Well, this book took me on a bit of a ride. I had pretty lukewarm feelings for this book for about half of it. The characters were a little flat at first for me, the worldbuilding felt a bit like info-dumping. The way the information about how their government worked and what was really going on was presented through the MC talking to another character who starts the main conflict didn't really sound very organic to me.
The characters were the biggest issue for me. They are in their early 20's but read like teenagers. I was honestly shocked when I found out the MC was 21, and the "boy" was 26. They come across more like 15/17-ish, so the synopsis calling him a boy is a little weird. Both describe a male, but boy give the connotation of someone who is very young. Both Cass and Devyn, Cass being the MC and Devyn being the love interest, took some time becoming interesting characters. But once they did I was far more invested in the story. It did come across a little like instalove, but once things were revealed it made more sense at how attracted they were to each other as quickly as they were.

This might get called at having a "love triangle", but it doesn't really. She's not really all that attracted to the guy she's betrothed to and he's not that interested in her beyond friendship. Although that was an odd aspect to the story, and it wasn't mentioned if every betrothal is treated like theirs, where they meet once when they're first paired, and then don't see each other again until they are closer to getting married. I just feel like it would have made more sense if they saw each other like... once a year during their whole betrothal. But theirs has some shenanigans attached to it that would disrupt the plot, which is what makes me wonder if theirs was different in more than one way.

The last third of this book was by far my favorite part. There was a lot of action and some of that spy work that's mentioned, and I really enjoyed that.

One thing I would have liked to see in this book is some of it from Devyn's POV. He's a character who holds a lot of secrets and I would think some of the world building had it been told from his perspective would have helped those moments seem more organic.

There's a pretty intense cliffhanger, that makes me really excited for the sequel.

The Secrets of the Starcrossed was such an interesting idea and concept for a book. Combining celtic mythology along with roman history to create the vast and unique world of Londinium, where the very likeable Cassandra falls for the mysterious Devyn and discovers the darker side of the empire and all that it's been hiding. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am already anticipating the sequel.

Author O'Connor had great ideas, for an altered history, an arranged marriage, and forbidden love involving the main character's soulmate. Some may really enjoy the way she brought everything together here.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I first heard about this book I was totally interested. With star-crossed lovers, ancient magic, and the world on the brink of war- I had high hopes. The plot sounded great and this was a brand new author for me too, so I was equally excited about that.

This book was a classic run-of-the-mill YA Fantasy. I've seen this plot recycled many, many times and this didn't bring anything new to the table for me. The pacing was slow and it had a little too much info dumping for my taste. I wish there was a little bit more development with the world & magic itself in Londinium overall. Some of the history I didn't find relevant and it was confusing to sort through.

Cassandra was a decent MC but her decisions sometimes got the best of her. I also wish there was more maturity since she is in her 20's. I was very wary of the love triangle aspect because it's one of my least favorite tropes. Unfortunately, I just didn't connect with or care about either love interest. I found myself more interested in Cassandra and her own journey instead.

The cliff-hanger ending sets up book 2 to be filled with more action, and that's what a lot of this book was missing for me. This book had potential, and I'm disappointed it never got there.

Secrets of the Starcrossed follows Cassandra who leads a seemingly perfect life however after a chance encounter with a fellow student she learns the truth about who she is and those around her.

The book started off really well; I liked the main character, the set up of her perfect life and the plot point revolving around how criminals are dealt with and Cassandra helping the young girl however the writing style of the book was not for me, I found the book really hard to read. The book drags on a lot, there was so much descriptive information about the world building/history scattered throughout the book and also a lot of focus on Cassandra’s feelings that I was bored reading the book and I just did not like the main character anymore – she just kept going on and on and it got annoying fast. The plot of the book is not unique and was very predictable, it moves really slow and does not go anyway – it was disappointing. Cassandra is being constantly manipulated and never given answers by the people around her, I did like how she tried to stand up for herself and demand answers but the writing style and the descriptive answers left me really confused, the magic and the different types of people was hard for me to understand and the lack of answers that Cassandra gets throughout the book was frustrating.

The book did feel flat, I found it hard to connect to any of the side characters although I did like Cassandra especially when she tries to deal with everything changing in her life and figure out the truth and I also liked how she helped the siblings at the start of the book however I just did not like how she was written – she does very little in the book and is just constantly thinking, her thoughts are repetitive and longwinded. The romance in the book was weird, there was this instant connection between the characters, but they kept going back and forth which got boring constantly and I did not feel any chemistry between them.

The book is slow paced with little happening, the ending part does pick up and is more action packed and I liked how the book ended and set up for the next book.

2/5

3.5 stars!

I'm not exactly sure where to start with this one...

Did I enjoy it? Kind of.

Let me say, the premise of this world where the Roman Empire never fell was SO interesting. This book is kind of futuristic, kind of dystopian, and more of a "what if" kind of world building. This is where the majority of my rating comes into play, because it's a unique, NEW, interesting background to a fantasy/dystopian novel. My issue was that it was information OVERLOAD. I was so lost throughout most of this book having to reread paragraphs. I almost got to the point where I was going to write down things to remember and keep track but I was so far into the book it was pointless by that time. So while the premise is amazing, I felt like we got too much information in too short a time. I've read quite a few books with unique worlds and I've never encountered such a massive info overload like this...not since Terry Goodkind and his Sword of Truth series.

Another thing I had a bit of an issue with was the somewhat love-triangle. First of all, I don't like them and maybe I missed it, but I was unaware that was a trope in this book. Although, it really didn't feel like a love-anything because there was too much push/pull and very little "relationship." Devyn was hot, sure, but he wasn't truthful or honest. Marcus was...self-absorbed? And Cassandra, while in her 20s, acted like a pre-teen. There's being naïve, and then there's being just immature and stupid. She fell into the latter. Some people mention an insta-love feel. As someone who actually likes that trope, I didn't see it. And who is this book geared towards as readers? We have characters in their 20s, which should be NA romance, but their actions and interactions were more YA. There's also "some" steam, which leans towards NA, but everything else is drenched in YA overtones. That was a bit confusing.

This story could have been PHENOMENAL. I went in with such high hopes to be blown away. And while I did enjoy it...somewhat...it left me feeling confused, a little bit angry, a little bit annoyed, and a lotta bit disappointed overall. However, I'm VERY thankful for the opportunity to read this book early.

🌸 ARC provided to me in exchange for an honest review. 🌸

Secrets of the Starcrossed by Clara O’Connor was an amazing book, loved the plot and the characters!

This was definitely not a bad book by any means it just wasn’t really for me! I really liked the writing style and thought the flow was really good but I am such a character driven person and I just didn’t really connect with any of these characters.

I enjoyed the plot and thought it was fun and there were high stakes but I just didn’t care as much as I feel like I should have done and really wanted to!! I’d still recommend this book if it sounds like your thing it just wasn’t my favourite unfortunately.

I loved this so much that I immediately pre-ordered Book 2! Set in an alternate London where the Roman Empire never fell and all of British History takes a left turn to a place almost recognisable but not quite, it is the story of handsome and enigmaticDevyn Agrestis, a Briton from beyond the wall who has magic in his blood and Cassandra Shelton, a pampered high society princess, adopted by a wealthy family at birth, who finds out she too has magic and a past that is shrouded in death and mystery.
This was an exciting read, with a flavour of Noughts and Crosses, but uniquely its own and I can't wait to read Book 2.

A gripping book filled with a London the reader can almost recognise. A London we are familiar with, yet totally different. 
We follow out main characters while they learn things about themselves and each other, things that will change the course of their lives.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

ARC from NetGalley

This was a decent enough read. Interesting premise. Frustrating at times. How many times can you get caught? Apparently many. It's set in a sort of future/parallel world Europe with a high-tech city that is really anti-magic, and we follow the zany antics of the probably some kind of royalty MC because trope. This read like a YA fantasy, and I honestly thought the MC was like 16 for a good percentage of the book, but she is in her 20s. The ending was a bullshit cliffhanger that made me drop a star. I'm irritated.

An alternate history trilogy that combines history, magic, technology and fated lovers. Taking place in an England where the Romans were not defeated and driven out of Londinium, and the Britons are in control outside of the walled city where magic and the gods still rule. While the citizens inside the walls have advanced technology, they are highly monitored and fearful of the Britons who live outside the walls. The Britons were never converted to Christianity, so magic and the gods still hold sway, as do their clans and kings. Cassandra is finishing school and will soon be married to a man she was matched to as a 12 year old. However, her involvement with a classmate, Devyn, will completely change the course of her life and reveal to her the secret that her parents and the government have been keeping from her. Add into this a mysterious illness striking many citizens, Cassandra finds that the life she expected to have is no longer the one that she wants.
I love British history and was immediately drawn into this alternate history that combines magic, science fiction and one of my favorite tropes, fated lovers. The combination of the high tech along with the ancient magic of the Britons and tying in the history of the Plantagenets, all into a wonderfully paced story of an individual wanting to choose her own future, was a winner for me. I really enjoyed reading this story and many times thought I knew where the story was heading only to be completely surprised at the twists and turns and that ending was just WHAT HAPPENED!?!!!
I can certainly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian stories that combine magic, science, political machinations and a fight for your individual freedom of choice. The world building is fantastic and so interesting to think about how this society could have come about, plus the characters of Cassandra, Devyn and Marcus are ones that you want to root for, so they can find their true path. I am so looking forward to the next book in the trilogy to find out what happens to all these great characters.

I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

This book was definitely not what I was expecting...I had read the synopsis a while ago, so when I started reading about a girl in this high tech city I was quite surprised: The book takes place in an alternate future where there is magic and advanced technology.

The main character Cassandra lives in a walled in city with advanced technology where magic is forbidden. She is a naive, straight forward girl who always follows the rules called “the code.” When she meets fellow classmate Devyn she feels a strange connection, and she breaks the rules to save him. Devyn starts to show her that there is a lot she doesn’t know about her seemingly perfect life and she might not be who she thought she was!

This book took me a few chapters to get into but then I really enjoyed it and couldn’t wait to see what happens next! I can’t wait for the next book especially after that ending!! 🙀

I actually really enjoyed this book. I think it’s a fun take on a Dystopian what could have happened if... plot.

So we have Cassandra who lives in a Romanesque world where Rome never fully fell. We have Celts, Britons, Shadowers, and the Romans... the author includes the Americas, Africa, Asia etc. all in this world too so it feels real and not siloed. So Cass is adopted and she knows it, but she’s living a charmed elite life and is engaged to the societies golden boy. There’s lots of Arthurian legend, and British history thrown into this story. I think if someone isn’t as familiar with the history as I am, they might find it weird and confusing. Talking about the War of the Roses (the Rose Kings), and the tudors (spelled in the book as tewdwr), the Lady of the Lake etc., I found all really neat!

This world is also futuristic and there’s a lot of technology going on. Here’s where things got a little muddled for me, and maybe not enough research went into it, or just not enough room in the book to explain it. The people live by a code, and there are code breakers/hackers... this code not only is a code of conduct but it’s also technical code. I wasn’t always sure if I was interpreting that correctly, still not 100%, and it’s rather confusing.

Also... Yes this book has a lot going on!! There’s magic in this world and out three main players all have it. It’s forbidden, it’s been suppressed, and it all comes out in the end.

Speaking of endings, I was suuuuuuper annoyed about this cliffhanger we have going on. I mean kudos really since I now HAVE to read the second book! This is definitely a 4 star read for me, I knocked of a star for the tech confusion and because sometimes the story meanders a bit.


Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for my eArc copy, in exchange for my honest review!

Clara O’Connor’s Secrets of the Starcrossed was a book I couldn’t put down until it was done! I already preordered the 2nd and 3rd book in the series but honestly cannot wait. I felt the emotional connection between Cassandra and Devyn-the fear, the love, the anger-all in a backdrop that is just as intriguing. The book is able to combine magic and technology, an alternative history and a dystopian landscape to make the reader interested in the entire world along with the main characters. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins One More Chapter for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review! I can’t wait for the other books!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy of Secrets of the Starcrossed in exchange for an honest review.

I've gotta be honest, it took me a couple WEEKS to get through the first 4-5 chapters of this book, which is normally not my reading style at all. I think that the description of the book is not super accurate, and I was looking for components that weren't really present at all. Once I got into the swing of this novel though, instead of the ones the blurb compares it to, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. In fact I devoured the rest of the book.

Cassandra is a strait-laced obeyer of societal norms, and the story follows her through her first off track choice into her full realized potential. While the blurb brings in the Grishaverse, the story and world this reminds me the most of is Divergent. Cassandra and Devyn are basically going through a very strict society with divergent traits, but in this story they are magical.

I agree with some of the other reviewers who have said that there are large sections that are just info dumps, and often these were a bit hard to follow, but the story is also clearly a set-up for a longer series. The magic system and government were unique in this book (which is hard to do nowadays), so I think the explanations were effective in that I couldn't have understood the story without the context. Hopefully, the narrative aspect takes off in future books now that the world has been mostly established.

The romance in this book was sweet, confusing, and a bit immature, but that felt organic between Devyn and Cassandra. I never really felt like there was a love triangle with Marcus, and I'm glad that plot device wasn't too heavy handed. I generally like a fair bit of romance mixed into my fantasy reads, but this really wasn't the proponent of the story, and I was barely on board until the middle of the book. The beginning of their relationship starts at the open of the novel, like they have barely ever interacted before, and it felt like there was no rhyme or reason why Cassandra was attracted to Devyn. As the story played out I felt like I understood her motivations more.

Overall, I am looking forward to future stories about our main players, and seeing Cassandra grow, perhaps a bit more independently from her male counterparts. Maybe a stronger female friend character? I will absolutely be looking for future books to continue on!

First book in a while that I actually wanted to put down. I found it too slow to start and only really started enjoying it more about 70% of the way through. If I was someone who could actually DNF a book I think this may have been one as it took me too long to get into it.
I had chosen to read the book as I liked the idea around the continuation of the Roman Empire but again there were elements that didn’t seem to work or flow too well including some of the place names which wouldn’t have come into place had the Romans still ruled. This may just me being picky as an ex history student.

I need the second instalment now! Clara O'Connor has a new fan in me because WOW. In a dystopian world where the Roman Empire never fell, Cassandra finds herself thrust into a world of diplomacy, danger and magic. There is a strong romance element in this and it's quite possibly one of my favourite relationships. The intersection between the Roman world and modernity is handled impeccably and there is huge detail in the world building. An entire alternative history was invented for this world and it has a serious bearing on the plot. There is a definite critique of the surveillance state, especially in relation to consumerism, something we can clearly see in our own world only adding to the experience of this book. I will definitely be keeping up with this series and I'm so happy I found it.

One teeny tiny critique is a repeated reference to 'Hades'. As this book takes place in a Roman world it should really have been 'Pluto'. I'm not entirely sure if this was done intentionally or not but every other reference was accurate, this was just a small detail that would pull me out of the plot whenever I came across it. However given the amount of mythologies this book blends together, it does an excellent job at maintaining accuracy.

This is the downside to reading Arc's, I have no idea how long I have to wait before I get to read the next one!

This is a fantastic start to a new YA trilogy, I usually shy away from comparison's to the bigger series for fear of disappointment, but Secrets of the Starcrossed definitely packs a punch. The story is set is an alternate history where the Roman empire didn't fall and continued to grow from strength to strength, resulting in a world that is recognisable but not not familiar. There is the perfect mixture of romance, action and world building for a first book. I also couldn't fault the pacing, by chapter 2 I was so engrossed in the storyline I read it in one sitting. AND THAT ENDING!

Highly recommended, for fans of dystopian YA.