Rose in chains: Trilogía Evermore. (Spanish Edition)

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Julie Soto for the opportunity to listen to this ALC.

It’s a big year to be a Dramione fanfic lover and I was thrilled to be approved for this advance audiobook copy. As a fan of Auction, I was eager to see how Julie Soto reimagined the story for traditional publishing. I’ve enjoyed Soto’s other works (Not Another Love Song stands out and this year'sThe Thrashers quickly became a personal favorite) and couldn't wait to dig into this.

I was especially impressed by the new worldbuilding and magic system. The heart and mind magicians add a compelling layer, and the reworked relationship dynamics in Briony's family brought fresh emotional depth while honoring the spirit of the original fanfic. For readers of The Auction, this feels like a thoughtful and elevated evolution. It's what I was hoping for: not a complete rehash or reread, but a rewarding return. And for newcomers, the story stands strong on its own, though I’d recommend paying close attention to the content warnings. This is no happy romantasy and the characters, particularly women, experience significant trauma.

My only real complaint was realizing that this is just the first installment in a planned trilogy. The ending felt abrupt in audiobook form without that context. Still, I’m fully invested and genuinely excited to see where the series goes next, particularly when it comes to the re-imagined villain and her dragon.

This book was provided to me for free in exchange for my honest review. Rating: 4.5/5

This book had no business being SO. GOOD.

I took off a star because I know that this book is the formally published version of a fanfiction. It was also marketed as such, and I do feel like that is the stealing of intellectual property which is inherently wrong- no matter how problematic the original writer is.

As someone who is unfamiliar with the original work, from an objective point of view, this book was extremely well written. It was propulsive and gripping. The subject matter was incredibly dark, much more so than I thought it would be. A lot of it was hard to read and disturbing, but i can see how this trilogy will develop into an amazing story. The ending had me absolutely floored, and I can not wait for book 2.

Rose in Chains caught my attention before I knew anything about Briony Rosewood or Toven Hearst. The deluxe hardcover is stunning. The purple sprayed edge design gives the book an elegant and dramatic look. The character artwork made me curious about the people behind those faces. I bought it at Barnes & Noble completely blind. I later discovered that Julie Soto originally wrote the story as The Auction which is a Dramione fanfiction. Briony is fighting to survive after her kingdom has lost a war. Her magic and freedom are taken from her before she is sold at an auction to Toven Hearst. He is a former classmate whose powerful family is aligned with the victorious regime. Their complicated history unfolds alongside the darker reality of Briony’s new life. Schoolday flashbacks reveal an attraction between them tangled up with cruelty and bullying. The schoolyard relationship was where the book started losing me. Briony and Toven often felt much younger than I expected from an adult dark romantasy. Their behavior made it difficult to connect with either character. The bullying heavy history between them made their romance more sad than exciting. My distance from Dramione played a role. I read Harry Potter more than a decade ago. Shipping relationships within that universe was never part of my reading experience. Those who already love Draco and Hermione dynamics may recognize pieces that make this an interesting story for them. Without an attachment to Dramione, the characters and their relationship had to stand completely on their own. I struggled to care about them. The romantic content surprised me. The book is marketed as dark romance, but the intimate scenes felt fairly mild compared with the usual scenes in the genre. The spice seemed disconnected from the larger character development and political conflict. It occasionally felt included to fulfill the dark romance label rather than deepen Briony and Toven’s relationship. The physical edition may have swept me off my feet, but the writing never managed the same trick. Pick up Rose In Thorns if you love Dramione inspired dynamics, magical schools, enemies to lovers, obsessive heroes, and darker fantasy settings.

devoured it...action-packed tense and very easy to get into imo, although i knew the gist of what would happen (read the auction ofc) it was still addicting to see how this version of the story would unfold.

i think there is quite a bit of 'telling' rather than 'showing' which took away from the experience for me. i wish we could've delved into the dynamics between briony & riven in their school days and get us to understand why this ship is so compelling? haven't read all of soto's work on AO3, i am excited for what's to come as the story unfolds and we get into toven's pov.

I picked this book up on a whim and I enjoyed it. It has some elements in common with alchemised but I would say this isn't as dark and the storyline is different enough that I wasnt comparing as I read. I would Def pick up book 2 to find out what happens.