Scions: A Starcrossed Prequel (Starcrossed, 4)

I have SO many thoughts on this book. Scions surprised me in a lot of ways. I honestly wasn’t expecting to like it to the degree that I did or grow as attached to the character as I did. So, a teeny bit of background about me and the Starcrossed series: I read the first three books when I was in middle school. These books were like the Harry Potter series of my childhood. Not only did I read these books in middle school, but I continued to reread them throughout junior high, high school, and even once and a while in college when I was going through a slump or feeling nostalgic. I think it’s good practice to reread the books we loved as children. For me at least, it provides a healthy dose of perspective and reminds me of how I’ve changed and in some ways, stayed the same.Because of my extensive history with this series and sentimental attachment to all its characters, I was pretty much prepared to love this book no matter what. However, I did have some reservations when I first received the ARC. I worried that the world wouldn’t be as I remembered it, that I wouldn’t be able to so effortlessly disappear into it the way I had as a child. I also worried that the characters and storyline wouldn’t be nearly as relatable or as interesting to me as an adult. With these warring thoughts in mind, I started this book and finished it the same night I got it. I read it a few more times after that in order to really immerse myself in the world and its characters and to fully flesh out my thoughts and opinions. And I LOVED it. In my opinion this book is very different from the last three, aside from the fact that it features different main characters. In all honesty, I was actually prepared to like this book a little less due to the fact that the characters I had grown up with wouldn’t be taking center stage in this one. But in the end, I couldn’t be more glad for the change of pace. The change of characters really allows us as readers to gain more familiarity with the world that Josie had built in Starcrossed by seeing it through the eyes and perceptions of other characters and laying a stronger foundation of what that world looks like in our heads. The continued world building in this book really impressed me, however so did the overall tone of the book. Daphne is our main character in this book and there was something about her view of the world and the people it contains that really touched me on more of an adult level. I really appreciated the differences between Helen (main character of the last three books) and Daphne as characters and how much of an impact their individual upbringings really had on them as people and shaped their outlooks on life. I thought it was very realistic. I also found myself more so relating to Daphne as a person after getting to know her. I really sympathized with her plight. I also really sympathized with and liked the way that she loved Ajax. Something about the way their interactions are written and the way their relationship is depicted makes me root for them in a different way than I had with Helen and Lucas (the previous couple in the last three books). Considering the fact that the series is generally focused on star crossed lovers, I was a little afraid that Daphne and Ajax’s relationship might just essentially be a copy of Helen and Lucas’ relationship with a few things tweaked here and there, but again, I was pleasantly surprised. This book very much felt like an evolution of the series, from the tone of the book, to the world building, and even of the characters themselves. Despite this series being marketed more so towards a young adult audience, there are quite a few themes in this series that I think most people can relate to along the lines of family, love, and sacrifice. There were enough familiar faces in this book to inspire that comforting feeling of nostalgia for fans of the last three books in the series, however on the whole, I think Scions carries its own weight as far as plot and characters go. I was really blown away by this book and how well it lived up to and even exceeded my expectations. I am so excited to see the series continue! Thank you to Sungrazer Publishing for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Daphne’s face is cursed. She is the heir to the Scion House of Zeus and must wear the legendary face of Helen of Troy. She tries to hide… she doesn’t want to go around starting wars between mortals or the Scion families. But when her face shows up in street art mural, she knows she’ll have to track down the artist, Ajax, and see how he knows her. Surely nothing bad will come of it? Let’s find out.Read if you like: Classic YA, Greek mythology, retellings, paranormal romance, star-crossed lovers, enemies to lovers, make your own fate, prequels, a little steam in your slow burn romance.The Scions, demigod families of Olympus, are locked in an unending conflict that began with the war of Troy. Daphne is the current bearer of The Face. Her one true fate is to rekindle the war of her descendants and reawaken the gods. But when she meets another Scion from a rival family, Ajax, it appears that the Fates have another thread woven into the tapestries of their lives. Can they survive their families and follow their own path away from destruction?This book was a lot of fun. I have a feeling if I would have read the Starcrossed series before picking up this book for fun then I would have possibly rated it 5 stars. Maybe it’s just my own neurosis from knowing there were more books, but I could tell that this was leading up to something that would not be resolved quickly or easily. Also, I was expecting a much more depressing ending. So that was a positive surprise. I mean, bad things happen, it’s a book, but overall, pleasantly surprised.So, what do you get? A really great throwback YA PNR. And not just because its set in the 1990s. (So on brand, rn.) 😊 The MC teens are teenagery yet totally OP with their special demigod status. And they actually know what they’re doing, so, there’s not that annoying learning curve… “oh I have powers, oh em gee! What now?!?” There’s a lot of great tension and background information within the Scion Houses and you feel the connection to the Greek myths while having space to be its own thing. The romance is so classic YA. Its so good. And yes, you get a happy-ish ending. My only problem… I now need to add 3 more books to my ridiculously long TBR. So yeah, thanks Josephine Angelini! 😉 It’s not like I’ll ever be close to finished anyway…Thank you to NetGalley, Sungrazer Publishing, and Josephine Angelini for a copy of this book for my honest review.

Scions, the prequel to Josephine Angelini’s Starcrossed trilogy follows Daphne, a descendant of Zeus, as she grapples, literally and figuratively, with loving someone should not.Angelini takes Daphne, a character often viewed as a sort of villain in the original trilogy, and humanizes her. In Scions, readers experience Daphne's every thought and emotion, creating a personal relationship between reader and protagonist. This shows how much of said humanity Daphne has lost compared to her personality in the original trilogy.Daphne’s “humanization” comes partly from Ajax, her personal beam of light (and my personal favorite character) in an otherwise bleak existence. Daphne and Ajax’s relationship, and the lengths they go to sustain it, create great tension, especially since we all know that nothing perfect can last forever.From the vivid world-building to the 90s references, Scions was such a fun read. In my opinion, you can read Scions without having read the original trilogy and not be confused. That is how well the novel is written. The story flowed very well and left me wondering how the events of Daphne’s story play into both the original trilogy and the books to come. It is safe to say that I am SO ready for the next novel.- Sarah Grace Moore

This book helped get me out of a reading slump and back into enjoying all things magical about reading. Although I didn’t care for the way the high school stereotypes were handled at the beginning of the book, I really did enjoy the relationship between Daphne and Ajax. I’ve always enjoyed Josephine’s way of building a plot and find it fun to see what happens next. I’m excited for the next three books to come out and see where she takes us!

Dive back into the beautiful world Josephine Angelini created with the Starcrossed series. A series that is imprinted on my very soul so naturally the excitement for this one, the prequel was through the roof and in true Angelini fashion, my high expectations were well and truly surpassed.She has a way of drawing you into the story, you feel as if it’s your own, that Josephine has somehow made you the main character with the way her writing fully immerses you.This one follows Daphne, i was interested in her character from the original books and it was so intriguing to get to dive into her character more.I’m eagerly awaiting Timeless so naturally it’s time to reread the whole series again!

If you’re a fan of modern day Greek mythology heartbreak, filled with all the tragedy, Starcrossed lovers and all the drama — this is the book for you!A prequel to the original Starcrossed trilogy, Scions transports us back in time to New York in the 90s to tell the story of Daphne and Ajax. For fans of the trilogy or those new to the world, this is a thrilling story of love and loss and the lengths you’d go to do be with the one you love.

I was so pleased to see that there was another two books to this series. They are some of my favourite books. This book did not disappoint. It also so nice to read Daphne and Ajax's story. Can't wait for Timeless to come out next year.

Parto premettendo che non ci sono spoiler! 😉Attendevo questo prequel dal 2013 quando Josie ne parlò al festivalletteratura di Mantova in occasione dell'uscita di Goddess, il terzo libro della serie Starcorssed. Mi era piaciuto starcrossed city, che già anticipava la storia tra Daphe e Ajax, e prometteva molto bene. Unica pecca... tr corto. Volevo di più. Ed ecco finalmente SCIONS!Ho finito il libro combattuta tra la voglia di finirlo per sapere come sarebbe successo e la voglia di Non finirlo per farlo durare di più!Ho amato subito Ajax, impossibile non farlo. Ma la sorpresa ovviamente è stata una Daphne diversa da quella conosciuta nella trilogia. Una Daphne giovane e con un lato inedito, un carattere diverso e mille sfacettature. Lei ci mostrerà caratteri di personaggi ed eventi accaduti prima di Starcrossed che potevamo solo immaginare: Tantalus e Castor mi hanno stupito. Molto bello anche il piccolo "cameo" che non vi rivelerò oggi ma vale tutto il libro!Nel complesso... meraviglioso, ora mi manca tantissimo e non vedo l'ora esca il seguito!

How do you start a review for a book you've been hoping to get for so long, which exceeded all your high expectations?Okay, first up: The Starcrossed series is one of the series that have started my passion for reading, as cheesy as it sounds, so I may be a bit biased in this one (though I think rightly so).Scions is the beginning of the story of Daphne, the mother of the protagonist in Starcrossed. I had very strong - and very negative - feelings towards her in the original trilogy; she's kind of a morally grey character if you think about it. But since I love morally grey characters, this set up the foundation for me loving the book.Going into it, I didn't have any idea of what the plot could be like - it was just the vibes. But Scions wouldn't be a Josephine Angelini book if there wasn't an intricate plot, well thought out characters and precious character relationships which make you fall in love with them.And I did, I did so much. I went straight from "oh, maybe I can accept Daphne" to "I will protect this girl with my life" and don't even get me started on Ajax. Because I get it now. I get why everyone in Starcrossed loves him so dearly. I've drawn so many little hearts around his name and underlined to many of his quotes, but here's the one I've shared the most so far: "Tell me your favorite color, Daphne, and I'll paint the sky with it."I could go on and on about every single aspect of the book, starting from Josephine Angelini's interpretation of Greek mythology, which is the best I've read so far, over the cover and the haptic of the book - but let's settle on the fact that it was an absolute highlight. All my very high expectations were met and surpassed, which makes this book the best prequel I’ve ever read.I cannot recommend Scions enough and although I'm a fan of reading in order, you most definitely can read it before reading Starcrossed without being confused.Must-read for all fans of Greek mythology, YA fantasy, powerful female leads, enemies-to-lovers, and captivating and endearing romances!Thank you to Sungrazer Publishing for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.