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annesbookishtravels's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
The Starcrossed Trilogy was one of my favourite series when I was a teenager, which is why I was excited about the news that more books will be released. I must admit I don’t remember a lot about the plot of the trilogy, other than it’s Greek Mythology with star-crossed lovers, family feuds, and mysteries to be solved – and that I loved it a lot, which made me request Scions because of nostalgia. It is a prequel to the Starcrossed trilogy, but you don’t need to have read it before going into Scions. It will, of course, add to the experience if you do. I liked the book, and the story it was telling, though it was repetitive at times, and the writing felt a bit “young” – but I’m also ten years older now.
Scions is set in New York City, in 1993 (be aware of 90s misogyny!). The main characters, Daphne and Ajax, played a role in the trilogy, and this is their origin story. Getting to know teenage Daphne and Ajax was interesting, both beautiful and bittersweet; to see how history repeats itself over and over: the four Houses (ancestors: Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon, Aphrodite) are enemies, and if they meet, the Furies will make them fight and kill each other. The Furies and also the Fates are basically using them to achieve their own goals, all relating back to the Greek Gods, and Helen and Paris from Greek Mythology. Daphne’s House is thought to be extinct, which is why she has to stay hidden from the other Houses to make sure this stays that way. This seems easy in a huge city like New York, where every House has their own part of the city to call their own, but her appearance, more specifically her face (she has the Face of Helen of Troy), attracts the attention of every man wherever she goes. This causes a lot of problems, especially at home with her father, and in a high school full of teenage boys. Daphne’s struggles were well written, and I’m horrified by what she had to go through day in, day out due to her having the Face. The little easter eggs were also nice, and I’m now looking forward even more to reading Timeless once it’s released.
The Starcrossed Trilogy was one of my favourite series when I was a teenager, which is why I was excited about the news that more books will be released. I must admit I don’t remember a lot about the plot of the trilogy, other than it’s Greek Mythology with star-crossed lovers, family feuds, and mysteries to be solved – and that I loved it a lot, which made me request Scions because of nostalgia. It is a prequel to the Starcrossed trilogy, but you don’t need to have read it before going into Scions. It will, of course, add to the experience if you do. I liked the book, and the story it was telling, though it was repetitive at times, and the writing felt a bit “young” – but I’m also ten years older now.
Scions is set in New York City, in 1993 (be aware of 90s misogyny!). The main characters, Daphne and Ajax, played a role in the trilogy, and this is their origin story. Getting to know teenage Daphne and Ajax was interesting, both beautiful and bittersweet; to see how history repeats itself over and over: the four Houses (ancestors: Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon, Aphrodite) are enemies, and if they meet, the Furies will make them fight and kill each other. The Furies and also the Fates are basically using them to achieve their own goals, all relating back to the Greek Gods, and Helen and Paris from Greek Mythology. Daphne’s House is thought to be extinct, which is why she has to stay hidden from the other Houses to make sure this stays that way. This seems easy in a huge city like New York, where every House has their own part of the city to call their own, but her appearance, more specifically her face (she has the Face of Helen of Troy), attracts the attention of every man wherever she goes. This causes a lot of problems, especially at home with her father, and in a high school full of teenage boys. Daphne’s struggles were well written, and I’m horrified by what she had to go through day in, day out due to her having the Face. The little easter eggs were also nice, and I’m now looking forward even more to reading Timeless once it’s released.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Moderate: Pedophilia
aliciawhatsthestory's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail
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