Helpful Score: 2
I must admit, that I did not love this book. The tale of Romeo and Juliet has never been one of my favorites, and while the new setting of Cosima d'Medici's Florence was interesting, not to mention well detailed, it was simply not enough a new turn to make me really enjoy this. I just found this historical romance novel's characters to be no less sappy than their younger, original versions. The constant poetry was not my cup of tea, either... I am really just not the right audience for this book. And the villain was more of a caricature than character...
That is not to say that the book did not have its high points - there was a lot of beauty in the book, both the physical beauty of the cover, and the physical imagery of the setting. It just did not seem like that fresh of a re-telling. It was also a fast read, which was quite surprising since there was a remarkable lack of conflict in a book about such conflicted characters... It was really the characters that soured me on this whole book.
That is not to say that the book did not have its high points - there was a lot of beauty in the book, both the physical beauty of the cover, and the physical imagery of the setting. It just did not seem like that fresh of a re-telling. It was also a fast read, which was quite surprising since there was a remarkable lack of conflict in a book about such conflicted characters... It was really the characters that soured me on this whole book.
Helpful Score: 2
I'm not really big into romances - but this book opened my mind to a whole other genre. Who doesn't love the story of Juliet and her Romeo. This is a magnificent new version. Even though I know the original story, this one had me all wrapped up in the plot again. Loved it!
Helpful Score: 1
I'll admit I have never actually read the real story of Romeo & Juliet, but I really did enjoy this take on it. It was interesting and I could not put it down. I think this is a great read for anyone who likes historical romances or anything similar.
I've always been intrigued by Shakespeare; particularly his tragedies, histories and sonnets. A retelling of Romeo and Juliet intrigued me and I knew I had to give this one a shot. The major changes to the story are that Juliet is 18 rather than 14 and it takes place in Florence rather than Verona.
I was not overly impressed with this one. I couldn't really get into the voice of Juliet. At 18. she doesn't sound like a woman but her actions seemed very immature. I can put up with such behavior from a 14 year old, but at 18, it seems a bit much. I wasn't expecting to have such a strong reaction to that though.
Some of the chapters are told from Romeo's perspective, which I liked more than Juliet's but it still didn't mesh with me. What I did like about the novel was that Juliet was quite obsessed with the works of Dante. I love when characters in books love literature. It's a weird paradox, but I do love it.
I do think that the plot of the novel is pretty good and that there will be tons of people who would love this book. I am quite willing to concede that I am probably the exception and not the rule. I also wouldn't rule out reading more titles from this author. I think that reading a retelling is very hit or miss especially when it's characters that I've adored, I'm quite biased to preconceived ideas.
I was not overly impressed with this one. I couldn't really get into the voice of Juliet. At 18. she doesn't sound like a woman but her actions seemed very immature. I can put up with such behavior from a 14 year old, but at 18, it seems a bit much. I wasn't expecting to have such a strong reaction to that though.
Some of the chapters are told from Romeo's perspective, which I liked more than Juliet's but it still didn't mesh with me. What I did like about the novel was that Juliet was quite obsessed with the works of Dante. I love when characters in books love literature. It's a weird paradox, but I do love it.
I do think that the plot of the novel is pretty good and that there will be tons of people who would love this book. I am quite willing to concede that I am probably the exception and not the rule. I also wouldn't rule out reading more titles from this author. I think that reading a retelling is very hit or miss especially when it's characters that I've adored, I'm quite biased to preconceived ideas.
