Publication Date: April 28th, 2014
Genre: NA, Romance, Contemporary
Warnings: Explicit language, sexual content
Source: eARC from NetGalley
How do you fix a love that’s been broken beyond repair?
For years, Cassie Taylor tried to forget about Ethan Holt. He was the one great love of her life, and when he failed to return her love, 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. Claiming to be a changed man, he’s finally able to say all the things she needed to hear years ago, but can she believe him? What makes this time different from all his other broken promises?
Ethan knows he can’t change their tumultuous past, but if he’s going to have any chance of being with the woman he loves, he’ll need to convince Cassie that her future belongs with him.
Don’t miss this stunning conclusion to the unforgettable love story that captivated over two million fans online.
The Gif
Like A LOT of drama... Tons.
For anyone who read my Bad Romeo review (here) you'll know how I much preferred the 'before' chapters, the NA parts if I remember the ages correctly here. Well, it was a total 180 in this book! I much preferred seeing Ethan and Cassie rebuild a relationship. I sometimes really disliked them both in the before chapters, but I'll talk about that in the characters portion. I really liked 'New Ethan'. The before and after chapters did a total switch - Cassie was the doubtful, pessimistic one hellbent on ignoring her feelings whereas Ethan was ready and willing to put all his feelings out on the table.
I didn't like Cassie in this book as much as I did in the last. She just wasn't as strong but for good reason. A person can only break so many times, right? It wasn't just that though, in the before chapters she really started to annoy me with the whole pleasing-people-at-her-own-expense thing she had going on. To be honest though it just made her character development that much more rewarding for me as the reader. To see her go from one extreme; people-pleaser, to another; the girl who had her heart broken one too many times, was great because by the end she was a whole other person. A much stronger person at that. She was neither of those extremes, she wasn't what others wanted her to be and she wasn't what she thought she needed to be in order to keep from getting hurt again. By the end I wanted to applaud this woman.
Ethan, on the other hand, I liked much more in Broken Juliet. He was mature and honest and the complete opposite of Old Ethan. Of course the before chapters he was still a fickle asshole but being able to see the contrast between both ages made the story much more compelling. He showed so much growth (get your mind out of the gutter right now) and I'm like a proud momma right now. He proved that he could be a better man for Cassie and totally turned himself around and dropped all the commitment bullshit. The chemistry between these two was explosive from the very beginning and managed to carry itself through two whole novels without becoming excessive and unnecessary. Each encounter had an underlying emotion, it was another part of their story opposed to just sex.
Erika, oh I loved her. She was 100% my favourite secondary character.
"There are many types of love, and love and passion aren't the same thing. You can love something without being passionate about it. Conversely, you can be passionate about things you don't love. It's when the two converge that real magic happens."
AND CAN WE JUST:
"This sort of scene is particularly difficult for me, because there's a heterosexual indoctrination that implies being gay means you're not a real man, and let me tell you, that's absolutely not the case. This story is about homosexual men who put their lives on the line for their country. Who face death on a daily bases. And it's written by a man who lived it."... "So, you two need to get past whatever macho bullshit is holding you back from being intimate with each other, and understand that sometimes, you can't choose which body your soul mate resides in. Love is love. Passion is passion. And people who are lucky enough to feel it should grab it with both hands."
"Well," she says as she laces her fingers together, "let's say people were books. Everyone who comes into our lives is given a glimpse of a few of our pages. If they like us, we show them more pages. If we like them, we want them to see the unedited parts. Some people may make notes in the margins. Leave their marks upon us and out story. But ultimately, the words that are printed - that represent us as a person - don't change without our permission."Oh and:
"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there's a light from within."These quotes floored me. I love them fiercely. The top three (I think?) are from Erika, reason number 128647 why she's officially one of my all time favourite secondary characters!
The drama was OFF. THE. CHARTS. Especially in the before chapters *heavy sigh*. It's a damn good thing I lap up drama like water in a drought. It was like watching a train wreck, I just couldn't take my eyes away even though I knew it would all go to shit and end in complete destruction. The other side of this though is that I also got to watch the pieces slowly being put back together in order for that heart-wrenchingly perfect ending. Oh my god that ending...
If you haven't already read BAD ROMEO you absolutely should and if you have, you do not want to miss this emotional rip-out-your-heart-and-piece-it-back-together rollercoaster of a sequel!
*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review with no compensation.
Quotes I Loved
"In Japan, they have something called Kintsugi - the art of repairing precious pottery with gold. The result is a piece that has obviously been broken, but is more beautiful for it...
So often, people try to hide their scars. As if the slightest damage proves how weak they are. They equate scars with mistakes, and those mistakes with shame. Perfection forever marred.
Kintsugi does the opposite. It says, "There is beauty born from tragedy. Look at these precious fault lines of experience."
"I know you think loving me again is a crapshoot and that your odds are grim, but let me tell you something: I'm a sure thing. I couldn't stop loving you if I tried."
"But trying often means good intentions die on the vine before the flower of success ever blooms."
"Hate. Such a strong emotion. So easy to call upon. Loud enough to shout down all the pain."
"It's weird, you know, facing your own mortality. People talk about their life flashing in front of their eyes, but I didn't get that. All I got were flashes of you."
"You were always my incentive to get better, both physically and mentally. You were my reward. My impossibly amazing reward."
"I want to take you out and put my arm around you and know that every other man in the room is jealous as hell that I'm the one who gets to take you home and paint your skin with my mouth."
"Time is a fickle whore. Whenever you want it to pass slowly, it speeds up, and whenever you're full of nervous impatience, it crawls like a sloth on sedatives."
"You look... I just..." He blinks. "You're so fucking beautiful, it hurts to look at you."
"The ego is a hungry beast and sometimes it just needs to be fed."
"KISS HIM!" Ruby yells down the hallway.
I pull my hand free and cover my face.
Nick looks at Ruby, clearly bemused. "Uh... is that a friend of yours?"
"Not anymore."
"Humans are strange creatures. We lie every day, in a thousand different ways."
"I'm not bewitching anyone, Jack. Connor sees me as a friend. That's all."
He lets out a short laugh. "Okay. Sure, he does. And I watch porn for the plotlines."
"Ethan stares at me for a moment before sighing and running his hand through his hair. "I can't drive. Is it cool for me to sleep on the couch?"
No. Get out before I mount you.
"Sure."
"His hair is ridiculous. Mine is even more so. I look like Hagrid id he'd been electrocuted in a wind tunnel. Ethan's looking at me as if he'd like to do very bad things to Hagrid."
"It's like she's now this supernova - dazzling and deadly - and even though I know she'll make me blind, I can't look away."
"...if people were books, Ethan would be a bestseller. A sexy, intelligent, well-written page-turner you'd find hard to put down, even after it reduced you to a sobbing mess."
"I laugh and he heads towards the door. "Gotta go before I forget why I can't bang you again."
"Bang?" I say, mock-horrified. "What happened to 'make love'? You're so crass, Ethan Holt!"
"You love me crass!" he called down the hallway. "And you love it when I band you like a Japanese drum!"
"Excuse me, sir?" he says, and the guard looks at him. "Would it be acceptable to carry my girlfriend like a sack of potatoes in order to get out of here quicker and make sweet love to her?"
The guards mouth moves, but he resists smiling. "No, sit, that would not be acceptable."
"Piggyback?"
"Nope."
"Put her on a trolley?"
"No."
"You're no fun."
Great review, Amber! I agree about Mrs. Rayven being a queen :) And I love that quote about "Hagrid hair" sooo much :)
ReplyDeleteLucia @Reading Is My Breathing
Thanks honey :)
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