BLOG TOUR - WICKED HEART by LEISA RAYVEN - STARCROSSED # 3 - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE - PAN MACMILLAN

By: Leisa Rayven
Published By: Pan Macmillan, St Martin's Press
Released : Available Now
Details : Digital copy for honest review from publisher

RATING: 5 LIAM QUINN & A SIDE ORDER OF JOSH STARS

Blurb: Goodreads

Liam Quinn is talented, gorgeous, and one of the biggest movie stars in the world.

He's also 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. Both Elissa and Liam try to ignore the connection they both still feel, but when late night rehearsals bring them together, the line between what is and what could have been get blurred.

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



BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Wicked Heart is my FAVORITE in the Starcrossed series.

Why?

Liam.

Elissa.

Liam.

I know it’s cliché, but he had me at hello.

And a side order of Josh.

Now things are never not angsty in this series and Leisa delivers a bucket load, but safe to say not as much in this book as in Bad Romeo and Broken Juliet.

Elissa as a lot of readers would already know is Ethan’s sister and she is a respected stage manager. I really liked her character. 

Again, Leisa knows her theatrical acting shiz and all the things that come with it and it shows. I felt like I was backstage or side stage or wherever Elissa does her managing and I was peering over her shoulder.


If I had to choose between Liam or Ethan, it is too easy.

LIAM. QUINN!


Liam. Even his name is sexy.

What I loved about this book was it was 99% in the present.

Praise the laaaawd.

There was no flipping back and forth. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I read Bad Romeo and Broken Juliet one after the other and ... * face plant * I did enjoy both books.

Josh, the sub character and friend to Elissa, is pretty adorable in this installment.  

*stage whispers* I wanted to not like Angel...but...ya simply can’t. She is a nice chick who grew on me.

All in all, the pages turned and I swept through this book unable to stop.

Standing ovation for Wicked Heart.

Well done , Leisa.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - BROKEN JULIET by LEISA RAYVEN - STARCROSSED # 2 - PAN MACMILLAN - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

By: Leisa Rayven
Published By: Pan Macmillan, St Martin's Press
Released : Available Now
Details : Paperback from publisher for honest review, 308 Pages

Blurb : Goodreads

How do you fix a love that’s been broken beyond repair?

For years, Cassie Taylor tried to forget about Ethan Holt. He was the one great love of her life, and when he failed to return her love, 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. Claiming to be a changed man, he’s finally able to say all the things she needed to hear years ago, but can she believe him? What makes this time different from all his other broken promises?

Ethan knows he can’t change their tumultuous past, but if he’s going to have any chance of being with the woman he loves, he’ll need to convince Cassie that her future belongs with him.

Don’t miss this stunning conclusion to the unforgettable love story that captivated over two million fans online.


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Like Bad Romeo, this is a very well written sequel.

Leisa knows how to use her words. She has wit and snark and she knows how to drive that angst all the way home.

We are again flipping back and forth between past and present and that can get a bit confusing but at the same time I expected all the flipping after Bad Romeo.

I was prepared for it. I think I would have liked time spent in the present more in bigger blocks, but that is just me.

Time wasn’t the only thing flipping, Cassie and Ethan’s roles did a flip.

Ethan had changed Cassie, she had to learn how to trust her feelings again.



I’ve always known he’s worth it. I knew it before he did. I just need to stop doubting we can make this work.


He thinks I can go back to being the person I was after this? It’s impossible. He’s poisoned the woman I used to be. Long after he’s gone, I’ll still be toxic.



One part is vibrant and pulsing with pleasure. The other is withering and dying. The trusting part. The loving part.



Ethan has become the chaser.

HE WANTS CASSIE BACK.


“No buts. If our relationship was based only on sex, do you think we’d have gone through all the shit we have? Sex is easy. And as much as I love having sex with you, what I want from you isn’t easy. It’s messy and complicated, and I don’t have a clue how to cope with it all. But I’ll find a way, because I love you. And love is hard, but it’s worth it. You’re worth it. And I hope one day you’ll realize I’m worth it, too.”


I really enjoy the sub characters, especially Connor and Erika. She deliberately manipulates the characters into doing scenes that are at odds with them, adding so much to the story line.

Another great instalment in this series with Wicked Heart up to bat next. This time Elissa, Ethan’s sister is in the wars with her heart.

Looking forward to it.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - BAD ROMEO by LEISA RAYVEN - STARCROSSED # 1 - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE - PAN MACMILLAN

By: Leisa Rayven
Published By: Pan Macmillan
Released : Available Now
Details : Paperback from publisher for honest review, 403 Pages

Blurb : Goodreads

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

Cassie Taylor was just another good girl acting student. Ethan Holt was the bad boy on campus. Then one fated casting choice for Romeo and Juliet changed it all. Like the characters they were playing onstage, 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, 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 more than two million fans online.



BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I had heard that Bad Romeo was good.

It was time to discover what this book was all about. 

I’ve not read a book where the main characters are actors before, but not TV actors, theatrical actors.

Romeo and Juliet is the play that brings the two lead characters, Cassie and Ethan, together and man...is there some sexual tension and moments. 

This book flips back and forth between the present and past, (six years earlier) as we look into the aspiring acting careers and lives of Cassie and Ethan and some other sub characters who bring a lot to this book.

Leisa surprised me with how well this book is written. She is funny and witty, but she also brings her knowledge of her theatrical background to the story. You can tell she knows the ins and out about stage actors and directors and all that jazz.

There is quality to her writing and depth and it reads like you are really a part of the audience. 

It's simply more.

Ethan is a character that I really enjoyed but at the same time he is different to a lot of the book boyfriends we read about because he is more dramatic, possibly due to his chosen career. Well, I felt that way anyway. He’s not your alpha character. 

He’s sensitive, angsty, and maybe a little more real.

He is career driven and determined to get what he wants and prove to his father he has the right to his chosen career. He wants nothing to stand in his way.

Cassie is all about pleasing people. She is the girl who isn’t herself because she is still looking for that person.

But, the more we read and flip back and forth, the more original character traits start to flip.

Who’s now chasing who?

What are their secrets?

I look forward to starting Broken Juliet next and continuing Ethan and Cassie’s journey as two actors find themselves in their world of make believe.

Michelle