The Juliet Club

Italy . . . Shakespeare . . . but no romance?
Kate Sanderson inherited her good sense from her mother, a disciplined law professor, and her admiration for the Bard from her father, a passionate Shakespeare scholar. When she gets dumped, out of the blue, for the Practically Perfect Ashley Lawson, she vows never to fall in love again. From now on she will control her own destiny, and every decision she makes will be highly reasoned and rational. She thinks Shakespeare would have approved.
So when she is accepted to a summer Shakespeare symposium in Verona, Italy, Kate sees it as the ideal way to get over her heartbreak once and for all. She'll lose herself in her studies, explore ancient architecture, and eat plenty of pasta and gelato. (Plus, she'll be getting college credit for it—another goal accomplished!) But can even completely logical Kate resist the romance of living in a beautiful villa in the city where those star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet met and died for each other? Especially when the other Shakespeare Scholars—in particular Giacomo, with his tousled brown hair, expressive dark eyes, and charming ways—try hard to break her protective shell?
"In fair Verona, where we lay our scene . . . "

from harpercollins.com

Beth says 4 Stars...

This book was basically adorable. It was simply cute, but nothing really spectacular. The only real problem was that is was insanely predictable. At the beginning of the book I figured out the entire plot of the novel. The writing style was nice, but occasionally it jumped from character to character with little warning. At those points it was a bit odd, but within the first paragraph it became easy to tell who was speaking at the moment. The Shakespeare quotes and references were fun to spot, and the similarities found in the plot were fun, though they may have made it so predictable.

I thoroughly enjoyed Kate, the main character. I found her no-nonsense ways charming and slightly refreshing. I get irritated by large amounts of angst and flippancy in books, and was a bit scared that this one would contain a great deal of one or both. The rest of the characters provided equal amounts of amusement, and were a lovely supporting cast. The main male, Giacomo, was just what one would expect; dashing, good looking, and very stereotypically Italian.

Overall this book was just fun. Light and fluffy, it made for a great read after finishing my midterms. If you want some serious Shakespeare grab something by the Bard himself. If some cute chick-lit suits your mood, this is perfect. Don't expect anything surprising, but enjoy the ride anyway.