Doesn’t really work outside the fanfiction realm. The world building was messy at best. The writing was really repetitive (if I have to read about somebody’s throat clicking I am going to lose it!) The second half started slightly more enjoyable than the first but still not worth the hype.

I very much enjoyed Julie’s romance books so obviously I had to read her romantasy debut and it was just as good. Like, I didn’t expect anything less from her & her writing. “Rose in Chains” is well written and has great pacing. The world was so dark and I loved it. This is exactly what I expect from a book, when it’s advertised as “dark”. The main characters were fine and had great chemistry as far as I can tell. It probably helps that they know each other for almost 10 years at that point. The romance itself was (very) slow, but I don’t think more than what was in this book would have made sense for the plot or the further development of Briony & Toven’s relationship. Someone I surprisingly came to like was the Hearst family, but specifically Serena, Toven’s mother. There were several well placed flashbacks throughout the book, starting with 8 years ago and moving their way closer to the current plot. I did find myself enjoying the later flashbacks more than the first few. I do think the book misses out on being dual pov, because, while written completely from Briony’s pov, there were several instances where I would have loved to read from Toven’s perspective. My only bigger issue with the book is the magic system. Yes, I get it, there’s heart and there’s mind magic. But I also don’t think I completely grasped the concept of it. And I’m not saying it contradicted itself, I just don’t think the explanation 100% clicked for me. As the epilogue picked up on some of the speculations made throughout the book, it also gave us a glimpse at Mallow and her motives, which makes me even more excited for the sequel! Thank you to Magpie for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Ich bin mit super hohen Erwartungen an das Buch drangegangen und meine Erwartungen wurden sogar noch übertroffen. Das Buch hat mich komplett abgeholt, hat mich überrascht, hat mich mitfiebern lassen, hat mich sprachlos gemacht und traurig und wütend und hat mich geschockt. Das Buch ist Dark Fantasy und stellenweise wirklich düster, hier sollte man also definitiv die Triggerwarnings beachten. Die Menschen der Verliererseite des Krieges werden hier an die Meistbietenden der Gewinnerseite verkauft, man kann sich also vorstellen in welche Richtungen es stellenweise geht. Die Geschichte handelt aber auch von Mut, innerer Stärke, Freundschaft, Aufopferung und Kampfgeist, was mich stellenweise sehr berührt hat und was ich richtig gut fand. Mich hat das Buch von Seite eins an eingenommen und der Schreibstil war total atmosphärisch und bildlich, ich bin komplett in die Geschichte eingetaucht. Ich fand das Tempo im Erzählstil super und fand toll, das wir auch die Vergangenheit der beiden Protas durch die Zeitsprünge mitverfolgen konnten. Ich habe mich trotz der äußeren Umstände und der ganzen Red Flags ein bisschen sehr in Toven und Briony und in die beiden zusammen verliebt. Tension, Banter & Yearning 10000 out of 10! Ich hätte so gerne noch weitere 400 Seiten über die zwei gelesen und bin komplett hyped auf den Rest der Reihe. Auch das Worldbuilding hat mich positiv überrascht und ich habs geliebt. Die Heart und Mind Magie? Die Bindungen die man eingehen kann? Die beiden Reiche, der Krieg und die Gefangenschaft? Der Drache? Die Familiars? Viele Ideen und Aspekte fand ich einzigartig und cool kombiniert, weshalb das Buch neben den Figurenkonstellationen, dem Schreibstil, der Handlung und den Emotionen wirklich auch nochmal durch die Welt überzeugt. Für mich wars ein Highlight und wurde zu einem meiner liebsten Fantasy Reads bis jetzt in diesem Jahr!!

Before I get into that review, I have to say that this book has an epilogue that was just whoa and helped to up my star rating! This story is based on a fanfic and is still clearly Dramione coded. This is its strength, but also its weakness. I've not read the source material, but I assume this worked very well as a fanfic. For me though, it did not work well as a story of its own.

I have to say though, that the world is completely new and unique and has some very interesting aspects. However, I have the feeling that the characters are stuck in a weird place between (not) being the characters they are based on, nor fully developed characters of their own. Mostly, during the book I've waited for Briony to develop an agenda of her own, or develop... anything. Rage, strength, something to make me root for her. Instead it's a neverending repetition of spicy fantasies mixed with a lot of abuse (and with magic mind s*x). There is a lot of action though toward to end, and as much as I was longing for it, I also was confused. And then bam! - this epilogue. I had wished for something like this to come sooner, and I don't think it's good to have to suffer through abuse and stuff for this long before there is finally a ray of hope. 3,5/5 stars but I might give book 2 a chance. Thank you @netgalley and @harpercollinsuk for the eARC! #RoseInChains #Netgalley #Bookstagram