Book Review: Juliet

by Anne Fortier

On the death of her Aunt Rose, Julie Jacobs inherits a key. It is not an ordinary key though.  It is the key Julie's mother was carrying when she was killed in a car accident when Julie and her twin, Janice, were young. Following the path of the key and the contents it is protecting takes Julie on an adventure to Siena, Italy, where she discovers her birth name is Giulietta Tolomei and that she may be related to the original Giulietta upon whom Shakespeare's story is based. Will Julie find the answers to both her and her ancestress's past or will they suffer the same fates along side their Romeos?

 I should start with the disclaimer that I read (and watched) Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in high school. It's never been a favorite story of mine.  The whole I must die because my lover is dead thing baffles me. I know, I'm not really a romantic.  My preferred Shakespeare is Much Ado About Nothing. All this being said though, I loved this book.  Anne Fortier married the old story (being told in 1340 Siena) with events taking place (and being influence by the old tale) in modern day Siena.

It is written in a classic gothic style where you will keep questioning which of the player is actually the bad guy. Fortier has filled the novel with twists and turns that will keep her readers on the edge of their seats.  Anyone who loves gothic style romances or good old fashioned mysteries will enjoy this book. It's a roller coaster ride that will keep you guessing until the end.  And that, fellow readers, is the hallmark of a well written book.

BIS Rating: 4 nightlights

BIS Rating system:
1 nightlight = put it down and didn't care to pick it back up
2 nightlights = finished the book
3 nightlights = enjoyed the book but probably wouldn't re-read it
4 nightlights = had a hard time putting the book down
5 nightlights = stayed up way too late to finish instead of going to bed

Buy Juliet by Anne Fortier on Bookshop.org.

(originally published 11 February 2011)