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JulieDoe

Julie Doe

Juliet Immortal - Stacey Jay I went into this book with some trepidation because the last "girl reincarnated (or something similar)" book that I read was "The Alchemy of Forever", and I thought that book failed miserably because I didn't find it believable that a 600-year-old woman would fall for a teenage boy. This book, however, mostly avoided that problem by explaining that Juliet had spent less than 20 years of consciousness in the "real" world after she died at the age of 14. The remainder of the time, she spent in a sort of limbo in what could be considered Purgatory, I suppose. I still question whether a 34-year-old woman could fall for a teenager, but it is still more believable than a 600-yr-old woman. So kudos to the author for addressing the age/maturity issue.

This book also relies heavily on the "love at first sight" trope, and that alone makes it not the best book for me. Juliet falls in love with Ben very quickly, within the span of a few days. They have only a couple of conversations of substance, and then Juliet is completely smitten. Ben, too. Maybe I'm just too cynical--or just an adult with typical adult experiences-- but I don't buy it. This is a particular stumbling block for me, though, and a reader who likes this particular trope may enjoy this book.

Also, although I love Shakespeare, I wasn't particularly bothered by the liberties that the author took with the Romeo and Juliet story. There are some twists at the end that I thought minimized the impact of earlier events--SPOILER!!! SPOILER!!--Juliet was essentially able to take a mulligan and, we are led to believe, live a happy life with Ben.... (reread the play and consider what Ben might have been named back in the day...) --END SPOILER!!

Overall, I liked this book enough that I would read a sequel if one is forthcoming. Given Romeo's final fate, I suspect that we will see another book in this world construct.