Cassandra Shelton, the daughter of a powerful merchant is betrothed to the most eligible bachelor in the city, Marcus Courtenay. But, when she helps out Devyn Agrestin, her classmate, there is an underlying attraction that she feels towards him that she can’t understand. Now, Cassandra discovers that the mysterious sickness that is effecting the citizens of Londinium, citizens with ancient Celtic power in their veins that lie dormant.
Book: Secrets of the Starcrossed by Clara O’Connor
Series: The Once and Future Queen #1
Publication Date: January 28, 2021
Thank you to Clara O’Connor for providing me a physical ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Happy Release Day to Secrets of the Star-crossed!
Tags: Young Adult, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, love triangle, alternate universe
Links: Goodreads | Ebook | Paperback | Hardback | Audiobook
Read: January 24, 2021 to January 28, 2021
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 ancient kingdoms that surround it. As the only daughter of a powerful merchant, Cassandra is betrothed to Marcus, the most eligible bachelor in the city.
But then she meets Devyn, the boy with the strange midnight eyes searching for a girl with magic in her blood.
A boy who will make her believe in soulmates…
When a mysterious sickness starts to leech the life from citizens with Celtic power lying dormant in their veins, the imperial council sets their schemes in motion. And so Cassandra must make a choice: the Code or Chaos, science or sorcery, Marcus or Devyn?
Panem meets the Grishaverse in this explosive new YA trilogy perfect for readers of Marie Lu, Bella Forrest, and Cassandra Clare.
Spoiler Free Review
Thank you to Clara O’Connor for inviting me to read her book and providing me a physical ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Cassandra Shelton, the daughter of a powerful merchant is betrothed to the most eligible bachelor in the city, Marcus Courtenay. But, when she helps out Devyn Agrestin, her classmate, there is an underlying attraction that she feels towards him that she can’t understand.
Now, Cassandra discovers that the mysterious sickness that is effecting the citizens of Londinium, citizens with ancient Celtic power in their veins that lie dormant. Now, Cassandra is torn between making a choice, following Marcus and following the Code, or following Devyn and following the Chaos.
I gave Secrets of the Starcrossed 3.5 stars, loving the way that Cassandra developed as a character and discovering her true self and her history. I found it interesting the history behind Londinium and how they incorporated Celtic myth and Roman myth and loved the tiny detail of the Celtic names being used for the characters.
The chemistry between Cassandra and Devyn was amazing and I loved their relationship, however, I found that it was a rather back and forth relationship. Sometimes they found that they were connected and had some chemistry and sometimes they didn’t. Their relationship could’ve been stronger had they decided that they were right for each other.
And to bring in the mix, Cassandra’s relationship with Marcus was sort of wishy washy. It felt like Cassandra was stringing him along. The whole time I felt that Marcus was supportive of Cassandra and in some ways believed in her, although he did attempt to stop her activities. I felt that Marcus, while he played a somewhat strong role in Secrets of the Starcrossed, I felt that his character was just being strung along the whole time and I wished him a better life.
I believe that Secrets of the Starcrossed could have been much stronger in the historical aspects and context. Firstly, when they said “to Hades!”, their Roman context would have said “to Pluto!” which I found interesting as to the language behind the history. Perhaps there was a reason as to why “Hades” was used rather than “Pluto”, but historically, it was inaccurate.
I enjoyed the sci-fi aspect of the futuristic Roman and Celtic Londinium and did enjoy how Secrets of the Starcrossed used high technology and how this alternate reality was highly well done.
Thank you again to Clara O’Connor for inviting me to read Secrets of the Starcrossed and providing me a physical ARC in exchange for an honest review
I hope you guys have a great day, please like and comment down below if you enjoyed this book as well or if you plan on reading it!
Loves,
Honey Roselea Reads