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challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Es war ein wirklich gutes Buch und ich werde auf jeden Fall, denn nächsten Band lesen, jedoch war er ,besonders in der Mitte, etwas schleppend und es wurden immer wieder Sachen wiederholt. Ich weiß, dass es mal eine fanfiction war, bei denen solche Wiederholungen oft nötig sind, da zwischen den Kapiteln viel Zeit liegt. Trotzdem bin der Meinung man hätte das, vor der Veröffentlichung, beheben müssen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
"When the sun shines at night, he who will bring an end to war on this land shall be victorious. He shall be an heir, twice over, and a rightful sovereign over the continent." - The Prophecy
New to me, author Julie Soto surprised the heck out of me with Rose In Chains. Action packed and atmospheric, this story of rivals to lovers, mostly, employs two types of magic – mind magic and heart magic. Each Kingdom has its own magic, and that is that, or is it? The children of each kingdom are schooled together. One year in Evermore and the next in Bomard. Until the King of Evermore is killed leaving Briony and her brother Rory orphans and Rory King ultimately giving chance to the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy of a King Twice Over.
On the day we meet Briony, it is the day of the Eclipse. But her Kingdom is defeated, her brother presumed dead, and she is put up for auction as a “heartspring”(read and you'll understand) and purchased by her longtime Rival. And this is where the fun begins.
I listened to this on audiobook and kept it on 1x. I didn't speed it up at all. I savored each morsel of speech. I became in the setting, as it shocked me, awed me, sometimes amused me, and ultimately made me cheer.
What I loved:
🦊Vesper, Toven's Jealous Fox Familiar. She gets the first nod in what did I love. Way to go, Vesper!
🩶Despite himself, Toven was kind to Briony. Mostly. Sometimes he is a donkey's rear end. Sometimes he has to act that way.
🤍Toven's Mother. I adore how she treats Briony. You'll see.
🩶Toven's Father. Sometimes he seems gruff but ultimately, his priority is devotion to his family.
🤍Briony's twin Rory
🌻Briony is not a delicate flower. She is a fighter. Not just for herself but for others. Even for Toven.
What I liked:
🚫Toven refusing to take place in the fights using Briony as a heartspring
🤟Briony's camaraderie with the other girls who have been auctioned as slaves.
🫶Notable Side Characters who bring life to this story.
Will I read/listen to the next book? You bet your bippy I will! This book entertained me, kept me engaged the entire way through and left me screaming “MORE!!!!”.
Why should you read this book?
🌎Amazing Worldbuilding
🎭Political Intrigue
🩶Moral Gray MMC
😈Feisty FMC
🪄 Two different Magic Systems
🪆Cultural Biases
🤫Secret Pining
🙇♂️🙇♀️Forced Proximity
And, I would not compare it to any other series out there. Rose In Chains stands on its own as an individual Book One of a series. I congratulate Julie Soto for her accomplishment.
I'd like to thank the Author and Hachette Audio Group for this gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.
#roseinchains #juliesoto #hachetteaudio #booksaboutmagic #atmosphericbooks #fantasyreads
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I picked this up to read a day and a half ago, because I randomly read about the issue re: the author attending (and then not attending) an event for romantasy authors. Something about how this published fic was originally HP fanfic for Dramione and people didn't want to support the author and her novel because of the HP association.
I would say in this case it worked in her favor because it got me looking into her novel, and it turns out it was just what I needed to read and pull me out of a reading slump. It's not the best or original, sure, but it engaged me and I enjoyed reading it, so I would say it's somewhere between a 3.0 and 3.5 for me.
I'm curious why / how the Hearsts are powerful, what's Mallow's story (I just wish she wasn't Mallow because part of me keeps thinking of the word marshmallow lmao sorry), what's the dragon about and how does it come to play with mind magic and heart magic, if Toven and Briony are about to be a power couple with their talented magical energy and deprived will-they-or-won't-they sexual tension lol. The cliffhanger ending has me hooked too... only I have to wait til December 2026?!
I would say in this case it worked in her favor because it got me looking into her novel, and it turns out it was just what I needed to read and pull me out of a reading slump. It's not the best or original, sure, but it engaged me and I enjoyed reading it, so I would say it's somewhere between a 3.0 and 3.5 for me.
I'm curious why / how the Hearsts are powerful, what's Mallow's story (I just wish she wasn't Mallow because part of me keeps thinking of the word marshmallow lmao sorry), what's the dragon about and how does it come to play with mind magic and heart magic, if Toven and Briony are about to be a power couple with their talented magical energy and deprived will-they-or-won't-they sexual tension lol. The cliffhanger ending has me hooked too... only I have to wait til December 2026?!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence
Moderate: Rape, Trafficking, Murder
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, War
Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma
Minor: Death, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
medium-paced
I had a fun time reading this! I had trouble getting into it at first, but by 50% I was pretty invested. It was a lot darker than I expected, and I definitely recommend checking trigger warnings!!! I think the magic system is very interesting but there is definitely a need for more world building. I got confused because there were so many characters and it was hard to tell who was important. I’m excited for the second book to come out!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infertility, Sexual content, Grief, Abortion
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a really pleasant surprise, I had a lot of fun reading this!
Having read the fic, I was already familiar with most of the plot, but I genuinely had a good time spotting all the changes she had to make.
In this version, our mcs were just as messy, but our fmc was a quite bit sassier, which led to their banter being even spicier. I didn’t even think that was possible, but my god! I also thoroughly enjoyed the way their years of rivalry and yearning were effortlessly told over the dual timeline.
But the change that really stood out to me was the familial connection between Briony and Rory. It was an unexpected twist, but I think it was the perfect way to maintain their bond & friendship without resorting to years of exposition. It felt so authentic to the og characters that it didn’t feel like too much of a leap for them.
I could have given this a higher rating, but the magic system was a bit confusing at times, and some of the names, like Briony, Hearst, and Biltmore, gave me the ick.
Even having read the fic, Rose in Chains ends in a spot that has me itching for the next one! So, I am going to need that second book asap because that ending! Is our FMC going to get a dragon?!?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, War
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I usually love a good slow burn romance, but wow—this one really puts the slow in slow burn. I went in with high expectations for the romance, and honestly, I ended up pretty disappointed. There just wasn’t much of it, and I didn’t even feel that typical yearning or tension you’d expect. It started off strong, but then… not a whole lot happened for a while.
There were also a lot of characters mentioned briefly, and I had a hard time keeping track of who was actually important. The world felt like it was already fully built before we got there, but not enough was explained for me to feel fully immersed. That said, we did get flashbacks every now and then—however, I’m not sure how I felt about them. For me, they didn’t really add to the worldbuilding and mostly just felt like filler chapters.
Definitely check the content warnings before reading. It’s not super graphic, but it does touch on some heavy topics like captivity, trafficking, off-page rape and abuse, plus focus on virginity and fertility.
I listened to the audiobook and truly enjoyed the narration—honestly, I think that’s what kept me going. I’m not sure I would’ve enjoyed the physical copy as much, even though the story itself didn’t totally land for me.
Overall, I did like the concept, and I think I might’ve appreciated it more if I’d gone in with different expectations. Even though I saw the big cliffhanger coming, I’m still curious enough to keep reading and see what happens next.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment
dark
tense
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, War
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you @hachetteaudio for the complimentary audiobook!
#𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 • #𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚜
♡₊˚⊹ Top tier romantasy: loved the writing, felt invested in the leads. This takes obvious inspiration the handmaids tale, so do mind the trigger warnings. although it’s low spice, there’s lots of slow burning tension.
I will comment for those wondering how close this is to the original fanfic, that as someone who hadn’t read the auction, I wouldn’t have known this was based on dramione had I not been told. The world has been changed significantly to the point that this felt more like a new romantasy world, not at all related to muggles or even the magic system.
Cons: Because the world is so changed, side characters would benefit from additional development. It was hard to logic out their motivations. Finally, the ending is very abrupt and to be continued... in book 2.
▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||။|• 🎧 Great narration by Ella Lynch on audio! Easy to follow and love her accent.
#𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 • #𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚜
♡₊˚⊹ Top tier romantasy: loved the writing, felt invested in the leads. This takes obvious inspiration the handmaids tale, so do mind the trigger warnings. although it’s low spice, there’s lots of slow burning tension.
I will comment for those wondering how close this is to the original fanfic, that as someone who hadn’t read the auction, I wouldn’t have known this was based on dramione had I not been told. The world has been changed significantly to the point that this felt more like a new romantasy world, not at all related to muggles or even the magic system.
Cons: Because the world is so changed, side characters would benefit from additional development. It was hard to logic out their motivations. Finally, the ending is very abrupt and to be continued... in book 2.
▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||။|• 🎧 Great narration by Ella Lynch on audio! Easy to follow and love her accent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism