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dark
emotional
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:
No
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!
As someone who does not have any experience with the Dramoine fanfic world, I really enjoyed this. If anything, this plot reminded me more of The Legacy series by Melissa K Roehrich, but with less infuriating characters. This was an exciting start to a dark romance series (and it is dark. Especially the first half, so take the trigger warnings seriously) and the romance is perfectly paced for me so far. It’s a very slow burn, which I prefer in a series , otherwise I lose interest. We get lots of little hints that Toven feels more for Briony, but we’re still trying to figure out what’s really going on with him and his family. I’m very intrigued by the magic system and this world and how everything works. I need to know more about this dragon situation, This left me with a lot of questions, but there were enough little pieces of the puzzle sprinkled throughout to make me want to keep reading and figure out where this is going. I also like Briony’s character growth so far. I think she’s level-headed, is always considering the people around her, and makes good decisions. I’m excited to hopefully get to watch her become more confident and lead a revolution.
As someone who does not have any experience with the Dramoine fanfic world, I really enjoyed this. If anything, this plot reminded me more of The Legacy series by Melissa K Roehrich, but with less infuriating characters. This was an exciting start to a dark romance series (and it is dark. Especially the first half, so take the trigger warnings seriously) and the romance is perfectly paced for me so far. It’s a very slow burn, which I prefer in a series , otherwise I lose interest. We get lots of little hints that Toven feels more for Briony, but we’re still trying to figure out what’s really going on with him and his family. I’m very intrigued by the magic system and this world and how everything works. I need to know more about this dragon situation, This left me with a lot of questions, but there were enough little pieces of the puzzle sprinkled throughout to make me want to keep reading and figure out where this is going. I also like Briony’s character growth so far. I think she’s level-headed, is always considering the people around her, and makes good decisions. I’m excited to hopefully get to watch her become more confident and lead a revolution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, Sexual harassment
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
This fantasy was darker than what I typically read but still captivating. It was also my first introduction to anything Dramione-inspired. The slow burn is quite slow friends, but luckily, this is only the first book in the trilogy. I thought the idea for the story was very original because Briony and her people lost the war at the beginning of the story. You don’t typically see a war get lost by the main characters. I’m very intrigued to find out what happens next after the ending. I will say I wasn’t surprised by the plot twist at the end because of other fantasies I’ve read but it’s still a good one. I honestly just can’t wait for more tension and yearning to happen between Toven and Briony in the next two books! Thanks to Forever Publishing, NetGalley and Edelweiss for the advanced copy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent
Minor: Rape
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ARC and ALC review
"Rose in Chains" by Julie Soto is the first book in "The Evermore Trilogy".
Thank you Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction for the ARC and Hachette Audio for the ALC (via Netgalley).
Opinions from this review are completely my own.
Before starting the book I did not know much about it and I have to admit that the cover caught my attention.
Also, I did not read "The Auction".
But I love Julie's contemporary romances and I plan to read all the books she writes.
This is a dark romantic fantasy and I am glad that I read the content warnings first because I was prepared for it to be even darker.
Please check these warnings on the author's website before you start reading.
The story is told from Briony's POV in 3rd person and there is a dual timeline.
Briony is the Eversun princess and she is captured by the enemies, the Bomards.
She is later sold to Toven, a high ranking Bomardsun that is also her long time infatuation (even if she tried to get over it).
From the beginning I liked the writing and the world building.
The book starts in the present and then there are chapters from the past that give more context about how the war started.
But since we only have one POV, there are still many things that remain a mystery until the end of the book (hopefully we get more details in the next book).
The audiobook is narrated by Ella Lynch, that did an amazing job.
She used multiple accents for different people and her male voice is very good.
As Briony she managed to make me feel her emotions and I ended up finishing the book in 2 days.
I recommend an immersive read for this book if possible (listening to the audio while reading the physical/e-book).
The romance part of the story is very slow burn with tension and forced proximity.
They start as enemies and are (almost) lovers.
But what I liked the most is the strength of the women. I cannot say more to avoid spoilers.
There is a twist at the end that I suspected during the book but the epilogue made me what to read the next book as soon as possible.
"Rose in Chains" by Julie Soto is the first book in "The Evermore Trilogy".
Thank you Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction for the ARC and Hachette Audio for the ALC (via Netgalley).
Opinions from this review are completely my own.
Before starting the book I did not know much about it and I have to admit that the cover caught my attention.
Also, I did not read "The Auction".
But I love Julie's contemporary romances and I plan to read all the books she writes.
This is a dark romantic fantasy and I am glad that I read the content warnings first because I was prepared for it to be even darker.
Please check these warnings on the author's website before you start reading.
The story is told from Briony's POV in 3rd person and there is a dual timeline.
Briony is the Eversun princess and she is captured by the enemies, the Bomards.
She is later sold to Toven, a high ranking Bomardsun that is also her long time infatuation (even if she tried to get over it).
From the beginning I liked the writing and the world building.
The book starts in the present and then there are chapters from the past that give more context about how the war started.
But since we only have one POV, there are still many things that remain a mystery until the end of the book (hopefully we get more details in the next book).
The audiobook is narrated by Ella Lynch, that did an amazing job.
She used multiple accents for different people and her male voice is very good.
As Briony she managed to make me feel her emotions and I ended up finishing the book in 2 days.
I recommend an immersive read for this book if possible (listening to the audio while reading the physical/e-book).
The romance part of the story is very slow burn with tension and forced proximity.
They start as enemies and are (almost) lovers.
But what I liked the most is the strength of the women. I cannot say more to avoid spoilers.
There is a twist at the end that I suspected during the book but the epilogue made me what to read the next book as soon as possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Rape
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Uh... How do I even begin?
I am so sad and disappointed. I really enjoyed The Thrashers and I wasn't expecting to. Soto made me enamored with her prose and ability to treat sensitive matters with a lot of respect in that narrative. The gripping paranormal mystery was exciting, she got me to love a mystery thriller which is not usually my jam. So when I found out she wrote a high fantasy book with a forbidden romance with emphasis on the angsty pining? I was sold!
... that is until I read it. What happened? How did the writing quality go so downhill? Why were the characters so flat? Where was that sensitivity to darker and serious materials? And I see some people saying this should been advertised as "Grimdark," and you know, while I feel like that would helped cover the type of material you get in the book adequately, that doesn't fix the hard-to-follow action scenes and some of the writing in general. What I mean is the actual prose itself is confusing, it's not just a taste thing. And I hate to keep bringing up The Thrashers, but I just don't understand. Soto wrote some very vivid and easy to action scenes.(Like swimming, crashing into river, gasping and frantically searching for an inhaler, etc.)
I'm stunned and stumped, not in a good way.
I will not be continuing the series. I'm rounding up to one star. Man... what a bummer...
Uh... How do I even begin?
I am so sad and disappointed. I really enjoyed The Thrashers and I wasn't expecting to. Soto made me enamored with her prose and ability to treat sensitive matters with a lot of respect in that narrative. The gripping paranormal mystery was exciting, she got me to love a mystery thriller which is not usually my jam. So when I found out she wrote a high fantasy book with a forbidden romance with emphasis on the angsty pining? I was sold!
... that is until I read it. What happened? How did the writing quality go so downhill? Why were the characters so flat? Where was that sensitivity to darker and serious materials? And I see some people saying this should been advertised as "Grimdark," and you know, while I feel like that would helped cover the type of material you get in the book adequately, that doesn't fix the hard-to-follow action scenes and some of the writing in general. What I mean is the actual prose itself is confusing, it's not just a taste thing. And I hate to keep bringing up The Thrashers, but I just don't understand. Soto wrote some very vivid and easy to action scenes.
I'm stunned and stumped, not in a good way.
I will not be continuing the series. I'm rounding up to one star. Man... what a bummer...
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, War
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!!!
3.5 stars.
This was a highly anticipated read for me and I was so happy to get an early copy…
I feel like I went through multiple phases with this book. The beginning hooked me pretty quickly and I felt like I had an easy time getting pulled into the story. I feel like the world building was relatively easy to understand and I was able to imagine the world pretty well based on the writing. I do think the politics and succession was kind of confusing and there were a lot of characters to remember, but it felt pretty well thought out. I appreciated the tension between the two main characters and felt that the flashbacks really helped to give more context to their relationship and set the scene for a sort of enemies to lovers situation.
Some complaints…
After finishing this book, I just kept thinking that it felt incomplete. I know it is meant to be the start of a series, so I expected it to leave us with a conflict that will need to be completed in the other books, but I just felt like we were lacking when it came to a lot of things. The ending felt rushed, and really lacked any sort of wrapping up of ANY parts of the plot. The relationship between the main characters felt like it reset completely back to where it was at the beginning of the book and we lost all progress. I also feel like, honestly, not that much actually happened in this book. I know sometimes first books in a series can be like that as they are providing a lot of setup… but this book felt like so much filler and borderline repetition that didn’t advance the plot as much as I wanted. Also, if you love a slow-burn then THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. There was tension, there was like… suggestive dialogue and longing and dreaming of each other……. but they did not even so much as KISS until 95% into the book. I like a slow burn but it was hard to wait that long for any sort of progress.
Overall there were things I enjoyed and things that I did not. I’m honestly unsure at the moment if this will be a series I continue or not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While reading, I felt every emotion from grief, hate, to fangirling over Toven Hearst. Without spoilers, this book follows a bright princess named Briony Rosewood, who has a strong affinity for mind magic. Her kingdom is invaded, and Briony and many other women are kidnapped and auctioned into slavery. The mysterious Toven Hearst, her former crush at school, purchases her at the auction. As the people from her kingdom continue to rebel, Briony has to find out where her friends are, and if there is any hope in escaping her new "home," Hearst Hall. The book switches between present day and flashbacks, and slowly unravels the characters' backstories and their relationships with each other.
For those who don't know, Rose in Chains is based off of Julie Soto's fanfiction, The Auction, which is one of the holy grails of the Draco x Hermione fandom community. The Auction was one of the first fanfictions I read when I was first getting introduced to Dramione, and it is one of my favorite fanfictions of all time. I feel like those who read The Auction will also love Rose in Chains. I wonder what inspired her new naming conventions as well (i.e. Hearst Hall vs. Malfoy Manor), and I'd honestly like to see a behind the scenes on how she went through editing this book. Getting to see this story given new life and new fans makes me so happy, and I'm so happy for Julie Soto. I already know this book is going to be a huge hit and I'm excited to see where it leads next.
I thought it might be weird seeing this story rewritten with a new cast of characters --- I felt the Harry Potter characters and universe was so crucial to the original story --- but I enjoyed meeting Toven Hearst and Briony Rosewood and seeing a new magic system take place. I loved seeing flashbacks of their academic rivalry and the scenes under the willow tree at the lake. The slow burn tension between them is SO good, and I love their dialogue banter. Toven Hearst is definitely being added to the list of book boyfriends (I have a soft spot for misunderstood, morally grey characters; bonus points if they're Draco Malfoy-coded haha).
Just a note: This book is not for the faint of heart. It deals with very dark themes, and essentially human trafficking/slavery. Trigger warnings for this book include: death, murder, bullying, confinement, drug use, misogyny, physical abuse, racism, sexism, sexual assault/violence, slavery, xenophobia/bigotry, trafficking, kidnapping, grief, sexual harassment, war, drug use, rape, torture, abortion, etc. Be warned!
There isn't spice in this book; however, I have a feeling there will likely be spice in the sequel. Julie Soto, you are amazing and I cannot wait for the next book in the Evermore Series!
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the advanced copy!
For those who don't know, Rose in Chains is based off of Julie Soto's fanfiction, The Auction, which is one of the holy grails of the Draco x Hermione fandom community. The Auction was one of the first fanfictions I read when I was first getting introduced to Dramione, and it is one of my favorite fanfictions of all time. I feel like those who read The Auction will also love Rose in Chains. I wonder what inspired her new naming conventions as well (i.e. Hearst Hall vs. Malfoy Manor), and I'd honestly like to see a behind the scenes on how she went through editing this book. Getting to see this story given new life and new fans makes me so happy, and I'm so happy for Julie Soto. I already know this book is going to be a huge hit and I'm excited to see where it leads next.
I thought it might be weird seeing this story rewritten with a new cast of characters --- I felt the Harry Potter characters and universe was so crucial to the original story --- but I enjoyed meeting Toven Hearst and Briony Rosewood and seeing a new magic system take place. I loved seeing flashbacks of their academic rivalry and the scenes under the willow tree at the lake. The slow burn tension between them is SO good, and I love their dialogue banter. Toven Hearst is definitely being added to the list of book boyfriends (I have a soft spot for misunderstood, morally grey characters; bonus points if they're Draco Malfoy-coded haha).
Just a note: This book is not for the faint of heart. It deals with very dark themes, and essentially human trafficking/slavery. Trigger warnings for this book include: death, murder, bullying, confinement, drug use, misogyny, physical abuse, racism, sexism, sexual assault/violence, slavery, xenophobia/bigotry, trafficking, kidnapping, grief, sexual harassment, war, drug use, rape, torture, abortion, etc. Be warned!
There isn't spice in this book; however, I have a feeling there will likely be spice in the sequel. Julie Soto, you are amazing and I cannot wait for the next book in the Evermore Series!
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the advanced copy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, War
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Rape, Torture, Abortion
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I want to start by saying I am a huge Dramione fan and read Julie Soto’s Auction last year. I loved the Auction and of course I loved this. Now you can definitely see The Auction in this book, the sameish characters, the places they go, etc. but Soto does an amazing job making this all hers.
The story is about a Princess named Briony who is on the losing side of the war. She gets auctioned off to her enemy (?) Toven Hearst who belongs to a family that is loyal to the new regime. Briony comes to find out things aren’t always as they seem and starts looking at Toven and his family differently. Along with the present storyline, Soto takes us back in time when both Briony and Toven are at school together. She does a great job showing the dynamics between the two as the flashbacks start coming closer to the future.
Soto’s world building is well done and I don’t feel like I’m missing much. I do wish we had a better look at the other countries and what exact time frame we are looking at. Are we medieval times or present? There are castles but also mansions. It’s not a huge deal it’s definitely not distracting but it’s something that may bother others.
The characters are well developed and multi faceted. I’m in love with Toven. The smirks, the snark, drool. Briony is your classic romantasy female but less whiny, and less best at everything they do. The chemistry between the two is fantastic. It’s not insta lust or love. It’s very much a slow burn where you can actually see how the characters are falling for each other. We still don’t know all of Toven’s motivations but the audience can definitely make some predictions.
I love the slow burn, it’s fantastic, but my romance loving heart is like whhhhy Julie?! I want more nooow, but she’s going to make us wait for that in the sequel.
Definitely one of my favorite reads of the year! I can’t wait to get all the copies, and of course the sequel!
Thank you to Forever and Edelweiss for the arc!
The story is about a Princess named Briony who is on the losing side of the war. She gets auctioned off to her enemy (?) Toven Hearst who belongs to a family that is loyal to the new regime. Briony comes to find out things aren’t always as they seem and starts looking at Toven and his family differently. Along with the present storyline, Soto takes us back in time when both Briony and Toven are at school together. She does a great job showing the dynamics between the two as the flashbacks start coming closer to the future.
Soto’s world building is well done and I don’t feel like I’m missing much. I do wish we had a better look at the other countries and what exact time frame we are looking at. Are we medieval times or present? There are castles but also mansions. It’s not a huge deal it’s definitely not distracting but it’s something that may bother others.
The characters are well developed and multi faceted. I’m in love with Toven. The smirks, the snark, drool. Briony is your classic romantasy female but less whiny, and less best at everything they do. The chemistry between the two is fantastic. It’s not insta lust or love. It’s very much a slow burn where you can actually see how the characters are falling for each other. We still don’t know all of Toven’s motivations but the audience can definitely make some predictions.
I love the slow burn, it’s fantastic, but my romance loving heart is like whhhhy Julie?! I want more nooow, but she’s going to make us wait for that in the sequel.
Definitely one of my favorite reads of the year! I can’t wait to get all the copies, and of course the sequel!
Thank you to Forever and Edelweiss for the arc!
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Violence
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence
Moderate: Rape
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Please be aware of all TW before reading!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Trafficking
Minor: Death, Rape, War
dark
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first few chapters of Rose in Chains were agonizingly clunky to the point that I almost DNFed multiple times. The only reason I pushed through is because some of my friends who’d also gotten an advance copy assured me that it did get better. But those first chapters? The writing was stiff and stilted and the characters were flat and monotone. I did not believe for even a second that any of these people liked each other, which is rough given that two of them were twins.
There are also just so many names being used in the beginning and it is overwhelming because there isn’t much context for who these people are and why I should keep track of them (spoiler, I’ve given up on trying).
The book finally found its footing after the auction, when there was time to focus on Briony, Toven, and a few supporting characters rather than spend every other paragraph full-naming every single named character.
If you’re wondering does this read like a fanfiction? The answer is yes and no. Yes, because it felt like more of a serial polishing than a serial filing. No, because the first 20% of the book could really have used some fanfic magic of already caring about the characters to make it palatable.
I wish that the marketing was less focused on the IP that the fic was originally based on, especially given how much of a shitshow that author is, and that the book had done a better job of distancing itself from that original IP.
Will I continue on with this series? Probably. Am I going to be getting any of the five bajillion special editions? No.
Even though I did end up enjoying the majority of the book, because of how many times I nearly DNFed and how much the series didn’t even try to pretend that it was an original story instead of a fanfic with renamed characters and magic, I cannot in good conscience give this anything above a 3 star rating.
Thank you to Forever for the arc, I’m sad I didn’t like this more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Rape, War