I kept seeing tags for this that said 'For fans of Hunger Games' so I got excited to check this book out. I can see some similarities, a dystopian society where the government has absolute control, a secret rebellion, and a girl who is special in some way. But this didn't grip me like the other series did and I didn't feel like this had a unique plot. I would have liked a bigger twist to this and more action to keep me interested. In the end, I skimmed a lot because so much of it wasn't relevant. I think this and the sequel could probably be combined into one book.

Cassandra lives the life of a wealthy young woman, she's kind of materialistic and doesn't question how things work in her society. The racism and huge gap between the rich and poor don't bother her because that's just the way things are. Cass comes across as a sixteen year old girl and I kept forgetting she was supposed to be twenty two. She's immature for her age and I wish she'd been written as a teenager instead.

Devyn is an interesting character, but I didn't like that he refused to tell Cass anything. He kept all these secrets and I wasn't exactly sure why. Even at the end, he kept telling Cass they couldn't be together even though they're clearly in love and wouldn't say why. I wish we'd gotten to know more about his past, but hopefully that will come in the next book.

The pacing is slow and not much happens until the very end.

The MC is said to be 21, but acts very young and innocent. I got tired of how she was always surprised that anyone would question or go against the status quo. She comes of too stereotypical “not like other girls chosen one”

Narration: ok, won’t seek out the narrator again.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review.

I did not get around to reading this book prior to it’s publication date and it has since been archived therefore I cannot leave a review at this time.

Sorry for the late review!

This book as much as I wanted to enjoy it just wasn't for me. I couldn't connect to the characters and the world building was difficult at times. I feel like with some really good editing this book could have improved and I hope that the author continues to write and people's feedback has helped them see where they can improve

I unfortunately didn't like the narrator for this book and have DNF'd it - although I may try again with a physical copy of the book ... though, I'm a little confused already about the interlinking of the different mythologies and I'm not sure if maybe too much is being attempted in one book?? but ... I would be much more likely to try this again without the narrator - sorry!

I enjoyed the premise of Secrets of the Starcrossed. The Roman Empire never collapsed, and Londinium thrives. Magic is banned. Our main character, Cassandra, has everything to lose. A mysterious illness runs riot through Londinium.

This book was definitely the first in a series. There was a lot of exposition and world-building, setting up the characters for the main storyline, and the book ends with a cliff-hanger. That's not to say it's a bad book - it does all of these things exceptionally well. I did find the romance between Cass and Devyn a bit sudden, but the rapid development settles into a romance you can invest in later on in the book.

Im sorry to say that I struggled with this dystopian sci-fi novel and did not finish it, I just could not get on with the audible narrator.

Very disappointed by this one; the voice sounded almost too old for the characters, which also seemed younger than they were supposed to be? This book fell into several obvious tropes and it just wasn't for me.

I loved the audio book and the narrator was amazing.
Lots of intrigue and suspense contained n this book. It wasn’t my favourite book of the year and took me quite some time to get into it but glad I persevered because the ending does make you want to read more.

Magical and captivating.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my feedback.

I gave this read 3 stars. I honestly had a hard time following the plot and the characters. This may have been due to the narrator and how they portrayed each character. This is not my usual genre but I wanted to branch out.

I did like the soul mate aspect and I did like the dystopian aspect. I have the opportunity to read the second book in this series and I hope I can understand that one a little more.

I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

An okay book but it was very slow paced which I didn't enjoy. I appreciated the historical and Arthurian lore elements of this fantasy.

A mix of historical and fantastical fiction. Combining some of the biggest characters from history from the Tudor Dynasty to Arthurian Legend to the Roman empire. If you are someone who loves history this is definitely one for you to check out the way the author weaves the different times together is fantastical and confusing at times but also just a fun read.

Take this one for what it is and you wont regret it.

I had such high hopes about this. A New Adult/YA Dystopian inspired by Ancient Roman and the Celts? SIGN ME UP!

Alas, I couldn’t. I DNFed quite quickly, as while the premise is intriguing, it just feels a tad bland. Like we’ve read this before in previous dystopian or YA fiction such as Ally Condie’s MATCHED It’s not exactly adding anything new.

Plus, I have heard one or two things that happen later in the book that are big flags for me.

There’s nothing wrong with this, but it’s not achieving its potiental for me, I’m afraid.

I unfortunately couldn't finish this book.
I loved the idea of it but I felt like it tried too hard and fell a bit flat for me.

The audio book narrator's voice was quite comforting to listen to so I would definitely listen to a story read by her again.

Overall I'm a bit sad about this one.

The narrator is excellent however the story just wasn't for me -

Oh this was such a disappointment. I read the the blurb about the setting for this and went Yes! Roman Londinium survived and grew into a bustling metropolis with roman rule, and undercurrents of celtic magic. What I got was a close to Current day London with some extra skyscrapers and some more slums, with the loosest scraping of roman-esq rule spread thinly on top. There was so much potential but none of it used. The city could have been reshaped but instead current day areas and landmarks persist, Piccadilly Circus (named for a 17th century fashion that couldn't have happened in this alt history), Richmond (named from the French during the Norman invasion again not in this alt history), the houses of parliament and Battersea power station are still present. I might be being pedantic but to me this is lazy worldbuilding, just sticking roman on top of modern London, with no real imagination to how it would be different.

The plot is just as lack lustre in my opinion. I could physically count the steps of the hero's journey and the number of try fail cycles. There are many great stories that follow the hero's journey almost to the letter but still manage to sweep you along and not have it jump out so obviously. The plot also relies heavily on one of my most hated tropes and that is the just not telling the main character anything despite them needing the information and the secondary character holding all that information.

*SPOILERS*
The love story is our main character Cass repeatedly returning to gain information from a MAN! (the characters are in there 20s), who refuses to tell her anything and refuses her advanced on several occasions, until Cass's mother drugs her, Cass becomes unbearably horny and they give into their 'desire' (YIKES)
*End of spoilers*

My last gripe is this is an NA. The characters are in there 20s but they act like and read like this was written as a younger audience YA. Cass is constantly justifying why she might find a man attractive. NEWS FLASH women, particularly Adults - which Cass is, are allowed to feel sexually attracted to other adults without having to have there sexual desire justified by Magic or Drugs, they can shock horror just find someone attractive. This might be my biggest gripe that we will continually market books that supress women's feelings and desires and then pretend to paint them as positive as she wanted him she just needed Magic to overcome her societal pressure, YIKES all mighty!

Can we please have an NA that has healthy sexual parnerships, expression of female sexuality and desire with out it turning into a she is overcoming the system by having sex.

So that is my girpes, it really was the wrong book for me . You may love these tropes, you may be ok with a lazier amount of worldbuild (for me its a deal breaker) so you may enjoy this book. The writing style itself is very fuild and easy to read so I can say nothing bad about how it was written just the content of the story just was disappointing to me. Oh and there is a cliff hanger ...

I was really disappointed in this book. I requested it expecting a fantastical retelling of Arthurian legend, and loved the technological aspects of a world where the Roman empire never fell. I expected on top of that a love story of people striving to be together despite serious obstacles and warring factions that they are intrinsically a part of. But that's not what this is. Actually, it was several hours of an introverted and, frankly, boring main character who sounds like a sixteen-year-old, so I was surprised to realise about halfway through the book that she's actually 21. The book proceeds to meander quietly through a series of improbable events and an uninspiring romantic lead, culminating in a love triangle that is mostly only caused by angst and magic, which is strictly verboten in the technological utopia of Londinium and The Empire.
I found this book not at all engaging, and it took me several months to slog my way through it. I only really finished it out of bloodyminded determination. The narration was good, but I'm not sure if it was the file version I was using or the narrator herself, but when I listened at an increased speed (which I always do), it became very grainy, and quite difficult to listen to.

Overall, a disappointing experience, and I won't be bothering to check out the second and third books in the trilogy.

Firstly, I really liked the narrator.
Secondly, I wish I had the physical book to read along with as there was a lot of information here. I’ll have to admit, that I most definitely didn’t retain everything.

The world building was intricate and a lot of information to take in, and at points felt like a bit too much information.

I was able to vaguely understand what was going on, but sadly feel that this book/series just isn’t for me at this time.

I’d most definitely recommend this to friends who read high fantasy or multilayered series like Cassandra Clare.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook copy of The Once and Future Queen - Secrets of the Starcrossed.

When I began this book, I was getting real Orwell 1984 vibes. The Big Brother like city with it's cameras, microphones and medication.

I was really intrigued by the concept, and what really drew me in was the courtroom scene where the public choose the fate of rule breakers of the code.

Unfortunately, the story came away from that really edgy dystopian route, and turned in to more of a romance with *some* fantasy and dystopian themes in the background.

If the author had taken that law/court idea and ran with it, we could of had the next Hunger Games. It really had that potential.

Sadly, it ended up being lots of fluffy romance where our male and female main characters keep being taken apart and coming back together over and over again.

More world building would have been good, and more focus on the magic and the dirty government. I'm not against the romance- its just the main theme when it shouldn't be. The constant mushy thoughts and actions really overpower the amazing concept ideas the author clearly has. Maybe if this novel had been written in third person it wouldn't of read like that as much.

This series has/had(?) a lot of potential and I will give the second one a try if I am able to the audiobook again.

One thing to really praise (as I am reviewing the audiobook) was the narrator. They did a wonderful job making Catherine sound like a snooty upper class girl.

Perhaps this may have been different if it had not been an audio book and I had read it myself. However, with the audio I just could stand the characters voices or personalities.

The idea of the book is fantastic and the Londinium world is amazing. The world is well put together and you can honestly feel the world starting to exist around you.

Maybe in a few years I'll pick it up again as a book. Grab this book as a book and prepare to travel to a Roman world that never was.