I am so very looking forward to this series. I loved the cliffhanger. The Arthurian Legend is something that's not new to literature, but this series seems to take it in its own unique way that I'm excited to follow.

The book follows the life of a young gill in Londonium, a city in the Roman Empire in this alternative histroy young adult novel. She is the member of the elite in the society, bethrothed to the most elligible bachelor in the city. She is also a very rule abiding young woman who is ready to become a full member of the society. However, one day she helps a young boy in her class by helping him hide a piece of forbidden tech, and thus breaking the Code. From then on her life takes unexpected and unplanned for turns.
The book has a very interesting premise - Roman empire had never fallen, people still live in that Roman culture. Roman empire is surrounded by pagan barbarian areas. All elements which would otherwise guarantee a very interesting novel. This however suffers from the standard problems of first time authors - inconsistency of tone, endless repetition of facts (which are sometimes confused and confusing) and the bane of all YA novels - forced and inconsistent angst.
I hope that in the following books of this series the author irons out these issues and that we get more from her truly interesting imagination.

GREAT PREMISE BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT

Actual rating: 2.5 ⭐

Honestly, this was not a bad book. It really wasn't. It just wasn't all that it could have been. It really had potential to be good. It started out as something that was going to be good. But it lost momentum about halfway through and it didn't pick up again in my opinion.

👍 What I Liked 👍

Premise: A world were the Roman empire never collapsed on itself. It persisted all the way up to our present day and further. That's the premise of this book and that really appealed to me. It was a thought provoking premise that could have been turned into something really good.

👎 What I Disliked 👎

Inaccurate: If there's one thing I absolutely loathe and cannot discount it is something inaccurate. And I found such a thing in this book. This is a proposed Roman society. And yet... the people in this world say "to Hades"! Hades is a Greek god. The Romans would have said "to Pluto".

Pace: At first I didn't mind the pace because I was enjoying the world building. But soon the world building failed and so did the pace. It was just too slow and drawn out.

World building: Again, at first the world building was intriguing and interesting. But that didn't last. It's obvious that O'Connor has built a very wide and complex universe in her mind. But I really don't think she did a good enough job of explaining and laying down her world. It got confusing.

Romance: Devyn and Cassandra are drawn to each other. And then they are not. And then they are. And then they are not. And then they are. And then they are not. Must I continue?

Well. That was... something.

Secrets of the Starcrossed sounded like it would be the type of book I really enjoyed - an alternate history filled with old magic, a mystery that must be solved, and it had been compared to The Hunger Games. What could possible go wrong? A lot, as it turns out.

My biggest issue - or rather the biggest shock -I had was with the setting and genre. I fully expected this to be set around the time of the Roman Empire. Think peasants, dysentery, and swords and you'll be on the same page as I was going into this. Imagine my surprise when I found out there were computers, technology, and a whole manner of other futuristic things that felt more sci-fi than fantasy. Immediately, my immersion was ruined, my expectation shattered, and my experience tainted. 'But no worries!' I told myself. 'I can get past that!'

I could not, in fact, get past that.

Because I had a lot more issues with this book. And I'm actually really bummed out by that. Aside from the reality of the setting not matching my expectations, I also just found this to be a really mediocre book. There was nothing particularly special or groundbreaking about it and I felt that it didn't really bring anything new to the genre. The writing was mediocre at best, being disjointed and not flowing well between chapters. The plot wasn't anything new, and was poorly structured with... not really that much happening. The characters ranged from bland to annoying - and I do not buy that Cassandra was 22. The love triangle lacked chemistry and didn't really supply any tension or excitement to the story. The world building was equal parts vague and info-dump, leading to nothing but confusion. Overall I just found it difficult to bring myself to care about anything going on, and I feel like this could have been a real gem.

I think the heart of the matter is that this just felt a bit unfinished and unsure of its destination. In the first 50% I found it really hard to follow along and understand both the world-building and the plot. The former left me feeling as if something was missing, as if I'd been thrown into the middle of a series, but still confused about the information I did have. The latter just... did nothing for me. I felt that the plot (and the characters, if I'm being honest) flip-flopped from point to point without making any real progress or having much of a point. The two big things that stood out to me were the device we're shown very early in the book and the mystery girl Devyn is searching for. With the device, we spend a decent chunk obsessing over it but we're never really told what it is, what it does, or why it's so important. It's just... there. And with Devyn's girl, we get next to no information about her, save from the reveal. We learn who she is, but even then it's vague and I've come out of a 400+ page book knowing absolutely nothing about one of the pivotal plot points. Sigh.

If I had to sum up my reading experience in two words they would be disappointed and confused. I wanted to enjoy Secrets of the Starcrossed, really, I did. But after finishing the book the only positive thing I have to say is 'well, I didn't hate it.' And that really sucks.

I ended up skipping through this book since it was so boring. I wasn't expecting the future setting at all and it really threw me off. I will not be reading the rest of the series and I hated the first-person point of view.

3.5*

While there are many elements in this book that I enjoyed such as the Celtic mythology and a forbidden romance, it also lacked in so,e areas. The pace and how the plot unraveled didn’t flow as nicely as I look for in my fantasy romance. While I enjoyed reading it I do not plan on continuing in the series

I received an E-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my rating or review.

From the very beginning this book was impossible to put down. The author starts out by putting you in the middle of some unknown conflict, and that is just the smartest thing an author can do to me. Two pages in and I'm invested. Heart pounding, swiping pages. I need to know how we got there. The characters also kept my attention so there isn't one bad thing I can say about this. I'm really looking forward to this continuation and seeing where the author takes the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Uk (One More Chapter) for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Cassandra has expend her whole life trying to be perfect, the perfect daughter, the perfect student, the perfect citizens... but everything changes when she sees herself involved in a revolution she doesn't want to do anything about. Or will she?

"Secrets of the Starcrossed" is a book that had made me go back to my younger-self, readying books such as Matched or Divergent. With Cassandra, you see how not everything is what it seems and that following your heart can be hard but sometimes is the only option, and that we have to be able to fight against those who want to control us.

The characters were well structured, Cassandra was too innocent and easy to manipulate but I found her evolution was great, how she started fighting against everything she knows to achieve her objectives and show the world she is more than a simple girl. Devyn was quite exasperating, I don't think I get him yet, it is like he is hiding too many things and there is so much more about him behind what we have seen in this book, also the way he treats Cassandra... sometimes it feels like he is playing with her, and finally Marcus, I don't know if I hate the guy or I love him... I am still skeptical so I don't have a clear opinion of what is happening with him, he was a secondary character during half of the book and suddenly he was not anymore. I know everything Marcus does is because he feels is the right thing to do but I swear there were moments I wanted to kill him.

I loved the way this book combined dystopia with magic and how every little detail was studied to perfection and has a reason to be. The twists were great although I hated them (in a good way). Although the romance made me get dizzy with all the yes-no-yes-no, really enjoyed the way the characters interact with each other.

Saying all of this, I have to say that this book got a bad thing (maybe not a bad thing for everyone but it was for me) which is the ending. There was an objective throughout the whole book and the book ends like this... I won't spoil anything. But this ending without having the second part next to me killed me.

To sum up, I enjoyed the book a lot, I think that it is easy and quick to read and the twists and the story were great. For people who are thinking to read it, it has nothing to do with the Grishaverse or Cassandra Clare, it has maybe a little bit of the Hunger Games, but I feel that a better comparison would be Matched by Ally Condie and Divergent by Veronica Roth (as I said before). I think is a good comeback of the classical dystopia story that we all loved with some new touches.

It took me a little while to get into this world, but eventually the characters pulled me in. I can't wait for the sequel!!

I love that is is set in an alternative future, and the combination of magic and technology is something that I have always been drawn to. This book is definitely for older readers and I enjoyed the romance aspect of the story, there is a lot of drama and I am sure there is more waiting to unfold.

There is a bit of a slow and slightly confusing start to the story, so you really need to push through a bit at the beginning to get to the good stuff. As someone who loves fanfiction-y tropes, I really enjoyed those aspects of the novel. Some parts are a bit problematic which is again why I recommend it for older readers who can acknowledge that and not romanticise toxic behaviour.

Overall, it is a fun romance with one foot in the past and one in the future and I look forward to reading the next installment.

It’s not often I’m left wondering about a world I was once submerged. O’Conner has created a reality that is well thought out and moves with a rapid pace that makes it hard to put down. When I got to he end I literally was like, “What?? No way!!”. It was that good. I can’t wait for their next book and hop it lives u to the expectations left behind from the first. Special thanks to Netgalley for giving me the the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to like this more than I did but it was just so full of tropes, which weren't amazingly well done, and the main character was just so pathetic. Honestly most of her issues came from mooning over boys, even after finding out some major plot points she just immediately became a simpering moron when encountering one of the main boys. It just really wound me up. It's a shame because i think the idea behind it is an interesting one and the magic element had promise but my god the characters were just unlikeable.

First of all thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have a lot of feelings about this book so let’s get started.

I thought the setting of an alternate reality Britain was so interesting and loved the world-building in this book. It was incredibly detailed and well thought out. I was initially drawn to this book from the synopsis as it was a unique concept for me. Londinium remains the last stronghold of the Romans left in Britannia and we are thrown into this world in the very first chapter. Throughout the book, O’Connor continues to build upon this intricate world that she has created, and it is stunning.

‘If she were the one you seek, there would be signs of so much more.’

What I liked about the romance in this book was that it wasn’t your typical YA love triangle. Instead, there is involvement from the government and technology. I thought it was a really unique take on love triangles as I personally haven’t seen it done anywhere else before. The book is split into three parts and the love triangle didn’t really appear until part two when you properly meet Marcus. Marcus is Cassandra’s match according to the government and I found it interesting how technology played a part in their relationship and influenced their feelings. So much happened in this book and I want to write about it all but I can’t as my review would become too full of spoilers!

‘Your fates are entwined and you will be with him to the end, but he will not be with you.’

Cassandra is the main character and I like how over the course of the book she begins to understand that the world she has grown up in isn’t what she thought it was. She begins to learn that the government has a lot of control over the lives of the citizens of Londinium. This encourages her character to develop more independence from her peers and essentially become a much more likeable character compared to in her previous life. There were a few times when she was pining after Devyn when it appeared that he was not interested and these were very frustrating but overall I did like her character.

‘You can be whoever you want to be. You’re not tied to the future they made for you anymore.’

Devyn, the main love interest, is a very mysterious character and I questioned who he was and whether he was actually real multiple times! The romance between Devyn and Cassandra faced many obstacles, including Marcus, and Devyn himself seemed very hot and cold, I think due to certain orders he was following. It was quite a slow burn in terms of romance. Marcus is mentioned a couple of times before we actually meet him and his character also developed and became more understanding towards Cassandra. I thought I was going to go into this book hating Marcus, but I didn’t and I quite liked him.

‘Cassandra, you’re in love with another man. You were willing to set the world alight to keep him safe.’

Secrets of the Starcrossed is an extremely intriguing read and just when I thought the drama was over, something else occurred that hooked me right back in. Towards the end, it got a bit frustrating as it did seem like there was a repetition of plot points but it did create a lot of suspense and kept me reading. The ending shocked me as it was not at all what I thought was going to happen and I now can’t wait to read the next instalment.

The best way to describe this book is that it is every single trope from early 2010s dystopia rolled together, with as many romance clichés as possible. The only cliché that wasn’t present was the advertised love triangle was not a love triangle, as Cass had no feeling for Marcus, the man she was matched with.

There were some odd turns of phrase too. <i>Why waste calories on some passing fancy when the most delectable custom-made dessert was waiting for you?</i> Are we actually discussing chastity before a matched marriage like we're calorie counting? Yes we are.

Cass was a very bland character. She calls her appearance a “romantic dream” but there wasn’t much else to her. She had no defining characteristics. She isn’t funny or clever or have a temper. Anything that you might use to label her. Why should I – or anyone – care about her when she had no personality to latch onto?

They kept talking about “The Code”. At first I thought it was the rules for their way of life, but then it seemed to be some sort of digital technology/firewalls. But why does that mean that she was “living according to the Code”?

The age range of this book is hard to pin down. Goodreads calls it YA, Waterstones has it under Children and Teens on their website. It feels very YA. However, half way through, we learn that Cass has had her 21st birthday. Up until this point, I had thought her 18 because of the premise and story type. So I’m guessing this is a NA book that can’t be called that as NA isn’t considered an age range outside of Indie spheres.

From the series title (<i>The Once and Future Queen</i>), I’m guessing this series is an Arthurian retelling. There are references to Arthurian characters, but nothing that says retelling to me. The world building, however, was absolutely all over the place and unbelievable. Perhaps someone else might not have found it so unbelievable, but I am a Brit who knows this country’s history very well, particularly the periods relevant to this book’s lore. I was rolling my eyes and then furiously messaging friends over the Alternate Universe history of the world, and how it made no sense.

Let’s start with the geography of the city. I know my home very well. In this Alternative Universe, the city is constrained by its walls, a barrier against magic that let them use tech inside. So the city has built upwards. Not quite sure if this means no light gets to the bottom as there are layers above, or just there are high rises. It doesn’t say.

The city does not seem to have the limits of the old Roman walls as the Docklands are within the walls, which is very far from what were the Roman limits. I have no idea how big the city is them, as that is quite far for the city to stretch. Maybe a quarter of the size of actual London?

The Ritz also exists, as does St Bart’s and the Savoy. Places like this have names that make no sense in this world’s history. Let’s take the Isle of Dogs for example (apparently still within the walls. These are ENOURMOUS walls) If there was no ruling monarchy controlling Londinium, there would be no royal kennels on the former marshland. So the name makes no sense.

Which brings me to the “history”. So the Roman Empire never fell, but has been fighting the native Britons, Celts etc ever since. They have the North, Wales, and Cornwall, and the Romans the South East. The problem is the medieval “history” – that is so important to the series and who Cass is – makes no sense under this premise.

We have two old lines mentioned: the Courtneys (sometimes known in our world as the de Courtneys) and the Plantagenets (aka, the medieval royal line descending from Henry II).
So, the Courtneys. A French noble family that quarelled with Louis VII of France in the 1100s and part defected to England, establishing the English House of Courtney (hence the de). If the Roman Empire never fell, then there wasn’t a French king for a Courtney to fall out with and come to England. And yet with have this old “Briton” family that’s so important and part of Marcus’ lineage. The old Britons of our world did have a French link – they were a people group who emigrated from Brittany – where we’d called them the Bretons. Not to Burgundy where the de Courtney’s were from.

The Plantagenets are a major part of British history. The line of Monarchs from Henry II to Richard III are the Plantagenets, named after a flower Henry II’s father was associated with. They are also French descent. Anjou and Aquitaine, NOT Normandy, where the book claims they were living. Apparently, in the book, the Plantagenets fled Normandy for England after the Empire stamped out a rebellion.

And yes, there are references to the Wars of the Roses. The Plantagenets had two branches, York and Lancaster, which came together to be the Union of Roses, but then York died out. The widow of the last Lancastrian King married a certain Owain Tewdwr of the House of Glyndwr (aka Owain Tudor married Catherine de Valois) and started a new royal line – the Tewdwrs, with no reference to the fact that their son married another branch of the Lancastrian line, hence Henry Tudor’s claim to the English throne.

Instead, the son married the Lady of the Lake (one of the few Arthurian references). He also claimed descent from High King Arthur (the other Arthurian reference of the book) and pushed the Romans back to the walls of Londinium, where they built a palace. I’m assuming it’s supposed to be the lost palace of Richmond.

This might be a nitpick from me, but it was so hard to take any of the story seriously because of all the tropes and eye roll moments that this bad unbelievable, hole-filled world building took me utterly out of the world. It wasn’t just the history that confused me either.

The school that Cass attends is called a Civics (I think). Given the uncertainty over the book’s age range, this might be the world’s version university? It feels like the sort of American High school we see in US YA. They study for midterms. They have lockers and cliques. The whole thing felt very American and not at all British. Which, given it is set in Londinium, was very disconcerting. (Yes, I know it’s AU, but as the Roman Empire never fell, the US would have had a very different history and so the US school system would not be the norm)

The rest of the world feels similarly American, with the shopping malls and the types of parties and events on Cass’ social calendar. Books set in England that do not feel like they are in England are my pet peeve. It’s usually because the author hasn’t done enough research into our country and culture, and it sticks out a mile to a Brit.

The world beyond Londinium was equally confusing. What was the history of the Roman Empire and America? Britannia is described as being the edge of the Empire, so is America the land of its native peoples? There is mention of the Aztecs and Incas trading in London. Elsewhere it says there was no much trade with there, so coffee is not a common good.

If Londinium is the edge of the empire, how is it seemingly so important? The book claims that Londinium is an important, powerful, wealthy city as it is a tech hub, but elsewhere it says it is not easy to get to Britannia because of the magic. You would not create your biggest tech hub in a location you cannot easily get to. Plus, as the Britons and other natives have control of much of the country, the city cannot support its own food needs on the land it controls. Yet, if it is not safe to travel across the sea for everyone, how do they import? These traders are not allowed ashore (no reason given) so stay on the ships.

The religion is also up in the air. They seem to be cursing using the Roman gods, but there are mentions of Christian “temples” in the poor districts. Cass refers to it as a “phase the empire went through”. The Roman faith itself is not mentioned beyond cursing. No going to make sacrifices for good luck or as part of festivals etc.

All in all, it was a very confusing book with a cliché plot and a bland character that could not keep me interested.

The premise of this book really intrigued me. What if the Roman Empire had not fallen? Throw in magic and hint at King Arthur and The Lady of the Lake, you've hooked me. This book takes place in Londinium and technology developed faster there. Due to battling with the Britons and a treaty, they are confined to Londinium and a few other cities on the southern end of the island. As a result, they expanded upwards instead of outwards. Personally, all those levels would make me nervous height wise, but I guess when you grow up with them, you are fine.

The plot revolves around Cassandra, who is completing her schooling to become a citizen of the Empire and is matched to marry Marcus, who is the son of a Senator. Due to an impulsive act in class one day, she becomes enmeshed and enamored with Devyn, who is not as innocuous as he has seemed for years. Technology does not work much past the city limits and she thought that magic did not work in the city where it is banned. Very interesting!

This is the first book in a trilogy and I have already pre-orderd the other two books because I need to know what happens next.

I received a copy of this book to review from Harper Collins, UK through NetGalley and thoroughly enjoyed it.

“Match is a lie foisted upon me so tonight I want to choose my truth. Tonight, I choose you.”
•
3.5 ⭐️. Thanks to Netgalley for an early copy if this book.

First of all let me tell you that the world building is awesome. In a world where the Roman Empire has never fallen Cass lives in Londinium, an alternative London where life is dictated by the rules of the Code. Magic is forbidden and it is only for the Barbarians who live outside the walls. Inside, life is civilized and technology is very advanced, you are given your mate when you are quite young and he is the best match you can catch given your interests and your dispositions. And Cass has received the most prized man in the city, Marcus.. the problem is that before their wedding she starts noticing Devyn, who makes her feel as nobody has. But he is also a spy for the Britons and he tells her absurd things, like that she has magic and that the Government is manipulating her.

As I said the world building is really captivating, it’s undeniable the study about the Roman Empire the author has carried on and it is visible how it has influenced this London, even if, thanks to technology, it appears completely new. Trials take place in the arena and even if the moral code is the leading guide of life, there are some excesses and pleasures permitted that reminded me of the Empire in decline.

Unfortunately I couldn’t really feel a connection with the characters, in particular with Cass. At the beginning she is a frivolous little princess that only thinks about parties.. then she starts realizing that Devyn is right and she is more aware but it really seems as if everything she does is to stay near him. She doesn’t really think about finding her past or about her people, she just wants to be in his arms and that’s very annoying, plus the fact that Devyn is super mysterious and he doesn’t reveal things easily and that drove me crazy! Moreover Cass’ powers start to present and she seems not to be able to control them, then they more of less completely disappear and in the end reappear again at her command.. that was very odd.

However in the end there is a big cliffhanger and I can’t say I’m not intrigued in knowing more!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Secrets of the Starcrossed in exchange for an honest review. Set against the backdrop of an alternate history where the Roman Empire never fell, Secrets of the Starcrossed follows the story of soon-to-graduate and secret fiancé of the most-eligible-bachelor-in-the-city Cassandra, a girl who was brought up with the Code and who must now face, for the first time, the knowledge that not all is as it seems.

It was very underwhelming, the beginning is just a lot of info-dumping which I struggled to make sense. Slow pace. The setting of this Roman history with technology wasn’t credible. I didn’t like Cassandra and the love interest was just too cheesy, the insta-love scene made me laugh and cringe at the same time. It's a trope-y story: love triangle, forbidden love, cold mother, dystopian society, lost heir.

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.

I tried, I really did. Secrets of the Starcrossed is unfortunately not for me. I had very high hopes for this one, but it sadly fell very flat. The writing felt very young, especially for a book that revolves around 20 year old characters. The world felt very disjointed, I couldn't ever visualize anything. It felt like a Roman empire in old days but placed in present day? Like there were computers and technology? It never felt well explained so the majority of the time I had no idea what was going on. I also have some issue with was essentially a rape scene where the main character was "drugged", even if it was something to make her more sexual? That was incredibly weird to me and gave me not good vibes.

I really wish this one had worked for me because it sounded like the next best thing, it just wasn't for me!

The last sentence of the summary says Panem meets the Grishaverse, I don’t see that. Like at all..
I feel like this book could not decide if it wanted to be a fantasy or a romance, so it tried to be both, but kinda failed. It should have chosen one or the other.
The romance part wasn’t very good, since the ‘love triangle’ was just weird. Idk if I should really call it a love triangle, since the one side was ‘forced’ and the other was real. I think for me to care more about the romance, I should have cared more about the characters. But since there was also quite some other things going on, there was not enough space for us to get to know the characters very well.
There was also a lot going on with some magic and other kingdoms and a sickness. And I think it was just a bit too much. All the different parts were not really explored. Personally I was most interested in the magic, but actually we don’t really know much about it. I honestly don’t really know what the different characters could do.
This book both felt very long and way too short. Too short since there was so much happening but it was all done half. Too long since it felt like I was reading this book for forever, I was just not very compelled to continue every time I put it down. But every time I convinced myself, because maybe we would learn more! But alas..

I’ve rounded up my rating to 3 stars and I both read and listened to this story. The world created in Secrets of the Starcrossed was one of an elite alternate futuristic/contemporary society but also one with people less fortunate. I didn’t find the world building immediately easy to understand but over time it did get clearer.

There was a lot going on in this story. A number of characters vying for prominence and essentially, I didn’t particularly connect to Cassandra. That lack of connection with the MC played out further into a lack of feeling of chemistry between the characters. This was a pretty fast-paced read with a good tempo, however.

I do have mixed feelings about this book. It has something of an identity crisis; is it fantasy or dystopia, is the underpinning culture Roman or Celtic? It’s a mix of all of the above and I remain unsure how I feel about those elements. Added to this, the gorgeous cover definitely says Celtic fantasy to me but the reading of it doesn’t leave me with this.

With regards to the narration, I did struggle with the choice of narrator who sounded into her 50s or 60s by voice. The main characters whose POV this was told from, was a teenager. That disconnect isn’t ideal, however I did like being able to experience both formats in tandem.

So overall, I’ve ended this book a little unsure of how I felt about it and what I think about future installments. I do think the synopsis comparisons to other famous worlds are a little ambitious and often not that helpful to readers, I don’t want to make those comparisons and feel left short. This is a book that is definitely worth giving a try to see if you gel with the culture and world, especially if you like Celtic and British cultures and history colliding.

Thank you to One More Chapter for the early review copies.

I adored this book!
It's got adventure, mystery and incredible world building. I loved the main character and the alternative universe that it's set in. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!