I did not finish this one. The truth is that I wasn't a big fan of the story even if the characters were captivating. I kept it for a long time hoping one day I would finish it, but I could not.

A good, solid romance. The lack of oiled torsos on the cover (common to M/M romance) means that it is appropriate for out library collection.

I held out so much hope for Rabi and Matthew. I really, really wanted this to be something I could gush about and tell everyone to go read, because a queer Romeo & Juliet where the star-crossed lovers don't meet a fatal ending? Damn, these marketers really know what the people want. It's just a shame they didn't actually give it to us.

I think what bothered me the most was the characters. Not a single one of them felt like a real person; they all felt like characters. I didn't see any depth in any of them. We learn who Rabi and Matthew are based on their interactions with each other, and that's it. Okay, so maybe that's not quite it. Matthew has sooo much white guilt. He's constantly apologizing without really doing anything and I kept cringing from second-hand embarrassment.

Outside of the title characters, we have Matthew's friend Jude who's the token black character. He pops up at convenient times to tell Matthew what's up (including a point at the end of the book where Jude calls around the local motels looking to get a hold of Matthew?? How would that be effective in real life?) On Rabi's end, he has his brother Eshaan, whose entire character is written to warn Rabi that the Swains and the Hashmis have this generations-long rivalry and he needs to stay away from Matthew.

Speaking of the rivalry, that's what 90% of the book's dialogue and narration is about. "But Ben, that's what the book is about. Why are you being so ridiculous?" I'm glad you asked. It wouldn't be so bad if the dialogue surrounding the absolute most major-est plot point wasn't so repetitive. There was no back story to this rivalry. There is no progress in it (for better nor for worse) until the very end when both sides suddenly realize they should stop fighting because "Oh wait, shit, people I care about died. Let's... back up." I really hope this isn't a metaphor for the US political system because oh my gosh, that's not how it works. That's not how any of this works.

I have one more very specific complaint before I cut myself off. (I could go on so much longer picking out what I didn't like about Rabi and Matthew.) You could add the word count of both death scenes and it still wouldn't equal to half as long as one of the sex scenes. I know it's a romance, and I am certainly not complaining about the sex scenes' present. BUT, if you're creating a retelling of a tragedy, then your death and tragic scenes should be pretty strong, right? Well, these were almost laughably weak.

Although, I must say there have to be some redeemable qualities in this book. I'm just not sure how to explain them. Something kept me reading this even though I wanted to DNF it, set it down, and never think about it again. But no, this was a real trainwreck—I couldn't look away as much as I wanted to. I've already complained about the writing, but the plot was also wild. It stays pretty true to the original plot, just with modern elements. Honestly, I was impressed by how much I could draw back to the original. Usually, retellings of works this old are so watered down, but Witt pulled actually pulled quite a few scenes from Shakespeare's play.

Final thought: Witt was definitely going for a timely, political, queer romance with this one, but it really didn't hit the mark. I really suggest skipping this one.

I love L.A. Witt books and have yet to find one I disliked until this title. While the book was well written the concept has been done so many times that I was just not interested from the beginning. I stuck with it more because of the author than anything.

So I wanted to enjoy this I did but I didnt. Normally I love LA Witt but this one just didn't work for me in anyway. Overall I will continue to read more by this author but this book wasnt for me. The characters were lacking in so many ways that just didnt add up.

A wonderful retelling of Romeo and Juliet. I really enjoyed all the changes while remaining true to the plot. Something I'll be recommending to my English teacher friends.

As a Shakespeare fan, I found that this book, with how close it really was to R&J, a joy to read.
There were some parts that I certainly didn't quite expect (or maybe I expected but hoped wouldn't happen). That being said, with that much anger, and old violence, there really couldn't have been any other way for some of that to happen.
I loved having characters that thought for themselves, versus doing what their families told them to do, and finding love with someone not just from "the other familly", but also from another faith sure did that.
good book!
4 stars

I was instantly intrigued by the idea of a contemporary version of Romeo and Juliet, especially one that was a romance and not a tragedy. Of course, I also knew Miss Witt would make her characters work for their happy ending. Overall, I really enjoyed Rabi and Matthew. The writing was crisp, the plot interesting and timely, and the building tension between the two families palpable. I was especially impressed with how raw the moments of conflict left me, proving just how much emotion the author wrung out of the story.

From a romantic standpoint, I didn’t quite feel as much of a connection as I typically do with this author’s work. I’m not sure if that comes from the story featuring relatively innocent new adults, or if it was that the aggressive energy coming from other parts of the story minimized their love connection. Young adult/ new adult is generally not a favorite trope of mine because the wide-eyed innocence often frustrates me. The author definitely captured that and moved the romance- especially physically- along to reflect their inexperience. However, Rabi and Matthew was such a pertinent story highlighting the senseless clash of religion and races and the harm those prejudices can create long-term, that I’m glad I didn’t pass this one up.

3.5 stars — This was a diverse read that felt like it was there for more than just face value. We weren’t just told that Rabi was Muslim and Pakistani, we got to see a bit of his life and some of his traditions (such as prayer on Fridays). I really appreciated that. Sometimes I worry that the diversity will be just thrown in, but not given its due, and that was not the case in this book (at least in my straight white girl opinion, take from that what you will).

I actually really enjoyed this take on Romeo & Juliet. At first I was trying to figure out which one was which, but in the end I think the different pieces of Romeo and Juliet were split between Rabi & Matthew, so that neither one was strictly Romeo or strictly Juliet. Which was kind of fun actually, and it definitely kept me on my toes! As with the original tragedy, we really don’t get to know either of our characters super well outside of their romance, which is kind of a shame. That’s one area where I wouldn’t have minded if the author had deviated. I really couldn’t tell you much about what each of them were like outside of each other. But they were both sweet boys, just trying to survive in the chaos of their families.

The romance was pretty adorable. It was definitely quick, again just like the original, but I appreciated that the author tried to spread out their courtship over a longer period. It gave the readers time to believe in the development from crush to love. I also adored how they fumbled with each other in the steamy scenes, and how things weren’t perfect…but it didn’t matter. It was just so sweet and fun and refreshing.

As for the surrounding war between the Hashmi’s and the Swain’s? That was hard to watch. There is a lot of homophobic and Islamophobic slurs in this story, so be prepared if sensitive. I also had a hard time with all the guns in this book…but that might be my Canadianness coming out. I realize that aspects of violence would need to be present in the story, but I will never understand the whole “carry a gun to feel safe” thing. Which is neither here nor there, just a personal belief. What I did appreciate was that while I didn’t always understand the changes in attitudes at the end, they were much more gradual and not complete than I was anticipating…in other words the author really tried to make it authentic. It was a shaky truce of attempted tolerance, and given how the rest of the story played out, I appreciated that it wasn’t all wrapped up in a bow. Did I believe all of it? Eh…but I definitely believed it more than I expected to!

One other thing, I loved the note at the end of the story from the author. I was okay with her change in the ending, and was expecting it given the blurb, but it was nice to have insight into why she made the decisions she made, you know?

So yeah…solid retelling with deviations. Would have liked a bit more character depth, but I did love the sweet romance.

3.5 stars

A modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet? With gay characters? Muslim vs Christian? Democrat vs Republican? Love vs hate? I am so there! This is what I was thinking after reading the blurb.

Rabi's family and Matthew's families hate each other. Have forever. Why? Neither young man knows why, not sure if anyone knows why. All they know is that their families hate each other, so the two of them cannot, should not, be together. And yet they cannot help themselves, and fall for each other anyway. And set off a horrible set of consequences that are almost too real to be believed in this day and age of so much hate roiling around our country.

I wanted to love this story; unfortunately, I didn't end up loving it. I did end up liking it, for the most part, though. What I like? Rabi and Matthew. They're both so sweet, so oddly innocent, and their love is an insta-love, romantic, fairy tale type of love. What I didn't love? The rest of the story. I didn't get to know any of the characters very well, or what motivated them beyond a feud none of them knew why existed. None of them felt particularly deep or layered. And the requisite epiphany came far too late in the story for it to have any noticeable effect. If it had happened earlier, had given our two young men longer to be out and in love, I would have appreciated it a lot more. And the disgusting amount of hate and recriminations that swirled around Rabi and Matthew was horrifying to read. Unfortunately, pretty realistic, though. While I can appreciate the realism of this, I didn't particularly enjoy reading about it. So 3.5 stars for two great leads, the good writing, but because most of the characters weren't particularly substantive, I can't go higher than 3.5 stars.

That climactic moment had me biting my fingers! L.A. Witt has brought a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet in a Hatfield/Macoy setting. Beautifully written and a wonderful story. Highly recommend this!

*Received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well that was lemme just say whew. Buckle up when reading this book because your feelings might get hurt *wink wink*. Rabi and Matthew were damn adorable I wanted to just hug them they were so cute and adorable thoroughout the book. They did have a sort of insta love thing going on but it wasn't too cliche.

Now the families Jesus I frigging hated Matthew's family idk if its because I'm a POC but lord and I wanted them to die :) but anyway I loved this remastered Romeo and Juliet queer edition. It contained real life issues and kinda hea.

I can honestly say, since the year's almost over, that Rabi and Matthew is one of the hardest books I've read this year. My initial reaction when I finished... "Gotta admit... this was NOT an easy one to read, but there are also a LOT of people I'd love to recommend it to. <3 " For the record, that opinion still stands.

Although there were elements of prejudice on both sides in Rabi and Matthew, Matthew's family set the bar for way too many people in the community. Matthew saw beyond the hate that his family lived by and not just for the obvious reasons. He was way more enlightened than the rest of his family. No one really knew him except for his best friend and they protected each other's secrets. Even so, his friend didn't understand the attraction to Rabi of all people. It was a dangerous attraction, but love is love and the hate had to end somewhere.

There was a price to pay though and it took something drastic to make everyone come to their collective senses. The only real issue I had with this book at all was how things kind of wrapped themselves up at the end. I'm not complaining though. I spent most of the book just waiting for the worst to happen... Rabi and Matthew didn't exactly end with a perfect HEA, but it was close. In the end there was hope for the next generation between these families...

This story is important, people. The theme is important. It’s important because it’s real, because I personally know people that have gone through similar horrible things, and it needs to stop. Putting it on paper is a good way to get inside people’s minds, and I am so glad there are more and more books that discuss such relevant issues. I have read books with LGBTQ characters, with different races and religions, but not one that involved political views so much. It was interesting. A little too bias, maybe, but a good idea. Before I get into what I liked and what I didn’t about the book, I just want to quickly state that your political view doesn’t make you a good or a bad person. I know Democrats that are homophobic and Republicans that fight for everyone’s rights, so I don’t think that has a lot to do with anything. The important thing is to discuss these issues, take the power from them before a small problem is capable of destroying entire lives. Having said, that, here are my thoughts on the actual book.

WHAT I LIKED:
-The story deals with hate in general. Things like homophobia, xenophobia, and discrimination, things that we face every day in every part of the world. I like the fact that the book makes you think about these things. We live so surrounded by hate that sometimes it is easy to forget to fight against it. The story does let you get out from your bubble for a moment and realize how abnormal hate is and how the world would be different if people simply realized that. The political tone was lacking since the story focuses more on Rabi and Matthew’s relationship, but it was present.
-The writing was good. It was descriptive without being too detailed and it made the story fast-paced.
-The whole idea of a queer retelling of Romeo & Juliet was appealing to me. Come on, a Christian boy falling in love with a Muslim boy, whose families happen to be sworn, enemies? I was sold since I read the description.
-Rabi and Matthew’s scenes. <3<3<3 They were just so fuzzy and cute.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
-The characters lacked depth. There were no scenes where you could see how Rabi’s life was without Matthew or vice-versa, what they thought or felt other than “I love him but this is wrong but let’s do it.” Real people have a million issues all at once. They have a special someone, but they also have friends and family and school and work and a whole lot of other things that don’t revolve around that person. I don’t really know who Rabi and Matthew are. I don’t know what makes them blush (other than each other) or what they like to watch on T.V. or their favorite authors or their fears, their routines, their aspirations. Nothing other than what it has to do with their family’s quarrel. I would have liked to get to know them as human beings and not only as two people that are in a relationship.
-Which brings me to the fact that I also didn’t feel like they knew each other well. Everything in the plot moved around the fact that them being together was wrong, and it steals momentum from the story too, because when we get to the climax it is not clear why they cannot give each other up other than the fact that they say so. They say they love each other (pretty instantaneously if you ask me), but the fact that they are saying it doesn’t mean we buy it. That connection reader-character and reader-feelings were missing.
-Too repetitive. There were at least 50 pages where both characters talked about how wrong it is for them to be together, how guilty they feel, but how much they want to keep doing it. I think that space could have been used to show us meaningful scenes about their lives. We understand their relationship is forbidden. We understand without the need to read it three thousand times. Tell us more about them!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I liked this book, I think it deserves to be read just for the topics it deals with. I also read it very quickly. If you like romance, drama and diverse characters, I encourage you to read this book!

LA Witt's Rabi and Matthew is a fresh, interesting twist on Romeo and Juliet.

Rabi and Matthew are never supposed to be together. Their families are enemies, and have been for generations. But these two boys don't care about the rivalry. The moment they meet at a party, the pull is magnetic. They actually can see past the family issues, like each other, and want to date.

They are faced with a whole lot of bigotry, racism, and hatred. Both know they need to hide and keep their feelings secret. Of course, secrets always have a way of coming out.

Part of it's charm is how relevant this story is today. I can easily see this story playing out in real life.

This story is emotionally charged, taking me on an emotional journey. Some parts were gut wrenching to read. I will admit to crying some.

Rabi and Matthew is well worth the journey! I definitely recommend it.

I love the author’s version of Romeo and Juliet. This story had everything racism, politics, religion, and two families at war. Rabi and Matthew took a chance by falling in love knowing that their families had so much bad blood between each other. The story was so intense but is written so beautifully that you can’t help but be on their side. L. A. Witt did a tremendous job with this book.
Overall, the story was sweet, sexy, romantic, and romantic. I’m looking forward to the next book from the author.

Compelling and emotional, this rendition of Romeo and Juliet was unique, gritty and raw.... and I loved it. LA has a way with words I really connect with.

Wow. This book was brutal and heart breaking and still gave me hope.

How these 2 guys didn't know who each other were already, I'll never know. I am also going to let that slide because the rest of the book was just so good.

This book is filled with racism and homophobia and Islamaphobia. Just so you know. There are passages that are just vicious. Dialogue that is just so mean you can't imagine people saying it. But they do, everyday.

This modern, gay retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Political adversaries, Rabi and Matthew's fathers are running against east other for political office. And it is the bible thumping, super conservative white guy versus the Muslim, leftist liberal. The discord between the families goes back 1 or 2 generations. It's ugly. It's also very topical.

There was still a lot of focus on Rabi and Matthew and their blooming romance. It was so sweet. So romantic. It was a bit swoony. When they are found out though, it is really, really ugly. I don't understand hate like that. Hate because someone is a different color, different religion, different sexuality. And it is so real. I think that is what gut punched me the most. Knowing that these people are out there with their vile hate.

I'm sure you all know how Romeo and Juliet ends. But no so with Rabi and Matthew. Because as the author says, too many gays have died. Time for them to live.

Since I saw the gorgeous cover and got blurbed this as queer retelling of Romeo and Juliet with huge possibility for ending that won't rip my heart out, I was ready for it. Rabi and Matthew surely delivers that; contemporary retelling with decades long conflict between warring families and tragic events, but no burying the gays.

Rabi and Matthew has the same fast paced, addicting, and captivating feel as the movie has. The difference is that this dives into more the families and makes the feud very contemporary and very American; it's Democrat versus Republican, Muslim versus Christian. It's very polarizing, which I didn't mind because it fits the storyline and adds tension and drama. It's easy to get lost in Rabi and Matthew, the whirlwind romance, secrets and hiding, and dreaming of better tomorrow. The main characters are also very likable: Matthew wants to escape his family's racism and hate and he's kind and tender where his family is obnoxious and loud in their hate. Rabi wants to escape the small town that's so full on hate for him just because who he is. They both have the ability to see past their surnames and past decades of feud that started before either one was born. And Jude, Matthew's friend, is absolutely hilarious. I certainly wished there'd been more of him.

Rabi and Matthew is an addicting and captivating story, and it's a fast read. It's interesting to see Witt's take on Romeo and Juliet, although the end notes acknowledge that the original play wasn't romance like the retelling is. There are plenty of differences, but it's only a good thing and worked for the story. I do think that Rabi and Matthew could have been a bit longer, just to flesh out things more and spend more time building Rabi and Matthew's relationship. As it is, it's very much definition for whirlwind and while that's alright, it could have been improved.

In any way, if you're looking for a fast paced romance or a good retelling, I recommend this one.

4 Stars
Review by Lisa
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog

In this M/M retelling of the classic, Romeo and Juliet, L. A. Witt has a twist. I love this author's unexpected take with this story line. There is so much that goes along with it. Families at war, politics, religion, racism, small mindedness and small town business. It is a lot for two people finding each other and trying to figure life out. It is so well written that you can't help but root for Rabi and Matthew. However, as your read, you just know things are not going to be easy and you wait for that moment in the story that will happen and alter it.

I don't want to give too much away with this story. I feel like if I mention outside the caption/heading it will give away the story.. So I'm not going to divulge anything from the actual story line.

That being said, I did enjoy this story. In the end, the twists that come are well done. The conflicts of life are written tastefully and as result, you will be ok with all that stuff that comes along with "talking" politics/religion.

***ARC received in exchange for an honest review ***