Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

Juliet Immortal
by Stacey Jay
Series: Juliet Immortal #1
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Publication date: August 9, 2011
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository

Fans of Maggie Stiefvater's "Shiver" and Becca Fitzpatrick's "Hush" will relish this intense paranormal love story featuring Romeo and Juliet, literary history's most tragic couple, who meet again, not as true lovers, but truly as enemies.

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.

"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

Within the pages of Juliet Immortal, you will find a dark paranormal tale about what really happened to Shakespeare's fated lovers, Romeo and Juliet. I immediately fell in love with Jay’s writing style and found myself completely immersed in this breathtaking tale.

The tale begins when we learn what really happen to poor Juliet. Flash forward to present day and Juliet Capulet Montague finds herself in the body of high school senior, Ariel Dragland. Ariel has just been in a car accident with a boy named Dylan. As Juliet comes to, in Ariel’s body; Ariel’s memories come flooding in. Only seconds before, Ariel tried to kill Dylan and herself . She had just learned he went on a date with her because he bet his friends he could sleep with “the freak.” As Juliet learns about Ariel’s life, she vows to make things better for her while she completes her mission. As she struggles to get out of the car, Dylan wakes up…only it’s not Dylan its Romeo and he’s come to kill her! She manages to escape but Romeo is fast on her heels. She gets to the road and jumps in a car belonging to Ben. As Ben takes her home Juliet feels safe and at ease with this young man. They share an intense moment. The tale that unfolds held me spell bound as Juliet works to complete her assignment, stop Romeo and keep her own feelings in check. 

Juliet is an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. Since her death she has been fighting against Romeo and the Mercenaries. She fights to help soul mates and preserve true love. This trip to earth is different for Juliet because she starts to fall for Ben. I really liked Juliet and connected with her as she tried to set thing right. Romeo realizes what he did to Juliet was a mistake and tries to fix things before it’s too late. Unfortunately his ideas of fixing things only complicate things. To make matters worse his leaders are unhappy with him and intend to stop him. My feelings were all over the place with regard to Romeo. I assumed one thing only to have it revealed that I was wrong, wrong, wrong! I loved the ride the author took me on concerning him. Ben was sweet and complicated. I will admit I was a little smitten with him. Gemma was Ariel’s only friend and I wanted to smack her upside the head one minute and hug her the next.

The tale takes place over a span of three days. While this kept the pace moving, it also led to confusion at times. I love world building and a lack of details, can keep me from getting lost within the pages. It’s an element I love and at times throughout the book I screamed for more detail and depth. When I finished  reading and sat back to digest  the story that had just unfolded, I found myself pleased that the author kept me in the dark. All the highs I felt as the story unfolded were because of this shroud of mystery. Jay’s writing style was delightful and she provided the pieces as we needed them despite my eagerness. The tale she spun was believable and flowed beautifully from pen to paper. I am not a fan of insta-love but I do believe in soul mates and it was necessary for this tale. Now the ending has two climatic scenes. One was downright cheesy.  I do not require an ending where things are tied up in a neat little bow. I am perfectly comfortable imagining my own.  I can spend hours creating one in my mind. I know a lot of you do not like open endings and will be delighted this one comes wrapped up for you. For me it felt wrong and forced almost like it wasn't the authors original ending. Now the second ending was fantastic. It has a cliff-hanger albeit a small one. It’s just enough to have me excited about Romeo Redeemed.

I recommend Juliet Immortal to fans of paranormal romances and retellings. This was such a fresh and delightfully dark look at Romeo and Juliet.  Romeo Redeemed will be available October 9, 2012. Look for my review to post in September.

I gave this novel 4 cups of coffee out of 5. 

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