The Juliet Spell
by Douglas Rees
I received a galley from the publisher via NetGalley on my Kindle.
Goodreads summary: I’m Juliet.
At least, I wanted to be.
So I did something stupid to make it happen.
Well, stupid and wonderful.
I wanted the role of Juliet more than anything. I studied hard. I gave a great reading for it—even with Bobby checking me out the whole time. I deserved the part.
I didn’t get it. So I decided to level the playing field, though I actually might have leveled the whole play. You see, since there aren’t any Success in Getting to Be Juliet in Your High School Play spells, I thought I’d cast the next best—a Fame spell. Good idea, right?
Yeah. Instead of bringing me a little fame, it brought me someone a little famous. Shakespeare. Well, Edmund Shakespeare. William’s younger brother.
Good thing he’s sweet and enthusiastic about helping me with the play…and—ahem—maybe a little bit hot. But he’s from the past. Way past. Cars amaze him—cars! And cell phones? Ugh.
Still, there’s something about him that’s making my eyes go star-crossed….
Will Romeo steal her heart before time steals him away?
What I liked: There was plenty for me to like in this book: I’m a big Shakespeare girl (shocker, I know), so there was a veritable cornucopia of Bardy goodness through this book.The scenes with Edmund and William Shakespeare were nothing short of hysterical so those scenes in particular really shone for me.
I was fond of Drew, even if I didn’t always buy his dialogue. And I loved the ending, which was emotionally believable but still managed to surprise me.
What I didn’t like: Miri’s dad really, really, really irritated me. Her dad left a couple years ago to “find himself” and it’s something that Miri and her mother struggle with throughout the text, but he shows up near the end of the book and suddenly all is forgiven. Just like that! He seems like a nice guy, but he did something pretty terrible to the people he’s supposed to love and never has to work for their forgiveness.
So, do I rec it? This book is a good one for Shakespeare fans and theatre junkies out there. A fun teen romance that I enjoyed and had a few unexpected twists. I genuinely Liked it.
The Juliet Spell will be released September 27, 2011 by Harlequin Teen.
For reference, my rating scale:
Ugh
Eh
Like it
Love it
Couldn’t Put it Down
