Rose in Chains by Julie Soto

A dark romantasy with enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and a slowwwww burn, Rose in Chains has taken over BookTok. If you’re in the market for a book with a morally gray MMC who’s secretly pining for the princess of his rival kingdom, this may be for you.

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IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK, STOP READING! SPOILERS AHEAD

Rose in Chains is adapted from a Dramione fanfic that was all the rage on #DracoTok during the pandemic. To avoid IP issues, the story has been changed, but I still can’t imagine the legal risk of a publishing house taking this on. Another noteable Dramione fanfic turned traditionally published novel is Alchemised. Still odd that this happened not once, but twice, but oh well. Not my legal circus, not my legal monkeys.

All that aside, this story has the classic enemies to lovers trope, but with dark elements. I am not diving into specifics in this summary, but trigger warnings for human trafficking, violence, SA, and probably more in the book.

Briony (Hermione) is the princess of a kingdom that’s just been overthrown by their rivals, leading her to be auctioned off and purchased by none other than the prince of the conquerers. Toven (Draco) has been nursing a secret crush that could undo them both, and buys her for protection from the forces that be.

Along the way and with the help of Stockholm Syndrome, the two form a reluctant alliance against the wartime violence and the SA of other “auctioned” prisoners, which eventuallyyyyyyy leads to a romance. He betrays his kingdom for her, they make it out, HEA after lots of trauma.

Here’s the thing. In 2020, the storyline before the HEA didn’t bother me as much as it currently does. It’s dark, and with *gestures wildly* going on, I am trying to dissociate with all my reads into happier times and places. I also can’t get over the original fanfic and the fact that I knew the skeleton of the plot, though IP details such as the world building and magic systems have changed.

Do I think readers that never read The Auction should try if they’re up for it? Yes. I think it’s a compelling story, the author is talented, and it’s worth trying provided you know the subject matter you’re getting into. For me, personally, as well as others who read the original fanfic, I just don’t know if it’s needed.

Roses

• I do love enemies to lovers
• You do get immersed into the story and world very quickly
• Author truly is talented
• I am constantly searching for the feeling of peak DracoTok and this gave me a taste

Thorns

• Still can’t get over the original fanfic connection
• Darker than I think I can handle in my “hobbies” right now

3/5 stars for me!