🌹 5 stars | If this book doesn’t get more hype than Fourth Wing, the system is rigged!

🎧 This was an ALC read and let me tell you, I was slowing down my audio speed because I did not want to miss a thing, and Rose in Chains earned it. I didn’t want it to end. Julie Soto has officially found her genre. This is dark romantasy done right.

We follow Briony Rosewood, princess of the fallen Evermore kingdom. After her brother is killed in the war and her people are stripped of their magic, she’s captured and sold at auction to be used as a “heartspring” to fuel someone else’s power. Her buyer? Toven Hearst, who is a powerful noble from the enemy side, her former school rival, and the boy she's spent years trying (and failing) to forget. But instead of siphoning her magic, he keeps her alive and protected, and the tension between them is everything.

This book has:
✨ Enemies to lovers (slowest, burn, everrrr)
✨ Political rebellion bubbling under the surface
✨ An intriguing, original magic system (Mind Magic vs. Heart Magic)
✨ Flashbacks that add emotional weight (not filler!)
✨ A magical house that gives you what you need
✨ A rich world that’s beautifully fleshed out
✨ So much tension and longing, I was screaming

Briony is such a relatable, layered protagonist. She is strong in quiet, steady ways. Toven is a mystery wrapped in control, secrets, and subtle soft moments that hit hard. Their dynamic is complex and earned. And the audiobook narrator? She was phenomenal. Every voice distinct, every emotion palpable. 🎧 She made this already incredible story even better!

I also adored:
Serena (Toven’s mother): give me a spinoff
Larissa’s mysterious past
The slow unraveling of political alliances
The small, perfect romantic gestures that broke me
The way the flashbacks deepened everything in the present

💥 Trigger warning: this is a dark story. It deals with serious and heavy themes (war, trauma, captivity, systemic abuse, and more). Please check the content warnings beforehand. But none of it feels gratuitous, because it’s handled with care and intentionality.

The only con is that I read it early, and now I have to wait for the sequel like a commoner. The cliffhanger absolutely knocked the wind out of me and I need Book 2 immediately.

If you love slow burn, emotional, high stakes romantasy with a strong female lead and an even stronger yearning game, Rose in Chains is the book for you. Julie Soto’s writing is sharp, immersive, and gut punchingly good.

I already loved her previous books, but she is an auto buy author for me now.

Thank you to NetGalley, Julie Soto, and Hachette Audio for the ALC of this book.