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A review by catsandcliterature
Rose in Chains by Julie Soto
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Thank you to Forever Publishing and Julie Soto for trusting me with this ARC.
I'll open this review up by saying I read the fanfiction this is based off of - The Auction - back when it was a weekly/monthly updated fic on AO3, so I did carry that with me while reading. However, I do think that this book will be widely loved, even by people who didn't read that fic as it was so, so loved by me.
Briony is a Mind Magician and the princess of Evermore. She is almost constantly underestimated and pushed aside in favor of her brother - Rory, who is set to not only be the King of Evermore but the Heir Twice Over. He is foretold to be the only person who can put a stop to the war between the Mind Magicians and the Heart Magicians, who reside primarily in Bomard. Veronika Marrow - the first owner of a Dragon familiar in centuries - claims that Mind Magic is dangerous and unnatural and leads the Bomardi people to war with the people of Evermore. On opposing sides of that war are Briony and Toven - her school crush and the flirtatious boy who bullied her. The story opens as Rory is killed and the Bombardi people have taken hostages - including Briony - to siphon them of their magic and use them for other nefarious purposes.
This book was un-put-down-able. I feel like I ate, slept and breathed it from the moment I turned the first page to the acknowledgements at the end - which I rarely ever read if I'm being honest but I felt the need to read these because I didn't want it to be over. The characters are so lovable and multi-faceted and with the story primarily being told through Briony's eyes, we're just as lost as she is when it comes to Toven's character and motives, as well as those of his family. Their wit was sharp, the banter was on point and I'm almost positive that Julie Soto invented the word 'yearning' at this point. All that being said, buckle up for a SLOWWWWW BURNNNNN.
The only bad part about getting an ARC of a book you've been anticipating for a year is that the wait to book two is so much longer in a lot of ways, and with a cliffhanger like this one.... I need book two STAT.
Tropes:
📚 Romantasy
📚 Rival Magicians
📚 Enemies to Lovers
📚 Banter!
📚 Warring Realms
📚 Forced Proximity
📚 Yearning!
📚 Childhood Crush
📚 School Bully MMC
📚 Virgin FMC
📚 SLOW BURN
📚 Royalty
I'll open this review up by saying I read the fanfiction this is based off of - The Auction - back when it was a weekly/monthly updated fic on AO3, so I did carry that with me while reading. However, I do think that this book will be widely loved, even by people who didn't read that fic as it was so, so loved by me.
Briony is a Mind Magician and the princess of Evermore. She is almost constantly underestimated and pushed aside in favor of her brother - Rory, who is set to not only be the King of Evermore but the Heir Twice Over. He is foretold to be the only person who can put a stop to the war between the Mind Magicians and the Heart Magicians, who reside primarily in Bomard. Veronika Marrow - the first owner of a Dragon familiar in centuries - claims that Mind Magic is dangerous and unnatural and leads the Bomardi people to war with the people of Evermore. On opposing sides of that war are Briony and Toven - her school crush and the flirtatious boy who bullied her. The story opens as Rory is killed and the Bombardi people have taken hostages - including Briony - to siphon them of their magic and use them for other nefarious purposes.
This book was un-put-down-able. I feel like I ate, slept and breathed it from the moment I turned the first page to the acknowledgements at the end - which I rarely ever read if I'm being honest but I felt the need to read these because I didn't want it to be over. The characters are so lovable and multi-faceted and with the story primarily being told through Briony's eyes, we're just as lost as she is when it comes to Toven's character and motives, as well as those of his family. Their wit was sharp, the banter was on point and I'm almost positive that Julie Soto invented the word 'yearning' at this point. All that being said, buckle up for a SLOWWWWW BURNNNNN.
The only bad part about getting an ARC of a book you've been anticipating for a year is that the wait to book two is so much longer in a lot of ways, and with a cliffhanger like this one.... I need book two STAT.
Tropes:
📚 Romantasy
📚 Rival Magicians
📚 Enemies to Lovers
📚 Banter!
📚 Warring Realms
📚 Forced Proximity
📚 Yearning!
📚 Childhood Crush
📚 School Bully MMC
📚 Virgin FMC
📚 SLOW BURN
📚 Royalty