First Impression:One of the greatest love stories of all time? Check. Flipping the so-called greatest love story on its butt? Double check. The idea that the tragic romance that is Romeo and Juliet is a complete lie instantly drew me to this tale. Plus, I loved the concept: lovers fighting a war for centuries to ensure (or destroy) the souls true lovers.While Reading:'There never was a tale of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo'.. well at least that is what Shakespeare would want us to believe. But if you were to ask Juliet, she never, ever wants to hear mention of that play and all its lies. To her, the Romeo who is depicted in that play's pages does not exist. Nor did he ever exist.Juliet Immortal flips everything you ever thought about Romeo and Juliet right out from under you. I try not to go into books like these with too many exceptions. You never know just what direction it will go in. Within the first pages, I knew I was right not to make assumptions. Because nothing could have prepared me for this book. That Juliet Immortal was going to be this different. How different? "Romeo has found a corpse. It's my last thought before his hands are around my throat." p. 13, ARC "I am going to rip your arms and eat them. While you watch!" p.16, ARCYou don't get much more different than that. Even Romeo's entrance was breathtaking, leaving my first thoughts of him somewhere along the lines of... 'WOW! This boy is a sociopath'. And it only get deeper. As Jay explores the mythos of Romeo and Juliet, I really began to think about what I knew about the legendary tale. Jay take something so familiar, and made it so foreign.While Juliet is our main character and the focus of the novel, it was Romeo who really captured my attention. Juliet was great. But with her being in the position that she was, her character did not see much growth. Yes, she does have some 'ah ha' moments, but she did not move me. Romeo, on the other hand, started out so grotesque, so vile that if he could only develop into something more. And boy, did he. It is remarkable how much this character grew on me. How much I wanted him to succeed.Verdict:Never in my wildest daydreams imagined that I would be reading something as glorious as Juliet Immortal. It has that spark. It makes you question the boundary between love and hate. I was totally taken by surprised with this one. After all this, you will never think about Romeo and Juliet the same. If, like me, you were wondering if Romeo and Juliet will have their happily ever after, you will just have to read Juliet Immortal to find out.
