ARC Review--Scions by Josephine Angelini

 

A prequel to the bestselling Starcrossed series.

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 both 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.

 

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review. 

 

Josephine Angelini returns to the Starcrossed world, but this time goes to the very beginning with Scions! It's been a decade since I last visited this world, but since this was a new start to the series that took place before the first book, I figured it would be easy to return to and it was! This tells the story of how Helen's parents met and all the chaos and turmoil that they endured and just wow!

So many Greek mythology books these days choose the fated love affair between Hades and Persephone. Josephine decides to choose some of the "other" characters in Greek mythology, namely the not-Godly type. Basically, with this one, as long as you are somewhat familiar with the Trojan War you will do fine! This series deals with the Helens of the time for within all the Greek Houses, a Helen is always born, one who will be coveted by all. She has the Fact that Launched a Thousand Ships and every Helen is doomed to repeat the tragedy if she follows her heart. What's odd is that every Helen has the same face. They're always the same, but they are gifted with an ability to change their face as well.

Daphne is the current Helen, and it's 1993, way before we had all the modern technology we're used to reading about in these kinds of YA reads. It was actually a trip to not see the heroine pulling out her cell phone. The days of landlines live once more! 

Daphne lives in New York and pretty much lives under the radar. It's her senior year and her father is forcing her to go a new school that is closer to home. Lately, her father has become overly protective of her. It's due to the fact that her face is starting to resembled her mother's when her father met her. Her mother moved away from her years ago. As there's a certain point where the mother of the current Helen can't be with her daughter anymore. There are a lot of rules and such to this setup, and they are explained much more fluidly than I'm doing here! Lol.

Anyway, Daphne is just trying to live as normal of a life as she can before she life no longer belongs to her. For like the original Helen, she will soon be married off to the highest bidder. Then she meets Ajax and everything changes.

When scions from other Houses encounter one another, they usually get into fights...like fights to the death. But with Daphne and Ajax things are different, and while there is some rage, they find themselves fighting against it and wanting to be with the other just because. And naturally, a romance begins to brew between them.

Quite a lot happens in this one! So much that I can't even break it down into concise bites! Lol. While you don't have to have read the Starcrossed trilogy in order to enjoy this one, you may notice a familiar name or two if you have! For me, it's been so long since I read the original trilogy but I followed along with this one easily enough! Basically we're reading a new series that connects to the one already in place! So new readers, you're in a perfect spot! You can either read the original trilogy first or start with this one. It likely doesn't matter, but it would perhaps make more sense if you read the trilogy first.

This was a most exciting story since Daphne and Ajax continue to explore their forbidden romance! Danger is at every turn and there are forces working against them to drive them apart! It's a story that will keep you breathless until the very end!

Luckily, there's no cliffhanger here! I was a bit worried, but luckily things end in the best possible way. There's resolution and hope for a better future--what I call the best kind of ending, because there is more on the way! Naturally. Josephine is not done with this world or characters yet and I cannot wait read what she puts out next!

If you're a fan of Greek Mythology and the numerous retellings, and find yourself tired of the Hades/Persephone retelling, I urge you to read these books! They are perfect for the Greek Myth lover who wants to expand their retelling horizons! This is a read that will delight you from beginning to end, much as it did for myself!

 

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

 

Scions releases October 4, 2022