Juliet by Anne Fortier is a well written book. It’s a blend of Shakespeare’s tragedy- Romeo and Juliet and dash of the Da Vinci Code with romance thrown in.

The story follows American Julie Jacobs on a quest to Siena, Italy to retrace her roots. She soon discovers that she is a direct descendant of Giulietta Tomei, the inspiration for Shakespeare’s well famed Juliet.

She also finds that the descendants of the two feuding families from the tale of “Romeo and Juliet” are still living in Siena and still feuding. In an attempt to uncover the past, a contessa and the contessa’s handsome nephew appeared in Julie’s life.

There is also an assorted quirky cast of Italian police, mobsters, and locals in this novel. Julie’s search involves old paintings, a journal, old relics, and antique texts. A good part of the fun of this book is unraveling the mystery, but the the heartbreaking love story is also well represented.

If  one had to find fault with this novel is that it does not know quite what it wants to be, historical fiction or romance novel, but then again that was part of the fun. 😀

Cleffairy: Romeo and Juliet is not a love story. It is a tragedy and almost a warning not to fall in love at the first sight.