Michael Graydon has it all – looks, fame, and a couple of Oscars.
Does he see me in the crowd of paparazzi?
Does he know I sell pictures of him to the tabloids as if money could ever erase the feel of his lips on me?
Does he think I forgot the way he broke my heart?
Or does he know that I’ve ruined everything I’ve ever loved?
*
We were seventeen when I left, and I never forgot Laine. Not for one … one minute.
Since that day I’ve measured all women against her and every one of them has come up short.
We’re in the same town, on the same block, in the same building, and the gulf between us is just too wide to cross.
Until I stop running from trouble long enough to throw her camera off a balcony.
She’s a career-killer. A PR disaster.
Loving her again is career suicide, and I don’t care.
This time, I’m running toward her, even if it ruins me.
——
Star Crossed was previously released as Shuttergirl, with an epilogue that wasn’t in the last book and previously unpublished, totally swoon-worthy and emotional new scenes.
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Star Crossed by CD Reiss is the story of Laine Cartwright and Michael Greydon.
Laine and Micheal first meet in school when they both are young with their feelings being off the charts for each other, but they were separated. Laine had grown up in LA’s foster care system and is a street wise woman. Now Laine makes a living being a paparazzi taking pictures and selling them. Micheal who has gone on to be a movie star but somehow never forgetting Laine. Now in their present day they end up meeting again on opposite ends of life again. This is their second chance at love.
Note: This is a re-release of this book formally known as ‘Shutter-girl’. The author has added a new epilogue along with some new scene in their story along with the new cover. I had missed this book the first time so I am of course happy that it has been re-released.
Star Crossed: A Second Chance Hollywood Romance By C.D. Reiss
Laine Cartwright grew up in the foster care system from an early age where she was passed from one family to the next. She had to endure so much in her young life. Yet she perseveres with a successful career as a paparazza pursuing the Hollywood elite.
Michael Greydon is the leading man everyone wants in their movies. He comes from true Hollywood royalty and when everyone else is behaving badly he is a saint. They come from two different worlds yet at one time they went to the same school and were close. They held a special connection then he left school when he got a part in a movie leaving her behind never looking back. Almost ten years later their worlds collide when pictures are taken and past feelings resurface causing havoc they never saw coming. Their journey wasn’t easy it was a hard fought uphill battle to find their happily ever after. It was emotional, captivating, heartbreaking, gutwrenching, funny,passionate and romantic. I absolutely loved the epilogue and was sad when the book ended because I wanted more, more, more.
Five captivating
I don’t know exactly how i feel about this exactly. But I found myself reading and skimming through the pages.
I love the ending though, it was beautiful what they were doing.
Absolutely fantastic! I loved this story the first time around as Shuttergirl and loved reading it again with the new material. This is one of my favorites from this outstanding author and that’s saying something with all her fabulous stories. Laine is a exceptional heroine as the gritty paparazzi that gets the best celebrity pics. Her childhood was a mix of wonderful times and horrific events and it’s a wonder she came out of that foster life in such a spectacular way. And when she meets her childhood crush again it’s magic. The guy that she fell in love with as a teen is now an actor of the highest caliber. Michael is successful, beautiful and just a nice guy. The sparks fly between these two and there’s no denying their hot chemistry. This author writes the best smoking hot sex scenes! Panty melting is only the beginning. But when Laine ends up on the other side of the velvet rope both of their lives explode. Her past comes back with a nasty vengeance and his career takes a huge hit. Their relationship threatens to bring his life crashing down and makes hers unbearable. I love that Laine got justice for the crimes against her but I also know that doesn’t always happen in real life so I like the first version too. And that justice involves a Drazen. Sneaky author! I loved Michael’s ultimate response to the drama even if his first one sucked. Laine is such a survivor and nothing holds her down for long. Love that girl! Terrific epilogue and beautiful ending to a magnificent love story.
I first read this book as Shuttergirl about five years ago. It was great to reread it and I think I enjoyed it as much if not more now as Star Crossed. Michael Greydon & Laine Cartwright: he’s Hollywood royalty and she’s from the “girl from the wrong side of the tracks.” Their brief connection in high school is rekindled 10 years later and it becomes life changing for both of them. With her, Michael can be his real self. He gives her the support and protection she’s always longed for. As they navigate the murky shark infested water of the glitz and glam of Hollywood they are tested, fractured and temporarily broken but they are fated to be together. The Shuttergirl and her Superstar become everything every thing they ever wanted to be and so much more.
I haven’t read Shuttergirl, so I can’t compare the two versions of this story, but this is one of those books that had me smiling in the end! I loved the bond that Laine and Michael shared, and how much they loved one another that they were willing to sacrifice their happiness for the other person’s.
As the title suggests, Laine and Michael were star-crossed lovers, what with one of them being a Hollywood star and the other a member of the paparazzi. This story, though, is so much more than a VERY steamy romance–it’s also about forgiving, accepting, and loving ourselves. I highly suggest starting this book when you have time to read all 371 pages as it’s not easy to put down!
Star Crossed is a contemporary Hollywood romance written in dual first-person POV. It’s a standalone that ends with a HEA. No cliffhanger, no cheating.
I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Laine is a paparazza, a taker of celebrity pictures, mostly pictures said celebrities don’t want taken, and as a paparazza, she’s pretty much a cockroach under those celebrities’ shoes. So when Michael Graydon, a man she once knew, a man who’s an A-list Hollywood star, and she, come into each others’ orbits as more than just being on opposite sides of the camera, Laine knows it’s not permanent, that she can never, ever make a relationship work with Hollywood royalty.
This story had so much more of an impact than I had been expecting. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting it, considering that CD Reiss wrote one of my favorite series, The Submission series, and it’s seriously intense in every way and it got me right in the gut and the heart, but for some reason I guess I was just expecting a sort of frothy Hollywood bad boy vs his enemy kind of story. But Star Crossed is not that in really any way. Laine had a really rough childhood, and it shaped her into a complex adult, so her present relationship with Michael could not be anything but crazy and emotional, and damn it was both those things. And I loved it. I may have shed a few tears, but in the end, I can safely say I loved Star Crossed. It’s emotionally complex and complicated, it’s so sexy, and Laine and Michael are such a fascinating couple. I know it’s a re-release, but I never read it the first time around, so I’m really glad I got the chance to read it in its new incarnation. Laine and Michael’s journey is going to stay with me for a long time.
I read this book years ago as Shuttergirl and loved it. It was the first book I read by this author and it was the first of many. It remains my favorite and most remembered. And now it’s even better because there’s more Laine in the story. It represents the evolution of these two characters who are stars in their fields and how they came together across fire.
Laine used to be a foster kid. She was born to a druggie mother and absent father that she never knew. Michael is part of Hollywood royalty, born to Hollywood legends. They met briefly in high school, while she was briefly fostered by a rich married couple. Michael was always intrigued by Laine but she didn’t fit into his lifestyle and plans. He had a girlfriend in high school who had his same ideals and goals, so he left high school and left Laine behind. Laine went through a dark period, then took up photography and is now a well-recognized paparazza. They never forgot each other, and although Michael recognized Laine when she stalked him as a paparazza, he never acknowledged her.
Laine’s longing to be near Michael, at least once in her life, led her to sneak into an event in a nightclub. The event turned into a nightmare, caused by her foster brother Tom, and ended up with Michael throwing her camera in a temper tantrum. Then they reconnected when he attempted to apologize.
When they reconnect, two things happen. Old yearnings come back with a vengeance and it ties in with Michaels dissatisfaction with his life. He’s always lived life according to the rules, never deviated from his straight path to stardom. And yet, despite all his fame and glory and wealth, he feels hemmed in by rules and expectations. In a way, I think both Laine and Michael want to tear away from their assigned roles and move into another reality. Laine has lived years on the periphery of Michael’s life and her yearning to be near has suddenly turned irresistible. Their road to discovery and to each other is fraught with many obstacles and scandal.
Laine, who used to be fearless and accomplished, turned into this timid creature, afraid of rejection, and Michael, who was the poster boy of the straight and narrow choices, goes rebel. I think they were trying to find who they were, what they wanted, and of course, they wanted each other.
The book is riveting, intelligent, rich in nuances and feelings, passionate and challenging, and the evolvement of Laine and Michael felt like when a butterfly works its way out of the chrysalis. It hurt to see Laine trying to conform to Michael’s world and confront rejection and criticism. Michael was obstinate in his pursuit of the woman he wanted but at times he was a blockhead. The HEA was everything I ever wanted, and I ended up loving this book more than ever.
This is the first book by CD that I’ve read and absolutely loved it. So much emotion in this book. We have anger, lies, secrets, sadness, violation, chemistry, happiness and love is everything I experience when reading this. He’s a movie star, she’s paparazzi. But before that, they were simply a high school tennis player and a foster kid who sat in the bleachers. Years later, Michael and Laine bump into each other, even though they both have seen each other from afar for years. And once they do, there is this spark that won’t go away. But they both come from two different worlds. Can they make it work? And then when the past truly comes back to haunt you, will that be the end of them? I really enjoyed this book.
Hollywood? Second Chance? CD Reiss? YES PLEASE.
This was previously released under the title Shuttergirl, but there’s new content and everything we love about Christine Reiss as far as storytelling. It feels different than a few of her recent books – a bit lighter maybe? – but is everything I love about her all-consuming storytelling style.
This pair is opposite but destined. There’s nothing easy about their path but man the payoff is worth it!
Second chance romances … who doesn’t love those?! amirite?! Throw in two people from opposite sides of the world but yet in the same world and it makes for quite a riveting read. The story of Lanie and Michael is a true life journey with all the guts and glory that come with life because life isn’t always bright. It has shadows and darkness and bad things happen and there’s nothing I love more than real fiction. I love reading this genre because the guy *always* gets the girl, but I love it even more when the getting is rough, realistic and relatable. Even tho I’m no celebrity nor have I experienced Lanie’s life, CD Reiss does an exceptional job of sucking me into their lives and making me a part of them. I felt their story just like I feel every other story she’s ever written. SHE IS A GENIUS! I am never on the outside looking in with her stories. I am right there! And it is a glorious place to be. GAH, this woman is talented!
Now, a little bit of the not so good for me part …
I like the story of Lanie and Michael. I like their journey. It’s not a new story for me because I read Shuttergirl about 4 years ago but in reading years, that’s an eternity for me so I still felt like I was reading something fresh and new … until I wasn’t. Here’s the thing, once I got deep enough into the story, my brain remembered, and then it wasn’t so much fun anymore for me because I mostly already knew what was coming, how it was coming and what the end game was going to be. So yeah, I was a bit disappointed (for myself) because the story didn’t seem new and improved and my copy of Shuttergirl had a link to an epilogue that is actually still up and available to read so, “new and improved … with a brand new epilogue”? … not in my reading world so *sigh* disappointed. *shrug*
NOTE: This is a review of an ARC, it is possible that the finished product could be different than what I read and am reviewing …
Laine and Michael’s story was such a delight to read, I love Hollywood romance and this one involving a paparazzo was refreshing to read. I love the story behind each character, how they have to overcome in order to be together is deep making this story more intense. Definitely a must-read if you love CD Reiss and Hollywood romances like I do.
Star Crossed is an exciting, tantalizing love story of glitz and glam, true love and second chances. Laine and Michael first meet in school, both young and unsure of the feelings they invoke in each other, due to a situation they couldn’t control, they are separated from each other.
After years, Laine and Michael find each other again, but things are much different than they were when they were kids.
Laine is now a blood thirsty paparazzi, taking pictures of the rich and famous for money, and Michael, well he’s the rich and famous. Michael, with his good looks has become one of the most famous movies stars out there. However, time means nothing when Laine walks back into his life. Will their second chance at love slip through their fingers? Will they let the limelight of fame come between them?
Laine is a character I feel so much for, what’s she’s endured, the fear and loneliness. She is a strong, independent woman and her love for Michael was one that made me not want the story to end. CD Reiss wrote the best compelling story and I am so joyful I could experience it.
Absolutely amazing. I loved this book when it was shuttergirl. Even more now that it has added content. Great second chance romance. Michael and Laine story is one I’ll want to read again. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
This is a standalone contemporary romance written in dual POVs. C.D. Reiss wrote an emotional and beautiful love story. If you’ve read her books before, this is different from the erotic books you may have read from her beforehand. It still has all of the feels and steamy goodness you’ve come to expect from Christine, but there is so much more feeling, grit, and intensity. It is about second and even third chances and two people from different worlds who are attracted to each other like a magnet. It pulls you in. It starts out a little slow but it definitely picks up and you can’t turn the pages fast enough! The plot is very well-written. The heartbreak made my chest ache but the HEA made my heart sing! The main characters are broken and imperfect but they are wonderful. This is a must-read!
****ARC generously provided in exchange for an honest review.****
Heart wrenching second chance romance with a twist. Full of steamy, angst and heart.
This is Laine and Michael’s story, they know and loved each other in high school. Life and unexpected events got in the way and they each went their separate ways.
As their paths collide again sparks fly.
Will the stars align for them?
A paparazzo and a star except these characters have history and what evolves is a highly emotional steamy and realistic story.
How their story developed is worth discovering!
Star Crossed was previously released as Shuttergirl, with an epilogue that wasn’t in the last book and previously unpublished, totally swoon-worthy and emotional new scenes.
Laine Cartwright was abandoned by her parents, left in the forest care system went from family to family, only to be abused and left again. She overcomes adversity by picking up a camera she builds her life by taking pictures of high society and young actors behaving badly and she sells them to the highest bidder. She is what is known as the paparazzi.
Michael Greydon is Hollywood’s current leading man, coming from Hollywood royalty, both parents are/were actors. Michael and his friends know how to party, some more than others but in the limelight, Michael is considered a saint. That is until he reconnects to the girl who stole his heart at age seventeen, he left went to Yale, whatever happened to her?
This story is about two people who are on opposite sides of the fence. So what happens when the star falls for Shuttergirl?
Star Crossed – CD Reiss
CD Reiss delivers a beautifully broken story of lost love and redemption. Not your average Hollywood story but with characters this complex and a wonderfully dynamic story, you won’t want to put this book down.
Laine Cartwright had the kind of upbringing no child would wish for. Raised in the foster system, the story explores so many horrific and also touching periods of her life. She’s tough bad street wise, all because of the way she dragged herself out of adversity. She’s the paparazzo the others all admire and look up to, getting the images that everyone wants. She’s Shuttergirl to the Hollywood elite.
Michael Greydon is a Hollywood charmer, lives the charmed life and charms everyone he meets. With his movie star good looks and a movie star pedigree, he wants for nothing, but a chance reuniting with the girl from his teen years sparks a longing in him. One he didn’t even know he had.
Poignant and heart wrenching in its honesty, this story will keep you completely captivated to the end. A truly wonderful and emotionally powerful story, woven my a master of this genre – CD Reiss.
4.5 stars
CD Reiss got me right in the feels. Star Crossed is exactly what I needed. Chemistry, history, and drama may be high school class offerings but they are also a big presence in Star Crossed.
The A-lister and the paparazza make for an entertaining and conflicted tale of woe, woo, and wonderful. Where do I start first!?! Michael and Laine are two halves of a whole. They may not fit right in the beginning but once they flipped the magnets on the other side…spooning. (I know thats a lot of mixed metaphors and butchered sayings, but the picture it paints is pretty clear.)
Two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year…
I can’t help but think CD Reiss may have listened to a little Pink Floyd prior to writing Star Crossed. The lyric fits their chaotic…existences; not living, not thriving, just being. Laine and Michael realize that their separate entities are just a shell of existence. No one WANTS to a be a shell.
CD Reiss jump started their hearts and gave them everything they didn’t know they were missing. She invited us along for the ride and I’m grateful my invitation didn’t get lost in the mail.
I hope that even those who have read Star Crossed in it’s previous incarnation, Shuttergirl, take the time to realize a guy from Texas who reads romance can change even a story that’s already been written. (Thanks…dude!)
I have had fun, heart ache, and a big dumb smile of satisfaction through the course of their story. Michael and Laine made me cry, made me hopeful, and made me fall in love. Star Crossed lovers don’t always have to end like Romeo and Juliet; Michael and Laine prove it.
So brush your hair, shoulders back, show me those pearly whites, and get ready for the camera!
Overall Grade:
What does it mean to live a one-dimensional life in a three-dimensional world? How do you find the colors and gradations when your life feels predetermined and empty for you? These questions underscore the depths of the message in CD Reiss’s newest book, Star Crossed. This story isn’t a new one for Reiss. It was initially packaged as Shuttergirl. However, she revisited it, revising it to the poignant story of people seemingly so different yet so much the same. It’s a second chance romance filled with the idea that life is meant to be lived on your own terms in the most abundant way possible.
Star Crossed tells the story of Michael, a Hollywood superstar, and Laine, one of the best paparazzas in Hollywood. What is interesting about their story is Michael and Laine know each other, as they were students together in high school. Even more, Laine and Michael were attracted to each other, but life gets between the two of them, and nothing transpires…until it does. Laine and Michael live their lives, circling each other without ever fully connecting. One night, that changes, and their journey begins. However, given their backgrounds, Michael as the son of Hollywood royalty and Laine as a former foster child, and current occupations, nothing will be easy for them. Is it possible for Michael and Laine find their cinematic ending?
There are three reasons you should read CD Reiss’s Star Crossed (and her other books, for that matter): story, steam, and style.
There is nothing easy about Michael and Laine’s romantic journey. As her title suggests, they are fated against each other. What is interesting about Reiss’s story is the idea that Michael and Laine are living lives that are “flat.” While there is the suggestion that they are so different, they are actually struggling with the same challenge: living an authentic life, apart from societal expectations and the past. Michael’s challenge is living his life to save his father and meet the expectations of society; like him, Laine must grapple with the sins of her past and her self-perception grounded in her issues of abandonment. These trials have led them to making choices that are grounded in varying degrees of survival. There is something safe about their lives. As their journey progresses, Reiss’s story connects us to her characters as they realize that, in loving each other, they can live richer lives. However, it requires bravery to do so. It’s this truth that draws the reader further into the story. Their chemistry, their attraction, their challenges, the forbidden nature of their connection, and their self-doubt conspire to tell a tale of self-discovery and the depths of love to transform. I “ate up” the pages of this book because Reiss’s story compels you to keep going until Michael and Laine find their ultimate truth and themselves.
If you’ve read any CD Reiss book, you know the steam of her books is set to burning. Her characters’ needs for each other sometimes transcend the unifying story idea. They need inside each other because it’s where they feel whole and complete. Star Crossed is no different. While this romance feels tamer than some of Reiss’s other books, Michael and Laine’s steam factor raises the level of their story.
Lastly, for me, Reiss’s true gift is her style. This may sound lavish in its assessment, but Reiss knows how to spin her words into gold. There are very few authors who I “lit-geek” out over, but Reiss is one of them. Every one of her books finds themselves copiously highlighted and annotated. She takes words and creates images that underscore the depths of her stories’ truths. In Star Crossed, she constructs these flat images: the air going out of a room, flat expressions, etc. to illustrate the one-dimensional life that Michael has created for himself. As Laine enters his life, she brings more; she makes him feel less “flat.” Here’s the thing: authors use imagery and allegory and metaphors and similes all the time. You aren’t an effective writer if you don’t. What Reiss does, though, is she seamlessly incorporates these writing techniques and partners them with words that feel heavy and meaningful. It’s the reason almost every page on my Kindle finds a highlight. Her syntactical dexterity provides the foundation for the depths of her stories. Star Crossed is no different. I couldn’t help but giddily revel in her wordsmithing. For me, that’s Reiss’s true talent.
I’m a southern California girl, not born, but mostly raised here, and Star Crossed feels like being home. No, I’m not a starlet or Hollywood type, but this story is the collective experience of my region. That Reiss uses it to convey the idea that we can have more and be more on our own terms made it an even more thoughtful read. We assume that everything that shines is successful, but that isn’t the case. Michael and Laine’s success comes in accepting themselves and embracing their love. If that’s your romance crack, then CD Reiss’s Star Crossed will feed the cravings of your addiction well.