I read the first book early last year and was anxious to see how the story turned out and to review for this author again. I had criticism for the writing of the first book, and this sequel had no improvements. I dnf'd after a few chapters of painstakingly detailed writing that left nothing to the imagination and was very redundant. Unfortunately, there were also too many scenes and actions within the beginning that were already far too hard to believe. I cannot read a whole novel that requires wading through excessive detail, over explaining, and suspending my disbelief. It's exhausting.

The plot and setting is really neat, but these stories need an experienced editor and beta reader team. Thank you One More Chapter and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second in a series and I highy recommend that you stop here and read Secrets of the Star Crossed first or you will miss out on a lot of the background (and another good book). The Once and Future Queen series is another one where a trilogy is planned and may well go for a film series akin to Hunger games. It certainly will be spectacular. One thing I like about these books is the imagary in my mind as I read, creating pictures and maps of this alternative world including the costumes, buildings and gadgets! I'm looking forward to the next already!

I was really excited for this sequel! The world in this book is amazing and the author does a good job of making it easy to visualize. I lowered the rating because the romance in this book is super cringey and just not for me.

Because I managed to finish the first book which finished on a big cliffhanger, I wanted to give the second book a read physically as I had experienced the first via it’s audiobook version.

Sadly, even after struggling to know what is going on in the first one, and giving the second a fair chance I had to stop reading at 23%.

There is nothing wrong with this book or series. It’s just not well suited to me and my reading tastes.

I will be recommending this to friends and followers, but I won’t be finishing myself.

Really appreciate the opportunity to read and review this.

•
Series review!!

“The Once and Future Queen” series by Clara O’Connor.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#1 Secrets of the Starcrossed
#2 Curse of the Celts
#3 Legend of the Lakes

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The stars are EVERYWHERE because these books are FANTASTIC. I loved them.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

——> SWIPE for synopsis of book #1!

In a land where Rome maintained the empire, we visit Britannia in the future?! The book has surreal sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction references, romance... gosh there are so many strings to this trio of books.

I was constantly on the edge of my seat waiting for what would come next, I cried and I laughed! My heart was broken, and mended so many times throughout this trilogy I can’t even explain it.

I am honestly so super excited to share this series with you all - #3 will be released on June 24th so plenty of time to get the first two read in preparation! 😍😍

I loved all the characters and relationships and how they all tie together in Cassandra.

Cass is perfectly flawed, she’s the girl everyone wants to be and then she grows into a woman that everyone can love and respect.

Devyn is exactly what we needed, and his courage amazing!

Rion is a beaut. There’s a specific scene with him that was so unbelievably endearing... and hysterical at the same time!!

Gideon.... oh Gideon... he gives my all the feels, he is just *CHEFS KISS* MWAH 💋 so well written. He’s the perfect broody, cheeky, hulk of a man.

Honestly I could go on and on and on and... well you get the picture. There is so much to love about these books!

Brava @clara_author you’ve certainly captured my imagination and my heart in these wonderful pages - thank you!

#claraoconnor #theonceandfuturequeen #netgalleyuk #arcreviews #scififantasy #epictrilogy #booksyoucantputdown #thatsmissquoted #broodymenaremyaesthetic #fallinlovewithreading

I adored Secrets of the Starcrossed, book one in this series, and the cliffhanger ending left me screaming for book two. Curse of the Celts picks up exactly where Secrets of the Starcrossed finished, throwing you instantly back into the drama, as Cassandra, Devyn and Marcus prepare to meet their fate.

Curse of the Celts takes the reader away from the luxury of Londinium and into the wilder lands of Britannia, the intricate blending of British legend with fiction creating a rich alternate history. I love Arthurian and Celtic legend, so this really was a dream come true for me, if perhaps less so for our heroes.

For Marcus and Cassandra, leaving high tech Londinium for the wilds of Britannia with no technology to speak of would have felt alien enough without the fact that they were were entering the borderlands on Samhain. With their vanishing pools of blood and skeletal hands, I was glad to be reading about this dangerous territory in daylight . Add to this the turmoil of betrayal and not knowing who to trust, and emotions in Curse of the Celts are running understandably high.

Once again I was swept away by the world that Clara O’Connor has created, and I absolutely devoured this book. The Once and Future Queen is fast becoming one of my favourite series, and I know I will be returning to reread it time and time again.

Clara O’Connor truly is the queen of the cliffhanger and once again the ending of this book has had me pacing the floors as I impatiently await book three – not long to go now and it can’t come soon enough for me.

Thank you NetGalley and OneMore`Chapter for giving me this book in an exchange for an honest review.

This world will grip you, intrigue you and keep you hooked. We continue to follow what happens to Cassandra, Devlyn and Marcus. As histories and alliances get clearer, we discover more about the world outside Londonium. Utterly magical and beautiful, we explore the world of Britons, their customs and tradition. Learn more about Cassandra's history and background.

Im worried that whatever i say might not do justice to how rich this world is, how beautiful, filled with lore and mythology. Author has used parts of the Islands rich history and woven it into something incredible. These characters you'll love, be annoyed by, be invested in. You will go through every emotion with them, and they will break your heart!

I loved this, cant wait to dig into book 3 as swoon it's out! Loved it!

Curse of the Celts is the second book in The Once and Future Queen Trilogy. The second book picks up right where we left off, on the sands awaiting the fate of Cass, Devyn and Marcus. I don’t want to give away too much but the book follows our trio as they try to escape their fate and search for the truth. I did get a bit frustrated part of the way through because no answers were forthcoming and then finally we start to get some and what answers they are and then Wow, what an end that I totally did not see coming! I can’t wait for the conclusion of this trilogy and glad that we don’t have long to wait with the final instalment coming later this year. Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read the first book of this series and for those who were worried about the first book, whew do not fret! I was blown away by the sequel.

I really enjoyed the first one but this one felt a little more flat for me.

I was enjoying the story well enough until the end. Until then I’d been invested and intrigued by what was going on. But I did not like the ending at all. I know there is another book in this series, but this ending was not at all what I wanted or expected. I haven’t decided yet if I want to read the last one or not.

A fantastic follow up to Secrets of the Starcrossed! In Curse of the Celts we pick up where book one left off, Devyn, Marcus and Cassandra must warn the Celts about a blood Curse that is killing their people, in a world where Rome never fell. But first they need to escape the arena that we left them in in book one, where they are standing trial by public vote.
I am a big fan of how Clara O'connor expands the world and the characters in the second book. The pace was a little slow in places, but fast enough to keep me interested, and I loved the expansion of the magic and the inclusion of Celtic stories and explaining the history of the relationship between the Celts and Romans.
And yet again a fantastic cliffhanger!
Really enjoyed this book, just wish it was a little faster paced
3 out of 5

Absolutely fantastic, I adore these books and as so excited to get an ARC of this , the second in the series. This was so good, I thought it was even better than the first and that end !! I can’t wait for the next book, I need to know now , this book introduces new characters as well as old favourites and again is full of magic, romance and mystery , it’s fast paced addictive reading, fantastic

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Cassandra flees into the outer world filled with strangers and those who seek her true identity. Still hand-fasted to Marcus, Devyn and Cass must face new obstacles to ensure their future together...but can they truly overcome them?

Book two was a fascinating turn of events. The ending...just prepare yourself that's all I'm going to say!! About halfway through I was getting a little bored and felt like Cass was just whining and being selfish. There wasn't a lot of development with her or Marcus or anyone really. Finding her true identity was exciting and I had wished to better understand her heritage but it was all so confusing to me. Too many lines of people to follow and no way of keeping track.

Overall, I look forward to the next installment as I must discover what happens after that note-worthy ending!

I enjoyed the first book in this series but didn't enjoy this one as much. I found it hard to get back into the story because of how complex it is and didn't feel as much of a connection with the characters this time around. I think maybe doing a re read of the first book and giving this one another chance will really help as I enjoyed the first one a lot more.

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

3.5 stars!
**Spoilers for book 1**

I was lucky enough to read an e-arc of book 1 in this series, which I enjoyed a lot. So I was very happy to be able to read the e-arc of book 2 as well! And after the way this book ended (I mean, what?! No!), I cannot wait to read book 3! I have to know how the story ends!

Book 2 starts off right where book 1 ended. Cassandra, Marcus and Devyn need to think quickly, seeing as they are condemned to death. With a little help from unexpected friends, they manage to escape Londinium and flee to the borderlands and into the lands of the Britons. Most of this book consists of the three main characters being on the road, on the run from one enemy to the next. To me, this felt a little repetitive, even though we learn a lot about the Briton society, the different rulers they have and how different their lives are to those of the people in Londinium. We also learn more about Cassandra and Marcus and their magic. While this was all very interesting and necessary for the story, I noticed that I only really got into it in the last part of the book. Things really start picking up there and a lot of things are happening at once, making you doubt all the things you've believed true so far.

I can't wait to read the final installment in this trilogy and find out how the story continues! This is an entertaining YA trilogy which I believe many young people will love!

This is the second book I read in this series and I think it's better than the first one as the characters are more mature and there's more action.
The world building is as interesting as it was in the first one and there are more details and explanations.
The characters are fleshed out and they seem to have grown up as they face new adventures and great changes in their life.
I can't wait to read the last installment, this one is recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

My thanks to HarperCollins One More Chapter for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Curse of the Celts’ by Clara O’Connor in exchange for an honest review.

This is Book Two of O’Conner’s The Once and Future Queen YA fantasy trilogy. As such, it is a continuous story and the books are intended to be read in order.

The story picks up immediately following the cliffhanger ending of ‘Secrets of the Starcrossed’ and I welcomed the return to O’Conner’s vividly reimagined Britannia. I won’t say anything specific about the plot in order to avoid spoilers though will say as the title suggests the narrative moves from the high tech world of Imperial Londinium to the seemingly more primitive lands of the Britons, who have remained “essentially Celts across the centuries, arriving in the modern day still with tattoos, torcs, druids, festivals and mythology.”

From the opening page I found myself completely gripped by the developing story of Cass, Devyn, and Marcus as events played out within this richly imagined world. I felt that Clara O’Conner took her story in unexpected directions that left me stunned.

The final book in the trilogy, ‘Legend of the Lakes’, is due to be published in June and I will be counting down the days.

In terms of a sequel, this book addressed the cliffhanger that I wasn't expecting on the first book. It held its own in terms of character development, although I wasn't a fan about the potential love triangle and I wish we had gotten more of the Celtic lore/influence than what was present. The plot moved at a good pace, even while there seemed to sometimes be confusion among our main characters, leading to an ending that was as good as expected. I still have a strong dislike for cliffhangers but when the author puts significant efforts into making the ending worthwhile, I can appreciate that and still look forward to the next book.

ARC from NetGalley

2.5 stars

I spent this entire book hating Cassandra and feeling crappy for Marcus. The ending was a MAJOR cliffhanger, and I'm kind of put off at this point. I just consulted my review for the first book of this series. It seems the cliffhanger at the end of that one also pissed me off. There will be no third chance. Also, if you feel like getting spoiled, I made a prediction in that review, and it was correct.

This book suffers from secondbookalgia. Secondbookitis would indicate it was inflamed in some way, but algia means pain. I very much dislike it when a series starts out colourful, interesting, with lots of stuff being discovered, introductions, worldbuilding, etc. only to then turn grey. Everything is dismal. We spend the entire book in perpetual misery. The book is Eeyore.

Another thing I mentioned in my previous review was that this book reads as YA even though the MC is in her 20s. This book at least stays on theme in that regard. Cassandra acts 16 throughout. It's hard to get into a series when you really kind of hate the MC and hope she dies. Romance, which is a weak point for me, couldn't even save this book because I hated the main couple. (view goodreads for spoiler)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I was really grateful to be given the ARC for this book so soon after I finished the last, cause boy what a cliffhanger! I love the world that O'Connor has created, with truthful elements of British history combined with elements of fantasy. A fast-paced, compact plot and identifiable characters. Exactly what I need right now. I can't wait for the 3rd book!