Lost Faith in the Dark Romance Genre? “Rose in Chains” by Julie Soto Will Drag You Back in—Willingly

Darkness never felt this addictive.

Synopsis

Captured as her castle is overrun by the enemy, Briony Rosewood knows that the world as she knows it is changed forever. The dark forces of Bomard have won and her people, the Eversuns, face imminent servitude, imprisonment or death. Her brother, fated to be heir twice over and unite the warring kingdoms, is dead.

Stripped of her Mind Magic and her freedom, Briony and the other survivors are quickly auctioned off to the highest bidders in an auction – and as the heir-apparent’s sister, she fetches the highest price.

After a fierce bidding war, she’s sold to none other than Toven a high ranking Bomardsun – and her long-time and ill-fated infatuation. Scion of a family known for their cruel control of Heart Magic, the Hearsts are ruthlessly ambitious, and Briony knows they will use her however they can to further their own interests.

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…

Review

The day I returned to dark romance…

I struggle to convey the profound impact this book had on me, but it was both unexpected and essential.

Once a voracious reader of dark romance, I had grown disillusioned with the genre over the years, perhaps due to repetition or a lack of surprise.

Then came “Rose in Chains.”

Was it the loose inspiration from Dramione fanfiction, a genre I was unfamiliar with until a year ago? Or perhaps the perfect blend of dark themes—rape, mind manipulation, drugs—and a slow-burning romance that balances each other?

Could it be the harrowing depiction of women as war spoils, their suffering that created an unbearable tension stirrings a revolutionary spirit within me?

Or is it the palpable yet restrained attraction between Toven and Briony, akin to resisting a decadent dessert while your mind wage a losing battle with your body?

Is it the setting and political intrigue, with a world divided between heart and mind magic, ruled by a woman who allows atrocities against captured women?

Or perhaps Briony’s journey to overcome trauma, reclaim her magic, and liberate her people?

Maybe it’s Toven and the secrets he conceals, waiting to be uncovered (I do love a mysterious and secretive morally grey character).

Or, even better, the desire to knock some sense into Toven’s thick skull, hoping he’ll finally act on his true feelings for Briony (really I just wanted to lock them together in a room with a bed and forbid them to escape before having some seriously hot sex!)?

Whatever the reason, I devoured this book, finding it difficult to pause and face the realities of life like chores and work.

But now… now I have to wait a whole year for the sequel!!!!!

Thanks for reading.

Sophie