Review: Escape From Verona by David Gray

Title: Escape From Verona
Author: David Gray
Publication Date: July 1st, 2011

"Escape From Verona, Juliet's long-lost diary, begins where Shakespeare leaves off, explaining how she and Romeo fake their deaths and escape from the Capulet family tomb. Their escape does not bring peace to Verona. They are accused of murder and witchcraft and are hunted by powerful forces, including the Papacy and the Venetian government. 

Their adventures require not only eluding capture, but they must also learn what it means to love one another without the backdrop of their family feud. What sacrifices are required for a well-bred young woman and a proud young swordsman to survive together? Is heedless passion enough to make their marriage last?

As the lovers flee across northeast Italy they encounter many other characters made famous in Shakespeare's plays, Petruchio, Shylock, Desdemona and Othello among them. Their efforts are further aided by many of the artists of the late Renaissance, including Palladio, Tintoretto, Veronese and Titian." ~Goodreads

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First off I’d like to thank Smith Publicity and Netgalley for the opportunity to read Escape From Verona.

A good friend of mine recommended this book to me while she was reading it, so I went to check out the synopsis. I’m a huge Shakespeare geek so anything that has to do with him or his work interests me, so needless to say I was immediately intrigued by this book. Romeo and Juilet is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays so I was really anxious to see how this story would turn out, and I have to say that I was amazed by this.

From the amount of rich detail in this story you can easily see that the author really took their time and did their research. The story flowed smoothly and was so well crafted that at times I almost forgot that this wasn’t how the original story played out. The events that happen after the couple faked their suicides and are on the run had me captivated to the very end. You can really feel the suspense and heartbreak that the couple experiences as you’re drawn into the story.

I thought the development of the characters was very well done. The author showed a new side to each of the characters so as the reader you get to know them in a different way, and I think that added some extra depth to the story. Now I admit that there were times when Romeo came off as slightly annoying, but I was able to over look that little issue because I was enjoying the story so much. I also thought that it was really neat that there were characters from other Shakespeare plays included in this book.

I definitely recommend this book, especially if you love Shakespeare! I’ll be re-reading this again for sure!

4.5 Stars!