What if history were just a little different? What if the Roman Empire never fell? Clara O’Connor’s SECRETS OF THE STARCROSSED gives us that scenario and takes us to Londinium where a fragile peace endures and a successful merchant’s daughter is betrothed to the most eligible bachelor in the city. But are they meant to be together or is there something far more political and devious going on?

Cass was supposed to marry Marcus, but she never planned on falling in love with Devyn or to begin to believe in his quest for a girl with magic in her blood.

What starts out as a fascinating tale of an alternate history, young love and standing against all odds gets a little lost along the way as bits and pieces become a little choppy as it takes on a futuristic feel. Cass is naïve, she is entitled and has lived her life in a shell of obedience to all her parents ask of her. Then her eyes are opened by Devyn and from then on, she does become a better character to follow,

I’m not quite sure I believed in the insta-love or the differences in the Devyn Cass thought she knew and the real Devyn. Moments of greatness mixed in with moments that seem to be too drawn out, make for an uneven flow. Still, this is a good tale to escape into for a brief time, just not a great tale.

I received a complimentary ARC edition from One More chapter! This is my honest and voluntary review.

Give me the next book already! Amazing. Best young adult fiction I’ve read in a really long time. I loved the fact the main character was slightly older (not a teenager).

Londinium has been built within its own Roman walls for security, its grown upwards instead of out and still maintains its Roman features with a hint of Roman ‘modern day’ technology. It’s such a brilliant idea. Every week criminals face trial in the Roman amphitheatre where they must plead guilty or not guilty to breaking the ‘code’. If they fall to their knees then the Roman citizens of londonium must place their votes. I loved the setting and descriptions of the sentinels and Roman architecture and the forum where Cassandra studies.

This is a coming of age story with a magical and historical twist - Cassandras character is likeable and goes from being a self absorbed socialite to becoming a brave woman in the events of the book. Would really recommend this to anyone who enjoyed The Hunger Games or Eve of Man books. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I very much enjoyed this fantastical tale. It cleverly blends a futuristic, dystopian society that is technologically superior to our own but is set in a timeline where London is ruled over by a patriarchal Roman elite. There were some clever touches, London was slightly skewed but still recognisable. The Elite have to pass Citizenship exams (offering echoes of the Roman past) and English history is on different timeline.

The story came alive with Devyn and Cass' burgeoning and forbidden relationship, thwarted by her family and the man to whom she has been promised in marriage. The Celtic magic and way of life that is in direct opposition to the brutal patriarchal society offers a tantalising glimpse of what might be.

The book ends on a cliffhanger and I will definitely be buying the second in the series to find out what happens next.

In a world where the Roman Empire never fell, Cassandra must choose between the Code or Chaos once an illness enters her city.

To begin with, I was first intrigued by this book because of the title. "Once and Future Queen", to me, felt like a nod to Arthurian Legend. I was excited about discovering the twist in this "Secrets of the Starcrossed", but, alas, as one should not judge a book by its cover, one should not do so over the title as well.

For the sake of complete honesty, I was confused within the first few pages. The book takes place in an advanced city modeled after the Roman Empire. The worldbuilding of such a place would have been interesting, considering that I haven't come across many books with a twist like that, but a lot of things got lost in translation. There's a historical context to Cassandra's world, of course, and maybe I'm not that versed in European history, but I thought it could have been developed in simpler terms. Or, rather, less layered as to not overwhelm the reader entering this new world.

Another thing that made it difficult for me to get into the book in the early chapters was Cassandra herself. I am always looking for strong, complex female characters, and I thought the "Once and Future Queen" would fall into that category. Unfortunately, I felt like Cassandra was a little bland. She was most interesting to me when she was interacting with other characters. As such, I was excited when Devyn first started engaging with Cassandra.

However, as love-at-first-sight and love triangle tropes go, I was disappointed by the setup. Devyn and Marcus are great characters, but the potential romance with Cassandra felt flat, too. Too sudden or too cliche.

I gave this book two stars because I saw the potential within the pages. The idea behind this series IS interesting and I hope the books that follow will have found a solid foundation to build off that potential.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an eARC of this book!

I really enjoyed this book, it was a little slow to start and was predictable but it was fun and I found myself wanting to pick it up and finish it whenever I had to put it down. I really liked the main character, Cass, and I enjoyed her character arc. I’m definitely gonna pick up the next one because that ending left me reeling and I want to know what happens next! There were a few issues I had with this book, however. I did find at some points the writing became a little muddled and I had to read over parts to try and understand what was happening, and for that reason I give it 3 stars.

3.5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book! My opinions are my own.

When a book is advertised with 'it's a cross between 2 well-loved other books!' I always get a bit wary. This book is supposed to be for fans of The Hunger Games and the Grishaverse books. While I love both of these, what really captivated me and made me want to read Secrets of the Starcrossed was, firstly, the beautiful cover, and more importantly, the fact that this book is about a world where the Roman Empire still exists and where the magic of the Britons is forbidden. I couldn't wait to dive right in!

We meet Cassandra, a young and beautiful member of the elite class in the city of Londinium. She is ready to graduate and, after one year of freedom, marry the perfect match that has been made for her. His name is Marcus and he is the son of one of the powerful men in the city. Cassandra has everything she could ever wish for and is on her way to living a carefree life.
That is, until she notices one of her classmates dealing with some forbidden technology. Technology that can bring chaos to The Code. Technology that could get him killed if the authorities would find out about it. On a whim, Cassandra decides to help Devyn, her classmate, and gets sucked into a side of Londinium she has been too ignorant to see. Her world gets turned upside down as she learns things about herself she never thought possible.

I truly enjoyed this book! The combination of the Roman Empire, the Celtic magic and a dystopian setting was very original. Except for some of the names and offices I missed the real feel of Rome though. There was not much influence from the city of Rome in Londinium and honestly, if you just changed some of the names the story could have stayed the same and I would not have thought of the Roman Empire at all.
I did love the aspect of the Britons and how they still own their own lands and haven't been made a part of the empire. Throughout the book their history is revealed little by little. They remain a mysterious people, even at the end of this book. I'm hoping to find out more about them and their magic in book 2 and 3!

The story in itself doesn't feel very original. A privileged girl finds out her world isn't all rainbows and butterflies and falls in love with a mysterious rebel boy, while she's supposed to marry someone else. I mean, the use of these tropes is not necessarily a bad thing. There's a reason they're so popular, of course! They need strong characters though to distinguish themselves from all of the other books with the same underlying story. I felt that there could have been better character development and a better reason for Cassandra to a, have been so ignorant all her life, and b, to change all of a sudden. Falling in love with Mr. Mysterious, even if they have some kind of special bond, just doesn't cut it for me.

Having said that, I don't mean to discourage people to read this book! I still very much enjoyed it. For me it was a quick read with likeable characters and enough mystery to keep me intrigued. I will definitely read the upcoming sequels, especially after this nice little cliffhanger at the end!

It's so disappointing to say that this book was underwhelming. It didn't live up to its expectations at all and I found it a puzzling read that seemed to go on for way too long.

The world was an intriguing factor but it just seemed a bit messy in its execution. It seemed to include too many elements; mismatched and confusing. I wasn't really sure whether it was a dystopian world or a historical setting or a fantastical Britain. Its great that all of those things were combined but it didn't work out smoothly. I wanted so much more from the world too but I must admit that I did enjoy the Celtic elements and the mention of Wales (Cymru).

The characters had potential but they infuriated me too much. Cassandra was your typical girl who discovers the world around her isn't quite what she seems and Devyn was your average mysterious boy with a possible bad streak but good heart. I don't know, I think I just didn't connect with them enough which meant that I didn't connect with the story.

Overall, I think this story just wasn't for me. It seemed a bit too messy and moved along too slowly. I did enjoy the cliffhanger ending but I don't think that's enough to make me want to read on.

Thank you for the ARC copy.

Yes! This book is just everything!
I’m not great at figuring out what I thought but here I go attempting it anyways. I will try and do this review based on 4 things characters, plot, pace and world building.

Characters-
Our main character Cass or Cassandra. She is kind of okay at the beginning but she comes into her own about half way through.
Devyn ❤️ oh he is just yum! But also in saying that he had a lot of annoying traits that I guess all mysterious characters have. Doesn’t say much, keeps important info to himself, you know what I mean. All the usual stuff.
Marcus...I think he was almost my favourite and most hated character all at the same time. Not going to say much as I don’t want to spoil but I would describe him as a yo-yo character. Like seriously dude... make up your mind.

I think a great thing about this book is that the side characters though they don’t show up often also became interesting parts of the plot. Can’t really go into much details about them as it’s spoilery 😬

Plot-
I loved everything about the plot. The magic element mixed with a tech element was super interesting. Kinda making it a mix between old and new. It’s hard to explain too much about it but I think the author did a wonderful job of mixing them together, and making them enemies. Whilst having sooo many questions for us as readers to make us question things from the beginning. We have mystery, identity crisis, a love story but it’s also something else. Just a fantastic ride.

Pace-
The writing style of this one was wonderful! I think with so many things happening in each and every chapter it was hard not to get swept up in it all. It was easy to follow for the most part. The only thing that sometimes stood in the way was the political side of the story.

Which brings us to the last factor

World building-
I really like the concept of an alternate history of Rome. The Roman Empire never fell! It’s a great world to build on. There is tension between the cities and the ancient kingdoms that surround them. The ancient kingdoms are known as Celts or Britons, the city we are being told the story from is Londinium.
I will say there is A LOT of background told about the history of what happened and why they are in a walled city but I’m not sure some of the depth was necessary. I think it definitely was still really easy to follow without completely grasping the background information. Which is great! You can enjoy the book if you like politics in a book or not. 🤷‍♀️

Anyhow I have rambled on quite a bit!
In conclusion I like this book and give a big 5 STARS! ⭐️ can’t wait to read the next one🤞

Set in a dystopian Roman empire world but with modern technology. Cassandra is betrothed to Marcus but Devyn believes she is his soul mate. Cassandra must choose between her family's happiness or her own.

I had high hopes for this book. I was drawn into reading it from the description. I liked the plotline. The setting got a little confusing but, to be fair, a good dystopian does get a little confusing because it's not the norm. I enjoyed the characters, they were all likeable. I liked everything about the book, I just didn't love it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of Secrets of the Starcrossed for my honest review.

I'll be blatantly honest that I read through some of the reviews of this before beginning, something I rarely ever do as I like to form my own opinions, so I went in with a pretty low bar...and I will happily say I was actually excited about this book and had a hard time putting it down.

There are a ton of cliche tropes (love at first sight, love triangle type relationships, goody rich girl gets her world turned upside down and realizes it's not so good, etc), and some of that is to be expected in a YA/NA type book, but I didn't actually mind it. My biggest issue was the history of the era they are living in. It is an odd combination of the Roman Empire and Dystopian Tech and when the narrator is explaining the uprising and history it is SOOOOO confusing. There are way too many pieces in the puzzle and way too many people in their history to keep up with.. I feel as though the prologue (which in my opinion was misleading and not needed) should have been a brief history of the civilization and the Code. A single blanket of events that lead up to where we are and what the "trial" is. Otherwise, I just got lost and skimmed those parts because it was too much to follow.

I really enjoyed the world building and the concept of "matching" or genetic pairing. It was an interesting concept and contrasting with the barbaric nature of the trials it gives it a bit of Hunger Games/Divergent type survival where no one is safe. I'm eager to know more about their world and what is outside the wall.

I am not someone who likes to be left hanging...and this ending...OH.EM.GEE...give me book two now!! It was a whirlwind adventure in the end!!! I am so frustrated we didn't discover more about the powers Cass has but I would imagine it goes into that more in the next book...I feel like she is about to explode in her abilities....

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Secrets of the Starcrossed in exchange for an honest review.

Before I get into details I must say I really enjoyed reading this.

Just of the bat the premise intrigued me; Roman empire didn't fall. Worldbuilding was very good, i won't go too far and call it brilliant, but it did pull me in and gave me this interesting world to explore.

I'm also a sucker for romance in fantasy novels. This fated trope might to be everyone's cup of tea, but it works for the hopeless romantic inside me.

I didn't find the characters overly relatable in any sense but I did find them, mostly, likeable. My main struggle is, just like much of YA, this rebel boy - princess girl relationship in general. Its overused as an idea, and quite problematic for me to digest. Luckily as the book developed our main heroine did have some grow and character development so I did enjoy it after all.

So, plotholes and all I would still recommend this novel. The easygoing tone it was written in, genuine humans, with flaws, rich world and love that goes against it all. I will be in first lines of getting the physical copy and anticipating the next book in the series!

This book made me think of game of thrones times. I loved the beginning and details of the party, but I must admit I did get bored half my through and I lost my way and gave up reading it. But this is probably because I’m going though personal issues in my life, which resorted me not reading for a few weeks. So I’m going to rate this a 4/5 star. As at the beginning I was interested in this book, think I will try and re read this title again and give my feedback on Amazon once I have read in full.

This book just didn't so it for me. It had a lot of potential though, it just left me wanting more. I think if the author made the character development a little stronger that would add wonders to the book.

Secrets of the Starcrossed is Clara O’Connor’s debut novel and the first in The Once and Future Queen trilogy. Set in a dystopian world in a city ruled by the Imperial Code and surrounded by an impenetrable wall, Cassandra lives her life as a content member of the elite until one day she realises that everything she knows and trusts is a lie.

YA readers can now add another great dystopian novel to their list with Secrets of the Starcrossed, its elaborately planned society and excellent building of a fantasy world. That being said, the background information surrounding the structure of the society and the history behind it was regrettably a little excessive and unnecessary at times. I enjoyed the fantasy elements in the novel, particularly because it really spiced up the dystopian society setting. I also appreciate how the concept of “magic” had an authentic feel rather than the wand waving stereotypes I have read in many YA fantasy novels. The storyline had consistent tension and the perspective of Cassandra meant that the reader was kept engaged and in the dark about the schemes and plans happening in the background. Unfortunately, this meant that the reader had to endure her rambling thoughts as she pined after Devyn, worked through confusion and spelled out exactly how she felt about what was happening. I liked the characters of Marcus and Devyn much more because they were gradually revealed and developed throughout the story in more subtle ways. I thought the ending of the novel was well done since it highlighted the shocking turn of events since the beginning and created the sense of a circular narrative. The downside is that the reader finishes the novel still questioning the fate of Cassandra and Devyn. It left me wanting more!

I recieved an e-arc of this from netgalley for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"In a world where the Roman Empire never fell, two starcrossed lovers fight to ignite the spark of rebellion…..."

This book had so much potential and I think many people will fall in love with the world but it just wasn't for me. I tried my hardest to get jnto this book and I think I just wasn't in the correct headspace when I picked this up (If I pick this up again and love it, I'll definitely be telling you guys!)

I loved the world building, I thought Clara did a great job of bringing Londinium to life and the societal classes were very well descripted.

Sadly however, I just couldn't get into the story. I found our main character, Cassandra to be the typical "good girl learns that the world she grew up in isn't all that great". I found Devyn to be the typical boy tries to change the world with rebellion. Dont get me wrong, i love these two types, just not together. I found it impossible to like either of our main characters and have no emotional attachment to them at all.

I do think many people will adore this book and I hope that people do pick it up and give it a go because her writing is amazing!

I think I can see why some people may have trouble starting this book. There is a lot of things happening but I think if you can jump over the hurdle and just get engrossed in the story alone, you’ll enjoy it throughly like I did!

First, I'd like to thank Clara O'Connor and HarperCollins One More Chapter for providing me an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down. The pacing was great and I never felt like it dragged, there were plenty of plot twists and turns to keep it moving, and I found myself rooting for the main characters throughout the book. I am 100% here for Cassandra and Devyn; their relationship was so fun to read about and was a definite highlight of the book for me! It definitely has an instalove feel, but I never mind that so long as I enjoy the relationship development. The Cassandra-Marcus dynamic was also well-done, and I enjoyed getting to see their relationship change throughout the book. The end of the book was satisfying, and I think the trilogy as a whole has a lot of potential - I'm really hoping for 4- or 5- star reads in the future books!

My biggest issue with the book was that I thought the world-building, especially at the very beginning of the book, could have been better. The first few chapters left me a little confused as to the world's timeline, and I spent some time wishing for a more developed world. That being said, partway into the book, the history gets a little more fleshed out and easier to follow. I also wasn't sold on the first-person POV and so much of the book happening in Cassandra's thoughts - I would have loved to see more dialogue and more action driving the book.

Overall, it was a really solid YA read, and I'd recommend it. I'll definitely be looking forward to the next book in the series!

I can totally get why this book is ideal for fans of The Hunger Games - it’s set in the same type of dystopian world. The story centres on a girl who we find is around 21 although I originally thought she was about sixteen. The book is divided into 3 parts. The first part I found quite confusing as I felt it’s was jumping from scenario to scenario without any signposting. The next two parts though seemed to settle down.. That all sounds quite negative and it’s not meant to be at all. I really enjoyed this book and the end sets us up nicely for the next two parts of the trilogy. I’ll look forward to reading them. I can see this adapting in Ely for TV.

A great opening to a new series.A fantasy world at its best a layering of intriguing characters a storyline that kept me turning the pages..Already looking forward to next in series will be recommending.#netgalley #harperuk

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Secrets of the Starcrossed in exchange for an honest review.

First off, the world here was so interesting I just wish it wasn't framed as a backdrop for a couple that I hated. Cassandra is your standard "good girl finds out world isn't as good as she thought" so we're not going to talk about her a lot but one of her two main love interests Devyn made me want to scream.

At first I was just going to give this a slightly below average rating because a lot of the things I hated about Devyn were things I know other people are into. He calls Cassandra "little girl" and "Papa's little princess" (in reference to her father. He's not calling himself papa and later shortens it to princess) which just... I get Baby is normalized but little girl has always read as not only incredibly condescending but also super creepy. Devyn and Cassandra are also a 4 year age gap couple which is fine I guess since they're in their twenties (although highkey I'm so sure they were originally teenagers that got aged up because of said age gap because the book treats them like teens) but it turns out when they first meant Cassandra was 12 and Devyn was a 16 year old pretending to be 12 to get closer to her and just... every time he used condescending language my brain forced me to remember that and it was not a good time. Anyways like I said, I get that kind of guy is genuinely people's type so here's your warning that the next paragraph where I reveal what made me big time want to slap Devyn has spoilers.

Drugs! That's the spoiler. Cassandra and Devyn have their first kiss in the right headspace then he's all "no we can't be together" but then when they get a lot more physically intimate for the first time it's established that Cassandra is trying to seduce him while on drugs that are meant to make her hypersexual. Cassandra acknowledges it, Devyn acknowledges it, and I was all ready to be annoyed that this book was going to have a "no, I might be an asshole but I won't take advantage of you" scene to try and redeem all of Devyn's earlier crappiness but then I got even more furious because he very quickly is like "hmmm... if you insist."

I'm so frustrated. I loved the world and themes being set up here. I wanted to explore them. But everything in this book is so tightly wrapped up in Devyn's character and he was just so awful that he tainted everything for me.