Hamlet & Juliet
by Clare Edge

---

From the publisher

The haunted Juliet Capulet and the brooding Prince Hamlet cross plots and purposes in this gothic, Shakespeare-infused romantic fantasy.

Since her death and unexplained resurrection, Juliet of House Capulet has been deemed the “Miracle of Verona.” A year after rising from her grave, her mother hopes to find her a suitable husband at the Midsummer Festival at Castle Elsinore. Juliet, however, has other plans—seek out a mystic who might rid her of the ghost of her infamous lover: Romeo Montague.

Meanwhile, Prince Hamlet, plagued by glimpses of the ghost of his late father, seeks someone who might help him communicate with the dead king’s apparition. For he suspects a villain lurks among the royal family, responsible for his father’s death.

When Juliet rescues a seemingly mad Lady Ophelia from drowning, she’s invited to dine with the royal family and comes face to face with the infuriatingly clever and distractingly handsome Prince Hamlet. Soon, the pair discover that each might hold the key to the other’s ghostly mystery.

But as the two join forces, they unearth not only clues to the malevolent magic taking root across the Continent, but a growing attraction powerful enough to tear a hole between worlds. With the aid of King Lear’s brilliant daughter Cordelia, her quick-witted companions Cesario and Imogen, and the utterly unreliable and wholly vexing Bottom the Weaver, Hamlet and Juliet uncover a conspiracy that threatens the entire Globe.

---

My Review

Reviewed as an e-arc from NetGalley, so this may change before publication:

Anyone who is deep in their high-school era “Romeo-and-Juliet-is-the-ultimate-tragic-love-story” era will eat this up. It’s cool-alt-girl revisionist Shakespeare, but keep it in the time period in which it was intended. This is not 10 Things or Clueless level adaptation; it’s more Broadway’s “& Juliet” but make it a little goth instead of pop princess, keep the queer elements, and remix in a few more characters from across the Shakespeare cannon.

For me, personally, a former English major and recovering theater kid (and adult who still loves YA as part of a balanced reading diet), it should have been absolute catnip, but I think it still needs a bit of conceptual tightening. Granted, it’s the first in a planned series, so more breadcrumbs of the underlying mythology and magic system may come, but it just felt a bit disorganized. First 50% while we’re still meeting characters and setting everything up and uncovering the central mystery, great! Then the last half moves too quickly through an “oh, yeah, and plus this happening – overturning main character’s worldview? great. accepted and moving on within a few paragraphs. what’s next?” type of plotting for the conclusion to feel truly earned or satisfactory.

---