Title: Broken Juliet (Star-Crossed, #2)
by Leisa Rayven
Date of Publication: April 28th 2015
Genre: New Adult | Contemporary Romance
Synopsis: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
Review:
“For all its amazing strength, our hearts are made of eggshells, and sometimes all it takes is someone you’d almost given up on declaring their love for it to crack wide open.”
This book. Guys, THIS BOOK! Wow, damn it. It’s so freaking good. A couple of hours after reading and I’m still reeling from the emotional roller coaster ride that I’ve been through while reading this book.
Okay, so Broken Juliet picked up exactly where Leisa Rayven left us hanging in Bad Romeo. From there we were taken on the continuation of the past and present journey of Cassie Taylor and Ethan Holt. These two characters? Gosh, they’re like the most passionate couple I’ve read about. Their chemistry was off the charts already, add that to the angst and you have a very emotional story of second—or in Ethan’s case, third—chance and true love.
I would like to talk about the characters. First up is Cassie. I admit, at first I was ready to pull her hair out and shake her while saying “Stop being so stubborn!!!” because really, it’s Ethan Holt practically begging at your feet. You know, that guy who is drop-dead gorgeous, really intense and sexy and who you have crackling chemistry with. But then, in fairness to Cassie, she was really, really hurt by Ethan in their past not once, but twice and then some in a span of three years while they were in school. I understood her actions in the present and why she was really cautious and reserved about forgiving Ethan much more, in starting a relationship with him again. With that said, I applaud Cassie for being such a strong female heroine. There’s not much of than in the New Adult Romance world, and what little there are, they can’t pull it off like how Ms. Rayven did with her character.
And then we have Ethan. Ethan who I equal parts love and hate. The contrast between his past and his present self was really startling. I felt like when Ethan went to Europe, he was abducted by aliens and the real Ethan—meaning the d-bag version—was trapped inside him somewhere. The funny thing is, I never truly hated him even in the first book. In fact, I was really rooting for him because how many times do you see a guy do something really big to correct his mistakes and help himself be a better person just to win back the love of his life? Rarely. But, oh guys, the past Ethan we saw in the first book? He was nothing to the past Ethan in the second book. Here he was truly messed up and his trust and abandonment issues reached an all-time high. That’s where the angst of this book came from. What I found really good about this was that even though the past Ethan was so frustrating, his present version was really swoon-worthy and as he told his story of the past three years that he was gone, I got to slowly piece the puzzle together and my heart just melted for him. You must know, the past and present Ethan were two entirely different creatures but what they share is the vulnerability. Only this time, Ethan’s made himself vulnerable in a positive way. He’s still as passionate as ever and right now, he really stands out as one of my most favorite NA heroes of all time.
I wouldn’t be awed by these two characters if not for the amazing writing of Leisa Rayven. Her words were very rich and that translated to her characters and the story. The plot was impeccable. She was able to write each chapter and stitch the past and present seamlessly into one beautiful story. Seriously, I really admired how what happens in Cassie and Ethan’s past seem to reflect in a certain part of their present—the similarities, the differences and how each event from before influenced the decision-making of the characters in the present. I will go as far as to say that I’ve never seen writing as good as this before in this genre. Hands down, Leisa Rayven is now one of my most favorite romance novelists.
Having said all of that, I guess it’s pretty obvious that I absolutely LOVE this book. It really managed to be both very heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time. It’s a very emotional read full of highs and lows of loving someone so much you’d do the right thing even if it’s the hardest. At the end of the day, I would just like to thank Leisa Rayven for writing this beautiful piece of literature that will stay in my heart for a long, long time.
5/5 Unbroken Stars
About the Author
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.
Love,
No comments:
Post a Comment