Bad Romeo (Starcrossed, #1) by Leisa Rayven
New Adult
Released: December 23, 2014
St. Martin’s Griffin
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “If there was a Nation of Stupid People, I would be their queen.”
Cassie Taylor, a sheltered young woman, comes to drama school to spread her wings and explore her love of acting. In acting class she meets Ethan Holt. A broody gorgeous young man who seems to ignore her one minute but won’t leave her alone the next. Cassie tries to stay out of his way but when they are cast opposite each other in the production of Romeo and Juliet, the pair is unable to keep the chemistry that sparks between them under wraps. Cassie digs under Ethan’s walls, trying to break his rigid control. Pushing and pulling Cassie apart, Ethan lets down his final wall, dragging Cassie with him down into a maelstrom of love and lust. But when the dust clears, Ethan disappears with no explanation, breaking her heart and trust.
Six years later, Ethan is back in Cassie’s life and he wants another chance. Cast in a Broadway play together, Cassie is bombarded by the good and bad memories of their time together in college. But Cassie isn’t so young and innocent anymore. Though she may be once again be playing Juliet to his Romeo, this time she’s determined not to be the one left standing alone and broken this time.
Bad Romeo is a new adult love story that speaks of second chances with love, heartbreak, hope, and of course, laughter. Emotionally over the top with a well plotted storyline, we get a ringside seat as we watch Cassie try to understand and come to terms with what exactly happened to to her and Ethan six years ago. Using the past and the present, Rayven, in the heroine’s voice, shows readers how Ethan and Cassie’s doomed romance started, ended, and how that affects them today. Extremely character driven, it’s very easy to engage with the story. The inclusion of vibrant secondary characters helps to keep the story from becoming too overly emo and angsty.
Cassie is a funny girl if not a bit overwhelming at times. She is intelligent, upbeat, and doesn’t take anyone’s crap. She seems to have a limited filter and her internal monologue had me cracking up and groaning at times. Her preoccupation with Ethan’s penis was funny at first but after awhile I was internally telling her to give it a rest. It’s a penis, not the second coming. Her need to rid herself of her virginity took on a life of it’s own.
Rayven does a fabulous job of presenting Cassie’s emotions at seeing Ethan again in contrast to how she felt for him when they were lovers. She is scared, angry, and still harbors a deep vein of pain that time has not healed. Her life didn’t stop stop the day he left but a large piece of her never got over him.
I can do this. I can see him and not fall apart.
I can.
I sigh and press my forehead against the wall.
Who the hell am I kidding?
Yeah, sure, I can do a passionate play with my ex-lover, who broke my heart not once, but twice. No problem.
I bang my head against the wall.
Ethan was harder to connect with. As the story is told from Cassie’s POV, we don’t get much insight from him concerning his actions except for some emails he sends to her after he disappears. He is a popular man on campus and considered a player though we really didn’t see that from him. There is a bit of tell not show in here. Events in his past has made him the complete opposite of being a player. In college he almost completely internalized and focused on his acting career. He blows extremely hot and cold to Cassie; giving us hints that he harbors some deep dark secrets that is supposed to explain his actions. I felt Rayven hyped his conflict too much. When we actually are clued in to the reasons behind his actions,I was unconvinced. His issues are multiple and I felt bad for him but I didn’t feel they adequately explained his overall negativity, and at times, nasty personality. The complete turnabout in his personality and ability to vocalize his feelings in the present also isn’t explained. I would have enjoyed hearing the details behind it. It’s a major 180.
“I want things to be different. If you want me to apologize, I’ll do it until I lose my fucking voice. I just want things to be right between us. Talk to me. Help me fix this.
The story itself is pretty straight forward in it’s delivery. A meet cute introduces them and then we watch as Cassie chases and Ethan ducks and weaves. The acting storyline blends well with the romance, offering insight into both our protagonists. We so often “act” one way while meaning something else and in Ethan’s case, this sums him up perfectly. He hates himself so much, he is only free when he pretends to be someone else. Their journey isn’t perfect and both have issues that need to be resolved.
“We’ve never been over. You know it as well as I do. Even when I was halfway around the world and you hated my guts, we weren’t over. You can feel it between us now. And the closer we are, the stronger it gets.”
Cassie and Ethan’s have some pretty steamy chemistry that explodes between them from the first time they see each other again. Theirs is not an instant reconnection and I appreciated that. Their reconciliation is slow and slightly painful at times as Ethan tries to get close to Cassie and Cassie tries to understand exactly what went wrong and why. I liked that Rayven doesn’t give them an instant or easy reconciliation. There is no instant fix or forgiveness here. They can’t start over because they are not the same people but maybe they can build anew once they get to know the new Ethan and Cassie. Here I had some issues too, especially once we learn how Cassie coped with Ethan leaving. Melodrama times five hundred percent, but that is par for course in new adult.
The ending appears abruptly with a cliffhanger. I was disappointed. Cassie finally opens up and lets her guard down then….nothing. The end. I felt as though we had read a book that did nothing more then set up the possibilities of Cassie and Ethan without actually accomplishing much. Yet even with all my issues and qualms, Reyvan has an addicting voice and characters that kept me engaged. Book two, Broken Juliet, which is scheduled to release April 15, 2015.
RATING: C
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