Wicked Heart

StarCrossed Series

By Leisa Rayven

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Synopsis

The one guy she can’t have is the one she can’t forget.

Liam Quinn is one of the biggest movie stars in the world…and the only man Elissa Holt has ever truly loved.

After being out of her life for six years, he and his gorgeous fiancé are set to star in the new Broadway show Elissa is stage managing. The only trouble is, when late night rehearsals bring Elissa and Liam together, the line between what is and what could have been gets blurred. Now one moment of weakness is about to create a scandal that will echo around the world.

Elissa knows that falling for Liam again would be a tragedy in the making, but as any good romantic knows, love doesn’t always follow the script.

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Excerpt

FOOL ME ONCE

Present Day

Pier 23 Rehearsal Rooms

New York City

Tingles up my spine. Blood hot and fast beneath my skin.

Goddammit. This isn’t good.

Why is this still happening to me after all these years?

I’m not a girl who swoons easily. I’m really not. If I were to describe myself I’d say I was passionate but logical, fiery but methodical, spontaneous but organized. All of these traits might seem like contradictions, but they make me a damn good stage manager, and I’m not too humble to say that at the age of twenty-five, I’m one of the most respected show runners on Broadway. Producers know they can depend on me to stay calm in a crisis. I run my shows with military precision, and I demand strict professionalism from everyone, especially myself.

My rules for a stress-free work environment are nonnegotiable: Treat everyone with respect, be firm but fair, and do not ever get romantically involved with someone in the show I’m running. For most of my career, I’ve had no problem following my own rules, but there is one thing that can derail my equilibrium in one fell swoop.

Well, not so much one thing as one person.

Liam Quinn.

As I sit in the private cinema with my production team and watch the shirtless man on the screen take down an overwhelming number of enemies, I’m embarrassed by how hot my skin feels. How my breathing is shallow, and my thighs are pressed together. How I drink in every angle of his face and body. How I thrill to the flex of every perfect muscle.

But even more than that, I’m embarrassed how the passion of his performance makes me fantasize about doing passionate things to him. Not just sexual things, but they’re certainly high on the list.

To put it simply, he makes me swoon like it’s his damn job.

He’s the only man who’s ever affected me like this, and it’s safe to say I hold it against him. It’s inconvenient and rude.

He runs toward the gorgeous redhead on the screen and pulls her into a passionate embrace. The redhead is Angel Bell—recent cover model for People’s “Most Beautiful Women in the Known Universe” and basic all-round Goddess. Perfect body. Perfect boobs. Perfect face. She’s playing a seraph princess. Liam is her scorching-hot demon slave. They’ve just about destroyed the world trying to be together, and now Liam’s kissing her like he’ll die if he doesn’t.

Goddamn, that man can kiss.

I cross my legs and sigh. This is insane.

I’m not against being aroused in general, but being aroused by this particular man is a recipe for disaster. The last time I let myself have these feelings for him, it didn’t end well.

I feel a hand on my arm and turn to see one of Broadway’s most respected directors, Marco Fiori, leaning over. His eyes are bright with excitement, and it’s clear I’m not the only one who’s noticed Liam’s … assets.

“Quite the specimen, isn’t he?” Marco whispers.

I shrug. “If you like that sort of thing, I suppose.” My raging hormones scream that we do like that sort of thing. We like it a whole helluva lot.

The only trouble is, we can’t like it, because Liam’s an actor, and we don’t date actors. Also, in a few weeks, I’ll be his stage manager. Also, he’s engaged to his gorgeous costar.

Oh, and perhaps the most important reason is, once upon a time, we had a short but passionate-as-hell relationship and I’ve never recovered.

Somehow, I’ve managed to lock away the heartache he caused, possibly because I blame myself as much as I blame him. But the desire? That’s still roaming free, storming through my composure like a bull in a china shop.

Yep.

This is going to be an interesting project. It will be a miracle if my professionalism and I make it out alive.

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Robin’s Review

It’s been awhile – a year, in fact – since I immersed myself into the theatrical world of the Starcrossed series. For an author so new to publishing, Leisa Rayven REALLY impressed me with her debut novel, Bad Romeo! Along with writing that was exceptional, what I remember the most about reading Bad Romeo and Broken Juliet is the passion – how the energy between Ethan Holt and Cassie Taylor seemed to leap off of the page. Rayven is now releasing Wicked Heart, the third novel of her Starcrossed series, with the primary characters of this contemporary romance being Elissa Holt, sister of Ethan Holt, and Hollywood actor Liam Quinn.

Liam Quinn has his own Hollywood success story – a superstar who seemed to turn up out of nowhere, but Elissa Holt is all too aware of his humble beginnings. That’s because Liam’s acting career began on Broadway with a theatre production of Romeo and Juliet. When they met, Liam told Elissa he worked in construction, but then he showed up at tryouts for Romeo.  Although it was Liam’s first audition to be an actor, his was the best by far, and he was given the role.

From the beginning, Elissa warned Liam that she doesn’t date actors – they have a bad habit of leaving her for the costar – but her warning didn’t discourage him. Liam relentlessly pursued Elissa for the duration of the show, then left for Hollywood to pursue an acting career, leaving Elissa with a broken heart.

Fast forward six years to the present, where Liam and his fiancé, actress Angel Bell, are cast in the Broadway production of Taming of the Shrew, a production where Elissa just so happens to be the stage manager. She now has to endure the daily presence of Hollywood’s golden couple, and Liam is the only man Elissa has ever loved. Oh, how the wicked heart wants what it wants.

Just as she did in Bad Romeo, Rayven was outstanding in translating the attraction, the sexual tension between Liam and Elissa, to page.  His relentless pursuit. Her steadfast denial of something she knows will hurt her in the end.  The buildup of their attraction is steady and full of angst. But when Elissa finally relents, gives in to what her heart really desires, Liam and Elissa share something special that will mark them both forever. THIS SCENE. I felt the intense power of their connection in this scene – a testiment to great writing. And because Wicked Heart is narrated from Elissa’s first person point of view, we are able experience her heartbreak over their separation. Although the flashback chapters are minimal, they really are key in driving this story forward.

Although Wicked Heart is the third book of a series, it can definitely be read as a standalone. I know love triangles are not a popular theme among readers of contemporary romance, but EVERYONE should give Wicked Heart a chance. There is so much more to this story than what you see on the surface, and it’s worth it. I promise. Wicked Heart is dramatic, sexy, and somewhat humorous.  The friendships, the interactions between characters are entertaining. Rayven keeps the dialogue light in places, and although Wicked Heart can be angsty at times, I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions! In summary, Wicked Heart is another quality, 5-star novel from Leisa Rayven. I absolutely enjoyed this 2016 favorite, and I’m already looking forward to her next novel!

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 About Leisa Rayven

Writing has always been a passion for Leisa, and even though she originally intended to be an actress, it wasn’t long into her time at drama school that she began writing plays.

Those plays were bad. Very bad. Well, her friends thought they were good, but that’s because they were always cast in them and any opportunity to be on stage was met with an obnoxious amount of enthusiasm.

Since then, she’s honed her craft, and several of her plays have been produced and toured throughout Australia.

These days, playwriting has given way to fiction writing, and Leisa’s debut novel, BAD ROMEO, will be available in a worldwide release through Macmillan Publishing in December 2014.

Leisa lives in Australia with her husband, two little boys, three cats, and a kangaroo named Howard.

(Howard may or may not be her imaginary marsupial friend. Everyone should have one.

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