Who knew MMA fighters could be so sexy and yet so sensitive? The Battered Hearts series is quickly becoming one of my favorite series this year. I really liked the first book in the series but completely fell in love with Romeo and Juliet in Star Crossed. It is so appropriate; the title of the book and their names.Romeo and Juliet meet in book 1, Defying the Odds. There's tension between them but when Romeo risks his life to save Melody, Jules best friend, Jules decides to thank Romeo by treating him to dinner. The sexual attraction is immediate. But Romeo is Italian. His family is connected with the mob. And Jules is a lawyer/part-time deputy and her brother is the local sheriff. Nothing positive can come out of the two of them getting together. But they do and it is explosive. After their one-night stand in Vegas, they decide to keep in touch through sexy texts and Skyping. Romeo and Juliet decide that in the best interest of their families, to keep their relationship a secret. When Romeo moves to Garnet to train with Clay, keeping the relationship proves to be difficult in such a small town.Star Crossed is sexy and emotional and kept me engrossed from start to finish. Romeo and Juliet's romance is steamy and believable. The sex scenes in this book are scorching hot and with every scene, Ms. Moon manages to make it sexier than the previous one. Yes, there's a lot of sex in this book but there's also a lot of emotion. Romeo and Juliet connect not only on a physical level but an emotional one as well. They are both having issues with their family and trying to do the right the by their family but feel like they are being pulled in numerous directions. The only people in their corner is Clay and Melody.I mentioned in my review of Defying the Odds that the dialect kind of slowed the pace of the story for me but I didn't have that issue in Star Crossed. Maybe I'm now used to it or it was more toned down. Jules is a lawyer and is more educated than most of the people of Garnet. Her accent would come out when she's around her brother, Wyatt, or when she's angry. The story flowed really well and the pacing was great.Speaking of Wyatt. He is my least favorite character in this series and his book is next. I don't know what I'm going to do. First, let me mention that Wyatt and Jules are twins. As twins, they are close. Their parents are gone. They only have each other. But there are times where I felt that their relationship was inappropriately too close. Who watches TV in the bed with their brother while he's wearing nothing but boxers? I know I don't. That made me a little icky and Wyatt's interest in Jules' private life seemed more than just brotherly love and concern. Wyatt pisses me off from start to finish in Star Crossed. What pushed me over the edge is when he takes it upon himself to get private information about Jules and then decides when she will be told. I didn't like that consequences of keeping the secret from Juliet were never addressed. He took matters into his own hands because he thought he knew what was best and it created a chain reaction that had both Romeo and Juliet suffering. Wyatt needed to have consequences. I felt that part of the plot was never resolved. I wanted to see him hurt. (Again, I don't like Wyatt and his book will be next in the series. Right now, his HEA can go kick rocks. LOL!). Maybe we'll see the fall out in the next book.I loved Star Crossed and I love this series. Ms. Moon creates a nice mix of sex, romance, emotion and life in a small town and weaves it together to write an engrossing and gripping story. Even though I want Wyatt to go play in traffic, I'm anxious to read the next book. Ms. Moon has definitely become a must buy author for me. I highly recommend this book and this series.
