Bad Romeo (Starcrossed #1) by Leisa Rayven – ARC Review

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.
This story may have started out its life as fan fiction but do not let that turn you off – Bad Romeo is a captivating novel about first love, heartbreak and redemption. Told in a mixture of present day interludes and flash backs from the past, Bad Romeo manages to perfectly capture Cassie Taylor and Ethan Holt’s romantic history.

Cassie hasn’t spoken to Ethan in the three years since he broke her heart. But when they both get cast as the leads in a new Broadway play, Cassie has no choice but to be professional. Present day Cassie wants nothing to do with Ethan and if this play wasn’t her big Broadway break – she’d quit just to get away from him. But Ethan wants more than a working relationship with Cassie – he wants to fix what he broke. Mixed though their current predicament is the story of how they met. A college romance between the good girl and the bad boy who was as romantic and passionate as it was destructive. Much like Romeo and Juliet, the relationship between Cassie and Ethan seemed destined to be epic and to end in heartbreak. With all the damage done and trust betrayed will these two be able to overcome their history to make a future or will it be lights out for these broken-hearted lovers?

My Review:

5 perfect stars!!!

Well. Where do I begin? Bad Romeo is one of my favorite books of the year. It is the perfect blend of coming-of-age, intense longing, heartache, friendship and first love. The story is told in a mix of present-day and flashbacks which can be confusing but work perfectly here. Ethan Holt is the classic bad-boy, who smashed Cassie Taylor’s heart when they were drama students. Flash-forward to present day, when they are both cast as the leads in a Broadway play. Told from Cassie’s point of view, the book follows their completely tortured, angst-filled relationship. But don’t be scared away: this book is raunchy, laugh-out-loud funny and will keep you turning the pages to see what will happen next.

Can Cassie work with Ethan again after what he did to her in the past? She can’t seem to stay away from him and Leisa Rayven gives a wonderful, slow-build story that kept me reading until the wee hours of the night. I was fascinated by the behind-the-scenes look at the theatre world and the sometimes-painful description of the acting process. And even though this is a New Adult novel, it is incredibly sexy and steamy and filled with just the right blend of longing and sexual release. And Cassie, what a fantastic heroine! She’s smart, tough-on-the-outside but very vulnerable, and funny as hell. I fell in love with Ethan Holt and even though he was portrayed as a jerk, felt sympathetic towards him because of his tortured past. I can’t say enough about this book!!

After I finished this book, I was fascinated to read that it originally began as fan fiction. How did I not know this? I am now officially addicted to this series and this author. I highlighted practically the entire book. The ending was perfection and I am literally counting the days until the next book, Broken Juliet!!

(*ARC provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.)

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