Romeo Redeemed

Author: Stacey Jay
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 9, 2012
Format: e-ARC
Source: For Review
Goodreads Description:
"Seductive companion to the popular Juliet Immortal, in which former lovers—Romeo and Juliet—meet, not as true lovers, but truly as enemies.
Cursed to live out eternity in his rotted corpse, Romeo, known for his ruthless, cutthroat ways, is given the chance to redeem himself by traveling back in time to save the life of Ariel Dragland. Unbeknownst to her, Ariel is important to both the evil Mercenaries and the love-promoting Ambassadors and holds the fate of the world in her hands. Romeo must win her heart and make her believe in love, turning her away from her darker potential before his work is discovered by the Mercenaries. While his seduction begins as yet another lie, it soon becomes his only truth. Romeo vows to protect Ariel from harm, and do whatever it takes to win her heart and soul. But when Ariel is led to believe his love is a deception, she becomes vulnerable to Mercenary manipulation, and her own inner darkness may ultimately rip them apart."

***

As much as I loved Juliet Immortal, I was really disappointed with the love triangle. If you’ve read the story, you know that Juliet falls in love with Ben and just can’t forgive Romeo. Since I loved Romeo’s character, this was an unpleasant turn of events, but I was thrilled to read more about Romeo in Romeo Redeemed.

Romeo is undoubtedly a villain, but he is a very sympathetic character since he clearly regrets his horrendous past. Romeo’s desire to reform, along with his charm, makes him the perfect bad boy character. I didn’t expect to like Romeo and Ariel as a couple, but they work well together. Unlike Juliet and Ben, Ariel and Romeo come across as true soul mates.

There isn’t a ton of action in Romeo Redeemed. Most of the suspense is derived from Ariel and Romeo’s relationship and the psychological games that the Mercenaries and Ambassadors play. While we didn’t get a much more in depth look into the world building of the Mercenaries and Ambassadors, Romeo was definitely right when he said they were both evil in their own way.

Suspenseful, with a slightly twisted love story, Romeo Redeemed is perfect for fans of manipulative plot lines and psychological thrillers. There were so many mind games in the story that were just delightful to watch play out. Overall, Romeo Redeemed was a fantastic read and I am looking forward to more from Stacey Jay.

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