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A review by heather4994
Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay
5.0
WAIT!!! Don't read the book Summary! It tells too much! Read mine instead! And don't read any of it if you haven't read Juliet Immortal because you won't understand anything! Don't read the book Summary!!!
For 700 years Romeo has been a bad dude. He kills true lovers ruthlessly turning them into agents for the Mercenaries who are immortal and otherworldly strong. He hasn't felt, tasted or touched anything since the night he tricked Juliet into killing herself. But he saved her from the hands of the Mercenaries and now he's a shriveled skeletal thing just waiting to become a lost soul. But the Ambassadors of the Light want to give him a chance to redeem himself. He's got one shot. With a girl he's already killed. And who wants to kill him. But this is Romeo, no one can resist his charms. Or can they?
Now that's not the whole story, a romance, there is a lot more involved and if you haven't read Juliet Immortal just stop right here and go read that first because none of this will make any sense. This is one of those tricky novels. You have to think. It's got parallel universes and alternate realities and you have to reconcile what's happening in this one to what happened in Juliet Immortal. I think I got it. I did a pretty good job though things got a bit hairy for a little bit. This book is complicated. But it is so great to read.
As I wrote above, Romeo has been a bad, bad boy for centuries battling true loves coming up against Juliet many times. But he takes his shot at redemption, not exactly believing he has any shot at salvation after all the many things he's done. But it's a really incredible twisty turny plot and if you think you can predict it then you are a better reader than I. Romeo, after living 700 centuries has seen it all so doing whatever it takes to get Ariel to fall in love with him is not a problem. However, he's in a tough situation at the very beginning when he enters the body of the boy she's with and he realizes the boy has made a major blow to her ego and self esteem. She is so furious she's willing to drive them over a cliff and she yanks on the steering wheel. He's able to actually salvage this date. Romeo's got skills!
Ariel is complicated. Friendless except for Gemma who disappeared two weeks ago she's known as the Freak. She was burned in an accident as a child and not only does she have scars, but when she gets really angry, she hears voices, sees ghosts, monsters, they take over her body and she passes out and loses control of her bodily functions. Yeah, that doesn't make you popular. And we all know kids can be cruel.
So she has a major dose of "I don't believe a word you're saying" and mistrust and doubt when the school bad boy shows interest in her. Then he pulls the stunt and she is livid. But as I said, Romeo's got skills!
Of course, Romeo has a time limit with which he has to work with, three days to make Ariel fall in love with him. Yes, now I know what you're going to say, insta love, but just read it. It sure doesn't feel like three days. And it really is well written. No wasted words, yet some real beautiful phrases.
Here were some of my favorites:
This is Romeo- "Her laughter dances through the night, making the stars shine brighter. The happiness in it surprises me. I think it surprises her as well. She pulls in a breath swallowing the sound. The absence of her amusement makes the quiet seem...emptier than it was before. " (p.47)
I liked the irony in this. Again this is Romeo-"I stopped reading books a while back" (he told Ariel) Like, two hundred years back, when my ability to empathize with man's condition deteriorated to the point where I couldn't understand why the characters were making the choices they did, or why I should care if they lived or died or found their happy ending." (p 126-127)
And lastly, from Ariel-"I'm afraid," she whispers, and I know she isn't talking to Romeo anymore. And that's the only thing you have to lose, I say softly. There's no need to shout. The truth is as loud at a whisper as at a scream." (p.337).
There is a lot that goes on in this novel and you have to pay attention but none of it will make sense if you haven't read Juliet Immortal which I highly recommend. I read it last year, but didn't review it except a very short review on Goodreads. It was a really great book. I'm definitely going to get the hardback of Romeo Redeemed to have with my copy of Juliet Immortal. They are both spectacular spins on the Bard's tale of Romeo and Juliet.
I read the E-ARC of this through NetGalley from the publisher Delacorte Books for Young Readers. The review is my honest opinion and was in no way influenced by this. I did not receive any monetary compensation for my review.
For 700 years Romeo has been a bad dude. He kills true lovers ruthlessly turning them into agents for the Mercenaries who are immortal and otherworldly strong. He hasn't felt, tasted or touched anything since the night he tricked Juliet into killing herself. But he saved her from the hands of the Mercenaries and now he's a shriveled skeletal thing just waiting to become a lost soul. But the Ambassadors of the Light want to give him a chance to redeem himself. He's got one shot. With a girl he's already killed. And who wants to kill him. But this is Romeo, no one can resist his charms. Or can they?
Now that's not the whole story, a romance, there is a lot more involved and if you haven't read Juliet Immortal just stop right here and go read that first because none of this will make any sense. This is one of those tricky novels. You have to think. It's got parallel universes and alternate realities and you have to reconcile what's happening in this one to what happened in Juliet Immortal. I think I got it. I did a pretty good job though things got a bit hairy for a little bit. This book is complicated. But it is so great to read.
As I wrote above, Romeo has been a bad, bad boy for centuries battling true loves coming up against Juliet many times. But he takes his shot at redemption, not exactly believing he has any shot at salvation after all the many things he's done. But it's a really incredible twisty turny plot and if you think you can predict it then you are a better reader than I. Romeo, after living 700 centuries has seen it all so doing whatever it takes to get Ariel to fall in love with him is not a problem. However, he's in a tough situation at the very beginning when he enters the body of the boy she's with and he realizes the boy has made a major blow to her ego and self esteem. She is so furious she's willing to drive them over a cliff and she yanks on the steering wheel. He's able to actually salvage this date. Romeo's got skills!
Ariel is complicated. Friendless except for Gemma who disappeared two weeks ago she's known as the Freak. She was burned in an accident as a child and not only does she have scars, but when she gets really angry, she hears voices, sees ghosts, monsters, they take over her body and she passes out and loses control of her bodily functions. Yeah, that doesn't make you popular. And we all know kids can be cruel.
So she has a major dose of "I don't believe a word you're saying" and mistrust and doubt when the school bad boy shows interest in her. Then he pulls the stunt and she is livid. But as I said, Romeo's got skills!
Of course, Romeo has a time limit with which he has to work with, three days to make Ariel fall in love with him. Yes, now I know what you're going to say, insta love, but just read it. It sure doesn't feel like three days. And it really is well written. No wasted words, yet some real beautiful phrases.
Here were some of my favorites:
This is Romeo- "Her laughter dances through the night, making the stars shine brighter. The happiness in it surprises me. I think it surprises her as well. She pulls in a breath swallowing the sound. The absence of her amusement makes the quiet seem...emptier than it was before. " (p.47)
I liked the irony in this. Again this is Romeo-"I stopped reading books a while back" (he told Ariel) Like, two hundred years back, when my ability to empathize with man's condition deteriorated to the point where I couldn't understand why the characters were making the choices they did, or why I should care if they lived or died or found their happy ending." (p 126-127)
And lastly, from Ariel-"I'm afraid," she whispers, and I know she isn't talking to Romeo anymore. And that's the only thing you have to lose, I say softly. There's no need to shout. The truth is as loud at a whisper as at a scream." (p.337).
There is a lot that goes on in this novel and you have to pay attention but none of it will make sense if you haven't read Juliet Immortal which I highly recommend. I read it last year, but didn't review it except a very short review on Goodreads. It was a really great book. I'm definitely going to get the hardback of Romeo Redeemed to have with my copy of Juliet Immortal. They are both spectacular spins on the Bard's tale of Romeo and Juliet.
I read the E-ARC of this through NetGalley from the publisher Delacorte Books for Young Readers. The review is my honest opinion and was in no way influenced by this. I did not receive any monetary compensation for my review.