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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
This re-telling sheds new light on the classic of Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare. Seeing the events through Rosaline’s eyes, the reader learns more about the subsidiary characters, rounding out the original tale. The actual plot both changed in some major ways, but also keeps important scenes intact. Overall, it stays true to the spirit of Shakespeare, but allows Rosaline to become a strong female protagonist that teen girls can identify with. The only difficulty with the book lies in the writing style as it mimics Shakespearean prose; this may turn reluctant readers off.
Why does this have so many negative reviews? I've read Romeo and Juliet, and saw several movie adaptations, and I must say this is quite a good retelling! The main key events are there, such as the ball, the duel, and of course the death scene, but the scenes added to further develop the main character's personality feel quite at home alongside those. Yes, it's written in Shakespeare's prose, but I found nothing wrong with that, the plotline is simple enough to get the jist of I think. The one complaint I would have was that despite what the plot summary says, Rosaline doesn't pay much attention to Benviolio until the middle; the romance is there, it's just not as major as the plot summary makes it out to be. All in all, a very good retelling from the perspective of the main character, and would recommend to any lovers of Romeo and Juliet!
Romeo’s Ex by Lisa Fiedler tells the story of Romeo and Juliet from the perspective of Rosalind, the young lady Romeo is in love with at the beginning of Shakespeare’s play. I really enjoyed it.
If you’ve ever read or seen Romeo and Juliet, you know what the storyline of this book is. In this retelling, Rosalind is a fairly sensible, slightly older cousin of Juliet’s. Her story weaves around the plot of Romeo and Juliet, looking at things from a different angle but not changing the plot.
There are some faults with this book. The biggest one is a repetition of a particular plot device, but I’m not sure if that’s due to a deliberate tongue in cheek take on Shakespeare or a fault of the author. Rosalind is a little too modern in outlook, but that’s a common fault of historical romances.
I enjoyed this book and I plan on tracking down the author’s other book – "Dating Hamlet".
If you’ve ever read or seen Romeo and Juliet, you know what the storyline of this book is. In this retelling, Rosalind is a fairly sensible, slightly older cousin of Juliet’s. Her story weaves around the plot of Romeo and Juliet, looking at things from a different angle but not changing the plot.
There are some faults with this book. The biggest one is a repetition of a particular plot device, but I’m not sure if that’s due to a deliberate tongue in cheek take on Shakespeare or a fault of the author. Rosalind is a little too modern in outlook, but that’s a common fault of historical romances.
I enjoyed this book and I plan on tracking down the author’s other book – "Dating Hamlet".
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve loved this book for a while and keep coming back to it in my older age. It’s a fun twist on the classic Romeo and Juliet story told from a character that was mentioned but never seen in the original. I always love a strong female lead and this hit all the boxes for a fun and flirty backstory of a timeless tale.