This work contains explicit sexual content, language, and delicate subject matter, It is intended for mature readers,
It started with a game seduce the new teacher,
Eighteenyearold Kaitlyn Laurent is living the American Dream, Born into a wealthy, socialite family with more opulent surroundings and material things than any girl could even fathom, Kaitlyn is the fresh, young face amidst a sea of morallyamiss Manhattan Debutantes.
She is educated, poised, and on the outside entirely virtuous, Her life, in short, is perfect,
Or so it would seem,
Inside the walls of her Upper East Side mansion, Kaitlyn is struggling, After her parents' divorce and her father's remarriage to a beautiful but otherwise utterly vapid woman, Kaitlyn quickly finds herself living in a realm of selfcreated fantasy, completely detached and entirely clashing with her new family particularly, her classmateturnedstepbrother, Marius.
Arrogant and with a penchant for playing games, he is intrigued and infatuated by Kaitlyn's fauxchaste outer facade that she uses to cover an otherwise calloused heart.
When the two of them enter into into their final semester at Trinity Prep, and the buzz around campus is that a gorgeous new teacher has set foot in the classroom, Marius makes Kaitlyn a bet: seduce the man who is now her Literature teacher.
If she wins, she gets his trust fund, Money that she can use to finally escape a life that she has come to loathe,
If Marius wins, . . he gets her virginity.
When an initial spark turns into fullblown obsession, and her affections are inevitably returned Kaitlyn learns that there are no actions without consequence, and some affairs are simply starcrossed.
to come.
beautifully star crossed!!
Are we starcrossed" I ask quietly, a whisper,
"Yes," he said. "But I would fight against the for you, "
When I first saw that the author was offering ARCs for Star Crossed, I immediately jumped at the opportunity to snag a copy.
It pretty much had me at the title and slowly I finally got around to the synopsis and well you can figure out the rest.
I got my copy and I was ecstatic! Star crossed is just another name for forbidden, Forbidden and doesn't end well, Ironically it reminds me of Romeo and Juliet which just so happens to be incorporated into the story,
As you've read the synopsis by now, you'll realize that yes this is a teacher/student romance novel, It takes place in a high school setting but it is in no way a YA novel, Please be warned that this book is for mature readers and it deals with a taboo subject as stated above, If it's something you may not be interested in I suggest you still try the book out, It's very different.
"It all started with a game, "
Kaitlyn is a typical girl who nobody understands at a prestigious school full of high societies offspring, She doesn't have any friends and she likes it that way, One night at a masquerade ball, she meets Will, who turns out to be her new teacher at school, Cue her step brother Marius striking up a bet, The bet is to seduce the new teacher by the end of the semester, If she wins, she'll be able to get out of the privileged life she lives, to be free, If she loses, she"ll have to lose her virginity to Marius,
So begins the sensuality and seduction, And oh it was very sensual, I loved the sneaking around, I loved the way the characters talked, and I really loved how well the author made me feel as if I were part of the story.
Kaitlyn doesn't act like most eighteen year olds, She has an old soul, which may be why she has never been able to fit in with anybody before,
The supporting cast were also a joy to read, Such as an outsider who goes to the school on scholarship, His name is Tyler, and he is from the wrong side of the tracks, He's not ever good enough because he doesn't swim in money such as his many classmates, Marius is Kaitlyn's step brother, his character is intriguing to say the least,
Will was only meant for a game, A way for Kaitlyn to escape the freedom she craves, But what happens when the stakes become too high Such as falling in love or worse getting caught
StarCrossed is beautifully written.
If you're looking for a sweet romance full of fairies and rainbows well you ain't gonna find it here! This is one thrill ride of all things sexy.
I mean come on a forbidden romance with a teacher ten years your senior Yep! You don't have to tell me twice,
A hot whirlwind of a romance with a cruel intentions vibe, Make sure to pick up your copy,
review copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review,
ARC provided by author in exchange for honest review Sadly, it was not good,
Before reading:
Another student teacher novel
But damn, I can't help it, This better be good. .stars
Full review can be found on YouTube here: sitelinkStarCrossed by Luna Lacour
Stars for Kaitlyn and Will!
I want to thank Luna for emailing me an ARC of Starcrossed! I love waking up to goodies in my email!
Anyway lets begin
It started with a game seduce the new teacher.
Eighteen year old Kaitlyn is a senior at Trinity Prep, but she wants more, She's doesn't want to go to Yale, a spot her father basically bought for her, and she certainly doesn't want to take over the families multimillion dollar garment business hey, she can always pass it on over to me, I'll gladly run it So her step brother, Marius, givers her a way out.
Seduce the new teacher, Mr, Will Tennant and she can have his inheritance to start a new life for herself, if she looses well Marius gets what he's always wanted her virginity,
So Kaitlyn begins her seduction, a few brush ups and glances, to finding out where he lives
and conveniently walking past while he's outside.
The attraction is mutual between the two, and neither really mind the age gap, she's eighteen he's twentyeight, With both of them working on the school play Romeo and Juliet, her Juliet him the director they get to see each other a lot.
Her best and only friend Tyler, who got the role of Romeo is also a huge part of the story, an outcast himself because he's form Brooklyn and not the Upper East Side like herself shows her what it's like to live like without all the money she is accustomed to.
The story whirls into a mess of lies and deceit as the months get closer to graduation, Kaitlyn and Will begin risking it all when they interact behind closed doors at school, Tylers begins to suspect something is up from his best friends' lack of communication and doeeyes, Marius can't shake Piper, The Headmaster's daughter, off of him either,
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The tangled mess the four of them find themselves in is seriously StarCrossed
So I really liked this story! It was a great read of teacher/professor romance and the mess is can create.
I loved how Kaitlyn and WIll interacted he was quirky and British and completely swoon worthy, Her dad I have mixed feelings about, I kinda liked him than hated him, like okay she doesn't want to go to Yale So you do that to her I LOVED Marius, and felt bad for him most of the story, Kaitlyn was a bitch to him, her snotty remarks and comments about him when she was no better herself.
Like I kinda wanted them to get together, he genuinely cared about her in his own fucked up way and wanted to do whatever he could to help her out.
Will, Will, Will, I mean who wouldn't want to sleep with their banging hot British teacher with a weird clock obsession, I certainly would, he was sweet and caring and something else you'll need to read about shhh its a secret,
Swooned when he said:
"I'm still learning to love," he said, "I'm stumbling. But I think that's a lot of what this isovine, learning, We keep stumbling until we find that one person who is willing to hold our hand and walk with us until we"re strong enough to take the last step on our own.
"
Tyler, who was a bit to over emotional for me, he cried a lot! Like a lot a lot, sometimes I just wanted to smack him and tell him to toughen up!
Then Marius who's the brooding Ryan Phillippe in every sense of the matter.
Twisted, messed up, uses woman just because, has an obsession with his sister, but he's so freaking lovable I was giddy the entire time he was in any scene, and he even has a journal just like Sebastian
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I'm just happy he didn't share the same fate as Sebastian and get hit by a car at the end!
Kaitlyn wasn't as cynical as I had thought she was going to be, she wan't annoying either which is always good.
I liked her she knew what she wanted and she went after it at all costs
This book was Cruel Intentions, I was waiting for Kaitlyn to unscrew her cross and snot some coke.
. She was a lot more straightlaced then my girl Sarah Michelle Gellar though, They were all big into God, had the paintings in the library and the statues throughout the house, Marius kept a journal as well, swam in the pool at random times in a full tux, the usual, I guess its a good thing that Cruel Intentions is one of my favorite movies huh cause I really enjoyed the book,
There was a lot of detail in this book, and I wished there had been more dialogue, I love when characters interact with one another and there was a little bit to much of Kaityn in her own head sometimes going off on random tangents.
My ONLY pet peeve with this story was the setting Kaitlyn lives on the Upper East Side in a mansion A mansion that has a driveway and an inground pool in the backyard with all these gardens is anyone else seeing where I'm going with this It would've been one thing if it was a brownstone or they lived in a penthouse onth or Park.
It was the fact that it was a mansion that messed me up because there isn't enough room in Manhattan to hold a mansion and I sure don't think they're are any inground pools in the backyard because you don't get much of a yard if any in the city
Also it's February when the book begins and the pool boy is shirtless in the backyard skimming the pool in NYC.
They take dips in the pool in early March and April We didn't go abovedegrees this year in February in NYC its like the arctic tundra!
I'm usually not bad with setting, but I guess livingminutes from the city knowing the winters we get here especially this past winter it was a little hard to look over.
The ending was adorable I loved it, a bit rushed a lot happened in the last chapter but I loved it!
And the rest is rust, and stardust.
I Recommend for all you Cruel Intention fans!
Caio!
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"You see, I didn't want to ruin his life.
I just simply wanted to change mine, "
StarCrossed literally JUMPED out to me when I read the blurb,
year old Kaitlyn Laurent is Manhattan royalty, Born and bred into the wealthiest of families, Kaitlyn lives a life full of privileged and expectation,
With her father and stepmother busy socializing, Kaitlyn and her stepbrother, Marius, are left basically rearing themselves,
"Inside the fence, cooped up in my enviable Upper Easy Side mansion, I was left to my own devices.
My own deeds. My own means of escape and worldly deviances, Not that I had many, "
While Kaitlyn is simply wanting to escape her upbringing and impending future in which her father has orchestrated for her, her stepbrother Marius is more than willing to exploit his status, surroundings and those around him for his own amusement.
"There is one thing, first and foremost, that you should know about this story: it all started with a game.
"
Marius offers Kaitlyn freedom, but with Marius there is always a price, If Kaitlyn can seduce her gorgeous Literature teacher she gets Marius' trust fund, If she loses, Marius gets Kaitlyn,
But when Kaitlyn starts out to seduce Mr, William Tennet, she never expected to find a kindred spirit in this conquest,
"I wondered, looking at Mr, Tennet in that millisecond of our eyes meeting, if we were doomed to perpetually search for things we lost somewhere along the way, "
Will was meant to be a means to an end, But Kaitlyn starts realizing that this is more than a game and her freedom could come at a cost she is not willing to pay.
I LOVED this book but it's not without it's faults, What drew me to this story was the similarities to one of my favorite movies ever, Cruel Intentions, Because I was so familiar with this movie I was a little bothered by some of the obvious inspirations taken from it,
Even though I took issue with those elements, the writing, characters and plot held me hostage until the early morning hours.
Kaitlyn is an interesting character, Lonely, hollow, bold and predatory, I found Kaitlyn fascinating,
"I knew who the real victim was, and it wasn't me, If there were some fragment of this inevitable explosion that wrote my name in blood across the tracks, I would smear it and cry hearsay.
Mr. Tennet was the victim. "
Her metamorphosis throughout StarCrossed was what kept me hooked to the pages, Especially her friendship with outcast, Tyler, brought a layer of depth and likeability to her,
Her relationship with Will was maddening, heartbreaking, and tragic in it's circumstances,
"Are we starcrossed" I asked quietly, a whisper,
"Yes", he said, "But I would fight against the for you, "
But what stole the show for me was Marius, He's calculating, cruel and deviant, Everything about Marius that should push you away is what draws you to him,
"Choice,"
Marius said, after pausing for a length of time that seemed slightly too drawn out, As if he were carefully selecting his next move the piece to slide across a chessboard,
"It's more than just a word, It's an action. It's perhaps the one thing that joins all of us together in this little deviant game, "
As you can see, I highlighted A LOT, The writing is gorgeous and flows so well, In fact, this didn't feel like I was reading an indie novel no offense to indie authors it just read so elegantly,
While I am knocking a star off for the similarities to Cruel Intentions, I would easily agree this is astar book.
Not only was it entertaining but it was provocative and thoughtprovoking, If this is the writing I can expect from Ms, Lacour I will anxiously awaiting her next story,
stars
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review,