** I was given an Advanced Reader Copy of this book by the publisher (HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter) in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Secrets of the Starcrossed by Clara O'Connor follows Cassandra, a girl living in Londinium. In this story, the Roman Empire never fell and the citizens of Londinium are kept from their pagan enemies by a wall surrounding the city. There is a Code they must all follow and any divergence from the Code is dealt with swiftly. Each week they hold a Mete, where those who have defied the Code are brought into a sandy arena to be judged on their crimes. The citizens of Londinium are shown the evidence (with the criminals faces obscured) and must vote on whether the person before them is guilty.

Cassandra grew up in a wealthy family, never having to worry about anything. Her father was a wealthy merchant and she was lucky enough to attend class with the other elites. Cassandra is matched to Marcus, the son of one of the most prominent men in the city, and is set to marry him upon graduation. Cass has never broken the Code, but that all changes one morning when she notices something strange in a classmates pocket. In comes Devyn, someone she has never paid much attention to before. Cass is then made aware of a side of her she had no idea existed and her eyes are open to the misgivings of her world.

This book intrigued me, as it featured Celtic legends. This was something I had personally never read about in a book. The world-building and the overall plot of this book were absolutely amazing. O'Connor did a great job of explaining this new world and bringing the reader into the story. The ending has definitely made me want to read more!

Now, there were a few things that I couldn't get over while reading. I had to actually force myself to continue reading, otherwise I would have stopped 30% of the way in to the book.

First of all the main character was annoying. Cassandra was constantly changing her mind and complaining about the smallest of things. I get she grew up sheltered, but her thought process was so childish and materialistic.

Another thing that irked me was the authors diction. While I get the use of larger words can be beneficial to some stories, in this one it ruined the flow. It felt as if the author just picked up a thesaurus and threw in words that were unnecessary. Many times I found myself stopping to look up the word only to realize there were about five different words that would have fit there better.

Finally, I just felt like a lot of information was constantly being thrown at you with little explanation. I get most of this came from Devyn's character not wanting to explain things to Cass, but overall as a reader I got really annoyed.

The ending of this book was such a great turn of events, I am willing to give the second book a chance. I think O'Connor has a great idea here, but the execution didn't live up to my expectations. Especially when they are comparing this book to the likes of The Hunger Games.


*review posted on amazon on publish date under “rachel stinson”., couldn’t figure out how to link my direct review*

I really wanted to like this book. The premise is intriguing – an alternate history where the Roman Empire never fell, but survived to present day and beyond. An empire holding back the unruly Britons and their magical powers by means of some incredible technology. But it didn’t hit on all cylinders for me.

First, Cassandra is supposedly a young adult – she celebrates her 21st birthday in the book. But she often comes across as a whiny, immature teen who wants her way no matter the consequence.

Second, the insta-romance with Devyn. He comes to her notice in class one day, and suddenly, BAM! He’s all she can think about. Never mind that she’s already promised to Marcus. Once she acknowledges Devyn, that’s it.

Third, the Empire apparently has no qualms about using mind-altering drugs to “persuade” its citizens to do what’s right. The bridal tea that Cassandra drinks, the cuffs put on the “happy” couple at handfasting – talk about the illusion of free will. And really, you would expect an empire to use some form of manipulation to keep their grip on power. But how, then, does the older generation learn about and buy into this kind of control if everyone is so happy to be a citizen of the Empire? Is there some point at which they’re initiated into the secret society of Those Who Know so that they can “guide” their children in the right direction? Or is it just Cassandra and Marcus’s parents who are in the know, because the Empire wants an as-yet-unspecified something from their children?

Fourth, THE ENDING. Sweet mother of pearl, that ending. The story started kind of slow, and it kind of grated on me in some ways, but I did get sucked in about halfway through. I really wanted to know what happened. All this build-up to who Cassandra may be, what Devyn might be to her, can she break free from the life that’s been planned for her by others, and…WHAM. That. Ending. If I’d been reading a hard copy, I might have thrown the book across the room. I get that the author wants to leave the reader wanting more, but this seems to take that idea to extremes.

I think Ms. O’Connor has great potential. I’ll read the second book in the trilogy if for no other reason than to find out what happens next. I’d love to see a little more maturity from Cassandra, a little more attention to historical detail (if this is the Roman Empire, they aren’t going to talk about Hades – he was Greek, y’all), and more than just a titular nod to the Arthurian legend that comes to mind when I hear “the once and future queen.” That would elevate her work considerably in my opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley and One Chapter More for an advance review copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the story and the way history interweaved with new technology. I was a little bit confused as to why Hades was mentioned when there was a big focus on Romans but I'm not sure if that was just the mixture of Roman/Greek history. The ending was such a full stop. It definitely made me want to read the next book but by golly I really disliked the hard cliff-hanger.

Sadly I could not get on with this book at all. From early on, I felt I was going to be annoyed by the soulmates and romance stuff, and I was correct. I really wanted to like this, the synopsis sounds so good. But in reality, I really wanted everyone in it to drown and Cassandra annoyed me throughout. She kept swinging between opinions like a metronome.

I was unfortunately in a bit of a reading slump when I started reading this so it did take me a few days to get into it, but once I'd made it through that first part I was hooked.

I love the world the author has built and I really enjoy the Celtic elements included as well as the Roman style setting. I studied Classics in college so knew when reading the synopsis of this that it would be right up my street.

Without going into spoiler territory I absolutely love Cassandra as a character, even at times when I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room.

I cannot wait to get my hands on the next instalment, I desperately need to know what happens next!

I’m not sure how this book earned the blurb, “Panem meets the Grishaverse in this explosive new YA trilogy perfect for readers of Marie Lu, Bella Forrest, and Cassandra Clare.” I’m guessing it’s a marketing ploy; you know, use a bunch of YA keywords to drum up more reader interest, which is unfortunate because this bit of false advertising just makes it that much more disappointing when you realize Secrets of the Starcrossed is not what’s advertised.

The story is all over the place. O’Connor throws every YA trope and the kitchen sink into this book without really committing to any of it. There’s a bit of Matched, a dash of the Arthurian legend, a hint of Orwell, maybe a touch of Legend if you squint hard enough, and some Celtic mysticism thrown in for good measure. The thing is, I’ve read this story before. Not in this exact combination, but the instalove and surprise magical powers are nothing new. I’ve even seen the handcuff-like engagement jewellery before. Secrets of the Starcrossed doesn’t offer anything new and, unfortunately, doesn’t even regurgitate anything in a compelling or fun way.

The world-building is an absolute mess. Instead of getting a cohesive, developed setting, we get bits and pieces of different worlds haphazardly thrown together to create a muddled mess. It’s modern dystopia mixed with ancient Rome mixed with European history mixed with pseudo-Anglo history, and none of it is ever really fleshed out. Like 445 pages later, I’m still not really sure how the magical system works.

The editing needs work. The plot is hidden under layers and layers of fluff and filler. The story starts out incredibly slowly, and readers with a quick DNF-trigger finger probably won’t get past the first chapter. The story continues at an awkward pace–often too fast or too slow and rarely just right–which makes the final cliffhanger all the more frustrating. The fact that “starcrossed” is in the title probably should’ve clued me in to how romance-centric this would be, but it’s just laughable. It’s essentially insta-love with an extra side of cheese. There’s a pseudo-love triangle which isn’t particularly convincing because we’re hit so heavily over the head with the whole soulmates thing.

I’m a bit disappointed because this had the potential to be interesting and original but ended up being a bit confusing and derivative instead. Because the story picks up towards the end and ends on that awful cliffhanger, I’m sure I’ll end up reading the sequel at some point. I am hoping there’ll be more solid world-building and some better character development in the subsequent books though.

I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. I went into this book with not a lot of anticipation. The first third of the book was a little bit slow and didn’t really hold my attention, but once we were past that I really got into the book. I liked the story and had a hard time putting the book down.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the characters but liked them well enough. I’m not usually a fan of love triangles but I think Clara O’Connor had written this one in a great way. I also loved the world they were living in and kept wanting to know more about it. It was a really interesting world.

I can’t wait to pick up the next in the series as soon as it comes out. Like I said before I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did.

Unfortunately, this was just not the book for me. While I enjoyed the writing style, and I absolutely loved the premise of this book - alternate history is something I will always be interested by, that was about all I enjoyed. The worldbuilding had promise, but ultimately ended up feeling to fractured and scattered, rather than providing a cohesive backdrop to the story. The pacing was also off, with the first half flowing very well before all but reaching a standstill in the second half, and the ending - setting the foundation for the second book, felt too abrupt after that, and I just wasn't able to connect with the characters. That said, there were nuggets of promise all throughout this book, and I can see why some people have enjoyed it so much, it just wasn't a good match with me.

I originally had a hard time getting into this book because the synopsis talks about a Roman inspired world with magic and there was absolutely no magic to be found. I am so glad I stuck with it though, because this book was a wild ride.

The setting of this book is so interesting, yes, it is Roman inspired, and they talk about Celts and Britans, but it's also set in modern day society. The main character has a cell phone and access to the internet but at the same time is running around in gowns and is living in a high society as a Donna.

The love triangle in this (if you even want to call it that) was also very well written. Unfortunately, I don't think she's going to end up with the guy I want to her be with, because she barely even likes him.

I've preordered the rest of the trilogy and I can't wait to see where this story goes

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of this book via Netgalley for an honest review.

I loved the concept of this book - a take on what would have happened if the Roman empire never fell - and the historical references throughout the book were great (I guarantee I missed some as it isn't my area of expertise).

I also really liked the idea of the punishment system in the book, with the arena and the voting, but don't feel like this was explained and seen enough.

The mixture of both technology and magic use was interesting and one of the things I enjoyed the most in the book. I would be happy to see this explored further in the next book.

The start was slow and hard to get into, but I flew through the last 40%. However, while I felt the pacing was quite quick, the story was frustrating. There were a lot of convenient ways out of the events and some things felt very rushed.

Cassandra as the main protagonist was fine, but annoying and quite a pushover at times. My biggest frustration was the romance in the book. It was very back and forth and I didn't really care for either of the love interests.

The ending also felt very abrupt. I would pick up the next book to see where the story goes though.

Loved it. Absolutely loved it! I have to say, the mixed reviews made me a bit nervous, but after reading this book I really can't imagine why the reviews are so all over the place! First of all, the premise for this book is absolutely fascinating - from what I gather, it's written as if the fall of the Roman Empire never happened, so it's kind of like a "this is what would have happened if they had continued to thrive". SO cool right?! Not to mention the world that Clara O'Connor created! I loved trying to imagine what she envisioned with a city built up into the sky rather than out along the ground. It put my imagination to the test that's for sure!

In terms of the premise/world-building, the only thing I will say is that sometimes the history of the different kingdoms/wars/treaties was a bit confusing. I found it hard to follow along and felt there could have been a bit more detail included. I don't think that it took away from my experience, however. as I could follow along enough to understand the major players, and that is what was important. Just something to make note of!

Character-wise, I was not disappointed! Cassandra, the main female lead, started out as a simple person with a simple life. But as she discovered truths about herself and the world around her, she transformed into a defiant, compassionate, and determined young lady. Her development as a person throughout this book was so much fun to read and experience. I found many of her reactions and actions real and relatable, which was great as I tend to put myself in the shoes of the main character!

Devyn was also a great character. I found the beginning of the book, when Cassandra and Devyn meet for the first time, a bit fast. It kind of seemed to come out of nowhere and at the very beginning of the book without any sort of buildup. But as I kept reading, this feeling dissipated and I found myself rooting for them to be together! Devyn was a great male lead. He was dark, handsome, and mysterious (the perfect combo every time). He was confident and a bit arrogant, but it worked for him. He had the whole "bad boy" part down to an art and I loved every minute of it.

In terms of their relationship, the only thing that REALLY frustrated me was that Devyn would NOT tell Cassandra anything. Like literally anything. There would be huge, elaborate plans that she had to be a part of, and he would give her LESS than the bare minimum. It was irritating, to be quite honest. I wish I had seen a little more spunk and defiance from Cassandra in these particular situations. But that's pretty much my only complaint there.

And Marcus was an interesting addition that turned this into a semi love triangle type book! You'll see what I mean by that when you read it lol! He was not my cup of tea at first, but I came around as he developed into a character more worthy of my love and appreciation haha! As he also discovers the truth about the leaders of his world, he becomes much more bearable.

Overall, I found this book fresh and exciting! I loved the Celtic elements woven throughout, and am so excited to read what comes next in the series! TALK ABOUT A CLIFFHANGER! Eek! I highly recommend this book to all YA lovers!

When I heard this book was a touch of Hungers games meets Grushaverse with Marie Liu’s style of writing- I just had to read it!

Set against the backdrop of an alternate reality, where the Roman Empire never falls, but instead thrives, advances and adapts with futuristic technology and creates a system fused with Celtic magic, legends and traditions - it was a truly stunning premise!

Secrets of the Starcrossed follows the story of Cassandra- a proud daughter of a wealthy merchant, loyal follower of the Code, fiancé to the most eligible bachelor in the City - Marcus Courtenay and loyal citizen of Londinium.
The people of Londinium live by a Code (the laws and norms of the land) and those who fail to follow the rules are punished on the sands and the citizens are happy to comply.

However, once Cass meets Devyn, her world turns upside down. Cassandra had her life planned out but Devyn dazzles her, leads her to question the Code, unravel secrets and find love that completely captivates her.

A great plot and interesting setting and world building. The romance was beautiful, albeit a little predictable but good.
Cassandra , Marcus and Devyn were all intriguing/ dynamic characters but something felt forced with the relationships.

Overall, the book was great but fell a little flat and complex at times, like it was trying too hard, too much going on maybe? Nevertheless, A great start to a potentially brilliant trilogy - a wonderful take on a dystopian adventure with a touch of SciFi and fantasy and forbidden romance.

4.5 starlights

** I was given an e-arc by the publishers Harper Collins Uk, One more chapter through @netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In theory this sounds like a great premise for a fantasy series. What drew me to this in the first place was the idea of “what if the Roman Empire never fell”. I thought oh cool Roman Empire in modern day, they must have strong military and great technology, but then magic and talk of King Arthur and The Lady of the Lake was thrown in and I was lost. The world building was lackluster and the history was flat out confusing. I felt it read as more of sci-fi book with all the talk of “the Code” and the heavy use of technology.

The characters are cliché and kinda boring, but our main character Cassandra did start to grow on me, I mostly felt bad for her. Cassandra is portrayed as a superficial, good girl who was adopted and doesn’t know her true lineage. She’s your typical doesn’t know she has magical powers and might be someone really important character. Now if you’re going to do something that's been done thousands of times before I think you need something that makes these characters stand out and that’s what was missing for me. The romance, which was probably going to be the stand out feature was bland. There was no flirting or playfulness just instant love, and for someone she’s know for years but didn’t notice until one day when he got in trouble...seriously? The story goes form 0 to 100 real quick and not in a good way. There is no suspense or build up and then as the story progresses we continue to get bits of information which are hard to follow.

I think that if you look past the imperfections, underneath you have a pretty solid story it’s just we get so little information in book 1 that’s it’s more confusing and frustrating. I’m a glutton for punishment so I will most likely read the next book in the series especially since it comes out in March. I’m hoping book 2 will give us more answers.

The book in general was an okay read. However, I found this book to be really confusing with an over complicated world. I tried really hard to get to connect with the main character but I found them to be very immature. It was almost like the character didn't belong in the world described. Really disappointing.

First of all, a big thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for the digital ARC [eARC]!

I'm rating this a 3/5, mainly because the first 100 pages or so didn't grab me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the read and fully plan to pick it back up later, but I've been in a bit of a reading slump and was hoping this book would pull me out of it, but it hasn't. Hopefully something else does, and I can come back to this and give it another go.

The writing isn't bad, by any means, but it just didn't GRIP me. I'm hoping it's just my slump, but maybe it isn't? Which is why I'm putting 3 stars.

If I do read it [or officially DNF it], I'll come back and update this review.

I loved the premise of this novel, that’s why I requested it on NetGalley, but I had a bit of hard time enjoying this story, especially at the beginning, where most of the narrative is occupied by too much information. A young girl promised to the most handsome and most-sought man in town, but attracted to the dangerous guy who keeps pushing her away. All is set in a technological world full of secrets, spies, and plots. Towards the end things got more interesting and I started to enjoy it. I have to admit that I may read the sequel to see what happens next.

Book 1 of The Once and Future Queen series

I received an ARC of Secrets of the Starcrossed through NetGalley thanks to the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

“Secrets of the Starcrossed is the first novel in the epic The Once and Future Queen fantasy series by Clara O’Connor.

An absolute must-read for fans of The Hunger Games…

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

Londinium, the last stronghold of the Romans left in Britannia, remains in a delicate state of peace with the pagan kingdoms that surround it. Within its mighty walls defiance means death and capital punishment is decreed by public vote.

As the only daughter of a powerful merchant, Cassandra is betrothed to Marcus, the most eligible bachelor in the city and the last scion of the Old Blood.

But then she meets Devyn, the boy with the strange midnight eyes searching for a girl with magic in her blood. A mythical guardian from an ancient Celtic kingdom with a debt to pay to a Northern lord…

A boy who will make her believe in soulmates.

When a mysterious virus rips through the slums leeching the life from citizens with Celtic power lying dormant in their veins, the imperial council hide behind locked doors, scheming. But the question remains: is magic the cure or the curse?

Panem meets the Grishaverse in this explosive new YA trilogy perfect for readers of Marie Lu, Bella Forrest, and Cassandra Clare.” -NetGalley

Review:

The comparison of Hunger Games meets Shadow and Bones is an accurate depiction of Secrets of the Starcrossed. I think there is a bit of Matched mixed in there too. All of which I love! I was honestly nervous going into this book. Those comparison books are major and have had a huge impact on my reading life. But it actually managed to live up to those titles really well.

Cassandra, Michael, and Devyn are all loveable characters, even if I want to smack some sense into them at times. I really want to know what happens to them next!

The world is wonderfully constructed. I am fascinated by dystopians, especially those where the main character is oblivious to the negative aspects of their society until it can no longer be ignored. There are times were Cassandra acts like a spoiled brat, but that was her life for so long that it is not surprising that she struggles breaking away from that world. In the end what matters is if she is able to. We shall see!

I do recommend this to someone looking for a twisted contemporary future where magic exists outside the walls, until it breaks through.

An illness has struck the land of Londinium, part of a Roman Empire and is affecting everyone with Celtic magic within their blood.

Marcus can save everyone but is ill himself, will he get better and can he really save everyone from an illness that’s spreading round the city?

There was a few aspects of this that I felt was quite reflective of today’s climate.

Cassandra the protagonist is also stuck in a love triangle between Marcus, the most wanted bachelor of the whole kingdom and Devyn a boy who has now just come into her life who has swept her off her feet. However, as the daughter of a powerful merchant, Cassandra is betrothed to Marcus. Cassandra feels as though she is now having to hiding her love for Devyn and is stuck with no where to turn.

Who will she choose?

I loved the relationship between Cassandra and Devyn, soulmates divided by power and wealth.

I also loved the world that the author had built which she goes into quite some detail.

The book ends on quite a cliffhanger and I look forward to reading what happens next.

Secrets of the Starcrossed is the first book in The Once and Future Queen Trilogy by Clara O’Connor. The story takes place in Londinium, a place where the Roman Empire never fell. It is narrated through the eyes of Cassandra Shelton who is engaged to the most eligible bachelor in the city, Marcus Courtenay. The people of Londinium live by a set of rules known as the Code and anyone who doesn’t follow the Code is punished accordingly on the sands. Cass always followed the Code that is until she crossed paths with Devyn Agrestis.

I absolutely loved everything about this book!!

I enjoyed watching the world being built piece by piece until it became this intriguing place that I never wanted to leave. I enjoyed most of the characters except for the obvious ones which I won’t mention because I don’t want to spoil anything. The storyline had me hooked from the very start and the secrets throughout the story left me wanting to know more. I enjoyed learning about the different bloodlines and types of people such as Shadowers.


I found Cass to be annoying, naive and selfish at first but then I found myself liking her a lot more as her character became more complex while discovering her true self. Marcus was a lot nicer than what I thought he would be because of who his father was. I actually really liked him and I think that he deserved a lot better that what he got. I loved Devyn and how mysterious he was. I could tell that the chemistry between Cass and Devyn was instant, I loved how it amplified when they were close to each other or when they touched. The two of them were definitely starcrossed lovers and Cass was “willing to set the world alight to keep him safe”.

The ending for me was brutal and totally surprising. I can’t wait to find out what happens in the next book.

I recieved an advanced copy for free, and this is my honest opinion.

Oh this was such a disappointment. I read the the blurb about the setting for this and went Yes! Roman Londinium survived and grew into a bustling metropolis with roman rule, and undercurrents of celtic magic. What I got was a close to Current day London with some extra skyscrapers and some more slums, with the loosest scraping of roman-esq rule spread thinly on top. There was so much potential but none of it used. The city could have been reshaped but instead current day areas and landmarks persist, Piccadilly Circus (named for a 17th century fashion that couldn't have happened in this alt history), Richmond (named from the French during the Norman invasion again not in this alt history), the houses of parliament and Battersea power station are still present. I might be being pedantic but to me this is lazy worldbuilding, just sticking roman on top of modern London, with no real imagination to how it would be different.

The plot is just as lack lustre in my opinion. I could physically count the steps of the hero's journey and the number of try fail cycles. There are many great stories that follow the hero's journey almost to the letter but still manage to sweep you along and not have it jump out so obviously. The plot also relies heavily on one of my most hated tropes and that is the just not telling the main character anything despite them needing the information and the secondary character holding all that information.

*SPOILERS*
The love story is our main character Cass repeatedly returning to gain information from a MAN! (the characters are in there 20s), who refuses to tell her anything and refuses her advanced on several occasions, until Cass's mother drugs her, Cass becomes unbearably horny and they give into their 'desire' (YIKES)
*End of spoilers*

My last gripe is this is an NA. The characters are in there 20s but they act like and read like this was written as a younger audience YA. Cass is constantly justifying why she might find a man attractive. NEWS FLASH women, particularly Adults - which Cass is, are allowed to feel sexually attracted to other adults without having to have there sexual desire justified by Magic or Drugs, they can shock horror just find someone attractive. This might be my biggest gripe that we will continually market books that supress women's feelings and desires and then pretend to paint them as positive as she wanted him she just needed Magic to overcome her societal pressure, YIKES all mighty!

Can we please have an NA that has healthy sexual parnerships, expression of female sexuality and desire with out it turning into a she is overcoming the system by having sex.

So that is my girpes, it really was the wrong book for me . You may love these tropes, you may be ok with a lazier amount of worldbuild (for me its a deal breaker) so you may enjoy this book. The writing style itself is very fuild and easy to read so I can say nothing bad about how it was written just the content of the story just was disappointing to me. Oh and there is a cliff hanger ...