Review of Juliet by Anne Fortier

Title/Author: Juliet by Anne Fortier
Publisher/Date published: Harper, August 19th 2010
How I got this book: got it with a giftcard which I'd gotten for my birthday last year :) People give me books for my birthday! Yay!

Goodreads summary: "Of all the great love stories ever told, hers is perhaps the most famous. To me, she is the key to my family's fate. To you, she is Juliet.
When Julie Jacobs leaves for Italy per the instructions of her late aunt's will, she never imagines that she'll be thrust into a centuries-old feud, not to mention one of the most legendary romances of all time. However, as she uncovers the story of her ancestor, Giulietta, whose love for a man named Romeo proved ill-fated, Julie finds herself increasingly under threat, and can't help but feel that the past and present are very much connected."

Let me just start by saying how completely amazing this book was!! I so LOVED reading this book! I even wanted to slow down and just savor it instead of devouring it, but in the end the need to know what happened won out.

The writing was absolutely beautiful and I found myself getting lost in both present-day Sienna and the Sienna of the past. Seriously, old European cities are the best kind of setting for a book. Especially a city as romantic as Sienna. Or it sounded completely romantic in the book. I now feel a burning need to visit Italy (Sienna, Rome, Verona... ALL OF IT!).

I have to admit I've never read Romeo and Juliet or seen the play, but I know the gist of the story, which was enough. I had however heard rumours before that maybe Shakespeare didn't write all of his work himself and this novel presents an interesting idea: what if the tragic story was based on actual events? And what if the real Romeo and Guillietta lived in Sienna? And what if their descendants to this day aren't freed of the curse?

Gosh, it was just amazing! I loved Julie (or Guillietta), the main character, I felt I could really connect with her and to me that's SO important! I also really liked Alessandro, the mysterious guy with LOTS of secrets. So I guessed one big one pretty early on, there were still some others that I didn't expect.

I loved the romance and the whole plot with incredible twists! This book was such a treat! And it was a story within a story, don't you just love those? And I now have a new holiday destination for next year!

Seriously, if you're into historical fiction with some romance on the side, this is the perfect read for you! I'm gonna go check if Fortier has some other books coming out (this was her debut) for me to gush over :)

My rating: 5+ stars