Some loves never let you go . . . Cassie swore she'd never forgive Ethan for breaking her heart when they were in acting school years ago. He was her one great love, and when he refused to love her back, 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. Finally he's able to say all the things she needed to hear years ago . . . but can she believe him? Has he really changed, and what makes this time different from all his other broken promises? The answer lies somewhere in the past, and now the truth will come to light. Will Cassie rediscover what it's like to be trusting and open again - the way she was before Ethan? Or is it too late for these star-crossed lovers? Don't miss this mesmerizing final chapter in the Bad Romeo duet, the unforgettable love story that captured the hearts of over two million fans online.
Broken Juliet (The Starcrossed Series Book 2) by Leisa Rayven starts off right where Bad Romeo (The Starcrossed Series Book 1) left us. This continuation of this epic tale is, once again, told in the past and the present and Rayven’s flawless writing melds them together exquisitely.
This book continues the flawless weaving of past and present, acting and authenticity, love and loss. However Broken Juliet develops the story even further, not just neatly wrapping the story up in a neat bow. These characters develop in ways I haven’t had the pleasure of reading in many books of the romance genre. This book actually let’s us see the intimate pain of life and love and witness the real process of the healing of two people, and a relationship.
Broken Juliet reminded me of the life-death-life cycle of relationships. As Clarissa Pinkola Estes wrote, this is “… the miraculous ability to live through all positive boon, all negative consequence and still maintain a relationship to self, to another.” This nature applies to all aspects of life. It is a cycle of animation, development, decline and death, then reanimation and redevelopment, etc. We can see it reflected in the seasonal cycle.
Our culture doesn’t reflect the reality of life after death, particularly in love and romance stories. We don’t often get to see that death is always incubating new life; and sometimes we have to wait for it to grow. Broken Juliet teaches us that we may have to survive in times of starvation and deprivation when it most seems like we will never feel prosperous or loved again.
Most modern romance stories seem bent on giving us the ‘quick fix’ or the solution to our problems as fast as possible and our characters are not encouraged to take the time and sit down to ‘untangle the bones.’ Instead they are encouraged instead to look elsewhere, ‘find another relationship’ etc. Perhaps it is this ‘inability to face and untangle issues that causes many love relationships to fail.’
The story of Ethan Holt and Cassie Taylor reminds us that “the union of two beings is ‘magic’ in itself, and can be used as a relationship through which “the powers that be” become known to both individuals.” In other words, both souls grow from the resolution of love.
Broken Juliet gives us hope that if we have faith in the transformative nature of life AND love, and open ourselves to possibly be hurt again, maybe…just maybe…we won’t be hurt and something even more beautiful awaits on the other side. This book was beautiful, soul-enriching, thoughtful and will be on my best ever list for…ever.
Broken Juliet 5*
Acknowledgement: All quotes are from the Book Women who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
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