Review: When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary: In this intensely romantic, modern recounting of the greatest love story ever told, Romeo’s original intended—Juliet’s cousin Rosaline—tells her side of the tale. What’s in a name, Shakespeare? I’ll tell you: Everything.

     Rosaline knows that she and Rob are destined to be together. Rose has been waiting for years for Rob to kiss her—and when he finally does, it’s perfect. But then Juliet moves back to town. Juliet, who used to be Rose’s best friend. Juliet, who now inexplicably hates her. Juliet, who is gorgeous, vindictive, and a little bit crazy...and who has set her sights on Rob. He doesn’t even stand a chance.     Rose is devastated over losing Rob to Juliet. This is not how the story was supposed to go. And when rumors start swirling about Juliet’s instability, her neediness, and her threats of suicide, Rose starts to fear not only for Rob’s heart, but also for his life. Because Shakespeare may have gotten the story wrong, but we all still know how it ends….

I'm a huge fan of Shakespeare's original Romeo and Juliet, so I was really interested in the premise of this title. I had never heard of any book on Rosaline, only Juliet. So, I read it. It was okay. I was a little disappointed that it was set in modern day because I was so enthralled by Shakespeare's age. Likewise, it was very easy to read. Even though decoding Shakespearean language is difficult, I find his diction very interesting and romantic. Sometimes, I wish we could all talk like that which was why I personally was a little upset by the setting of this book.
It's obvious that the story line of Romeo and Juliet is within the plot of this book, but still, there are other elements that make this its own story.

I liked this book, didn't love it. I think my expectations were too high because there is no book like it.

Would I recommend it to a friend? Yeah (That wasn't a passionate "yeah," but nonetheless a "yeah.")

This was optioned to be a movie, and the screenplay was written by the people behind 500 Days of Summer. I'm interested to see how that turns out.

I saw this author at the NYPL Teen Author Reading Night this summer, and she said that the sequel is going to be a little "darker" than this one. I thought the ending was suitable for a stand alone, but I will definitely check out the next book. And, she wrote something punny funny in my book. She thought my name was Harley and not Carly, so she wrote that I have an awesome name anyway, making sure to put in "What's in a name?"



View all my reviews