Juliet

I have a love for Shakespeare and a love for Romeo and Juliet...that being the first Shakespeare play I ever read. Teaching it brought me a whole new appreciation for the story. And I love derivatives of the story as well...or at least in theory I do. The problem is, I have yet to find an author who does Shakespeare's tale justice. I recently listened to the book Juliet by Ann Fortier. And this is my most recent book review from Goodreads.

Juliet by Anne Fortier

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Alright, so I'm going to go ahead and give this three stars but with some serious caveats.



First, it wasn't really what I expected. I thought it would be a nice love story about a girl with some connection to Juliet from, forgive the obvious note here, Romeo and Juliet. I did not expect it to be a romance meets "historical" meets thriller book. And I have to admit that is the part I really really really did NOT like so much - the thriller part, that is.



I did like the history Fortier set up. She tells the "true" story of Romeo and Juliet. And it was a pretty good story. I thoroughly enjoyed it, actually. In fact, I think she ought just tell that story and that story alone. The first half to two thirds of the book were good/decent, and I was enjoying it.



And then she went all James Patterson. I knew it was coming because the main character was obviously caught up in some drama about her mother's death and her mysterious inheritance, all related to Juliet. I just didn't realize it would be so...so...so hokie and overwrought. You know?



So I actually listened to this (thank you Audible for the free book). And at the end, I was getting confused because I couldn't focus. It was just so silly, and I kind of didn't care all that much anymore. I even found myself rolling my eyes and scoffing aloud at the sheer ridiculousness of the direction the plot took, the lines, just everything. And it didn't help that the reader was so dramatic, either (nor did I love her voice, but that has nothing to do with the material she was reading, so I won't make an issue of it).



In any case, I know this isn't a glowing review and it sounds more like a two star book than a three star book, but like I said, I have to give Fortier props for a clever and fun twist on the "real" Romeo and Juliet, and so I'll say three stars. But I know this doesn't mean anyone is going to run out to read it...at least not based on this review. Enough said.



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