only gripe is the world building needed a bit more fleshing out. The author did a good job of separating this story from it's original form, but in doing that the world and magic system needed to change and I am not sure all the information we needed was presented. The romance was delicious and had me on the edge of my seat. I just loved the story and the direction it is going in. I am eagerly waiting the next part of the story.

Julie,Julie ,Julie hello you dark smutty queen you !! thank you so much for letting me review the audio and book i felt very very lucky.


The war is lost , there is no hero , the princess is a prisoner all is lost or is it .........

i am in love with this world , the characters and the plot i would live in this world's main character { princess ] yes please !!

it is so dark and sinister brilliant dark fantasy tie me up and gag me now !! one of my favourite slow burn stories this year , you could leave me in this dark romance story forever .

i have read the book and listened to the audio wow the way the narrators bring these characters to life made my spine tingle , i thought the flashback parts helped me understand them all better . the world building is a chef kiss .

Julie writing i have no words she knows how to suck you in and live in this book forever .i am totally invested in this story my dark-side is ready for more that for sure . I am happy to go sit in Julie's head cause i love how she thinks outside the box .

i am giving this book 5 delicious dark stars

4.5⭐️
The tension and yearning was delicious! This was truly slow burn, I kept screaming just kiss already!
But of course due to circumstances it made sense to be slow burn.
This is dark so check trigger warnings etc but I am known to love a dark fantasy so this was amazing.

It jumped straight in there in the beginning and took off running, I really enjoyed the flashback chapters as well because it added context to their relationship as well as helped me get to know side characters, they also felt short so I thought they were balanced well with present time.

I was on the edge of my seat at the end, scared for them which is how I know I’m invested.
I hope book 2 is dual pov or even multiple povs because I want to see what the side characters are up to as well, specifically Sammy.

Excited to continue this series and hear more about this dragon…

I very much enjoyed this book and the world it was set. One thing that annoyed me is how she was stubborn to see that she was being taken care of so good considering her circumstances. However I can relate because I'm same, but it's not nice reading about yourself lol. But anyway, Toven, OMG another male character to gush over, yes queen. I stan for a I will take care of her even if she hates me, such a king.

Julie didn't and still doesn't deserve the hate she got.

I just finished *Rose in Chains* by Julie Soto and… wow. This book completely flipped my expectations in the best way. The war is already lost, the hero is gone, and Princess Briony is now a prisoner. It's dark and intense, but also so emotionally layered. And then there’s Toven Hearst—complicated, broody, and tied to Briony’s past in a way that had me *hooked*. The tension between them?? Unreal. I couldn’t stop reading. If you’re into magic, morally gray characters, and enemies-to-lovers that make your heart ache a little, this one’s for you.

I’m not well. Rose in Chains completely devoured me, dark, intense, addictive. I went in for the slow burn and the morally grey enemies-to-lovers dynamic, and left clawing for more.

I am a big fan of Soto’s contemporary romances and was really looking forward to this book, so DNFing this book truly hurt.
This book just wasn’t for me. There are a lot of darker themes in this story, and I’m not one to usually shy away from that, but I couldn’t get past the degradation and constant hinting at SA.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for the ARC!

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I requested this ARC. The cover was stunning, and the blurb hinted at an intense dark romantasy - two of my favorite sub-genres. I had to pause, though, once I read the content and trigger warnings. The darker elements mentioned (especially captivity and power imbalance) aren’t typically what I look for, so I dipped my feet in slowly, getting used to Briony and her fate slowly, taking breaks in the first few chapters (Be mindful of the TWs).

This book surprised me in the best way. Because once the initial tough chapters were over, I couldn't stop turning the pages.

After the fall of her kingdom and her twin brother, Briony is thrown into the darkest pit of danger. The overthrown 'nevermore' kingdom, stolen magic, and people on the 'good' side of the war subjugated by the evil side - the plot is filled with treachery, secrets, mystery, and the pain of the protagonist and her kingdom's people.

Briony, as a protagonist, is resilient, even if her growth felt slow. What made me root for her is how she quietly endures. She’s not fierce in the traditional way - but she survives (A realistic heroine, I would say). And when faced with unclear motives and harsh truths, she keeps going.

Then there’s Toven—her captor, protector, enigma. He’s as morally grey as they come: harsh in words, kind in small, hidden actions. You don’t know what to make of him in the beginning. He can be cruel, but you also realize he’s been shielding Briony in subtle ways. I’m still not sure if I like him, but he’s compelling in that “should I trust you or run?” way.

The worldbuilding is incredible - the magic system and power struggles between two sets of people (Heart and Mind), the political setup, the cruelty. Briony didn't have to face many of the darker parts that her friends faced. I am not sure if Toven was actually an anti-hero with no moral compass; would she have been able to survive that? It was horrifying to read those parts. The captivity theme is expanded on, which Briony witnesses, and I was scared about what would happen to them. Briony, though, does her best, in her way, to help or think of getting them help somehow.

There's no romance in this one. Yes, there's this chemistry between Toven and Briony. Briony's past crush and the very subtle actions of Toven and his family, but they only share one kiss. It's a slow burn, enemies to tentative allies. The book ends on a hopeful note - and I cannot wait to read that.

If you're looking for a dark romantasy (mid-dark romance), this is your book!

I read a few reviews saying this was a Dramione fanfic, and I didn't pick up on it, so I think it stands out!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️

I really enjoyed this book. The dual timeline added so much depth and tension to the story and kept me hooked the whole way through. I loved the chemistry between Briony and Toven; the tension, the longing, and the enemies-to-lovers dynamic were so well done. I loved that we got an eye into their past and history, it made every interaction between them feel loaded with tension. This book was a lot darker than I expected. It was bleak but beautiful and filled with rich, emotional layers. I'm very excited for the next book because after that ending, I need to know what happens next.

A dark and romantic premise. I did enjoy this read, there are some very dark themes but I felt they were well handled and interesting. I enjoyed the back and fourth in time between the past and present and getting to know how all the characters linked together. The dynamic between Toven and Briony was tense and delicious and I loved the journey they went on. I did find the pacing to get a bit too slow in the middle portion of the book but the end was very exciting and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next.

If I could give this book six stars I would. I devoured it in less than 24 hours and I am OBSESSED.
I will be rocking in a corner crying until book 2 comes out in December 2026

I absolutely loved this book. It was one of those books that your hooked from that first chapter.
The world building was fantastic and so descriptive that I felt I could see what was being described to me.
The characters were really well written and they had such depth to them. I liked seeing how the characters interacted with each other and why. The relationship between our two main characters was so well written and came across so well. I liked that it was slow and filled with issues showing things aren’t perfect.
The plot was perfect and I felt that it had a good steady pace, I liked that it had a main plot but also sub plots too.
This book makes you feel a whole range of mixed emotions throughout the whole book which is something I love. The feelings came across so well in the writing.
I really enjoyed the authors writing style and felt it flowed so nicely. I read from this author before and I’d definitely read from them again.
I definitely recommend this book and I look forward to seeing what comes next.

i really tried to love this book but i just couldn’t get into it. the world building was really difficult to immerse myself in and i ended up just not caring about the characters or what was going to happen.

big thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this arc.

five stars.

(this is gonna be the shortest review ever but it is wellllll past midnight and one does have to work come morning. such is the life of a commoner. 🥲)

i have had this arc sitting on my kindle for MONTHS, and i am slapping myself for not picking this up sooner. this would have magically (no pun intended) cured my reading slump. twice over. (pun intended.)

anyways. if you know me, you know i am a huge sucker for slowburns, and THIS, this was a slowburn if i ever saw one. the tension was delicious, the morals were gray, the pacing was perfect. and i ATE it up. i need more asap. thank you. gib book 2 plz.

This was such a good read, it was darker than I thought, but nothing unexpected after the trigger warnings. this is a change for Soto but it was done very well. The magic system was so cool and I needed to know what would happen next.

I’ve been a long time Julie Soto fan and was a massive fan of the original fanfiction this work stemmed from so this was one of my most anticipated releases of this year. Unfortunately life happened and I wasn’t able to sit down and read it as soon as I would’ve liked but it was well worth the wait. This was wonderfully adapted into an original work and I cannot wait for its sequel.

Rose in Chains was a lot darker than I anticipated, so I would highly recommend reading the trigger warnings at the start of the book. It's hard to read in sections as the way women are treated is horrible, but there are other parts of the book that kept me reading for the mystery and romantic elements. I love the flashbacks weaved into the story of Toven and Briony in school, their small interactions and how those build over time in different ways. there's so much in this book that I want to know more about; what is mallows overall objective? why is she so powerful despite the Hearsts being just as powerful as her but far more secretive of it? what is the political agenda of the Hearsts and where does their alligence lie? and is Briony or Toven the prophesies one? I can't wait to read book 2! the end of book one got really exciting with different mind magic being revealed and developments in the slow burn romance. Book 2 is going to really shine some light on a lot of these questions and I can't wait to read it.

As a Dramione girl, you may or may not imagine the scream I gave when they announced that The Auction would become a traditionally published book, that it would have its changes but that the essence that characterizes the fic would still be there.

And even more so when they approved this ARC, and I can confidently say that it has been up to the task and has left me wanting more.

The war is over, and the good guys have lost. As sister of the chosen one and part of the losing side Briony Rosewood is taken captive and sold to the highest bidder, who is none other than Toven Hearst, her former academic rival and the heir to the most prestigious enemy magical family.

Through forced proximity, these acquaintances navigate through various adversities as they try not to let the tension and the growing longing that engulfs them fall away.

All of this is given to us by Julie in a yarn wrapped in politics, magic, romance, duty and endurance, as she shows us many themes that may be sensitive to some parties.

They will love Toven, this deathly gray, proud, intelligent being, and totally chained to Briony, which we know, love interest material.

And Briony, I can't wait to know more about her in the next books, because what we saw here, I know is just the introduction to all that magical potential and intelligence that I know is going to explode.

So, I NEED THE NEXT BOOK ALREADY!!!

DRAMIONE WINNING!!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.