REVIEW: WHY ROMEO HATES JULIET ~ ANNA MARA

Romeo Boyd is a Hollywood star whose fame is fading, and he heads to his vacation home to drown his worries in alcohol.  His love for very loud rock music immediately causes problems for his neighbour, Juliet Soma, a novelist seeking her muse to ward off a serious case of writer’s block. 

When Juliet meets Romeo, he mistakes her for a stripper and things go downhill from there.  An intense rivalry ensues, and when Juliet gets Romeo arrested all bets are off.  When she then lands him in the hospital, in his most devious move, Romeo fakes amnesia and “mistakes” Juliet for his wife.  A guilt-ridden Juliet is convinced by Romeo’s actor friend “doctor” to go along with whatever Romeo says, and Juliet soon becomes Romeo’s slave.  Living together might mean killing each other, but instead the unthinkable happens: they start falling for each other!

Will Juliet discover Romeo’s deception?  Will she forgive him, or up the ante?  Could there ever be a happily ever after for two stubborn fools?  Can they put the past behind them?  Can they trust each other’s motives when they’ve done nothing but cause each other grief?

Why Romeo hates Juliet by Anna Mara is a very refreshing read (that has absolutely nothing to do with William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; this is by no means a modernisation of the story).  The characters are colourful and engaging, pulling you into their war from the get go.   A happy ending is never a certainty, and Mara keeps you guessing until the very end.

What I especially like about this book is its deviation from a common pattern in romantic fiction: Where the guy is usually the one who messes up badly and must fight to convince the girl to give him another chance, Why Romeo hates Juliet flips it 180.  The girl is the one who messes up, and she’s the one who must atone for her mistake – a nice departure from the expected.

I give this book a rating of 3/5 instead of 4/5 because I would have preferred a little more romance.  The majority of the story is Romeo and Juliet going out of their way to aggravate each other, but their chemistry is so great they keep you hooked.  I did get really frustrated with both of them, but they kept me invested in their story until the end.  While I concur that the situations these two get themselves into are unlikely to happen in the real world, it is the touches of realism instead of over-the-top, soppy, unrealistic scenes that made this book stand out.    Why Romeo hates Juliet has a more realistic road to HEA than most, and even disappoints my helplessly romantic heart before it delivers a satisfying ending.  Juliet not only had to earn Romeo’s forgiveness, but mine as well…

She did.

I will definitely read more from this author.

Product Information:

Title: Why Romeo hates Juliet

Author: Anna Mara

Number of Pages: 491

Sold By: Amazon Digital Services Inc

Year: 2012

ASIN: B006GXOS9O 

HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET

Following a painful divorce, Sarah Cassidy and her teenage daughter, Elissa, moves from Chicago to a “nice” suburb in Seattle, determined to make a fresh start.  Elissa soon befriends their neighbour Ryan, a lonely young outcast living in the house at the end of the street, in which his sister once murdered their parents; Carrie-Ann then disappeared into the surrounding woods where it is believed she drowned.  Inexplicably filled with unease over Elissa's friendship with Ryan, Sarah tries to exert some control over Elissa’s life, straining their already tumultuous relationship even further. 

Elisabeth Shue as Sarah, Jennifer Lawrence as Elissa.  They did a good job of portraying the tense mother/daughter relationship

Years after the double murder the Jacobsen family tragedy is still the talk of the town, as Ryan’s dilapidated house and its reputation has a negative effect on the surrounding property values, and the community just can’t seem to let go.  Hated and victimised by the townspeople, Ryan has turned into somewhat of a recluse, and Elissa is determined to be his friend and get the townspeople to give him a break.  More unsettling than the house or Ryan’s reputation, however, is the urban legend that the disturbed Carrie-Ann never died, but continues to live in the woods; a creature of hatred. 

Is it Elissa’s imagination, or is she being watched?

In 2012 I read the book, which is based on the movie.  I am disappointed to report that, like the book, the movie did not scare me once.  One could argue that the reason is I have read the book and knew to expect all the twists and scares, but I doubt it.  My best friend, Erika, had not read the book but found the movie equally boring.  There is no suspense, and the movie never managed to make me fear for Elissa's safety; not even in the climactic final scenes where she must fight for her life.

I did not find Max Thieriot to be very convincing in his role. A stronger actor may have made this a whole different movie 

I love Jennifer Lawrence.  I would watch a recording of Jennifer Lawrence reading the phone book.  As far as I'm concerned she can do no wrong, and she can make anything interesting; truthfully she is the only reason I finished watching the movie. Her performance is solid, but sadly it could not save the movie.

Jennifer Lawrence did a great job, as always

Like the book, I would rate this 1/5.

REVIEW: A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: A DANCE WITH DRAGONS 1 - DREAMS AND DUST ~ GEORGE R.R MARTIN

A Dance With Dragons 1: Dreams and Dust is the first half of the fifth book in the A Song Of Ice And Fire Series by George R.R. Martin. Initially the events of A Dance With Dragons coincide with the events of A Feast For Crows, but eventually surpasses Feast. This time around the major POV characters are Daenerys, Jon, Tyrion and Bran, with some minor characters giving us their perspective from time to time.

Daenerys' storyline is becoming very interesting. With a great host comes great responsibility and great challenges.  Daenerys comes to realize that storming Westeros and claiming the Iron Throne is not going to be quite as easy as she had hoped.  While Ser Barristan urges Dany to march for Westeros, she has decided to establish her rule in Mereen first; but doing major harm to the slave trade, Daenerys soon finds herself the common enemy of all her foes, who are now joining forces to destroy the “Slave Queen”.  As if housing and feeding her thousands of "children", and the troubles from the forces who oppose her aren't enough to worry her, Dany's dragons have finally grown too large for her to control!  When it appears her dragons are no longer only feeding from livestock but are growing a taste for human flesh, Dany has a very difficult choice to make.   The question is, will her dragons accept new restrictions? 

Daenerys with Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal. Art by Yama Orce

She is also exceedingly pressured to take a husband and comes to realize she can no longer avoid or delay.  There are many who seek to make Daenerys their Queen, chief among them the suitors in Mereen itself - but more interesting I find Quentyn Martell (who has a fighting chance considering he brings with him the support and strength of Dorne, and the fact that her brother Rhaegar was married to a Martell), and most surprisingly someone with a better, stronger claim to the throne than Daenerys herself!  All things considered though (and this includes Dany's infatuation with Daario Naharis), my money for the top contender is placed firmly on Euron Greyjoy.  While I find Euron very intriguing, there is no denying he is quite sinister; but he has the thing Daenerys needs most - Euron is possession of the only known dragon horn.  With this horn Dany's dragons can be controlled!  She needs that horn, and my guess is that Euron will insist on her hand in turn. He wants the Iron Throne quite badly himself, and with a Targaryen by his side he can make it happen.  The question is, is he truly interested in claiming Daenerys for his wife, or is he only coming for her dragons?  Considering he holds the horn, Daenerys might have no choice in the matter.

Euron and the dragon horn. Art by Mathia Arkoniel.

Bran finally encounters the three-eyed-crow (who is in fact one-eyed Brynden Rivers) and he (and the reader) discovers more about being a warg and a greenseer.  Brynden Rivers will also be the one to teach Bran the ways of the warg.  The question is, can Brynden be trusted, or does he have his own agenda?

Bran and the Three-Eyed-Crow by March Simonetti

 
Tyrion is making an interesting journey following the surprising events in King’s Landing.  His intelligence is once again brilliantly displayed when he makes a shocking discovery that would have been impossible for anyone with a lesser mind, and he plays a vital role in changing the course of the future.  He later winds up embarking on a perilous journey with a surprising companion, and forms an unlikely friendship with someone from his past – and what a lovely friendship it is! 

Tyrion's journey. Art © Fantasy Flight Games

 
We finally learn what truly happened during the fall of Winterfell, and we discover the fate of Theon Greyjoy (though if you watch Game of Thrones, the HBO series based on this book series, you already know).  I thought I hated Jaime Lannister once; I hated Theon and perhaps even Littlefinger... And while I do hate the Tywin Lannister and the Freys, I have never truly known character loathing before Ramsay Snow Bolton. I have no words... I cannot wait to see Ramsay Bolton meet his end. Hopefully the pointy end... of Needle. 

Theon and Jeyne Poole.  This scene took my hatred of Ramsay to a whole new level

 
Most surprising turn of events? While I've been convinced (happily so) that ASOIAF would ultimately end with Daenerys on the Iron Throne (but would that be too obvious? GRRM hates the obvious!), while hoping against hope it would be Arya Stark (though I doubt it - she has no claim to the throne), I suddenly find myself rooting for Stannis Baratheon!  He was indeed the only of the self-appointed kings to respond to the call of the Night's Watch (back in A Storm of Swords), and more and more I find that Stannis fights for the realm, not for himself.  I'm not saying that I want him to win the Iron Throne in the end, mind you, but he is certainly earning my respect.  He might be the only ruler in Westeros more concerned with protecting the people of the realm than securing a "cosy" seat.

Jon Snow and Melisandre. Artwork by Jezebel

 
I find Jon Snow to be an excellent Lord Commander of the Night's Watch! I like the way he thinks, the way he treats people, the way he handles his authority.  He is smart, daring, compassionate and very forward-thinking.  I have always enjoyed the Jon Snow chapters, but now even more so.  I am a little concerned that he might fall into whatever trap Melisandre has snared for him, and I am terribly concerned that Ghost seems to fall under her spell - But then I ask myself, if Ghost likes her, can we trust her?  If dogs can sense evil, surely so can direwolves?   What is she up to?...

 

Melisandre and Ghost

Martin brings two characters back from the dead, so to speak - characters we were led to believe were dead, but are in fact still among the living – three if you believed Theon to be dead.  One of them leaves me quite indifferent, but the other? Oh, his reappearance is going to shake things up in Westeros and beyond.  I don’t quite know what to make of him yet, but he sure is interesting.

"Young Griff" as he is known. His real name is a major spoiler. Art by orevalc

 
A Dance With Dragons 1 is mercifully much more entertaining than The Adventures of Cersei Lannister A Feast For Crows.  I am once again thoroughly entertained by the series, so much so that I have already dug into part 2!  There are so many characters left off in questionable places and situations (in Dance 1 as well as Feast), that I just can’t wait to see if they are alright; or indeed still alive…

Product Information:

Title: A Dance With Dragons 1: Dreams and Dust

Author: George R.R Martin

Number of pages: 704

Publisher: Bantam Spectra

Year: 2011

ISBN-10: 0007466064

ISBN-13:978-0007466061

Related posts:

Review: A Game of Thrones ~ George R.R Martin

Review: A Clash of Kings ~ George R.R Martin

Review: A Storm of Swords 1 ~ George R.R Martin

Review: A Storm of Swords 2 ~ George R.R Martin

Review: A Feast For Crows ~ George R.R Martin

FREE ON AMAZON: RESCUE TEAM ~ CANDACE CALVERT

For a limited time the Kindle edition of Rescue Team by Candace Calvert is free on Amazon! You can read my review here, and download the book here. Grab your copy stat!

Tired of running from her past, nurse Kate Callison intends to become Austin Grace Hospital’s permanent ER director and make Texas her home. Despite staff friction, she’s moving ahead. Then unthinkable tragedy wraps the ER in crime tape, bringing swarms of media, legal chaos—and a search-and-rescue hero who seems determined to meddle in her life.

For Wes Tanner, nothing beats finding someone who’s lost; he’s known that helpless terror firsthand. So he’ll expand his team’s lifeline of hope: K9 tracking, swift water rescue, even horse-mounted searches. He’s ready for anything—except Austin Grace’s prickly and dismissive ER director.

As Kate and Wes discover more about each other, new respect becomes something deeper. Kate wonders if her heart might have finally found a home. Then an unsolved missing persons case—and a startling new one—become catalysts that threaten the loss of all she and Wes have found.