Broken Juliet

Star Crossed Series – Book 2

Sequel to Bad Romeo

By Leisa Rayven

Synopsis

Some loves never let you go…
Cassie swore she’d never forgive Ethan for breaking her heart when they were in acting school years ago. He was her one great love, and when he refused to love her back, a part of her died forever…or so she thought. Now she and Ethan are sharing a Broadway stage, and he’s determined to win her back. Finally he’s able to say all the things she needed to hear years ago…but can she believe him? Has he really changed, and what makes this time different from all his other broken promises?
The answer lies somewhere in the past, and now the truth will come to light. Will Cassie rediscover what it’s like to be trusting and open again–the way she was before Ethan? Or is it too late for these star-crossed lovers?
Don’t miss this mesmerizing final chapter in the Bad Romeo duet, the unforgettable love story that captured the hearts of over two million fans online.

Buy: Amazon / B & N /  ITunes / Kobo

The Star Crossed Series

Bad Romeo

Star Crossed Series – Book 1

By Leisa Rayven

Synopsis

While performing the greatest love story of all time, they discovered one of their own…

Cassie Taylor was just another acting student with big dreams at her prestigious performing arts college, then she met Ethan Holt. She was the good girl actress. He was the bad boy on campus. But one fated casting choice for Romeo and Juliet changed it all. Like the characters they were playing on stage, Cassie and Ethan’s epic romance seemed destined. Until it ended in tragedy when he shattered her heart.

Now they’ve made it to Broadway where they’re reunited as romantic leads once again, and their passionate scenes force them to confront the heartbreaking lows and pulse-pounding highs of their intense college affair. For Ethan, losing Cassie was his biggest regret, and he’s determined to redeem himself. But for Cassie, even though Ethan was her first and only great love, he hurt her too much to ever be trusted again. The trouble is, working with him reminds her that people who rub each other the wrong way often make the best sparks. And when it comes to love, sometimes it’s the things that aren’t good for us that are the most irresistible.

Don’t miss the intoxicating romance beloved by over two million fans online–a story that will captivate you and hold you breathless until the final page.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Robin’s Review

Leisa Rayven delighted readers with her debut novel Bad Romeo, a passionate and dysfunctional romance about Ethan Holt and Cassie Taylor. In this first novel of the Starcrossed series, Ethan and Cassie are students at The Grove, a prestigious acting school. Ethan is closed-off. Moody. Cassie is wildly attracted to Ethan’s bad boy ways. Their love is all-consuming and toxic. Their chemistry on fire. Push and pull. Flawed and real. Ethan ruins Cassie for all other men, and then he breaks her heart twice.

“He was my first true friend. My first love. First lover. The master of more pleasure than I knew existed, and the architect of more heartache than I thought I could endure.”

Broken Juliet is the conclusion to Ethan and Cassie’s tumultuous love story. Once again, chapters alternate between past and present, with the story being told from Cassie’s perspective. Rayven begins the story where she left off at the end of Bad Romeo. It’s been six years since Ethan and Cassie first met in acting school and three years since the last time they saw each other. Both of them have been cast as leads for a Broadway production. Ethan shows up at Cassie’s front door to ask for forgiveness. He admits he had trust issues. He knows he broke her heart. Ethan tells Cassie he has changed, and he hopes she will give them one more chance.

In chapters from the past, Cassie shares details about her relationship with Ethan. Our eyes are gradually opened to the truth behind Ethan’s brokenness, and why he was not able to commit to a relationship with Cassie. We begin to see the damage he inflicted on her life. Ethan reveals details about his road to recovery during the present chapters. This new and improved Ethan is endearing. Patient. Kind. Full of love. He knows what Cassie is going through because he’s experienced it himself. He broke her heart twice, but now he wants to help her put the pieces back together. There is an intense flame between Cassie and Ethan that never burned out, and both of them know it. It’s obvious they still love each other, but can Cassie trust Ethan with her heart again?

The Starcrossed series is refreshing and different. It’s apparent to me Leisa Rayven is knowledgeable about theatre and acting. She is also a very good writer. Her writing is a step up in quality from what I typically read. Dialogue between characters feels honest and real. Her written conversations capture my attention, and I’m not just referring to dialogue between the main characters. I enjoyed the lessons about acting taught by Erika to students at The Grove. Journal entries. Memories. Arguments. General discussion between characters feels natural in Bad Romeo and Broken Juliet.

Ethan and Cassie have chemistry that bleeds off the page. It was like this in Bad Romeo, and their attraction is smoking hot in Broken Juliet. Lovemaking scenes are passionate and fresh. It never felt cliché. Leisa Rayven encompasses the entire experience. Mental state. Emotions. Physical response.

Ethan and Cassie have experienced heartbreaking loss. Both of them are damaged. But these characters have evolved, and I feel their character growth is palpable in Broken Juliet. Make sure you read the fantastic conclusion to Cassie and Ethan’s story. I highly recommend 5-star Broken Juliet!

 

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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