Grade – A
Hotness Level – Inferno
Kink Level – None
Genre – Contemporary
Series – Battered Hearts #2
Reviewed by Anne
After reading Defying the Odds I went pretty much straight to Star Crossed. I was a bit nervous. I really liked the first story, so I wondered if the second would live up to it. Well, no worries there – Star Crossed was awesome! I liked it even better than Defying the Odds, and that’s saying a lot.
OK, character roll call. We’ve got Jules (aka Juliet) who is a smart and confident small town lawyer in her 30s. She’s very close to her twin brother, the Sherriff, Wyatt. Jules also works part time at the dispatch center. Together with their best friend and UFC Heavyweight champion, Clay, they own a large gym and training center in town.
Clay just defended his title by defeating Romeo Wellings. (Yes, Romeo and Juliet!) Clay has come to like Romeo after the events that happened at the end of Defying the Odds. However, Wyatt still sees Romeo as the enemy. (See! Romeo and Juliet!) Romeo is New York City slick, rumored to have mob connections, and no one that Wyatt wants around his sister. He’s every bit as confident as Jules, to the point of being cocky.
Unbeknownst to everyone in Jules’ circle of friends, Jules and Romeo had a one night stand after the UFC fight. That leads to a string of increasingly hot phone calls, text messages, and video chats between the two of them. When Clay retires and offers to train Romeo, he accepts, knowing Clay will be a good trainer, he’ll be getting some space from his mob connections, and – most of all – he’ll be close to Jules.
Star Crossed picks up in time right where Defying the Odds left off. An extremely hot phone sex call between Romeo and Jules makes their attraction very clear. A lengthy flashback to their Vegas hookup fills in some blanks and we final jump to present day. This is one extremely hot and dirty book.
There are so many things I liked about it, it’s hard to pick one to start with. I like to mark notes while I read on my ereader. At the end of this reading I had 30 notes, and 25 of them are pretty much just me remarking how hot a scene is, how funny a comment was, or how much I love these characters.
Jules and Romeo work so well together. Jules is so comfortable in her own skin and sexuality. This is a trait that’s put other men off, but Romeo loves it. Their chemistry is off the charts, even when they aren’t in the same room.
Jules and Romeo are both very close to their brothers. I thought those relationships were really realistic, and these characters were fun to hang out with. The book is full of moments like this one:
“I’m sexy and I know it.”
Romeo looked to Tino, who was currently enjoying the benefits of satellite radio, and arched an eyebrow at his youngest brother. “You’re officially banned from energy drinks and convenience-store doughnuts.”
Tino bounced his head, giving Romeo a wide smile, showing off even white teeth as he sang off-key. “I work out.”
These funny moments come between the hot and dirty and raw ones. Here are a few lines from one of Jules’ and Romeo’s over the phone meetings:
“Don’t encourage me…’cause it feels really good when it happens like this. I like it.”
“Yeah?”
Jules panted. “Um, yeah, I do it like this when I got extra time and the house to myself…like tonight.”
“I’m gonna come,” Romeo admitted with a pained groan. “I’m so fucking turned on I’m going blind from it.”
“Oh, do it.” Jules couldn’t keep the whimper of longing out of her voice. “I wanna hear it. Lemme hear you come thinking about me and listening to me finger fuck myself.”
“Shit!” Romeo shouted. His breathing was harsh, making it obvious he’d given in and come. “Fuck, Juliet!”
There were a few things I didn’t like in the book. Wyatt was portrayed as this very responsible and mature man, but he made some really, really foolish choices that had big repercussions for Jules and Romeo. It wasn’t totally out of character, though. I’m not a huge fan of secret relationships, so Jules and Romeo’s down low status went on a bit too long for me. I really don’t know much about the mafia, so I can’t speak to how realistic that part was.
Overall, though, these were just small blips on an otherwise incredibly good book. This one is certainly going on my best reads of the year list, and I’ll be looking at Kele Moon’s other books, too!
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