Magpie swoops in on a 'darkly intoxicating' fantasy romance by Julie Soto

Magpie has scooped a "darkly intoxicating" fantasy romance by Julie Soto.

In a "major" five-book deal, HarperFiction publishing director Martha Ashby and Magpie Books editorial director Rachel Winterbottom acquired a dark romantasy trilogy and two rom-coms by Soto. The first book, Rose in Chains, will be published in summer 2025 on Magpie Books, as part of "The Midnight Collection". They bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Gaia Banks at Sheil Land Associates. North American rights sold to Junessa Viloria at Forever/Grand Central. 

The author was discovered on Archive of Our Own (AO3), an open source fan-fiction repository, where her most popular story has more than 2.4 million reads. 

"Rose in Chains introduces a heroine living in a fantasy world torn between two kinds of magic," the synopsis says. "The war is over, the dark forces have won, and the hero who was supposed to save them is dead. Captured as her castle is overrun by the enemy, Briony Rosewood is stripped of her magic and auctioned off to the highest bidder. She’s sold to Toven Hearst: scion of a family known for their cruel control of magic — and the object of her long-time and ill-fated infatuation. Yet despite the horrors of her new world and the role she must learn to play within it, all is not lost."

Ashby commented: "From my early days reading her on AO3, I’ve always found Julie’s writing utterly addictive and Rosie in Chains ticks every single box for me: forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and a satisfyingly high level of spice. This is one-more-chapter, stay-up-all-night reading, with a dark and twisting plot and a pair of irresistible, star-crossed lovers at its heart."

Winterbottom added: "Rose in Chains has all the swoon-inducing tropes we know our readers crave from their romantasy: slowburn, forbidden love, enemies-to-lovers, dark yet redemptive. Julie’s writing is intoxicating, heartfelt and completely compulsive."

Soto said: "Excited doesn’t begin to cover how I feel to be working with Martha and Rachel on these new projects. I am delighted to have the opportunity with Magpie to reach romantasy fans with something that many of my readers will find comfortingly familiar and satisfyingly different, and I am so grateful to be continuing my romcoms with my team at HarperFiction."