i've been reading since i was 3 years old, and i currently work in a bookstore, so i'm surrounded by books ALL the time. i read over 3 books a week, easily! these reviews will mostly be on teen books, since that's what i read, but really anything at all could show up here!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Juliet Immortal - Stacey Jay

Have I ever mentioned how much I love getting ARCs? I get books that I would have never normally picked up, or even heard about. This novel is one of those: it came out officially in September, but I've yet to see it in a bookstore. It's a shame, because the idea of this book is so new and exciting.

Juliet Immortal takes the world's most famous love story - Romeo and Juliet - and twists it around entirely. Yes, Romeo and Juliet did the whole 'forbidden love' thing, and then got married. But soon after, Juliet awakes to find Romeo... in the middle of sacrificing her. Okay, so he didn't just flip out one day and decide to sacrifice his new wife: he was talked into it by the Mercenaries, a group dedicated to stopping true love. They convinced him to do this by promising him eternal life if he complied. Who wouldn't do that, right?

But it's all okay, because Juliet's nurse happens to be someone sent from the Ambassadors of Light, a similar immortal organization that does the opposite of the Mercenaries... that is, ensuring that soul mates remain together. They offer Juliet one last chance at life, to dedicate her existence to preserving romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Juliet, however, doesn't get to have a full life; she is brought down to earth at various points in time to protect soul mates in danger.

Now, there IS a love interest in this book. The problem is, Juliet falls for him while she is using a host body during one of her missions. He doesn't know who she really is, and Juliet has to wonder whether he is falling for her or the body she is currently using. I did like the character of Ben, but there could have been a bit more character development beyond the fact that he was good-looking and overprotective of Juliet. He wasn't all bad, though, and I looked forward to him being around.

The character of Romeo, on the other hand, was very well written. He was messed up, but not completely evil, and I spent much of the book wondering if he was going to stab Juliet in the back or if he was being somewhat truthful. I like when characters are not simply black and white. Yes, Romeo was the 'villain' of the book, but there were times where the reader felt bad for him, and times where you wanted to rip his head off.

Now, I'd just like to mention the ending. While I can't say here what exactly the twist at the end of the book was (because that would violate my unwritten 'no major spoilers' rule), I would like to say that I didn't like it, at all. After all that we went through, the twist took everything and threw it away. Essentially, the end of the book was as frustrating as if they had said everything contained in the book was a dream. It feels like the ending was rushed, and didn't really make sense with the motivations of EVERY character in the book and the rest of the plot. But whatever, I'll deal. Still, I feel that the second twist, about Ben, is probably worst of all... it just didn't need to happen.

While I do recommend this book, be cautious: it's great, until the last few chapters or so. Enjoy it, but don't feel bad if at the end you're pretending that the book finished differently.

SCORE: 7.5/10
IF YOU LIKE: Illuminated (Erica Orloff), After Obsession (Carrie Jones)