I cannot even begin to express how amazing it was to be back in the Starcrossed world after all this time. It was just over ten years ago that I read the first book in the series and now to see how the story actually began was priceless.

In this book, we go back in time to Daphne’s teenage years where she met Ajax. As the Fates try their hardest to make them kill each other, love has other ideas. It was great to read Daphne’s back story and to find out why she made the choices she did( giving you an excellent starting point for Helen’s story in Starcrossed.

This book has a fantastic array of characters. Who could not love the Delos family after reading this? The author tantalises the reader with romance before throwing you off guard with fight scenes. On top of that she throws in an unexpected blast from the past, or should I say the future.

Set in New York, the author brought my favourite place to life and I actually felt like I was running through Central Park with the characters.

This prequel shows Josephine Angelini is back with a vengeance in the world she creates the best. If you love Greek mythology set in a contemporar setting, you need to read the Starcrossed series. No one does Greek myths quite like Josephine Angelini. I actually wish I’d reread the previous three books before reading this prequel. At least I now have a good excuse to reread them.

Thank you to @netgalley & @josephine_angelini for this review copy.

“More often than not, star-crossed lovers are their own worst enemies.” Josephine Angelini

I fell in love with the Starcrossed trilogy by Josephine Angelini almost ten years ago. Its unique storyline and fascinating parallels to the Trojan War delighted my teenage heart. So, you can imagine my excitement when I discovered that new books were being released in the series!

Set in New York during the early 90s, Daphne, daughter of Zeus and Heir to the House of Atreus, has reached the age where men can’t help fighting over her. However, when she finds her cursed face — the replica of her descendant, Helen of Troy — painted on the walls of buildings and subways in ways that expose the deepest parts of herself, Daphne becomes obsessed with searching for the mysterious artist. Unfortunately, as she tracks Ajax Delos, Daphne discovers that he is not only a fellow Scion but the Son of Apollo from the House of Thebes, her sworn enemy! Compelled by the Fates to feel hatred and murder towards one another, these star-crossed lovers are determined to break the cycle that has killed so many of their ancestors. Will they succeed, or will history continue repeating itself?

Full of nostalgia, Scions dove straight into the action and didn’t relent until the end. Nevertheless, I struggled to enjoy the story like I had its predecessors. Despite being written in first-person, the narrator felt the need to overly repeat past events like the reader hadn’t been right there with them. Not to mention how familiar everyone got with one another so quickly. While I initially swooned over Daphne and Ajax, their romance felt rushed, and their conversations often felt choppy. Also, readers were expected to retain a large gulp of Greek mythology rather than easing into it like in the previous books.

Despite my criticism, there were many moments I did enjoy and found that I couldn’t put this book down. I loved how Scions brought everything in a full circle, giving us a history of the Houses of Atreus and Thebes that clarified Helen and Lucas’s story arcs. I am looking forward to the next book, Timeless, mainly because it’ll bring Helen and Lucas front and center!! Ahh!

*Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with a pre-release copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own!*

I loved every single minute of reading this book! It kept me interested the whole time, I just didn’t want to put it down! It brings up some difficult situations and they are written so well! The romance aspect is just perfect and I loved seeing the relationship blossom between the main characters! What a beautiful read and I can’t wait to read the rest!

Ok so I somehow missed that this is book number 4 in a series when I requested and started reading this book - BUT I was able to jump right in and dive into this world and follow along no problems. I cannot believe I missed the first three in this series, but I am going straight out and looking for those asap! I so enjoyed this book - the enemies to lovers trope - a little bit of the Romeo and Juliet vibes sprinkled in with the Greek mythology. SO SO GOOD!

Thank you NetGalley for this read!

Interesting read. I want to read the rest of the series for context. I wish I knew a little bit more about mythology to better understand the story but overall great book! Thanks NetGalley!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC for Scions! I read The Starcrossed series when it came out ten years ago, and loved it. When I saw Josephine Angelini was planning to extend the series, I was thrilled.

First, let me say the cover is gorgeous! I can’t wait to buy a physical copy so I can display it on my bookshelf. Now you don’t have to read The Starcrossed series to understand the plot of Scions, but since I’m a huge fan of the original series, I would recommend reading it. Scions is the prequel to The Starcrossed series. It follows Daphne, daughter of Zeus, from the House of Atreus. (Daphne is Helen’s mother from The Starcrossed series.) Daphne is struggling in this book, dealing with being The Face, and all the attention that it brings. She ends up meeting Ajax who is from the House of Thebes and that’s where things get tricky. Because of the Curse, they instinctively want to kill each other. Scions was a fun read and really enjoyed it! I can’t wait to read the second book once it’s out!

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read Scions.

This book is so good I feel blessed I got to read this. From the first sentence I literally couldn’t put this book down. I was so invested in the characters, the plot, and the relationships, the author just draws you into the world. The was actually the first book I have read by this author (I have been meaning to read Starcrossed forever) and after reading this, I have already bought her entire Starcrossed series because I know I will love it. I really loved the friendship with Harlow and Daphne and the spin-off Helen of Troy retelling. Cannot recommend this enough.

I thoroughly enjoyed Angelini's Starcrossed trilogy and was thrilled to see that there was a new book being released which is a prequel to the series. Scions follows Daphne and Ajaxs story. You see what Daphne had to endure and what her life is like having the cursed face. Daphne and Ajax are star crossed lovers who are determined to break the curse set by their ancestors.

It was great to be back in this world and see Daphnes story. I liked seeing Daphne and Ajax and seeing them work to break the curse. I also enjoyed seeing Daphne and the friendship she forms with Harlow. I also really enjoyed seeing some characters that were in the previous series.

This was a fun, quick read that I really enjoyed. The ending is fast paced and leaves me eager for the next book in the series.

I had never read any book by Josephine Angelini before and let me tell you that was a BIG mistake, after I finished reading I did a little research and found out that this is actually a prequel and I have come to a decision. IT SHOULD BE A SERIES. The romance was everything I needed, Daphne’s and Ajax were soooo cute and Tantalus was a very interesting side character, I have some questions about the ending, but I am going to read the original series to answer them. This book was just amazing. The world building is outstanding and I would love to read anything like this again.

My FIRST Starcrossed book and I can assure you that it most definitely won't be the last. I was honestly skeptical about requesting it but when I saw it was the prequel, I said screw it and went ahead with it.

I am honesty THRILLED to be one of the selected few who have read an ARC of this book because it is honestly fantastic.
I adored the world-building, the mythology, the plot, the characters, the scenes, just EVERYTHING I CANNOT EVEN WOW.

It was just straight-up amazing, not gonna lie. Now I'm planning to go read the rest of the series just because I can. Amen.

I loved the original star crossed series and my mum has just started to read it too! Scions lives up to a very high bar. It manages to tell a story that readers of the original series already know the ending, while maintaining the same level of engagement in the story as I had with the original series. I seem to always love novels with elements of Greek mythology and this was incredibly well done, fast paced and well written but really I don’t think I expected anything less from Josephine Angelini!

This book has made me want to reread the trilogy again! I also need a physical copy now.

5 Stars ⭐️

When I was an undergraduate, I was so inspired by the use of Helen in Josephine Angelini's Starcrossed Trilogy that I wrote an entire 70 page thesis on it. So, going into Scions, which is a prequel to that trilogy, after nearly 10 years, there was a very high bar already set.

While this book is not perfect--for instance, I would have liked to see the few BIPOC characters have more of their own storylines, versus being mostly included to support or motivate white Scion characters--Scions lives up to a very high bar. I manages to tell a story to which readers of the original series already know the ending, while maintaining the same level of engagement in the story as I had with the original series. It also illustrates more than the original series did how serious the curse of bearing the world's most beautiful Face can be by showing Daphne's struggles with having friends, being stared at and stalked on the street, and even maintaining her relationship with her human family members.

Many of the scenes in this book created beautifully vivid images for me, thanks to Ajax's artistic inclinations, and the inclusion of street art added a very personal aspect to Ajax and Daphne's blossoming connection. I was also pleasantly surprised at a certain cameo appearance, and I look forward to how this story will continue to play out in the next book and to continuing to get the backstories of the many players in the Scion world of the generation before Helen and Lucas. I especially hope we see more of Harlow and get Castor and Noel's story in future books!

Overall, if you loved the original Starcrossed series, this book will not disappoint, but it is also an accessible entry point to readers who are new to Josephine Angelini's world of demigods and monsters. Be sure to read the excerpt of the next book included at the end, as it left me with tons of questions and very intrigued to read the next book in the series.

I adored this book. Truly epic storytelling with a romance that totally captured me. I love novels with elements of Greek mythology and this was incredibly well done, fast paced and well written. I understand this is a prequel to the Starcrossed series which I will most definitely be reading next. Overall an absorbing and thrilling read - 100% recommend.

Thank you to Net Galley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Honestly, I did not think I could fall in love with this world any more than I already have but JA has proved me wrong! I was so excited when I found out she was releasing a prequel series, and especially because the first book is about Daphne and she was easily the most intriguing character from the original trilogy.

I adore Greek mythology and the way JA has woven the myths into her own stunning tale is gripping to read. This book follows Daphne as she struggles to cope with being The Face and eventually meets Ajax and falls in love. There were so many little drops and hints about the original trilogy, and although the ending was in no way whatsoever what I expected, I am absolutely desperate to read the sequel ASAP!

As somone who loved the Starcrossed series I am very excited to read this prequel. Full review to follow both here and on my blog. Thank you very much for the opportunity to review this book. The cover is gorgeous as well. I love Greek mythology and especially with a bit of romance thrown in. Very interested to dive into Daphne & Ajax’s story.

The dazzling prequel to the Starcrossed series, the #1 international bestselling trilogy by Josephine Angelini. Perfect for fans of Tracy Wolff and Jennifer L. Armentrout.

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.

But New York holds a surprise for Daphne and her cursed face—the same one that once launched a thousand ships. A series of murals painted all over town mysteriously pull at her in ways she can't understand. That’s because the artist is Ajax Delos, Son of Apollo, Scion of the House of Thebes, and Daphne’s mortal enemy.

She found the one worth dying for.

With the Fates manipulating them like pieces on a chessboard, Daphne and Ajax must find a way to break the cycle of destruction set in motion by their ancestors before the walls of Troy, or risk becoming yet another pair of star-crossed lovers doomed to repeat the same fatal mistakes.

This book was such a fun read! I was in a reading slump and this book really got me out of it. I flew through this book in one afternoon and I am so sad it is over. I will be looking out for this author in the future and will be recommending this book to all of my family and friends.

5 stars

Thank you Netgalley for giving me this arc! So, I haven't read anything by Josephine Angelini before but after reading this (prequel to her series books) I'm 100%
encouraged to read her other books!! It was thrilling and the characters really caught my attention. Would definitely recommend to everyone when this book come out- you won't want to miss it!!