O, Juliet

Title: O, Juliet

Author: Robin Maxwell

Publisher: New American Library

Release Date: February 2, 2010

Received From:  Publisher/Author


Before Juliet Capelletti lie two futures: a traditionally loveless marriage to her father's business partner, or the fulfillment of her poetic dreams, inspired by the great Dante. Unlike her beloved friend Lucrezia, who looks forward to her arranged marriage, Juliet has a wild, romantic imagination that knows not the bounds of her great family's stalwart keep.


The latter path is hers for the taking when Juliet meets Romeo Monticecco, a soulful young man seeking peace between their warring families. A dreamer himself, Romeo is unstoppable, once he determines to capture the heart of the remarkable woman foretold in his stars. The breathless intrigue that ensues is the stuff of beloved legend. But those familiar with Shakespeare's muse know only half the story...

I have always loved historical fiction! I don't know what it is about it, but I love it! Even though Romeo and Juliet was never my favorite I was excited to see a different interpretation of the story. This was my first Robin Maxwell book, but with her power of storytelling, I will definitely be picking up some more of her books.


I really enjoyed seeing into Romeo and Juliet's heads, it made the personal story even more personal. Even though the story takes place in a different time and place, then in the original, I felt that the story did not suffer at all from the setting change. I liked that Juliet was treated like an individual person, not just always connected to Romeo, like in some other interpretations.

I really enjoyed how I felt so much more for Romeo and Juliet in this version because their story was more real to me, which I really appreciated. Even though I obviously knew the ending I was heartbroken when it happened which is a testament to Maxwell's talent.

The only problem I had with this book was I felt that parts of it were kind of boring, and even though I know some of it was necessary, I was bored for a little while in the middle of the book, but the characters really got me through it!

Overall a good historical retelling!

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4/5