Rose in Chains by Julie Soto
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
An instant #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestseller!
#1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Soto crafts a lush and dark romantic fantasy that’s filled with intrigue, magic, and an irresistible enemies-to-lovers romance.
The war is over, the dark forces have won, and the hero who was supposed to save them is dead.
Captured as her castle is overrun by the enemy, the world as Briony Rosewood knows it is changed forever. Evil has won, and her people face imminent servitude, imprisonment, or death.
Stripped of her Magic and her freedom, Briony and the other survivors are quickly sold off to the highest bidders in an auction—and as Evermore's princess, she fetches the highest price. After a fierce bidding war, she’s sold to none other than Toven Hearst, scion of a family known for their cruelty.
Yet despite the horrors of her new world and the role she must learn to play within it, all is not lost. Help—and hope—may yet arise in the most unlikely of places…
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REVIEW
This review, as also the other two which will follow in the next weeks, are part of what I call "The Dramione Trifecta". For those who may be unaware, this book, The Irresistible Urge to Fall for your Enemy and Alchemised are all books related to the Dramione idea from the Harry Potter series, which means they all began as fanfics, then everything changed for obvious reasons.
The premise is this: Princess Briony is captured by the enemy kingdom as both are opposed in different kinds of magic, separated to heart and mind magic. Following the plan of a fanatic ruler of the enemy kingdom she is sold as a slave to Toven Hearst, her archenemy and her old classmate. Slowly, they form a tentative alliance in order to locate the remaining friends and allies of Briony's, navigating also the treacherous spies, old spites and bullies and Toven's secrets.
This was an interesting premise, something I would easily see in any other romantsy. The plot is ot for the faint of heart either as there are CW at the beginning of the book so please be also advised. I liked the characters, though I was slightly annoyed at Briony at times, because her smartness made her also slightly stupid to matters of heart, but she will get there I believe in her.
The ending was also a cliffhanger which left me in an interesting point plot-wise, as the fanatic ruler is a magician who would no anything to gain more power for herself.
Recommended if you still ship these two.
JULIE SOTO is a USA Today bestselling author, playwright, and actress originally from Sacramento, CA. Her musical Generation Me won the 2017 New York Musical Festival’s Best Musical award, as well as Best Book for her script. She is a musical theater geek, fandom nerd, and the author of many spicy fan fictions. Julie now lives in Fort Bragg, CA, with her dog, Charlie. She is probably drinking coffee as you read this.