Book Review — Wicked Heart by Leisa Rayven

“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.”

• Buy WICKED HEART (Kindle)
• Buy WICKED HEART (Paperback)

Leisa Rayven will make you laugh, cry, and swoon in this highly addictive addition to the Starcrossed series. Elissa and Liam’s love story is brimming with emotion, intensity, and hotness that will keep your heart racing. Once you start reading this book, you won’t be able to stop. 5 STARS!!

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

Whenever you start a Leisa Rayven book, you know you’re in for a roller-coaster of feels and romance. From the very first chapter, the intensity sparked when Elissa was confronted with the only man she’d ever loved — who happened to also be the same man who broke her heart and her trust — after years apart without so much as a goodbye. They’d met six years ago by chance and, even though she promised herself she’d never give her heart to an actor, they’d fallen for each other. But Hollywood was calling his name and life just didn’t allow them to stay together then. And when his actions crushed her, her heart was never same. After their brief time together, she went on to become a Broadway stage manager, and he became the world’s hottest, most successful, and lusted after movie star. And as luck would have it, he landed the lead in the Broadway show she was currently managing, throwing all their past hurt, longings, desires, and heart-break right back into the spotlight. That alone was enough to turn her world upside down, but to further complicate matters, his co-star happened to also be his beautiful, sweet fiance.

RECIPE. FOR. ANGST.

“In that moment, he’s not a movie star, and I’m not his stage manager. We’re the same two desperately connected people who fell down a rabbit hole years earlier and climbed out forever changed.”

Now, I know that some of you are going to read the blurb and think this book is a love triangle, and I know some of you don’t like love triangles (I don’t either) buuuuuuut…. *grins* just trust me on this one, okay?? I don’t care if you adore or detest love triangles, if you’re a fan of romance, read this book. TRUST ME. You’ll be thanking me by the end, I can almost guarantee it!

It’s very rare for me to say this, but this book is genuinely PERFECT. In my eyes it is 150% perfection. Actually, I’d even go so far as to say that… This is the best book I’ve read this year!!

“I’ve missed you, Liss. It hurts not seeing you for all those years, but this? You being right here and me not being able to have you? Hurts so much more.”

Every single interaction between Elissa and Liam was supercharged with spine-tingling feels and raw sexual tension. I was laughing out loud one moment, swooning the next, fanning myself, hyperventilating, tearing up, falling in love. This book put me through almost every single emotion you can think of!

I felt for Liss so strongly as I was reading. The whole book is told from her POV so all you see is her side of the story (which was perfect for this book, by the way) and my heart broke right alongside hers because this girl had actually really gone out on a limb, against everything her instincts told her, and trusted him. She’d had this amazing time with a man she fought so hard to believe in, and then just when she’d given her heart over, he’d broken it. And now here he was — right back in her life again. With him half a world a way, it had been easier to forget the pain, but with him right here and engaged to someone else, while her feelings for him were just as strong as they’d been when they first met… IT TORE MY HEART OUT.

“Jesus Christ.” He rakes his fingers through his hair. “Could you please stop talking to me like you’re my bank manager? Like we don’t even know each other?”
“I don’t know you anymore.”
“You’re the only one who’s ever known me.”

At one point, I even cried. She’d done everything in her power to protect her heart but when she fell for him, she fell with all her heart and soul. She fell forever. And the pain of her not being able to have him just about broke me. I wanted to hug her, slap some sense into him, cuff them to each other, and march them down to Vegas for an immediate wedding because THEY NEEDED TO BE TOGETHER. Dammit.

Seriously. I almost couldn’t take the angst. I wanted to simulaneously hug the book has hard as I could and throw it across the room. THERE IS A LIMIT TO WHAT ONE HEART CAN TAKE!! Gah. Feels. So many feels! And then taking a step back to a more serious look on this situation, it was like — ok, let’s be honest. I love Liam and (as Elissa says) he makes me swoon like it’s his damn job, but how am I actually supposed to forgive this dude for what he did? I mean, he makes my heart melt into a puddle of goo every time he comes near her but I was genuinely getting nervous that there was really no way out of this mess.

BUT THEN!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhh. A huuuuuge reveal that just… ahhh. Omg. YES YES YES. It was perfect. BRILLIANT. I did not see it coming. I repeat: DID NOT SEE IT COMING. Like, I didn’t even suspect this.

You guys, Liam is pure book boyfriend material. He’ll make your heart melt as soon as you meet him, but once you learn his secrets, be prepared to swoon even harder. It’s been a long time since I fell this strongly in love with a book boyfriend, but if I had to pick, he’d be right up there with the old school favorites like Kellan and Travis and Will. Just give him a chance and before you know it, he’ll steal your heart!

“I notice that every single person has their eyes glued to him, and this is why he’s a star. Liam is one of those actors who just has it. It’s part talent, and part confidence, and just enough raw vulnerability to make you want to fuck him and hug him at the same time.”

Leisa Rayven is brilliant. She is the queen of angsty romance. Her books have the perfect balance between angst and emotions that always delivers a heart-felt, deeply satisfying love story. With the way she pulled this book together, she has completely gained my trust as an author. It was genius. From now on, I will read anything and everything she writes next. Honestly, even if she were to write a book about a subject that I’m not comfortable with, I’d still read it without question because I totally feel like I trust the direction she’d take the story in. I can’t tell you enough how much I LOVED THIS BOOK.

Wicked Heart can be read as a completely separate standalone novel. You do not need to read any other books before reading this. Unless you want to. So, how does this relate to the other Starcrossed books? Bad Romeo and Broken Juliet are a duet about another couple (Ethan & Cassie). Ethan is the brother of Elissa, the heroine of this book. Wicked Heart is a single standalone novel about Elissa & Liam. I’ve read all three books and highly recommend them all. But you can easily choose to only read Bad Romeo & Broken Juliet, or you can only read Wicked Heart, or you can read them all together. The choice is yours.

This book rocked my world. It is the perfect read for fans of heart-racingly intense angst, smoking hot romance, and passionate love stories. I highly recommend grabbing it immediately and clearing your schedules to read because once you start this book, you won’t able to stop.

“You’re everything to me. You always have been.”

Rating: 5 STARS!!! Can be read as a standalone.

• Buy WICKED HEART (Kindle)
• Buy WICKED HEART (Paperback)