Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Rose in Chains by Julie Soto

152 reviews

dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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dark sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Everyone should read this book. That being said, mind the triggers. 

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dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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fun and very fanfic-y IF you know what you’re getting yourself into. read the content warnings, kids, they’re no joke.
I know this started out as a fanfic, so I feel like it tempers some of my criticisms for sure. I wish briony was more knowable, it really feels like we’re supposed to depend on the context of herminone, but herminone was more interesting bc she was given more time and attention. I wish she had had more anger, more inquisitiveness, more conversations w Toven (the lack of direct dialogue between the two of them was a major problem — I’m guessing in an attempt to pull the book out into a trilogy but as the 1 person who reads my storygraph reviews would know (hi em) that I really hate when authors draw out a story to make a series longer, but I digress) because at times she felt like a passive character in a storyline where she is supposed to be the most important political character???? her acceptance to life w toven was also just kinda passive like that? idk. Didn’t love it. I wish there had been a little more world building, again a failing of this originating from a fanfic and maybe not getting the rigorous editing it needed (no tea no shade to great stories that started off as fanfics, it just needs more to stand alone in a universe of its own) and I really feel like we should have gotten more out of the toven x briony dynamic and briony x the hearsts more generally — again, that that’s being pulled out for big “surprises” in book two throws of the pacing and takes me as a reader out of the story bc I get irked that I spent 400+ pages waiting for Orion, or Larissa, or (Godforbid) toven to make even an inking of a confession instead of just hinting at it. and it wasn’t like that build up that we’ll have to wait a year+ for was surpassed by good tension/dynamics/yearning/politics but again!!!! I! Digress!
anyways yes again it was fun will read book 2 & need to hear a @baskinsuns review on this ASAP also also two things: not the best slow burn I’ve ever seen (thank you Sara Hashem for destroying me for life) and also I don’t have the same critiques/hang ups about dramonie inspired romances bc I find Draco to be such a pathetic, deeply uninteresting villain in the original series (and his whole family tbh) that when a Draco inspired character is written in a plausibly interesting way it’s so easy to separate that romance from the origins. if that makes sense. 

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was really interesting to me - all of the politics and world building made me both so interested and frustrated because I just want to know all of it and everything going on. I will say this gets pretty dark and points, but it all felt necessary to building the story rather than just adding it needlessly traumatic events for each character. 

The ending!! The ending!! I want the next book like literally right now.

The audiobook narration for this is soso well done - Ella Lynch does such an amazing job with this overall and her voice was just literally MADE to be a narrator. 

Thank you to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

"He knew yesterday that they were coming. He knew they'd find her untouched, and he'd ransacked the library for a solution to his problem.

Briony's breath hitched at the realization that he'd skipped over the easiest one."
--

If you're a fan of dark romantasy with high-stakes angst and a palpable enemies-to-lovers tension, this book is for you. 

From the start, the story plunges you into a world of magic, historical politics, and morally grey characters that will keep you guessing.

For those familiar with the source material ("The Auction"), the general plot feels comfortingly familiar—
until the last couple of chapters, where the story takes a surprising and welcome turn.


The unexpected twist makes the journey worthwhile for both new readers and longtime fans.

The narrative is told through a third-person limited point of view, primarily following the thoughts of Briony. Her perspective makes her a wonderfully unreliable narrator, adding a layer of intrigue as you try to decipher the truth from her perception of events. This limited viewpoint, along with a dual timeline structure, provides a fascinating look into the complex and often dark nature of Toven, and a deeper understanding of why Briony is drawn to him.

-- 
"If she could hear one sound for the rest of her life, she wanted it to be Toven Hearst moaning her name."
--

And the romance? She's a slight slow burn in this one for sure, but the yearning between the two is undeniable.

Julie Soto masterfully builds the romantic tension, and I am eager to see how Briony and Toven's feelings will develop in the next two installments of the series, in which I'm sure the stakes will become higher
higher

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fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

I just can't believe my eyes!!!! This is the same author who wrote The Auction. 😑

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