Juliette by Anne Fortier

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Wed October 27th, 2010, 3:12 pm

I feel the need to grouse about this one with someone. I know EC has read it, anyone else?

It started off well enough, but things really fell apart and got seriously STUPID by the end. What really frosted me though was the author's notes. It sounds to me like she and her mother used the nice folks in Siena to pick up on the lore and history of the city, then wrote in real people, places and historical events but totally rewriting them and proceeds to apologize for it in the notes. Could she just not have written imaginary people instead then?

Miss Moppet · Post by **Miss Moppet** » Wed October 27th, 2010, 4:29 pm

[quote=""Misfit""]I feel the need to grouse about this one with someone. I know EC has read it, anyone else?[/quote]

It's on my TBR stack but I strongly suspect it will go back to the library unread. I'm not in the mood for it and the first pages seemed a bit overwritten, so I've put it aside. I like these dual storyline books but they are difficult to pull off. I might give it a go after Legacy if my next read hasn't arrived yet.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Wed October 27th, 2010, 4:35 pm

[quote=""Miss Moppet""]It's on my TBR stack but I strongly suspect it will go back to the library unread. I'm not in the mood for it and the first pages seemed a bit overwritten, so I've put it aside. I like these dual storyline books but they are difficult to pull off. I might give it a go after Legacy if my next read hasn't arrived yet.[/quote]

Yes, but Alison Weir called it a stunner. You must give it a go

Miss Moppet · Post by **Miss Moppet** » Wed October 27th, 2010, 4:54 pm

[quote=""Misfit""]Yes, but Alison Weir called it a stunner. You must give it a go

[/quote]

And Harriet gave it five stars! Not like that happens every day so this must indeed be something special.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Wed October 27th, 2010, 5:07 pm

[quote=""Miss Moppet""]And Harriet gave it five stars! Not like that happens every day so this must indeed be something special.[/quote]

Oh I hadn't noticed that. Must go and check the review out.

annis · Post by **annis** » Thu October 28th, 2010, 2:18 am

I riffled through this in a bookstore one day thinking it looked interesting, but after a few minutes decided it wouldn't be my cup of tea. It's certainly had some heavy-duty promotion, though.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Thu October 28th, 2010, 2:41 am

[quote=""annis""]I riffled through this in a bookstore one day thinking it looked interesting, but after a few minutes decided it wouldn't be my cup of tea. It's certainly had some heavy-duty promotion, though.[/quote]

And from reading some of the UK reviews it seems there might be plans for a movie/mini series

cw gortner · Post by **cw gortner** » Fri October 29th, 2010, 6:34 pm

[quote=""Misfit""]And from reading some of the UK reviews it seems there might be plans for a movie/mini series

[/quote]

I read that the movie option on the book expired and was not renewed, in part due to the poor box office performance of Letters to Juliet.

Miss Moppet · Post by **Miss Moppet** » Fri October 29th, 2010, 8:24 pm

[quote=""cw gortner""]I read that the movie option on the book expired and was not renewed, in part due to the poor box office performance of Letters to Juliet.[/quote]

I saw posters for the film in the tube but thought it was just another chick flick and never connected it with Romeo and Juliet.

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Fri October 29th, 2010, 9:43 pm

I liked the descriptions of Sienna - they were very well done, but that was about it. The content IMO was very silly and melodramatic. Some of the plot twists might have worked in a film if you are in the mood for a bit of mindless romantica action drama, but in a novel they were just plain daft. The hero was more of a creepy stalker guy than a hero and his entire family were nuttier than fruitcakes. The Shakespearian influence came over as wooden but overblown.
I read this for Amazon Vine but it was one of my less successful reads on the scheme.

I think the author and Weir may share the same publisher....