Series: The Once and Future Queen #1
Release Date: January 21st 2021
Publisher: One More Chapter
Pages: 448
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 2.25/5 stars
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
An all new fantasy YA trilogy, Secrets of the Starcrossed is a story set in a world in which the Roman Empire has managed to retain a stronghold in Britain, creating the walled city of Londinium and an uneasy peace with the British kingdoms around it. The city has made great advances in technology and science and citizens live strongly by the code and rules in place. Cassandra is the daughter of a wealthy merchant and she is due to marry Marcus Courtenay, but when she helps her classmate avoid trouble for carrying a piece of illegal tech, she discovers there might be more to her past than she originally knew and she might be the lost girl he is searching for.
I really wanted to love this book, I thought the premise was a really intriguing one – what if the Romans had stayed in Britain? I loved the idea of a girl with magic in her blood that had to fight to survive in a city where magic is forbidden but unfortunately this book just didn’t click with me. I wanted to know more about the magic in the world and how it worked and less about the history of the Roman Empire. The story was quite quick paced but I felt at times things were glossed over when they shouldn’t have been and then too much focus was placed on things I was less interested in.
Our main character Cassandra is the spoiled daughter of a wealthy merchant and I found her really difficult to like. She spends most her time shopping and complaining about the love interest in the story. For this reason I really struggled to root for her as a character. The story is also much more romance focused than I would have like and I found the on again off again relationship a bit grating.
I think the premise of this one is a really clever idea and I would be interested to see where O’Connor takes the story but ultimately this book just wasn’t for me. If you love YA fantasy romance stories this could be just the book for you and I’m sure fans of fast paced romance will absolutely devour this one.
The Burning Girls is the newest dark and twisty thriller from The Chalk Man author C. J. Tudor. As soon as I read the synopsis for this one I was dying to read it. The story follows Jack and her daughter follow as they move to Chapel Croft, a small village incredibly different from the busy city life they’ve left behind. Chapel Croft is the fresh start they need and Jack is taking the spot of the new Vicar in the close knit community. As Jack and Flo begin to settle in they learn that there’s much more going on in Chapel Croft than meets the eye – will Jack be able to uncover the truth and protect her daughter from the sinister goings-on in Chapel Croft?
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Last One to Die is a fast paced and addictive tale that follows Niamh, a young Irish girl who can come to London for the Summer to study. She soon discovers that women are being attacked all around the city, women who look alarmingly like herself. As Niamh attempts to focus on her studies and her work placement at the sinister Victorian Museum, she soon discovers there might be even more to this serial attacker than she first thought.
People of Abandoned Character is the dark and gripping tale of Susannah, a young nurse who falls head over heels for a young and wealthy surgeon at the hospital where she works. They have a whirlwind romance and are very quickly married. When they return to her husband’s home she quickly finds that everything changes as he becomes more violent and argumentative. He stays out late, disappearing for days at a time and often returns covered in blood. As news reaches Susannah of a serial killer murdering women in Whitechapel, she begins to wonder if perhaps her husband could be involved.
This is my first time reading a book by Sharon Bolton and I can absolutely say it won’t be the last. This fast paced psychological thriller is a complex tale full of twists and turns with an ending I absolutely didn’t see coming. The Split follows scientist Felicity Lloyd who has taken a job in the remote Antarctic to escape the horrors of her past. She fears that even South Georgia isn’t remote enough to escape her ex-husband Freddie who has recently been released from prison. But Felicity has gaps in her memory and as a doctor begins to unravel the truth of her past, he heads out to Georgia in an attempt to help her.
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The Thief on the Winged Horse is the beautifully told story of the Kendrick Family and their infamous doll shop. The dolls are magic, evoking a feeling or emotion with a single touch. Though the craft was founded by sisters, the secrets of the magic are now known only to the men of the family. Persephone Kendrick is desperate to be a sorcerer, but her family refuses to allow her to learn the craft. When a stranger arrives at the shop claiming to be a long lost relative, Persephone knows this could be her chance to get what she’s always wanted. When one of the most famous Kendrick dolls is stolen, the family are pushed to the limit as they attempt to discover who could have stolen such a precious item.
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The Bibliophile Chronicles 