What an absolutely delightful start to a series that I'm already thoroughly obsessed with! I adored "Star-Crossed Betas": it had everything my romance-loving heart could wish for.
Arranged marriage with a double whammy of enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers once again AND second chance romance? Shifters, pack politics, hidden secrets, betrayals, a fab cast of side characters that I already adore? Two main characters who are kinda sunshine/grumpy personified, featuring lots of pining and "I'm trying to hold a grudge here but I still love you desperately and I also find you smoking hot"? I was hooked from the very beginning.

Connor and Phoenix are wonderful protagonists. I admit, I had a soft spot for Phoenix: overburdened, responsible disaster of a man who's got a lovely golden retriever personality when he's finally able to let go? I loved him. I loved being in his head, and I seriously wanted to jump into the book and protect him. He makes mistakes sure, but he's also the self-sacrificing type: I adored how selfless and lovely he was. Connor was a bit more tricky for me to love thoroughly; I usually adore the grumpy, snarky, walls-a-mile-wide-around-their-heart kind of character, but he spent quite a lot of time jumping to conclusions when a simple question, or maybe just thinking before acting, would have saved him (and Phoenix) (and me!) a whole lot of pain and hurt. I do love prickly characters like him, but he was a smidge too mean to Phoenix at times. Anyway, that said, I did like being in his head, and I adored the character arc he goes through!
Their romance was amazing: I love a good ol' second chance romance; the pining is always so delicious, and the enemies-to-lovers subplot going on was the cherry on the cake.

I can't believe this is Emory Winters debut! I truly adored it, and I'd seriously sell my soul to the devil to have the second book already. I'm so damn curious about what will happen: despite this book having a wonderful ending, the outside plot kinda ends on a bit of cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to see what will happen, and I also cannot wait to meet the next MCs properly. I think I'm already imagining stories for alllllll the side characters, because I seriously loved them all. From Niamh and Alice to Sam and Will and Noah... I can't wait to discover what will happen next.

Also, I'd have definitely given this book another star if the situation with Phoenix's mum had had a better resolve: there was this big secret Phoenix was keeping, and I expected it to have more consequences or, at least, a better/bigger resolution. I was expecting somebody would at least confront his mum about her abusing her role but yeah; I think it will definitely be talked about more in the second book because the plot is very much ongoing, but I'd had hoped Connor would have at least done something more when discovering this secret.

Anyway, regardless, I adored "Star-Crossed Betas": the world-building and pack politics were absolutely fascinating, the writing was fantastic, and the pining and romance were both out of this world. That, coupled with a fantastic cast of characters, made this book an unforgettable read, and I can't wait to read more by this author.

Thanks GRR for the ARC. This is my honest review.