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!

This book was underwhelming and I DNF. I didn't care about the characters and I found myself wanting to skim.

It's possible that I was not the target audience.

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.

To describe this book in a word? Underwhelming.

I wanted so badly to love this book. The description sounded so cool! Panem meets Grishaverse with further comparison to Marie Lu? Count me in! Unfortunately, this book fell far short of those lofty expectations, and my initial excitement quickly dissolved into disappointment. I wish I had gone into the book without it being compared to Panem/the Grishaverse/Marie Lu because it simply is not on the same level as them. The comparison felt more like a marketing scheme than a genuine attempt at giving fans an idea of what the book would be like.

A major issue I had was with the romance. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the biggest romance fan in the world but even I’m a sucker for a well-written ship; hell, even a well-written love triangle. This book was not that.

For the main character, Cassandra, and one love interest, Devyn, it was love at first sight. I’m not a soulmate/love at first sight fan but I was willing to overlook it. But then they start weirdly feeling each other’s hair the third time they ever interact and it only gets more off-putting from there. I know the description for this book mentions that Devyn will “make her believe in soulmates” but there’s a difference between believing in soulmates and just an utterly unrealistic romance. The third member of the love triangle is Marcus, the man Cassandra has been betrothed to since she was twelve. Frankly, I feel bad for him.

Let’s talk about the characters. Cassandra had no real strong motive whatsoever throughout the story; she sort of just goes along with what Devyn did and what others told her to do. Her lack of personal agency made her boring. I wish her character arc involved more than ‘Devyn thinks I might be this secret person he’s looking for’. Devyn, though he had a clear drive, was one dimensional. Marcus was by far the most developed of the bunch and felt the most like an actual human being. Unfortunately, Marcus is the one of the three we see the least.

The plot was fine. It was okay. The book definitely didn’t need to be as long as it was. There were many times I found myself skimming just to get through a scene. By the final quarter of the book, the author finally managed to create a narrative compelling enough to keep me paying attention and the cliffhanger ending was successful at leaving the reader wanting more. Because the book became more interesting at the end, I would consider reading the second in the trilogy, but if it was more of the same, I wouldn’t be too broken up about it.

The setting was neat! I liked the incorporation of advanced technology with Roman history and would love to see that developed further.

I still believe this story has potential and hope that this book was simply a slow start to a more interesting story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-copy of this book!!!

The description of this book had me very interested to see where it would go. This is a world where the Roman Empire has never fallen and everyone must follow a code of high morality and are punished if they do not. Our heroine Cassandra has lived a privileged life until a one day she notices a boy in her class is carrying some ‘illegal tech’ and everything begins to change in her life.

I didn’t enjoy the first person POV of this story and Cassandra felt a little underdeveloped as a heroine. I was more curious about both Devyn and Marcus and hope that we hear more about things from their POV in future books. This is an interesting story and I look forward to reading the other novels that follow.

Thanks again for the advanced copy!!

It was a little hard to follow as I am not into history, but I do like the celtic integrations. An interesting and fun quick read, which is a great start to a trilogy

First of all, I want to say I absolutely love the cover of this book, it is about a world where the roman empire never fell and the protagonist are; Cassandra, who is the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and Devyn who is searching for a girl with magic in her blood, I loved this book especially because I fell in love with the characters and the story itself, once I started reading it I couldn't stop, I would recommend this for people who like a love story in a difficult situation, it was incredible.

Set in an alternate timeline where the Roman Empire never fell, the premise for this book is absolutely fascinating. However, in between the references to various historical figures and dynasties and the relationship between magic and technology in this fictional universe, it was sometimes difficult to follow the storyline. Perhaps more background information will be given in upcoming volumes.

This is how you kick off a trilogy!! Great world building and an exciting story mean that I'm definitely hyped to read the rest of the story! If you're looking for an engaging story for the colder nights this is It!

#gifted
*All thoughts and opinions are my own and are in now way influenced by the author or publisher*

Secrets of the Starcrossed is the first in a new dystopian trilogy by debut author Clara O’Connor. It follows Cassandra, a naïve and elite young woman who follows all the rules of her city until someone crosses her path and begins to unravel all the secrets of her past she never knew she had.

This book has all the tropes. Love triangle, forbidden love, lost heir, you name it it’s in this book. We follow a societal princess who is betrothed to a societal prince but there’s a swoon worthy bad boy in the shadows who sweeps her off her feet and she just can’t control herself.

The world; although very unique, got me mostly confused. I struggled to understand the difference between the different cities and their politics. Cymru was mentioned, which I’m guessing was used instead of saying Wales. I do like seeing my home country mentioned in books, when done well. Even though I didn’t get a grasp on the whole world that was trying to be built in this story, I still enjoyed my reading of this. The whole plot is what mainly drawn me in and kept me reading. It was interesting to see Cassandras unknown past unravel and the hidden secrets of the city that she lives in and used to call home.

This story does have a lot more potential and I think another edit is well needed. I am hoping I can get a little more understanding on the world and I am looking forward to the sequel to see how the author has progressed with the story.

Thank you to one more chapter and Harper Collins for the physical arc and netgalley for the e-arc

Review of The once and future queen.

First off I would just like to thank Claire and Harper Collins One More Chapter for sending me a copy of this book.

The once and future queen is a dystopian adventure of Arthurian fantasy and forbidden romance, and I was super excited to read it. I was fascinated by the idea of forbidden star crossed lovers lovers and an alternative history - taking place in an alternative future.

If I’m to be completely honest I struggled to get into the book at the beginning. I wasn’t overly sure on the set up, main character or the fact it was written in first person.

However, I soon got over that and started to really enjoy it. I struggled to put the book down, and was constantly wondering what was going to happen next - there was mystery and twists in this book, which makes you just want to read it more.

I found the world building was done very well, the author has created a world for you to be sucked into, everything was described beautifully and created a vivid picture of the story. I also really enjoyed the connections between the three main characters. I personally thought that Cass was a little bit naive, although I liked her character as a whole, she definitely has some growing room. Devyn is great but I definitely need to know more about him - I would of enjoyed some of his perspectives. Marcus was an excellent character and I feel he was the most developed. You knew everything about him, and felt for him at certain points of the book. I loved that by the end of the book he was trying to help Cass and Devyn escape - I’m thinking maybe a love triangle happening?

I can’t wait to read the next book to find out what happens, it ended on such a good cliff hanger. I feel that if you are a fan of the hunger games, you’ll enjoy this book. (it has similar elements)

Just a side note - I really enjoyed the fact hat there was a map in the front of the book. As well as the author adding a guide to Londinium and a question and answer page at the back.