Rose in Chains: I Came for Draco, Stayed for Briony, and Now I Need the Damn Sequel

Spoiler warning: This review discusses major character developments, the ending, and theories about the sequel.

I finished Rose in Chains and immediately went looking for the sequel.

Only to discover I'd have to wait roughly a year.

A YEAR.

Julie Soto, what the actual fuck?

Apparently I have a talent for falling in love with unfinished series. Of everything I read in 2025, Zodiac Academy was the ONE series I managed to finish. Everything else seemed determined to leave me emotionally invested and staring at a release calendar.

And Rose in Chains was no exception.

Let's talk about the Dramione of it all.

I knew exactly what I was picking up.

Rose in Chains came from Julie Soto's Dramione fanfiction The Auction, reimagined into its own traditionally published fantasy world.

And I never stopped seeing Draco and Hermione.

Toven Hearst? Draco Malfoy. Briony Rosewood? Hermione Granger.

I knew the names were different. I knew the magic and world had changed. It didn't matter. Those were still the people I pictured while reading, and frankly, that was part of why I wanted the book in the first place.

I wanted the banter. I wanted the heartbreak. I wanted all that delicious romantic tension.

And holy hell, did I get it.

Toven Hearst, you infuriating bastard.

My relationship with Toven was an ongoing battle between wanting to kiss him and wanting to strangle him.

Every time I started forgiving him, he'd do something that made me furious again.

The dinners were particularly awful.

Watching him allow that slimy man to put his hands all over Briony? Absolutely fucking not.

I understood that Toven had motives, secrets, and reasons for his decisions. Understanding them didn't mean I liked what he allowed to happen.

But then he'd give me another glimpse of the relationship developing between them, and I'd start softening again.

Only for the idiot to do something else.

Love him. Hate him. Forgive him. Hate him again.

An exhausting cycle.

And I still wanted them together.

But Briony? I fucking loved Briony.

This surprised me.

I don't typically become particularly attached to female main characters. Usually, it's the men who end up living rent-free in my head.

Briony was different.

One of my biggest frustrations with Manacled, despite how much I loved that story, was Hermione's characterization. She often felt far too whiny and needy for my taste.

Briony wasn't like that.

Her world had been destroyed. She'd lost her freedom, her family, and practically everything familiar to her. Yet she still stood her ground.

She still had a personality.

She pushed back. She had opinions. She could be vulnerable without losing every ounce of herself.

And I became protective of her in a way I hadn't expected.

So when Toven made another questionable decision, I wasn't just angry because he'd disappointed me.

I was angry because Briony deserved better from him.

That made the romance so much more complicated for me. I wanted their relationship desperately, but I also needed him to stop making decisions that hurt a woman I'd grown to love.

AND THEN THAT ENDING.

Briony kills someone late in the book, and suddenly all I could think about was the storm that was going to follow.

I wasn't celebrating.

I was worried.

What happens to Briony now? What does this mean for Toven? What happens when all those secrets and loyalties finally collide?

And the book leaves us with more questions.

I have theories. So many fucking theories.

Especially involving Briony's brother.

What if a man we initially understood as a lost hero ends up becoming an antagonist? What if Briony's relationship with Toven grows into genuine, undeniable love, and her brother cannot accept that she's chosen someone involved in the destruction of their family?

I want to see her stand up for that choice.

Not just for Toven, but for his mother, Serena, and yes, even that fucking stupid fox, Vesper.

Vesper is bound to Toven's magic. He's an extension of someone Briony loves. Of course she'd protect him, even if he is a jealous little menace.

Imagine Briony being forced to protect the people she loves from someone else she loves.

Tell me that wouldn't be a spectacularly painful plot twist.

So, was Rose in Chains worth reading?

Absolutely.

It wasn't a story where I loved every decision or blindly forgave every character. Toven made me furious repeatedly, and I didn't always agree with his motives.

But I cared.

I cared about their relationship. I cared about what would happen to Briony. I cared about whether these two could possibly find their way to each other after everything that happened.

And that romantic tension? I need the payoff.

I picked this book up because I wanted another story rooted in Dramione.

I finished it because I couldn't stop caring about Toven and Briony.

Together.

Now I need Vine of Hearts, because Julie Soto cannot possibly expect me to endure all that heartbreak and uncertainty without finding out what happens next.

Although apparently she can.

The verdict: A maddening, heartbreaking, addictive romance with a heroine who genuinely surprised me, a male lead I wanted to throttle, and a cliffhanger that made waiting for the sequel feel like its own form of torture.

Would I read it again?

I'd certainly go through it all again to get more of Toven and Briony.

But next time, I'd really appreciate having the next fucking book ready.