Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay

Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay

ARC received from Delacorte BFYR via Edelweiss

Release Date:  10-9-2012

Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn

The Sisters Say:  Sinister and Sharp

All will be revealed for fans who have breathlessly awaited the sizzling sequel to Juliet Immortal. This time Romeo takes center stage and gets one chance, and one chance only, to redeem himself.

Cursed to live out eternity in his rotted corpse, Romeo, known for his ruthless, cutthroat ways, is given the chance to redeem himself by traveling back in time to save the life of Ariel Dragland. Unbeknownst to her, Ariel is important to both the evil Mercenaries and the love-promoting Ambassadors and holds the fate of the world in her hands. Romeo must win her heart and make her believe in love, turning her away from her darker potential before his work is discovered by the Mercenaries. While his seduction begins as yet another lie, it soon becomes his only truth. Romeo vows to protect Ariel from harm, and do whatever it takes to win her heart and soul. But when Ariel is led to believe his love is a deception, she becomes vulnerable to Mercenary manipulation, and her own inner darkness may ultimately rip them apart.

Romeo Redeemed is the sequel to Juliet Immortal, only this time, the story is told from Romeo’s point of view.  Romeo is tasked with making Ariel fall in love with him.  And what happens if he succeeds?  He gets to be an Ambassador of Light.  While there were definite flaws throughout the book, it truly did live up to its name and redeem Romeo in my eyes.

There were parts of this story that were really interesting, and I enjoyed getting to see inside Romeo’s head.  I found myself feeling sorry for him, even after his centuries of evil-doing.  Now is he a character that I will remember after a year or two?  Probably not.  While it was enjoyable to read about his struggle, I do not see myself thinking back to this book much in the future.

What did I enjoy?

The best thing about Romeo Redeemed is the game of cat and mouse that is played between Romeo and both the Mercenaries and the Ambassadors.  The game is full of suspense, and you will constantly be wondering who are the true bad guys.

Ariel was also intriguing—she’s so full of anger, yet she wants to be good.  However, at times, that anger takes full control of her and she loses herself.  I really feel for her after seeing the way she is treated at school and by her “friends,” and I don’t blame her for not trusting people.   I did find the parts of the book where we see her point of view a bit unreliable, though.  Of course, this could have been a conscious decision by Stacey so that the suspense stayed at a high level.

What are the book’s flaws?

The major flaw I saw was with the short moments where we are transported back in time to see Juliet.  There are only a hand full of times where we see her, and you don’t know what the heck is going on until the book is almost over.  We saw that she ended up happy in Juliet Immortal, but when we first see her in Romeo Redeemed, everything has changed and she is back in the tomb and the Friar won’t let her out.  It took me a while to figure out that the timeline had been messed up by Nurse.  I think Stacey should have done something to make this more clear so that when Juliet pops back into the action, you aren’t left wondering what is happening.

I also felt the ending was rushed—we got to see inside Romeo’s head in a sort of epilogue, but we don’t see anything about Juliet’s future.  I don’t know if a new one is expected (although I don’t know where a next novel would be able to lead), but I felt like Juliet’s part of the story was left unfinished.

Overall, I enjoyed the book enough to finish it, although it did take me a few days.  Most books I am able to finish in a day or two, but I had to space myself out with this mainly to keep from getting too frustrated with the characters and the holes in the story. 

Fans of Juliet Immortal should read this just so they can see Romeo’s inner workings—we see why he did the things we did, and we see a side of him that is never shown in Juliet Immortal.

Juliet Immortal

Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay
Release Date: Been on the shelves since August 9, 2011
Reviewed by: Honorary Sister Marylee
This sister says: Original, Action-packed, Captivating

Summary from Goodreads.com: The most tragic love story in history . . . Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

This premise grabbed me from the get-go! As a theatre major I’m obligated to love the Bard and all of his works, and believe me I do. I mean, his stories have survived for centuries for a reason people! Romeo and Juliet is arguably his most famous/most performed work, and I thought for Ms. Jay to take a risk by twisting Shakespeare’s story in the way she did was a big one. But it totally paid off!

See, Shakespeare had it all wrong. Juliet loved Romeo, but Romeo loved the idea of immortality more than her. He sacrificed her in order to gain perpetuity. What he didn’t reckon was that through the centuries of his immortal life there would still be a Capulet vs. Montague war, only this time he and Juliet would be at the center of it, fighting each other, her fighting for love and him fighting for evil.

This enthralling read drops you right into the middle of the action, and the pace just doesn’t slow down. Juliet inhabits the body of an emotionally and physically damaged girl named Ariel as an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. She is sent to make sure two soul mates commit to each other. Romeo, as an agent of the Mercenaries of the Apocalypse is sent to make sure one of the soul mates makes the same decision that he did, to sacrifice the other for eternal life. R & J have been doing this for centuries, but this time things are different, and Romeo thinks he has the way to end their never-ending cycle of war. But when Juliet meets a boy named Ben it messes up his plans, and confuses her heart!

There is so much to love about this book! I literally could not put it down and flew through it in one evening. Juliet is a great, complex character who is easy to relate to and love even when she is being difficult, and I found Romeo as a villain deliciously dark and exciting. As easy as it is to hate Romeo for what he did to Juliet, he gives some pretty legit reasons for why he did it, and I found myself caring for him in spite of myself. I did however have problems with the characters of Gemma and Ben. I tire easily of bratty poor-little-rich-girl types like Gemma, and I had little sympathy for her. I found her treatment of Ariel really unforgivable no matter how starved Ariel is for friends. Ben, I just found too perfect. I need my men to have some flaws! I forgave that because I wanted Juliet to find happiness with a nice guy, but Ben started off so wonderful that there was really no room for him to grow as a character. As there will be a sequel to Juliet Immortal, I was ok with the fact that the entire mythology of the book wasn’t explained thoroughly and am looking forward to more of the mythology/world-building in Romeo Redeemed.

My hope is that teens who maybe feel that Shakespeare isn’t really the same language as ours read this story and maybe give the source material it’s based on a chance. Ms. Jay incorporated some of the source material into her novel and inspired me to reread it, and I hope others will give it a chance as well.

The captivating story, the twists, the realistic and very well dealt with themes, Juliet’s realization (which really spoke to me personally), Ariel’s relationship with her mother, and the ending are more than enough to keep me saying, “Out damn sequel! Out I say!”… Ok, so that reference is from another Shakespeare play, it still fits!

Covers to Die For

Covers to Die For is back!!!!  Now that our Crush Tourney has come to an end, we suddenly find more time on our hands!  What are we to do with that time, you ask?  Well, spend our days coveting books not yet released or ones that we don't have and drooling over the amazing covers!  Wow, have I found a lot recently!  Check these brilliant covers out!!!

Tempest by Julie Cross
Release date:  January 3, 2012
Summary from goodreads.com

The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay
Already available
Summary from goodreads.com

"These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume."
—Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

The Willows: Haven
by Hope Collier
Release date: sometime in 2011
Summary from goodreads.com

When tragedy strikes, seventeen year-old Ashton Blake sets out on a cross-country road trip, leaving the comforts of Malibu for the mountains of Kentucky. Along the way, she encounters Gabe Willoughby—the mysterious drifter with eyes like the sea and a knowing smile. Getting to know Gabe raises questions about her past. But no secret can be buried forever, and Ashton soon finders herself in a world where water is air and myth becomes reality.

Just as Ashton comes to accept her newfound heritage, she’s summoned to fulfill a treaty laid down centuries before — a treaty that will divide her love and test her loyalty. In the end, her future isn’t her biggest concern, her humanity is. To run may mean war, but is she strong enough to stay?

All 3 of these look amazing!!!  Go add them to your TBR pile!  I can't wait to read them!!!