{Book Review} Bad Romeo (Starcrossed #1) by Leisa Rayven (@LeisaRayven)

When Cassie Taylor met Ethan Holt at acting school, sparks flew. She was the good girl actress. He was the bad boy about campus. But one fated casting choice for Romeo and Juliet changed it all. Like the characters they were playing, Cassie and Ethan's romance seemed destined. Until he broke her heart and betrayed her trust. Now the A-list heartthrob is back in her life and turning her world around. One touch at a time.

Cast as romantic leads once again, they're forced to confront raw memories of the heartbreaking lows and pulse-pounding highs of their secret college affair. But they'll also discover that people who rub each other the wrong way often make the best sparks.

Cassandra Taylor always wanted to be an actress – to be someone other than herself.  Studying at The Grove is the perfect opportunity for her to realize her dream – until she sees him…

Ethan Holt is tall, dark and mind numbingly handsome.  He also has enough intensity to light the entire Eastern Seaboard all by himself.  Being cast opposite him in their first-year theater production of Romeo and Juliet should make her happy but when it comes to anything involving Holt, she would rather jump off a very high cliff.

The chemistry between them consumes everything around them and just when she thinks that she has finally broken through, he ends their affair unexpectedly. Now three years later, he’s cast along side her once again – but this time on Broadway. 

The stakes are higher and the tension is unbearable, but Cassie knows better than to let Ethan anywhere near her heart.

Ethan and Elissa are a package deal. He has it written into his contracts that she runs all of the shows he works on, which baffles me, considering they fight like cat and dog. I’d say that Elissa is his security blanket, but of course, why would he need one? He doesn’t need anyone or anything, right? He’s untouchable. He’s freaking Teflon. Elissa gestures to a scale model of the set we’ll be using, as she talks about the stage mechanics. The producers listen and nod. I have no issue with Elissa. She’s a fantastic stage manager, and we’ve worked together before. In fact, a million years ago we used to be good friends. Back when I still thought her brother was born of a human mother and not spawned straight from Satan’s asshole.

Ethan threw away the best thing he ever had when he ended it with Cassie.  He never forgot the girl who gave herself so completely to him.  Now he’s got another chance to show Cassie that it doesn’t matter how broken or shattered they are separately, together they can have it all – once more.

I take a deep breath, heart hammering. We’re charging ahead in a rocket car, and I have no idea if we’ll end up in paradise or smashed into a tree. History would suggest the tree.

All hail the Queen of UST for her name is Liesa Rayven!  Her debut novel, Bad Romeo is one of the most gut-wrenching and utterly gorgeous books of 2014. The writing is flawless, the dialog is spot on and the characters are legendary. 

The next installment,  Broken Juliet is set to arrive in April and I can’t wait for Leisa to dazzle me again…

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