Publisher: Delacort Books for Young Readers
Pages: 304 pages
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: 3.5 stars
Source: Library
Goodreads Summary: 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.
Juliet Immortal has an interesting premise. It’s both a retelling and a continuation of a story that most of us know very well.
After Romeo betrays Juliet to gain immortality from the Mercenaries, or the agents of dark, she is recruited to work for the Ambassadors, the agents of light. As an immortal, Romeo is sent to couples who are destined to be soul mates and convince them to choose immortality over love by killing each other. Juliet is sent to the same couple but her job is to convince them to love, not kill, each other.
Juliet has a really tough job. Not only does she have to physically and emotionally fight Romeo (who is always trying to kill her, again), her mission is further complicated by the body of the girl she temporarily inhabits. Prior to Juliet’s soul moving in, Ariel is an emotionally damaged girl with low self esteem. I love that Juliet works to make Ariel’s life better, to improve the relationships with Ariel’s loved ones. I also love how this story is told from Juliet’s perspective and she is the hero, not the victim in the story. Not everything or everyone is as they seem initially, and there are some nice twists in the book that I was not expecting.
While I like many things about the story, I’m not crazy about the insta-love in the book and the speed at which the entire story takes place. I do understand that the story mirrors Romeo and Juliet which happens fairly quickly as well, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I love Ben’s character and I see why he and Juliet like each other, but again the all consuming love after a few days is wearing thin on me. Why do the events of so many YA novels take place in a week or less? I also thought the ending of Juliet Immortal was a bit contrived.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and Jay’s writing. I like the original take on a classic and think anyone who enjoys YA will like this more Juliet empowered version of Shakespeare’s tragedy.
Content: Kissing, sexual situations, mild profanity and violence
