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Showing posts with label Juliet Immortal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Juliet Immortal. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

Juliet Immortal holds no punches and right from the start, Stacey Jay shows the reader that she means business. This isn't the Romeo & Juliet you read in High School, no sirree. Stacey Jay has taken "the greatest love story ever told" and has made some bold changes. Personally, I never believed Romeo & Juliet was a love story and it was an absolute delight to read a much darker, more brutal version of the Shakespearean tale. Despite the fact that Jay has taken liberties with her retelling, I loved the way that Juliet Immortal maintained some of the core essentials of the play.

Don't be fooled by the publisher's blurb. This is nothing like Shiver or Hush, Hush at all and marketing it as such is an injustice to Stacey Jay's novel. Juliet Immortal thrives on intense action scenes, pitch-perfect character development and shocking plot twists. I never thought I'd say this, but I loved the teenage drama and angst in Juliet Immortal. I can't believe that I just described teenage angst as a high point of a novel, but seriously I savored all of the high-school drama.

I loved Juliet, she was such a strong-willed and intense character that I couldn't help but gloat over. I felt for Juliet and I was absolutely enthralled by her battle against the devious Romeo. Romeo was a such finely crafted villain and he was equally alluring as he was dangerous. I really look forward to seeing more of Romeo in Romeo Redeemed! The rest of the characters in Juliet Immortal are just as beautifully written and I loved watching each character's arc unfold.

I still can't get over all of the plot twists that Jay inserted in Juliet Immortal. I'm usually the type of reader that can detect what direction a plot is moving early on, but I was so surprised with all of the twists and turn in this novel. This is the type of book that is so compulsively read-able that once you start a chapter, you can't stop midway. I loved the ending of this book and it was so fitting, but a part of me wishes that this was a stand-alone. Everything is so perfectly wrapped up that I'm not sure a sequel is necessary, but I will definitely be reading Romeo Redeemed.

Juliet Immortal is a wonderfully dark retelling with an engaging plot and characters you will obsess over. This is definitely one of the best retelling out there and I am so happy that this lived up to my expectations. Between Of Beauty And Beast and Juliet Immortal, Jay is proving herself to be the master of retellings. I'm beyond ecstatic to read more of Jay's books, especially Princess Of Thorns, her take on Sleeping Beauty!

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