Romeo and Juliet and Vampires

ROMEO and JULIET and VAMPIRES

By:  Claudia Gabel

FIRST SENTENCE

“Juliet sat on her bed and stared at her reflection in an ornate gilded mirror, which she held close to her face.”

SUMMARY
from goodreads

The Capulets and the Montagues have some deep and essential differences.  Blood differences.  Of course, the Capulets can escape their vampire fate, and the Montagues can try not to kill their undead enemies.  But at the end of the day, their blood feud is unstoppable.  So it’s really quite a problem when Juliet, a vampire-to-be, and Romeo, the human who should be hunting her, fall desperately in love.  What they don’t realize is how deadly their love will turn out to be - or what it will mean for their afterlives…

This riotous twist on the ultimate tale of forbidden romance is simply to die for.

REVIEW

This book mixes the classic Romeo and Juliet story with the current vampire trend.  While I have read other retellings of classics, this is the first one I’ve read that takes on vampires.  

I liked the way that Claudia Gabel kept the setting as the late 1500’s, but did not write it with Shakespearean-speak.  I was easily able to read everything and understand it.  I am glad that the time frame was not changed to the present times, because it would have totally changed the classic.

My favorite scene is the very beginning when Romeo and Juliet first meet.  It’s so romantic and their feelings for each other have not yet been tainted by the feud between their families.  I wish they had moved a little slower in deciding to get married, but I suppose that was in keeping with the original.  Maybe couples moved quickly back in those times?

I liked this book and think it was an interesting retelling.  Thank you to We Love YA! for sending this arc for me to review.

RATING

4        Plot

5        Characters

4        Attention Grabbing

4        Girlie Meter

5        Ending

22      TOTAL

5        STARS