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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
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:
Yes
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Talk about slow burn, enemies to lovers! Despite being a bit of a tease đ, this is a fun read. Definitely left me sad about having to wait for book two. Kind of reads a bit like a good draft of a book instead of a polished, completed story at times, but that didn't make me enjoy it any less. Definitely recommend, especially if you like dramione vibes.
I was so hyped for this book. I read the fanfic that it originated as and loved it. I can say that this story is so good. Its draws you in. The tension between the two main characters is done so well. And the flashbacks are weaved through beautifully. I cannot wait for the continuation.
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:
Complicated
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I didn't realize this was "The Auction" haven't read it but now I want to.
I went into Rose in Chains fully expecting to be obsessed. The premise had me in a chokehold: enemies, a war-torn fantasy world, a fierce princess stuck in enemy territory, and a love interest with serious âdonât catch feelingsâ energy, so I figured it was a done deal.
But oof⌠this was a bit of a slow climb.
I kept turning pages waiting for somethingâanythingâto snap into place, but the first chunk just kind of wandered. The plot was there, but it felt like it was taking its sweet time figuring out what it wanted to do. I didnât hate it, I just kept waiting for that click. You know the one. And it didnât really come until the final third of the book. Legit, is this main character THAT dense??? I believe the main male character even asked her the same question.
Then suddenlyâboom! and I was finally invested. The last stretch absolutely delivered. If the whole book had felt like that? Game over. Iâd be yelling from rooftops.
Special shoutout to the epilogue because it lowkey saved the entire thing for me. It gave just enough tease for whatâs coming nextâand now Iâm excited for the sequel. Also, if a certain new character doesnât have a bigger role in book two, I will riot.
Overall I really enjoyed it! That beginning part was a bit rough but that I think was just me. Just be warned there are a lot of trigger warnings.
Sexual Content: heavy
spice-o-meter: 1 chili pepper (the "good" kind of spice)
Violence: heavy
Drugs/alcohol: moderate
LGBTQ: I don't think so
I went into Rose in Chains fully expecting to be obsessed. The premise had me in a chokehold: enemies, a war-torn fantasy world, a fierce princess stuck in enemy territory, and a love interest with serious âdonât catch feelingsâ energy, so I figured it was a done deal.
But oof⌠this was a bit of a slow climb.
I kept turning pages waiting for somethingâanythingâto snap into place, but the first chunk just kind of wandered. The plot was there, but it felt like it was taking its sweet time figuring out what it wanted to do. I didnât hate it, I just kept waiting for that click. You know the one. And it didnât really come until the final third of the book. Legit, is this main character THAT dense??? I believe the main male character even asked her the same question.
Then suddenlyâboom! and I was finally invested. The last stretch absolutely delivered. If the whole book had felt like that? Game over. Iâd be yelling from rooftops.
Special shoutout to the epilogue because it lowkey saved the entire thing for me. It gave just enough tease for whatâs coming nextâand now Iâm excited for the sequel. Also, if a certain new character doesnât have a bigger role in book two, I will riot.
Overall I really enjoyed it! That beginning part was a bit rough but that I think was just me. Just be warned there are a lot of trigger warnings.
Sexual Content: heavy
spice-o-meter: 1 chili pepper (the "good" kind of spice)
Violence: heavy
Drugs/alcohol: moderate
LGBTQ: I don't think so
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Find the full review with representation information and trigger warnings on my blog.
Briony is the princess of Evermore who never expected her future to be much more than being married off in a political match as part of a peace treaty, but when Evermore is conquered by the leader of Bomard, she is sold off in an auction to her academy frenemy. She must navigate her new gilded cage while attempting to regain agency and figure out who is a threat to her and who will help.
I would like to preface this review by stating that I am not judging this book because it is a modification of a Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger fanfiction. It is, however, unfortunate that this novel carried along with it some of the more common tropes in the pairing of a male character who bullies a female character, calling her an in-universe racial slur and targeting her for her âlesserâ status. There isnât an overt racism issue in this novel, but thatâs probably the best thing I can say about its political and social implications. If you look a little deeper, however, there are racism issues. The Evermore citizens are effectively treated with a version of in-universe racism, and the author does not seem to bother to deconstruct this at all or address that Tovenâs family, who she attempts to redeem, are essentially racists who she is trying to redeem. The entire novel smacks of the âNot all slave owners are bad, actually, some of them treated their slaves nicely and like their familyâ type of rhetoric. Thereâs also the unfortunate fact that sex slavery is being treated effectively as a fun, spooky backdrop for a romance, which seems deeply unfortunate given that human trafficking is a significant real-world issue, the scars that slavery has left on the United States and the fact that in 94 countries in the world, slavery is still not a crime.
Briony is the princess of Evermore who never expected her future to be much more than being married off in a political match as part of a peace treaty, but when Evermore is conquered by the leader of Bomard, she is sold off in an auction to her academy frenemy. She must navigate her new gilded cage while attempting to regain agency and figure out who is a threat to her and who will help.
I would like to preface this review by stating that I am not judging this book because it is a modification of a Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger fanfiction. It is, however, unfortunate that this novel carried along with it some of the more common tropes in the pairing of a male character who bullies a female character, calling her an in-universe racial slur and targeting her for her âlesserâ status. There isnât an overt racism issue in this novel, but thatâs probably the best thing I can say about its political and social implications. If you look a little deeper, however, there are racism issues. The Evermore citizens are effectively treated with a version of in-universe racism, and the author does not seem to bother to deconstruct this at all or address that Tovenâs family, who she attempts to redeem, are essentially racists who she is trying to redeem. The entire novel smacks of the âNot all slave owners are bad, actually, some of them treated their slaves nicely and like their familyâ type of rhetoric. Thereâs also the unfortunate fact that sex slavery is being treated effectively as a fun, spooky backdrop for a romance, which seems deeply unfortunate given that human trafficking is a significant real-world issue, the scars that slavery has left on the United States and the fact that in 94 countries in the world, slavery is still not a crime.
Rose in Chains is effectively the Game of Thrones of romance novels; a bestselling piece of media (a New York Times and USA Today bestseller) with gratuitous violence and sexual assault that seems to serve mostly as trauma porn, not particularly necessary to advance the plot. It is billed as a romance novel, but the romance is unrealistic and thereâs approximately one real kiss, and a love scene that starts but is interrupted by the climax. If youâre into dark romance for the erotica, it is not even particularly erotic. The novel focuses much more on Briony and her fellow female slaves being sexually assaulted. The romance is supposed to be compelling, but it instead seems like a quite straightforward example of Stockholm Syndrome or trauma bonding. The novel even describes Briony dissociating, and subsequently seeking physical comfort from Toven.
In addition to the unfortunate race-related implications, there are unfortunate implications relating to homophobia and misogyny as well. The one gay male background character owns a male sex slave, while barely existing at all in the narrative. The one sapphic side character kisses Briony in a dubiously scene that seems to be designed for titillation and then is killed shortly afterward when she is next seen on the page. In other words, it is Hayes code compliant. There is also a heavy focus on the importance of virginity and fertility for the female characters. Iâm not saying that there arenât women who care about those sorts of things, but it seems to be overly focused on. From a feminist perspective, the novel barely even passes the Bechdel test; Serena is the closest relationship with another woman Briony has, and sheâs also Brionyâs captive and the closeness they develop could easily be attributed to trauma bonding. The novel appears to attempt to touch on feminism by talking about patriarchal succession being unfair and by making the main villain a woman in order to have a powerful female character, but it fails miserably.
Briony as a character is also not particularly interesting. She seems to pretty much have things happen to her, aside from all of the times she is making advances of various sorts on Toven for various reasons. This may be done to attempt to make the romance less problematic, but although Briony thinks heâs a good person because he is also somehow being forced into displays of sexuality with her and is rejecting her outside of their performances, the fact remains that he paid sixty-five thousand gold pieces for her and is still holding her captive. There arenât very many interesting characters in the book at all for a 400+ page-long book.
If you specifically enjoyed the dynamic in A Court of Thorns and Roses where Rhysand has Feyre dressed up in revealing dresses and is forcing her to be a sex object for him in front of the court Under the Mountain, or you liked Game of Thrones and want a book with a similar tone without much actual sex, you may enjoy this book. Otherwise, I do not recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, War
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes