The Diva Diaries by KiyaRaven

Official Description:

Dear Diary, I’ve stupidly agreed to star with Edward Jack-ass Cullen in a new Broadway show. What the hell was I thinking? I still haven’t forgiven him for what he did to me during drama school. I hope the show opens before I murder him horribly. Bella.

Don’t miss the EPOV Outtakes!

The Diva Diaries is a wonderful mix of acerbic wit, frustration and overwhelming attraction set in an exciting, creative environment with fascinating insight into what it’s like to make a career out of acting.

The story is split with two timelines, told in parallel. The first glimpse of Edward and Bella is when they meet for the first time in three years to play the two romantic leads in a theatre production. The second timeline takes us back to drama school where they first met. You know that whatever happened between them back then did not end well but you don’t know what, why or how it went wrong. The story is so cleverly structured that in each chapter there are parallels drawn between the two time periods and the characters they are portraying. Despite this complexity, it’s never confusing and it feels like it was achieved effortlessly.

Edward is as ridiculously hot and passionate as you would expect. He has issues with intimacy and trust and thinks he can protect himself by driving people away. He’s an angry person and can be incredibly cutting in his comments to Bella, while indifferent to everyone else. However, acting requires a level intimacy of between actors, a certain vulnerability, something Edward does not react well to.

This is the funniest Bella I have ever read. At drama school, she had serious issues with controlling her internal stream of consciousness, which she captured in her diary. Bella’s biggest challenge in life was to resist Edward and the unresolved sexual tension between them when, despite her best efforts, she was unable to get herself off. Bella was so stifled by her parents that she developed inoffensive versions of swearwords, to hilarious effect. In the present, she is damaged, angry and trying to become immune to Edward.

KiyaRaven does snarky dialogue like no one else and makes you experience every emotion with her characters. They are hilarious, even when they are tearing each other to shreds. The moments where they give in to their mutual attraction are hot beyond belief. Bella has a wonderful way of breaking through Edward’s careful control and making him vulnerable to her. Edward cuts through Bella’s people-pleasing veneer and disrupts her brain-mouth filter so she says whatever she is thinking around him. They drive each other crazy, yet their explosive chemistry works in their favour on stage:

[dcs_p]“I think it’s a testament to my incredible acting ability that even though I find you to be an annoying, ball-breaking shrew, I still get massive wood when I’m pretending to be attracted to you.”…[/dcs_p]

[dcs_p]“Yeah, I know what you mean,” I reply, nodding. “And I obviously deserve an Oscar for being able to push down the staggering amount of hate and nausea you inspire in me to need a change of panties while pretending to be attracted to you.”…[/dcs_p]

[dcs_p]“Aro will be wondering where we are.”…[/dcs_p]

[dcs_p]“Well, I’ll just let him know that you were shamelessly grabbing my junk in a back alley, shall I?”[/dcs_p]

[dcs_p]“Sure,” I say lightly. “Right after I tell him you tried to wall-fuck me.”[/dcs_p]

[dcs_p]He gasps theatrically. “Swan, if I’d tried to wall-fuck you, then you’d be screaming my name right about now and praising Jesus for my pretty cock. Don’t even try to deny it.”…[/dcs_p]

[dcs_p]“Oh, God, please stop talking about your man-parts,” I gag dramatically. “You’re making me throw up in my mouth.”[/dcs_p]

[dcs_p]“Oh,” he says dryly, “I wondered why you tasted so fucking horrible. I thought it was the cigarettes.”[/dcs_p]

In case you’re wondering, that was just from chapter one…

[dcs_p][/dcs_p]