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A review by annekawithane
Rose in Chains by Julie Soto
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Thank you Hatchette Audio and NetGalley for this ALC.
Rose in Chains is a story that has the foundations to be a interesting one, had it started several years prior.
The story start with Briony, princess of Evermore, as she watches the enemy nation seige her castle and defeat her twin and chosen one Rory. Now in the hands of the enemy, citizens of Evermore are auctioned off to those in power to syphon their magic.
There is magic, familiars, grey characters, a chosen one, a dragon, things that makes a fantasy novel; however, when the hero is killed, and darkness reigns, I didn’t care.
The follies of this book mainly lay in the shallowness of the world building and characterization and I mean not in vane personality but in depth of creation. This book starts with established relationships and war. We are introduced to many of name, our enemy, our magic system, but we don’t get to spend time with any of it at all to fully understand or feel the weight of their losses or impact. We are given flashbacks interspersed, yet, these are only given to show the “connection” between our two main characters. Further, these scenes all take place during school, which does make these character feel a lot younger. Had we started this story during their school years, seen the start and duration of the war, it would have given the time to development the reader’s connection to the story. Spending this book only in Briony’s POV is also limiting as she is shielded from the majority of the brutality and is naive. For always covering for her brother, she didn’t have much impact. In general, the character development was lacking. I didn’t care for the dark romance either. Magic system wise, it was there but I honestly don’t get why the enemy would disavow mind magic when mind invasion and cloaking is being used in warfare and something I feel they would use.
Narration wise, it was fine, just not my preferred listening voice. Ella Lynch’s voice, is sweet and princess-like which fits Briony, but it just clashed with the dark tone of the story (which I guess is also Briony too). She did have conviction in her storytelling at times.
I don’t read dark romance and I’m finding romantasy is increasingly not for me. The storyline of what if the enemy wins is intriguing, but not executed.
Last thing, I’ve been made aware of antisementic character descriptions of an antagonist character. I’m not familiar with these descriptions and will be doing more research.
Rose in Chains is a story that has the foundations to be a interesting one, had it started several years prior.
The story start with Briony, princess of Evermore, as she watches the enemy nation seige her castle and defeat her twin and chosen one Rory. Now in the hands of the enemy, citizens of Evermore are auctioned off to those in power to syphon their magic.
There is magic, familiars, grey characters, a chosen one, a dragon, things that makes a fantasy novel; however, when the hero is killed, and darkness reigns, I didn’t care.
The follies of this book mainly lay in the shallowness of the world building and characterization and I mean not in vane personality but in depth of creation. This book starts with established relationships and war. We are introduced to many of name, our enemy, our magic system, but we don’t get to spend time with any of it at all to fully understand or feel the weight of their losses or impact. We are given flashbacks interspersed, yet, these are only given to show the “connection” between our two main characters. Further, these scenes all take place during school, which does make these character feel a lot younger. Had we started this story during their school years, seen the start and duration of the war, it would have given the time to development the reader’s connection to the story. Spending this book only in Briony’s POV is also limiting as she is shielded from the majority of the brutality and is naive. For always covering for her brother, she didn’t have much impact. In general, the character development was lacking. I didn’t care for the dark romance either. Magic system wise, it was there but I honestly don’t get why the enemy would disavow mind magic when mind invasion and cloaking is being used in warfare and something I feel they would use.
Narration wise, it was fine, just not my preferred listening voice. Ella Lynch’s voice, is sweet and princess-like which fits Briony, but it just clashed with the dark tone of the story (which I guess is also Briony too). She did have conviction in her storytelling at times.
I don’t read dark romance and I’m finding romantasy is increasingly not for me. The storyline of what if the enemy wins is intriguing, but not executed.
Last thing, I’ve been made aware of antisementic character descriptions of an antagonist character. I’m not familiar with these descriptions and will be doing more research.