Skip to main content

Secrets of the Starcrossed (The Once and Future Queens) by Clara O'Connor

 


SYNOPSIS

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?

REVIEW

I was genuinely excited when I first read the synopsis to this story. It gave me so many Romeo and Juliet mixed in a fantasy parallel world vibes, which I thought to be quite an interesting take in the genre. I just wish that the story was able to follow through with this idea. How wrong was I.

I know that I am really going to regret this review, but sometimes honesty is the best policy...

For me, I felt like the writing style was quite immature for the set target audience. There was that constant will she or won't she? But in a way that gets old very quickly. It is one of those but you can't help but shout at the book, wanting the character to stop being so indecisive. It is so annoying and it does nothing to make them look any better. 

Shall we really get into this? What is it about books who like to tease about a certain place in the universe that they have created, but somehow it doesn't appear, no matter how many times it has been mentioned? But somehow it still feels like the plot is stagnant and what really happened was that it was simply something to fill up the book? This is one of my GREATEST annoyances. If you're not going to do anything about it, don't talk about it. Simples *closes book with exasperation*. Oh, and to put another point forward, we all know what is really happening here, you're setting the book up for a cliff-hanger which we all predicted and was so easy to figure out. It's not cute. It's boring.

Time to move onto the main character. I'm only just getting started. Cassandra. Oh Cassandra, Cassandra. Where shall we start with you? You are vexing and childish and what is it about you ignoring people when they say no. No means no. Not probably no. Not they are actually saying yes. No is a determined response. Respect people and their boundaries. It's not hard. The love interest, Devyn isn't that much better either, with no personality and I don't get what it was that made him special. There just wasn't anything to him.

I don't know there isn't much that I can really say that makes this a book that I want to read again or recommend to a fellow reader and it makes me quite sad to think like this. I can only hope that the next book in the series is better and gets over those hurdles that it has created in the first book.

RATING: ** (TWO STARS)

WHERE TO BUY

Amazon: Secrets of the Starcrossed: The Once and Future Queen is an unforgettable dystopian adventure of scifi fantasy and forbidden romance (The Once and Future Queen, Book 1) eBook: O’Connor, Clara: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Waterstones: Secrets of the Starcrossed by Clara O'Connor | Waterstones

Bookshop.org: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/3917/9780008407667
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to this site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

Mary Jane, is a novel that I have been keeping an eye on for quite a while now. It has always been a part of my reading list and only until now have I had possession of a copy. I just wish it didn’t take me so long to read it. Because without a doubt, I think it is probably the best book I’ve read this year. Set in the 1970’s it follows a fourteen-year-old girl who becomes a summer Nanny to the Cone Family. Even though the Cone Family seem to be a respectable bunch on the outside, they are quite the opposite with their messy family dynamics. However messy they are, Mary Jane becomes an important and well-loved member of their family. Drastically different from the home that she was bought up as a single child with parents who care about appearances in their community. Over the summer, Mary Jane’s world begins to open up as she begins to realise what her future would entail and what she wants from it.  There isn’t much that I can fault in this book. The characters are not perfect, c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggemann

  SYNOPSIS As far as Phoebe is concerned, love is to be avoided at all costs. Why would you spend your life worrying about something that turns you into a complete moron? If her best friend Polly is anything to go by, the first sniff of a relationship makes you forget about your friends (like, hello?), get completely obsessed with sex (yawn) and bang on constantly about a person who definitely isn't as great as you think they are. So Phoebe isn't going to fall in love, ever. But then she meets Emma...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

  SYNOPSIS Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she's struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can't seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it. The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre's Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta's orbit. But her temper isn't the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other. Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blog Tour: Silver Linings by Jess Impiazzi

  SYNOPSIS When one door closes, and another plan is derailed, it’s time to seek out the ‘Silver Linings’ and step up to the challenge. Jess Impiazzi’s journey of self-discovery, hard lessons, heart-breaking moments, self-care and openness to transformation make for a raw, authentic and inspiring story about how to follow dreams, overcome challenges and celebrate kindness in many forms.
Post a Comment
Read more

The Unbreakable Code

I found now with reading the second one-off thriller books, that they have very similar qualities. I know, they are done by the exact same author. But just think, why is there always a person in a certain role to take the antagonist side? Well, just a thought anyway. So i hope you have all been sound this last week, because this week i'm taking you back to Dan Brown with his book ' Digital Fortress '. Whoo hoo! All in a days work. Sorry about before, i think i was in a deep idea of thought- i sometimes do that, like most people. But never mind that, you didn't click on this page to hear me babble on about myself- oh no. It's time for the big judgement and whether your in the right mind to try it out afterwards! Genre: Conspiracy, Thriller Publisher: Corgi Year Of Publish: First published 1998 Pages: 512 Of course this would be the UK version. But would you be able to break the unbreakable code?  So i bet you're wondering what is this all about? Well,...
Post a Comment
Read more