I had to check out Rachel Caine’s latest offering, Prince of Shadows – I couldn’t wait to see what she did with this retelling of Romeo and Juliet! It’s out February 4th.
drey’s thoughts:
Who hasn’t read – or at least heard of – the tragedy of Romeo & Juliet? It’s the Mister’s favorite kind of Shakespeare; one where everyone dies. (Yes, I tell him he’s sick in the head, lol)
What Rachel Caine gives us isn’t the story that we know; rather it’s the story of Romeo’s obsession with Juliet’s cousin Rosaline, an adolescent crush with horribly-written love poems and mooning from afar. Now, the whole Montague-vs-Capulet thing is in full force so Romeo’s cousin Benvolio has been tasked with getting Romeo’s head out of his, um, behind, before he makes a complete fool of the Montague name. Because it’s all about honor, and honor’s tied to your name.
There’s a lot of drama (family feuds, natch), a lot of camaraderie (between Benvolio, Romeo, and their friend Mercutio), and a lot of action. There’s secrets kept and secrets found out, blades drawn and blood spilled, and pawns being played – at times viciously – by master chess-players. All of it leads to a mess, with friendship and love turning to hate, and vengeance wrought with witchcraft. And we haven’t even gotten to the whole “Prince of Shadows” part of the title yet… No, I’m not telling, you’ll have to read this for yourself.
This retelling of Romeo and Juliet features the peripheral characters of the original, and Rachel Caine tells it well. About the only thing I want to nitpick about is the cover; the girl on it doesn’t look like she’s having any fun at all, does she?
drey’s rating: Pick it up!
Title: Prince of Shadows
Author: Rachel Caine
ISBN-13: 9780451414410
eARC: 351 pages
Publisher: Penguin, 2014
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Penguin
Have you read Prince of Shadows? What did you think?
The post Early Review: 7. Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine… appeared first on drey's library.
