OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Romeo" by Alexandra Claudia.]

I believe it is safe to say that pretty much everyone has either read the story of Romeo and Juliet or at least heard of the tragedy of the star- crossed lovers. But do they truly know what happened to this beloved pair? Romeo by Alexandra Claudia depicts a mind-blowing story of these lovers that has been hidden from view throughout the centuries. That is until a historian named Martin with a passion for digging into the veiled story of Romeo Montague, himself, discovers a story that wouldn’t have even entered his wildest dreams.

Martin, with tragedy dogging his own heels, flies to Italy to see what there is to discover about Romeo’s life. At first it seems that no one there even cares about Romeo due to the city lacking the statues and fanfare that it contains for Juliet. However, when his search for Romeo’s childhood home takes him into a twisting labyrinth part of town, he is propelled through time right into the lives of Romeo and Juliet themselves. More than just writing a novel about the life of Romeo, Martin must discover why these two lovers were destined to their tragic fate and in doing so be able to release them from the curse of their heartbreaking death.

Romeo as told in a first person perspective through the eyes of Martin, is over all a steady paced, well-written novel that confirms that true love will always find itself some way or another. It also teaches us that though tragedy may run rampant through ones life, it doesn’t mean that they have to let it define who they are meant to become.

While the story itself is incredibly intriguing and the novel has many good qualities, including fascinating plot twists and a satisfying ending, there were a few things that needed work to make it a truly great novel. The dialogue threw me off a little due to the fact that Romeo, Juliet, and their families used very modern language and even at times used slang words. Although I don’t believe that they had to communicate in the language of Shakespeare throughout the novel, I believe that the dialogue would have flowed better if it had a slightly more classical touch to it. The editing could also have used another thorough brushing, there weren’t a huge amount of mistakes, but the ones that were there tended to stand out. There were two chapter eights and it seemed as if autocorrect changed words quite a few times, like in the case of “pigment of the imagination” instead of “figment of the imagination” and a few other errors. Over all though the characters were very likeable and gave the story a well-rounded feel to it.

Even though there were a few editing errors and at times the dialogue was a little strange, I enjoyed this novel very much. Because of the issues with the editing and dialogue I give Romeo a 3 out of 4 stars. It’s definitely a version of Romeo and Juliet that I had never read before. I definitely recommend this novel to anyone who loves Romeo and Juliet, historical fiction, or retellings of classic stories.

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Romeo
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This seems like a fascinating novel. I'm curious if the novel was well-researched in order to fit within the historical context of the original work. If it was, then Alexandra Claudia would have no problem in dealing with the dialogue. From your review, the dialogue didn't quite caught up with your expectations. So I guess that would say something in itself. Thank you for the review.

This sounds like a great twist on the story. I like that you mention that although tragedy may run rampant through our lives, we don't have to let it define us. I feel that this is something so important to remember when life gets tough and we sometimes cannot see the way out. To have a love that inspires us enough to see through that haze, can't be anything but inspirational! I will have to add this book to my must be read list! Thanks for the awesome review!

This novel is going to be awesome. Watch the old Romeo and Juliet.

I don't think this is really one I would enjoy. Sounds like a good book, though, for those who really enjoy that type of story. Thanks for the review.