Review: Juliet by Anne Fortier

Title: Juliet
Author: Anne Fortier
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published: August 24, 2010
Format: Hardcover (29.99 CDN)
Age Group: Adult


Copy: Provided by publisher
Extra: Click here to browse inside


Synopsis: 


When Julie Jacobs inherits a key to a safety deposit box in Siena, Italy, she is told it will lead her to an old family treasure.Soon she is launched on a precarious journey into the true history of her ancestor Giulietta, whose legendary love for a young man named Romeo turned medieval Siena upside down. As Julie crosses paths with the descendants of the families involved in Shakespeare’s unforgettable blood feud, she begins to realize that the notorious curse -- “A plague on both your houses!” -- is still at work, and that she is the next target. It seems the only one who can save her from her fate is Romeo . . . .but where is he?

Full of sleeping potions, secret processions, and the glorious Italian countryside,Juliet is at heart an epic romance that proves that love is strong enough to conquer even death.

My Review: 


I came upon this book by chance while browsing the shelves of my local book store back in February 2009. After reading the synopsis of the novel I beelined it to the front of the store only to discover that the book had been left out by mistake and was not for resale as it was an advanced readers copy.  Upon seeing my disappointment the owner of the store told me I was welcome to take the book home if I truly wanted it.  


With a cup of tea and a warm blanket wrapped around me I began to read Juliet.  From the first chapter to the last I was ensnared in an epic story of  love, hope, tragedy, mystery, betrayal, history and magic. 


In Juliet, Anne Fortier takes the traditional Shakespearian tale of Romeo and Juliet, turns it upside down and re-tells it in an unique and modern way. The story beings in America where the protagonist Julie Jacobs discovers a family mystery that takes her across the world  to the romantic Sienna Italy where her life will be forever changed. Here she begins a journey that will uncover the truth of her family heritage and that of what really happened long ago between the true Romeo and Giuletta. 


The story of Julie/Giuletta unfolds in two centuries, Julies own and that of the original Romeo and Giuletta.  As a protagonist Julie is full of depth, heart, courage and tenacity but she truly came alive for me when she discovers her modern day Romeo.


I was impressed by how fluid the transitions were between chapters, centuries  and narrators. Her ability to weave a romantic and mysterious love story captured my heart within the first few chapters. This novel crosses genres and should be a must read for anyone who loves mysteries, love stories and historical fiction. 


Thank you to both my local book store for loaning me my first copy of Juliet and to Harper Collins for sending me a copy of my very own.

My Rating: 5/5

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme that was started by MizB from Should Be Reading

If you would like to participate in Teaser Tuesday, all you have to do is take the book that you are currently reading and open it to any page. Then you choose any two (2) sentences from that page to share with the rest of us!

*Be careful not to include spoilers and make sure to include the book title and author

Title: Juliet
Author: Anne Fortier
Publisher: Harper Collins Canada
Release Date: August 17, 2010
ISBN - 10:1554684994
ISBN - 13:9781554684991



Teaser:

Romeo took her hand and forced it to open against his cheek. "I saw you, dear savage, before you saw me. Yet you heard me, before I heard you.  And such as we might have lived, our love separated by our senses, had not Fortuna, tonight, granted you eyes, and I ears."
        The girl frowned.  "Your poetry is mysterious.  Do you intend me to comprehend you, or are you hoping that I mistake my own dullness for your wisdom?"

From the Publisher:
"This book is a stunner. Elegantly written in exquisite, vibrant and witty prose that rides well with the clever use of quotes from Shakespeare, it interweaves an astonishing historic take on the tale of the star-crossed lovers with a fast-paced, modern thriller. Every sentence is a joy, every character lives, and medieval and modern Siena are brilliantly evoked. The theme is delightfully original - and the kind of thing you wish you had thought up yourself. The author is to be congratulated on a truly fabulous book that will surely be a resounding success! We will never see Romeo and Juliet in quite the same way again..."
-- Alison Weir, author of The Lady Elizabeth

If you check out my Thrifty Thursday post you will read about my lucky find.  I CAN NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN ITS SO FANTASTIC!  It's not always an edge-of-your-seat read but this book has its strings firmly wound around my mind and my book lovers heart.  This story is filled with love, tragedy, hope, mystery, history, and magic of a kind I am not used to reading about.

Happy reading!

Thrifty Thursday?

Having joined in on, "Teaser Tuesdays," and "Waiting on Wednesday," I wondered what happened on Thursdays until I happened to be at the right place ant the right time today.  I dub this particular Thursday, Thrifty Thursday (I truly hope I am not "dubbing" anything that has been "dubbed" before and if I have PLEASE tell me).  I had an hour and a half to spare between jobs today and decided to walk downtown to peruse the YA section of my local book store, Manticore, in hopes of finding something new.  I couldn't find anything to interest me but on my way out I noticed this book .  When I went up to the counter to purchase the book I was told I could have it for freeeee!  At first I though he was joking (what book store gives out free books?) until he told me that in fact he was not.  Turns out they had been sent a "special advanced reading uncorrected proof" and that if I wanted the book it was all mine.  I have been looking online to see what I can find about this book and the author. It turns out that there seems to be quite a bit of buzz about this book on the internet.   Publishers Weekly posted an article about the novel, Juliet and the Danish born author, Anne Fortier.  Both Harper Collins and Publishers weekly are comparing this book to, The Thirteenth Tale, The Birth Of Venus, and The Historian.  Free books are excellent but even before I knew I was getting this book for free I wanted it.   I'll get to the synopsis of the book in a moment but what really sucked me in was this,

"Full of delicious secrets, sleeping potions, 

medieval wedding rituals, curses, the glorious Italian countryside

and sibling rivalries, Juliet is at heart an epic romance that proves 

love is strong enough to conquer even death."

If your not interested yet I hope you will be after the synopsis.

Book: Juliet

Author: Anne Fortier

Release Date: August 17, 2010

Publisher Canada: Harper Collins $29.99

Publisher US: Ballantine Books $25.00

Page Count: 444

When Julie Jacobs inherits a key to a safety deposit box in Siena, Italy, she is told it will lead her to an old family treasure. Soon she is launched on a precarious journey into the true history of her ancestor Giulietta, whose legendary love for a young man named Romeo turned medieval Siena upside down. As Julie crosses paths with the descendants of the families involved in Shakespeare's unforgettable blood feud, she begins to realize that the notorious curse – "A plague on both your houses!" – is still at work, and that she is the next target. It seems the only one who can save her from her fate is Romeo… but where is he?

Most of the books I read and love are of the paranormal genre but I can't resist a good love story full of "Double, double, toil and trouble." 

The author, Anne Fortier grew up in Denmark and immigrated to the U.S in 2002 but now lives in Quebec, Canada!  I hope to have this novel finished soon at which point I'll post a review.  I hope to love this book!

Happy Reading!