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 … 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.
“The emotions were superb. Hottest new book couple!” -Jennifer Probst, New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage Bargain
“Leisa Rayven crashes onto the romance scene, laughing, flirting, and just daring us to put Bad Romeo down. I couldn’t!” -Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Bastard
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Broken Juliet is the second installment in Leisa Rayven’s new-adult romance series titled Starcrossed. While the first book Bad Romeo gave the new adult genre a reprieve from the typical unnecessary relationship drama, Broken Juliet makes up for it. I never quite found my eye-roll though and I think that’s because the characters remain fairly complex which I appreciated. I also enjoyed the continuation of the acting lessons with the focus on embracing one’s vulnerability. As in Bad Romeo, this one goes from present to past until the timeframes meet back up again but this time there was some closure to the hero and heroine’s story. The next book Wicked Heart appears to feature a different hero/heroine so we’ll see where this series takes readers from here. If you follow the series, make sure to include Broken Juliet in your list.
My favorite quote:
“Let’s say people are books. Everyone who comes into our lives is given a glimpse of a few of our pages. If they like us, we show them more pages. If we like them, we want them to see the unedited parts. Some people may make notes in the margins. Leave their marks upon us and our story. But ultimately, the words that are printed—that represent us as a person—don’t change without our permission.”
I can’t decide what I think I loved the first one and I really liked the story. This one was a little different. I think Cassie was much stronger in the first and I totally get that Ethan wrecked her but I really didn’t like her in this one.
Ethan will stop at nothing to fix what he destroyed he wants to be with Cassie so much but he can’t stop all the voices in his head that say he’s not enough. After realizing he needs help to work on himself he needs to prove to her that he’s changed.
Cassie is a broken shell of what she once was. Ethan took more than she could give and now there is nothing left can she forgive him and move on or move forward with a relationship with him?
This book is definitely a roller coaster or emotions. It shows a young couple that made more mistakes than they can deal with. They are also in a career that’s hard not to have jealousy issues. They either need to work on it or move on.
It was a good second book to the story they really developed Ethan is pretty awesome in this book he makes you swoon for sure.
The audiobook was AMAZING!!! This story had me hooked from the very beginning. Ethan and Cassie’s story is one of love and pain. Their chemistry is undeniable and there is no way to listen to this story deny the attraction and the love between these characters. Ethan has a lot of emotional baggage and even though this love for Cassie is undeniable, he had to hurt her to better himself for their love to survive. At least he believe he did. These characters made me laugh and had me frustrated at times but I can’t express how much I loved this story. This was a fantastic conclusion to their story and it’s one I’ll be recommending to family and friends. I look forward to reading more books from this author.
I’m totally in love with this story! I have read this series more than once!! Yes, it’s THAT GOOD!! Love the characters too! Leisa Rayven has a way with words…
*4 Stars*
Getting back into Ethan and Cassie’s world was an interesting look back at their past in Broken Juliet. We stepped back quite a lot into flashbacks of their past, helping us understand exactly what went down between them, and how the push and pull of their relationship worked.
I’m not always a fan of back and forth stories between the past and present, but this one works, because you need to fully understand how Ethan and Cassie acted in the past, compared to how they act now. Those past days affected them, and play a role in who they are in the present day story.
Ethan is very very patient in this book, and we also get a huge glimpse into his thoughts from the past, allowing us to realise why he acted the way he did, and to try and understand his thought process in connection with his actions.
He and Cassie seem to work well together in the present, and wondering if they can ever fix what was broken is obviously the main theme of the book. Will they, won’t they? The chemistry between them is undeniable and I had no idea how things would play out in this one.
While I don’t know if I really connected with either of them in this book, I had to know what was going to happen, and if the damage done was irreparable. I think their present day relationship was written very well, with a lot of great communication and patience shown, and shows the growth and maturity of the two characters.
I will be continuing this series.
I originally gave in and downloaded the first audiobook, Bad Romeo, earlier this year because the author was on the original list for Book Bonanza. But she had to cancel. And even though I owned the paperback of this, I decided to just go ahead and listen to it, and I did on my drive from my town of Kansas City to Denver where I went to Book Bonanza. Now there were times that if I’d been Cassie, I’d have been so done with Ethan. I mean, forget it. But yeah, I’ve never been in real love, so I guess I don’t know. I also felt that her feelings of it must be love because of how good the sex was, well that seemed pretty naive. Another thing I really did like is that in this book the woman is the one who got to go out and be making up for being apart from the guy she loved. Usually it seems it is the guy who does that. To be fair, he probably did that before they ever got together, and all of his declarations of love when they were adult explains why he didn’t from then on. I did like how the ending gave us just about all you needed to know about how things went on from then. But it seemed to drag on a few times when I thought it was over, so that was a bit much maybe.
“Do you think it’s possible that soul mates who love each other aren’t actually supposed to be together?”
I was sent this ARC by the very generous publisher St Martin’s Griffin. I received it towards the end of January. It took me a moment to work up the courage to read it because I knew their journey was a rough one. I was a little hesitant to go on it with them. I’m glad I did though.
“One more chance is all I need to prove how different we can be, Cassie. Please I know second chances are hard to come by and here I am asking for a third, but…fuck, I need you. And despite everything, you need me, too. Just say yes. Please. Say you’ll let me try again with us.”
The story of Ethan and Cassie isn’t an easy one. But honestly real life isn’t easy. Love is easy, being in a relationship is hard. I loved that Leisa showed us the whole journey. The downfall and the rebuild. In Broken Juliet we get to see what happens after Ethan comes clean with Cassie and puts everything she has ever needed to hear out there for her in black and white. Do you remember the letter he sent her? God that was amazing. I cried it was so beautiful.
“Despite all the damage, it’s still beautiful. In fact, I think it’s even more beautiful because it’s not perfect. It’s taken me a long time to understand that just because something isn’t pristine, it still has worth.”
This was such an emotional book. But everything that happened is exactly what was needed. It is raw and honest and completely amazing. Leisa is a fantastic writer. So very few can make me feel the scene and the emotions the characters do. Leisa does this flawlessly. I am addicted to her writing and can’t wait for her next book. I love it when at the end of the book you are teetering on the last chapter. You pause, you consider whether to finish or not because it’s going to go one of two ways. You will either have your heart ripped out by the hands of the author or you will be so full of happiness you need to tell anyone who will listen. Those are the books you remember. Those are the writers you love. That is Leisa’s books for me.
“Let’s say people were books. Everyone who comes into our lives is given a glimpse of a few of our pages. If they like us, we show them more pages. If we like them, we want them to see the unedited parts. Some people may make notes in the margins. Leave their marks upon us and our story. But ultimately, the words that are printed- that represents us as a person- don’t change without our permission.”
That is probably my favorite book quote ever.