A review by michalice
Anyone but You by Kim Askew, Amy Helmes
5.0
I loved the previous books in the Twisted Lit series, and what makes them even better is that they can be read as a stand alone. As I've previously mentioned when reading these books I haven't read much Shakespeare, in fact one of the only books I have read was Romeo and Juliet for school, and that was years ago, but even if you haven't read Romeo and Juliet, everyone has heard of their story. Anyone But You is an updated, twist on this story and not only did I not hesitate in saying YES to review this book, I couldn't wait to make a start on it.
Gigi is the protagonist, her family have an Italian restaurant that is slowly declining, their perfect opportunity to get more publicity is dashed when a prank pulled by rival restaurant owners, and also feuding family, the Montes, ruins their chance, and shuts the restaurant down for a month. Things are looking extremely grim for this family, and to make matters worse Gigi is falling for Romeo Monte after he gatecrashes her party.
Throughout Anyone But You we are given flashbacks into the past, and over the years we get to see how these two families became enemies and how a presumption can change a friendship formed over the years.
I absolutely loved Anyone But You, so much more than the previous books. I laughed, cried, and smiled a lot whilst reading, and while I'm not going to give the details away, just know that I devoured every single page. I really like how the history of these two families is placed between present day chapters, giving us a better look into the past over a period of years, but also getting to see these families in the present day. Both time frames blended together perfectly to make read that really draws you in and lets you try to connect the dots yourself. It actually took me a while to make the connection over a certain character, and when I realised who it was I was shocked at myself for not picking up on it earlier, but also loved the way it connected the past with the present..
From start to finish I could not put Anyone But You down, and when I finally reached the last page I was sad to see it end. I would have definitely enjoyed this version of Romeo and Juliet's story if I could have read it in school.
Gigi is the protagonist, her family have an Italian restaurant that is slowly declining, their perfect opportunity to get more publicity is dashed when a prank pulled by rival restaurant owners, and also feuding family, the Montes, ruins their chance, and shuts the restaurant down for a month. Things are looking extremely grim for this family, and to make matters worse Gigi is falling for Romeo Monte after he gatecrashes her party.
Throughout Anyone But You we are given flashbacks into the past, and over the years we get to see how these two families became enemies and how a presumption can change a friendship formed over the years.
I absolutely loved Anyone But You, so much more than the previous books. I laughed, cried, and smiled a lot whilst reading, and while I'm not going to give the details away, just know that I devoured every single page. I really like how the history of these two families is placed between present day chapters, giving us a better look into the past over a period of years, but also getting to see these families in the present day. Both time frames blended together perfectly to make read that really draws you in and lets you try to connect the dots yourself. It actually took me a while to make the connection over a certain character, and when I realised who it was I was shocked at myself for not picking up on it earlier, but also loved the way it connected the past with the present..
From start to finish I could not put Anyone But You down, and when I finally reached the last page I was sad to see it end. I would have definitely enjoyed this version of Romeo and Juliet's story if I could have read it in school.