Everybody should believe in something. I believe I'll read another chapter.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

ARC Review: Magnolia

NOTE: This book comes out August 5th, 2014.

I was just talking about How Much I Hate Romeo and Juliet Adaptations, this review might seem a bit weird, so I'm prefacing this by saying "I do not mean Magnolia by Kristi Cook."

So today, I am talking about Magnolia by Kristi Cook.

This is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet where instead of there being feuding families and teens who love each other, the teens are feuding and the families love each other.

THAT'S SUCH A FANTASTIC PLOT TO ME. AND THIS IS SAID BY SOMEONE WHO HATES ROMEO AND JULIET.

My emotions, except for happy tears.
Here are the main reasons why I love it:

*KINDA SPOILERS SORRY*

It's such a good modernization. I'm not actually sure what makes a "good" modernization, but Cook changed the names slightly (Juliet-Jemma, Romeo-Ryder, Capulet-Cafferty, Montague-Marsden,) she switched up the deaths, and made the dialogue modern. Plus, she gave homage to a very classic play with an awesome modern twist.

There was action and it was awesome. The kind of tense, dramatic action that happens as the climax kept me on the edge and totally hooked. It was clear with great descriptions, so I could perfectly visualize it and almost feel I was there. It was so INTENSE YOU GUYS WOW.


The Southern aspect. This is more personal, but I was totally enamored with the Southern details, like the debutantes and the gun-shooting and the Southern hospitality because it was integrated so well without being all over the top.

But yes, this book was really well-done, one of the best R+J modernizations I've seen. 55 guns out of 60. Definitely check it out in August!

(Sorry I haven't been on much, I suck.)

Sincerely,

Owyn