Review: The Juliet Club

The Juliet Club

By Suzanne Harper

Publication date: 2008

My review:

After her boyfriend dumps her, Kate swears off love for good against the advice of her friends. When she wins a spot at a summer Shakespeare seminar in Italy, Kate accompanies her dad who will also be teaching at the seminar. The class will be studying Romeo and Juliet, answering letters written to Juliet, and putting on scenes from the play. Kate is cast as Juliet and Romeo is played by the flirty Giacomo, an attractive Italian boy she can’t stand. They trade delicious barbs and when Kate overhears the plot of others in the class to get them to fall in love she and Giacomo play along, pretending to like each other. Can practical Kate survive the summer in Italy without falling in love while studying Shakespeare’s most romantic play?

Kate and Giacomo share good chemistry as the lead couple. They are not star crossed lovers like Romeo and Juliet. Instead, they are more like Beatrice and Benedick, a quarrelling couple from Much Ado About Nothing, one of Shakespeare’s comedies. The side characters are entertaining, particularly Sylvia, a sullen Italian teen and Benno, Giacomo’s comedic sidekick. I loved how the book echoes the format of Shakespeare’s plays as well. The Juliet Club is a fun little book and it reads like a love letter to Shakespeare. There are references to several of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets but you don’t have to be familiar with the plays to enjoy the book. If you are looking for a lighthearted summer romance, give The Juliet Club a try.

Readalikes: Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors, A Field Guide for Heartbreakers by Kristen Tracy, The Espressologist by Kristina Springer, Pretty Face by Mary Hogan