A Nix ARC Review – Star Crossed by Kele Moon (5 Stars)

Romeo Wellings is an Ultimate fighter with the world at his feet. Or that’s how it may appear on first inspection. What Romeo actually has is two brothers deeply embroiled in the Mafia, a Step-Father who would love nothing more than to see him dead and the constant fear that life as he knows it could come an abrupt end. Since his Mother died,  he has done everything that he can to try to keep his dysfunctional family together. Unfortunately, the mob have their claws deep into his younger siblings and all he can do is watch helplessly as they systematically make decisions which destroy their chance at a happy future.

The night he saves Melody from her dangerous ex-husband (see book one), he gains a new sense of self and a whole new mission in life; seducing the lovely Jules. She is the one woman who doesn’t fall at his feet screaming about Gladiators, can call him on his shit and is tough enough to take him on. She can’t be seen out with him, so they take to the nearest hotel and have some seriously hot sex. Romeo goes back on the road, but the star crossed lovers can’t forget their perfect moment that took them away from their strange lives.  They begin a long distance phone/internet relationship, which starts with sex, but becomes more than either of them could dream.

But true love never did run smooth and these two take after their namesakes in terms of drama and baggage. With a pair of brothers that come equipt with their own mafia goons, Juliette’s Sheriff Twin brother who is liable to go mental when he finds out about their affair and a Mafia hit man who can’t wait to see Romeo dead and buried, there is bound to be some hiccups along the way. Will they manage to survive the tale? 

   

I didn’t think a story where the lead characters were called Romeo and Juliet would end well but Christ I hoped it did! I am going to begin with my love for this series; the first was amazing but this one is even better. This is the story of life-altering love, a passion that consumes and overwhelms a person until all they think about is their other half. The whole relationship had an intensity that smacked slightly of obsession, completely selfish and oblivious to others. In other books this would scare me, but after reading the crap they went through prior to this, I couldn’t wish them anything but happiness.

I loved their relationship from the start. After the night in the Vegas hotel, their relationship made me both hot and happy. Their text message conversations were so cute and normal, but then their web chats were just plain dirty (and fricking awesome!) Somewhere along the line, they become the people each can rely on to lighten their bad moods.  When they get into the same town, it just gets hotter (my personal favourite is the Karate one… you’ll see :D) I loved the build up, the seemingly normal relationship in less than normal circumstances. Keeping it secret from Wyatt was never going to be easy, but I did wonder if that was part of the charm at the beginning.  When it explodes into a more serious entanglement, I knew the shit was about to hit the fan….

I loved both of the main characters in this book. Jules was a hard woman who put the people that she loved first. The decisions that she makes throughout this book were all about others; even her relationship with Romeo was pretty much on his terms. I enjoyed that she was so forthright in getting what she wanted in the bedroom…I do love a woman who is bolshie in bed.  Romeo was awe inspiring. He is caught between a rock and a hard place with the situation with his brothers and the one good thing he had was Juliette, but even that was tainted because he was lying to her.  I loved that he wanted her for who she was, for what she brought to the relationship; the scene where he asks her for a karate match was fantastic because it showed just how much he respected her strength and skills. I felt so sorry for him when the whole thing started to come crashing down around his ears; there is a scene between him and his brother Tino where I cried like a baby because I just couldn’t bear to see these brave men emotionally destroyed by something as simple as familial ties. (Seriously, their father is a complete bell end). He just wanted a normal life.

On a side note, the mafia connection played out to make a lovely suspense story. The hopelessness of the situation was only emphasised with its affiliation to that group; it never went into any specifics about group organisations or acts, more about how they directly impacted these individuals situation.  The fact that Romeo was refusing to do what they wanted of him immediately gave me cause for concern; these people were not ones to be trifled with. I loved the side characters in this novel but I have a massive soft-spot for the mafia-linked brothers; they have something about them that exudes hope but it’s just buried under layers of trauma and violence.