The Starcrossed series was one of my absolute favorite series a while back. 10 years ago to be exact... so I thought I'd love this 4th book of the series but I found that it was written like the first books, meant for a much younger crowd. Had I read this book 10 years ago when I first fell in love with this series, I would have probably felt a little different. But I couldn't really get into the high school drama and the mean girls etc... I'm sure a lot of people will love this book, especially the target audience. It just didn't do it for me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I‘m a huge fan of the starcrossed series since I was a teen and have reread them countless of times. I never warmed up to Helen’s mother, she felt too cold and calculating so I was surprised but nevertheless exited when I heard that “Scions” will be published.

This story follows Daphne, Helens mother, and Ajax, a character I was always interested in. It took me some time to forget my resentment against Daphne but after some pages I began to like her and enjoyed the story and the journey in the past. Like Helen and Lucas before, these characters hated each other and it was a great journey following them along hoping they will be happy.

I enjoyed this book a lot, i felt like I was 12 again and I can’t wait to read more books by the author.

TW: incest (parental), rape, sexual assault, sexual content, suicide attempt
I cannot recommend this book to anyone. I never read the original series, figured it was okay since it was a prequel. I understood it just fine, even if I wish I hadn't. I DNFed at 25%, and for that reason I will not be promoting this book. I could tell where this was going early on and I'm sad to say I was right. I don't know that it's appropriate to have such triggering themes in a young adult novel with absolutely no warning whatsoever.
The only character I actually liked was Harlow.
With that being said, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Some books never leave you, just sleep until you find them again. Reading Scions was like returning to an old place where you know every nook and cranny. Because it’s been 10 years since I last read this series. But it doesn’t matter, because this one hooked me like it was yesterday. It reminded me why I adored the original trio loft back in the day, and how good mythological retellings can be.

The high school drama bit was a bit meh for me, but the actual flesh and bone of the story - the Greek mythology, the fighting houses, the forbidden romance - made up for it. I had an enjoyable time with this book. The main character Daphne is head-strong but has this feel of fun to her, and I adore her and Harlow friendship. Also Daphne and Ajax’s enemies to lovers forbidden romance was just so deliciously over the top in the best way possible. The one person I didn’t like was Tal, I just couldn’t help to feel that he was a bit shoe-horned into it


Don’t expect the best written book ever, but it’s a fun read that I recommend that you pick up - especially if you like Greek mythology and star crossed lovers.

4.5 stars. Of course Josie knocks the ball out of the park with Scions :) Add this to your TBR’s! You won’t regret it :)

Contains minor spoilers.

I absolutely despised Daphne in the Starcrossed trilogy, so I was really weary of reading Scions (as a Starcrossed prequel starring the infamous Daphne), but within just a couple of chapters, I was already sympathizing with Daphne, and totally understand now why she’s the way she is in the Starcrossed trilogy. By the time Ajax comes in the picture, I’m totally loving Daphne, and her with Ajax? Pure magic.
Daphne grows so much as a character. She learns the importance of friendship and love- Deuce and Harlow, they were great in their own ways. Ajax being blessed by the muses- wow. Ajax’s art, swoon- sky scraper scene, cough cough :) The cameo from Helen and Lucas- perfection 🥰

The setting (mid 90’s nyc) made me feel so wistful. I lived in the city in the early 2000’s, so the city vibe was a bit different post 9/11, but this story setting still helped me reminisce about the good ole’ days :)

Favorite quotes:
Daphne: “It’s impossible for me to keep thinking about what he could meet for the world, when he means more than the world to me.”
Ajax: “Tell me your favorite color, Daphne, and I’ll paint the sky with it.”

Breathtaking writing and world-building! The romance was really good and made me blush a lot even, and the actual plot was focused on well. It’s great to read this since it helped me understand the trilogy that follows this book better! The way that Greek mythology was embedded into the story was great and lots of claps to the enemies-to-lovers subplot! Highly recommend reading this book!

This is a new world for me, having never read or even heard of the Starcrossed novels. This is a definite YA read and something I would have absolutely loved as a teenager. I can see my own girls loving it when they are just a few years older. As an adult and reading Scions knowing nothing about the previous novels in the series, I can say that it did a fairly good job at world building and bringing someone from outside of the series into it. My knowledge of Greek Mythology is not where I’d prefer it to be so I did do some research while reading the book just so I could better understand some of the characters.

Scions is a strange mixture of Greek mythology, Romeo & Juliet, petulant teenagers, action, romance, and a bunch in between. As an adult, it’s not my cup of tea. That said, teenagers and those who absolutely live for YA are going to love this book and likely entire series. For that I give it 5 stars.

I've not read Star-crossed, so I'm coming in to this from a "new to the world" perspective.

It did a great job world building and introducing a new reader to the quirks and rules of 90s NY where Scions live side by side with humans. I really liked how key elements of Greek Mythology, as well as more niche references, were woven in to the a classic YA high-scool-romeo-and-juliet story.

Someone told me it was much like a Twilight/Percy Jackson - and I'd agree, with a Mortal Instruments thrown in for good measure. This would have been right up my street as a teenager - and I enjoyed it, it just didn't set my heart on fire, and while I get the WHY behind Daphne's creep of a father, I really did struggle with that part of the story.

I'd say Yr9+, with a CW for mysogeny and parental sexual assault.

Not so long ago, when I had lost my love for reading after having to read stuffy Dutch classics in high school, my mom was the one recommending me great YA books to read. Nowadays it's the other way round. However, she read the original Starcrossed trilogy, fell in love and told me to give it a go. I fell in love too and when I saw this fourth book I had to request it on Netgalley and I was so happy I got it! Now I hope that it will be translated to Dutch so my mom can read it too!

Angelini created one of the most original Greek Mythology inspired worlds in history. I've read a lot of retellings over the years and not one reaches this level of uniqueness. And there are only a few with as many endless possibilities for heartbreaking and tragic stories and romances. Because that's what this mythology does: it sets people up for heartbreak. And this book, just like the original trilogy, was not an exception.

I loved how this book shed some new light on the burden of having to wear the pretty face that launched countless ships into war, the war that eventually ended the old Greek society. At times it was sickening, at times it was crossing countless moral borders, but it makes incredibly much sense. On top of that it's a great way to show disgusting behavior by men, even when those men DO believe that whatever they do or say is out of love.

Since this is basically a prequel I believe it's totally possible to read it without ever having read the original trilogy. You miss a few easter eggs and of course you miss out on some dramatic irony and comments that do come and haunt characters later in life, but you will still be able to fully enjoy this heartbreaking romance. Because it does have the full package. Greek Gods, monsters, prophecies, oracles, furies, fate and a few young characters trying to break free from their destiny.

I'm incredibly excited that there's gonna be a fifth book too!

I have been a huge Josephine Angelini fan for ages. The STARCROSSED trilogy is one of my favorites ever. While I found the WORLDWALKER trilogy to be interesting, I didn't find it nearly as captivating as Angelini's earlier set of stories. Her retelling of the Trojan war is incredibly creative--and the romance and tension is fantastic. So when I saw that NetGalley had an e-ARC of SCIONS, I could not click request fast enough. It's been about eight years since I last read the STARCROSSED trilogy, but I so loved returning to this world. SCIONS was definitely worth the wait and is everything a prequel should be. I'm almost jealous of readers today who are only recently discovering the STARCROSSED world because they don't have to wait a whole year for the next book. The rest of the series is just sitting there, ready for them to devour. Readers, enjoy!

Rating: 5 stars - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Young Adult Greek Retelling
Pages: 406 Paperback

Prequel to the Starcrossed series (although I would still recommend reading the original trilogy first to new readers)

"New York City, 1993. It wasn’t Daphne’s choice to move into the heart of a struggle that has been secretly waging for thirty-three hundred years, but not much in her life has been up to her. Fate has brought Daphne, daughter of Zeus, and Heir to the House of Atreus to where the descendants of the Greek gods can shed blood over her once again.

Men are fated to kill for her."

‼️ May contain Starcrossed/Dreamless/Goddess spoilers ‼️

Be still my teenaged heart, over ten years ago I first read and fell in love with the Starcrossed trilogy as well as Helen and Lucus but oh has Daphne and Ajaxs heart wrenching love story stolen my own heart!

As a 26 year old and a mother now I was apprehensive about requesting this ARC and finding it too young for me now but I had absolutely nothing to worry about because I absolutely adored every second of this beautiful book! (Maybe even more so than the original trilogy!)

When reading Helens trials and tribulations from battling and changing fate all because of her face I found myself (like many others) hating her mother Daphne now after reading her very own love and heart break I'm emotionally spent and a little torn.

Daphne and Ajaxs are now by far my favourite couple and have a much more believable love for me than Helen and Lucas although the two have some distinct similarities and a whole lot of foreshadowing.

Angelini has written another show stopping, sassy, electrifying (ha, get it) page turner full of wonderful new, fleshed out, loveable characters mixed with well known returning faces. This twisty, enemy to lovers, Greek tragedy is not to be missed and I hope paves the way for a new generation to find and fall in love with the Starcrossed universe!

I could go on and on about this fabulous book but to sum it all up, please go read it! I can't wait to hold the physical copy in my hands come October 4th

A huge thank you to Josephine Angelini, Victory Editing and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Scions the prequel to the starcrossed series. I have not read the series but am obsessed by greek mythology and now fully intend to read the rest of the starcrossed series, it is brilliant i found it fast paced there was never a time when it got boring and the characters are believable. So thank you to Josephine Angelini, Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to review this epic book

TW: death of a loved one, gun violence, incest (from a parent), pedophilia, rape, sexual assault, sexual content, suicide/suicide attempt.

This review is going to be rather brief because I have nothing positive to say about this book and none of us need an essay of me ranting.

With that being said, had I not been reading this as an ARC, I would have dnf'd fairly quickly - a decision that was reinforced the further I got into the book. Beyond my own personal opinions on the book, like hating every single character, I had several major issues with it.

First (and most importantly), put trigger warnings in your fucking book, especially if it includes parental incest/assault (as a recurring theme). It is 2022. There was absolutely no reason to not have a warning for this, especially in a YA novel. I hate the idea of how triggering this could be for some people, specifically young teenagers.

Next, this book reads like it was written in the early YA days and, in this instance, that is not a compliment. I felt like I was being slapped in the face with the continuous "not-like-other-girls" misogynistic crap on every page. I know the book took place in 1993 and it could be argued misogyny is realistic for that time, to which I say... if you can say there are demigods, equality isn't that far of a stretch.

I could go on and on about how stupid the characters were, how unrealistic every relationship felt, how juvenile the writing was, how angry I am that this book exists but I won't. Instead, I shall try and end this review on a positive note.

I haven't read the original "Starcrossed" trilogy this book is a prequel to, but I understood everything going on with the Houses and demigods pretty well for this being my first introduction to the story. On that front, the author did a good job.

Overall, I'm so done. I can't recommend this to anyone, because I think it may be the worst book I've ever read. It's just... really frustrating.
I'm thankful for the chance to read it, but I wish I hadn't.

I really enjoyed this book even though I haven't read the original series nor did I know that this was a prequel when I requested it. The writing is great and I think others will like this too

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and NetGalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
This is just...A Masterpiece.

This was so good! I loved the Greek mythology with a little Romeo and Juliet thrown in there. I can’t wait for Timeless. Harlow was such a great character, I loved her so much. I loved the take on forbidden love and the relationship between Daphne and Ajax.

Daphne, the heir to House Atreus, has a very interesting secret. As she meets new people and forms new relationships, the tension builds and the secrets become harder to conceal. No one is what they seem and a climactic ending has Daphne’s world turned in a completely different direction.

Favourite quote - “Rebecca's big fake boobs are propped up extra high, and her usual cloud of sickly sweet perfume has passed through noxious and entered into weaponized territory”

I love Greek mythology and everything that comes with it, so I was sold straight away in chapter 1! The characters and the way the story developed had me engrossed! I really enjoyed the quirky and funny quips here and there. I am totally not a romance reader, but this book had the perfect mix of story intertwined to completely take away the overbearing lovey feeling that I don’t vibe well with. I now want the rest of this series!!

Romeo & Juliet meets Greek mythology. I would definitely recommend if you like the sound of it.

Wow!
What more could I really say? I have read the starcrossed series so many times and always hated Daphne.
I was really interested to read Daphnes history and discover why she is the way she is. I feel so sorry for her now.
I also love Ajax! I never got to meet him in starcrossed and am so glad I have gotten to know more about his character.
I'm very much looking forward to reading book 5, Timeless, next year.
I think I will also reread starcrossed again now and see if my opinions of the characters have changed after reading Scions.
Thank you Josephine Angelini for making me love these characters and the story so much!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

Even though I requested this knowing it was a prequel, I still read all the others in this series before starting this one. After reading this one, I can't wait for the next one. :O

Scion is a beautifully written book. It was descriptive, captivating and poetic.

It is a retelling of the Face that launches a thousand ships and the realities that come with such a beautiful face. Daphne Atreus, daughter of the house of Zeus, moved to New York and has become intrigued with graffiti that is tagged by a particular artist. When she found out that the graffiti artist, Ajax, is from a rival house, she could not decide what to do.

Daphne and Ajax's love story was doomed, to begin with. They were never meant to be together. Like Romeo and Juliette and all other starcrossed lovers, they were bound to kill each other. Even then, they couldn't help to stay away.

This is my first time reading this series and I love it. The author spends a lot of time building the world, showing us the different powers and houses. I was intrigued the whole time; mainly by the love story between Daphne and Ajax. I would love to see more of the world-building outside of the two characters, but as a prequel to the universe, I believe it is enough. There were some questions that I have regarding the plots, but I believe that by reading the other books, they will be answered.

Ajax my man was swoon-worthy. He is art on his own. What he says and how he acts, he is truly a man worthy of loving someone with the Face.