Review: ★Wicked Heart★ by Leisa Rayven

WICKED HEART
Series: Star Crossed #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Leisa Rayven
Release Date: May 17, 2016

The one guy she can’t have is the one she can’t forget.

Liam Quinn is one of the biggest movie stars in the world…and the only man Elissa Holt has ever truly loved.

After being out of her life for six years, he and his gorgeous fiancé are set to star in the new Broadway show Elissa is stage managing. The only trouble is, when late night rehearsals bring Elissa and Liam together, the line between what is and what could have been gets blurred. Now one moment of weakness is about to create a scandal that will echo around the world.

Elissa knows that falling for Liam again would be a tragedy in the making, but as any good romantic knows, love doesn’t always follow the script.

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Heartache doesn’t teach you to be resilient. It teaches you to protect your fragility. It teaches you to fear love. And it draws a bright red circle around all the ways you’ve failed as a person and laughs while you cry.”

I feel like I’ve been run over by the angst truck. I don’t know whether I want a drink, a hug, or a cigarette. All I know is that I love the absolute hell out of this book and I’m not even a little sorry!

As a self professed angst whore, second chance romance happens to be my favorite catnip. I lurve it. Seriously. If there’s a grovel involved? Putty. Just scrub my completely melted self off of the floor and go about your business because I can’t even! So when I read the blurb to this book, I knew I had to read it.

Confession time: I didn’t love the first two books in this series. (hides) I know, I know. But save your rotten tomatoes because while I didn’t love the characters, I knew this author was gonna be one to watch out for me. The woman writes good angst and the feels she’s able to pack into it, I gobbled right up. So I knew it was just a matter of time before she was going to give me characters to swoon over and luckily for me, Liss and Liam were that.

I’m not saying goodbye,” he says as he shoves his hands in his pockets.
“Because this isn’t over.
One day, fate’s going to fix this.
Bring us back together.
I believe that.”

Liam wasn’t a famous action star when he first met Lissa. But for one day six years ago, he was her everything. That is until he walked away and shattered her heart. Lisa never quite recovered and she’s held herself aloof to all men since. Now a successful stage manager, she gets the shock of a life time when not only is the new star of the show she’s working on the love of her life, Liam. But the co-star is his gorgeous and disgustingly sweet finance, who’s also impossible to hate.

Enter: über angst. Holy mother. You GUYS. I couldn’t get enough of them. The tension was so thick and palpable, you can practically taste it. And. It. Was. Delicious.
I didn’t know what I was feeling. I wanted to hate Liam, but it was impossible. I wanted Lissa to make Liam grovel, but I also got why she couldn’t. The connection they share is so obvious, and the chemistry between them was so hot, it made it completely impossible to put the book down for even a second.

I used to think that if I just waited long enough, fate would bring us back together. That our stars would align, or whatever, and you’d come crashing back into my life to stay. But that didn’t happen. So now I say, screw it. I’m done waiting. Sometimes, fate is what you make it.”

The one thing that I need from a second chance romance is a good reason for the separation. I want to understand it, I want to feel it, and I really got that here. When everything is finally revealed, it’s like the puzzle pieces all clicked together. It just made sense. And I loved that we got that. It wasn’t some silly miscommunication or something ridiculous. It just made you connect with the characters that much more.

Wicked Heart is an angsty and emotional roller coaster with enough sexual tension to make even the toughest reader hurt. It was effortless in its execution and beautiful in its delivery. Liam and Lissa together were absolute perfection. If you don’t head over heels for Liam Quinn, we haven’t been reading the same book.

Ask me to give up a limb and I swear, I’ll find a way to do it. But don’t ask me to live without you anymore. I can’t. I’m so goddamn in love with you, it hurts.”

I already can’t wait for the next tale that this talented author has in mind.

I did wish for a little more from the ending, which is what kept this from being a full 5 stars for me. But overall it was still a fantastic read!

THE STAR CROSSED SERIES

BAD ROMEO | BROKEN JULIET

Bad Romeo and Broken Juliet are a duet based on Cassie and Ethan. Wicked Hearts is Ethan’s sister, Elissa, and while she’s first introduced in the previous 2 books, you may also enjoy it as a standalone.