This was a cute book with a lot of goofy and melodramatic moments. It worked for the story, but threw me off at first! It was still a fun read, but I wasn’t really a fan of how it ended, since it was more of a “we’ll see what happens…” instead of just writing it lol. Some funny commentary on Romeo and Juliet in there, so probably a 3.5 rounded down.

🌈Queer rep: none

I've never read a retelling of a classic quite like this. Here Romeo and Juliet do not die but live and have lots of babies. Rosie is the eldest and is now considered a spinster who has successfully thwarted several betrothals. She is happy until she falls in love at first sight and everything around her seems to be going wrong. This story is a rom-com with an air of mystery and it kept me guessing throughout. I loved the play on a classic but from a different viewpoint. The writing is well done and the story reads fast. The story is written for the reader and addresses the reader throughout.

This is an interesting "sequel" to Romeo and Juliet. This is the story of Rosie, the eldest of their seven children. She's getting pretty old and her parents would like to marry her off. However, the man they arranged for her has already lost 3 wives under perhaps suspicious circumstances. Rosie does not want to marry him so she's not terribly upset when he dies.

Rosie is a modern girl. And I mean modern by today's standards, not of the time when Romeo and Juliet's offspring might have lived. The book seems like it's for a younger audience, perhaps teenager. I listened to the audio and the narrator had a young voice, which is appropriate for the character.

A Daughter of Fair Verona was an engrossing novel but left me feeling a little empty. I wanted a better resolution. I felt like a lot of the loose ends weren't quite tied and that's why I gave 3 stars.

Thank you Kensington/John Scognamiglio for my free ARC of A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd — available now!

Read this if you:
🎭 enjoy contemporary retellings of classic stories
💃 love a feisty and fierce female lead character
🧗‍♀️ don't mind cliffhangers because...!!!

Rosie is a veritable spinster at age twenty, but her parents Romeo and Juliet (yes, THAT Romeo and Juliet) have arranged for her to wed a local Duke, despite the fact that his previous three wives have all died under mysterious circumstances. Scheming to get out of the marriage, Rosie is surprised to stumble upon her betrothed in the gardens. With a knife in his chest. Now the prime suspect, Rosie will race to uncover the real murderer before more people end up six feet under.

I absolutely loved this story! It's told in an irreverent, contemporary tone, and I know this irritates some readers of historical fiction, so be forewarned if that's you. Personally, I loooove this kind of variation, so I had a fantastic time with this book. Rosie is GREAT and I really enjoyed the revamped version of the classic Romeo and Juliet story. The love interest situation is definitely interesting — and on that note, there is a pretty massive cliffhanger so I am completely stoked to get news of the second book in this series!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Daughter Of Fair Verona
By: Christina Dodd

5 Stars

First off, I want to say this is a cute story that brings a new perspective to an old classic. Or maybe, a sequel to it. It also brought action, mystery, humor, and romance. Of course, why wouldn't it bring romance?

Rosie, the Daughter of THE Romeo and Juliet, is well and good, being not married and staying that way. Even with her parents being who they are, she has never been one to believe in love. Until she does. Verona, Casa Montague, to be exact, is her home, and when she finds herself in danger, she must defend herself and figure out who is trying to harm her before it too late.

This story is one that I am so glad I came across. It had me giggling and loving it the whole time. It was a story that was meant to be told and one that I am sure many others will find amusing. especially if you know the story of Romeo and Juliet. It provided a riveting mystery and drama and so many other things. It was just as easy to love this story as the great classic that came before.


*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd is a fun, fast moving story with a light tone. Rosalind, the daughter of Romeo and Juliet and the practical foil to their dramatic tendencies, is the main character. She is intelligent, fiercely loyal, sure of her own self worth and defintely courageous. Where she is filled with light, humor and warmth, the Prince of Verona is a survivor with a dark past and scars both visible and invisible. But there's a killer loose in Verona, one who seems determined to frame Rosalind. Rosalind insists on protecting her family and the prince is determined to protect Rosalind. Christina Dodd has crafted a book that engages both the reader's heart and mind. That surprise ending really threw me for a curve but I loved this book.

4.25 stars

“Oh no. Here we go again. I scoffed, ‘Poetry! How it bores me. What’s the theme? What’s the plot? Get to the point!’”


Scene 1: Casa Montague. Roseline’s Betrothal Ball.
Enter Duke Stephano, Roseline’s betrothed.

Spinster Roseline Montague (yes, Romeo and Juliet survived and has a rather large family!) has been betrothed four times and has successfully escaped all previous entrapments by matching her future husbands to their true mates. This time around, she’s been promised to Duke Stephano. The problem? He has three dead wives and poor Rosie is feared to be the fourth.

Scene 2: Casa Montague. Roseline’s Betrothal Ball.
Enter Lysandro, of House Marcketti, enemies to House Montague.

But! Love at first sight! Dear Rosie has finally encountered her true love by a chance meeting with Lysandro Marcketti and it’s every bit as lovely and preposterous as her own parents’. The problem? He’s from House Marcketti, mortal enemies of House Montague.

Scene 3: Casa Montague Garden. Roseline’s Betrothal Ball.
Enter Prince Escalus, Prince of Verona.

Off to meet her betrothed, Rosie happens upon Prince Escalus in the garden. The problem? Duke Stephano is there too. With a fatal knife wound to the heart. Who is responsible for the Duke’s timely death (I mean, let’s be real, Rosie had no desire to marry this man)? Why is the Prince there? Is Roseline next? Rosie makes it her mission to find out who is behind the subsequent killings in Verona before she meets the same fate.


This book is a work of fiction based off a work of fiction based off a work of fiction. There are so many layers of fiction, it only makes sense to create it as a satire! Especially given the absurdity that is the story of Romeo and Juliet (look, I love the story, but Roseline agrees - it’s absurd).

Roseline is deeply feminist but forced to mask because well, it’s 14th/15th century Verona and women have a role to play. Her logic, quick wit, and willingness to portray the easily influenced young woman (well, spinster at 20 years old) makes this a rather enjoyable read.

If you go into this thinking it’s a historical fiction or alternate retelling of a beloved story, you will likely become rather frustrated with how the story progresses. There are wild and outlandish scenarios that really can only be viewed through the lens of this book being a complete satire of more serious historical fiction works and dramas, such as Shakespeare. Through this lens, this is a rather hilarious and lovely read.


Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the advance copy!

Loved every bit of this book. Cannot wait for the next one. What a clever idea handled perfectly! More please!

Daughter of Fair Verona is a swashbuckling adventure that leaves you wanting more. I hope there is more books coming for this series as it is great!

What would happen if Romeo and Juliet did not die? Obviously they’d have a big, raucous family, and a decidedly practical eldest daughter who is happy to forgo romance in favor of spinsterhood - until she has her own jolt of love at first sight! Filled with murder, intrigue, potions, and passion-this story is a page turner - mostly because of the clever, wry, and thoroughly likable Rosie. Will she solve the murder, save her reputation, and pursue true love? A delightful, fun read!!

A definite case of it's not you, it's me. The writing style was not my cup of tea and the humor was not hitting for me.

As told by the clever and fiesty eldest of Romeo and Juliet’s seven children. What—you thought they’d died as teenagers? Not in this version. They not only lived, they thrived. Now if they could only marry off their first born, but Rosie is dead set against that idea. Unfortunately, while she’s forced into a betrothal with one man, she falls for another. Worse, her intended is murdered at their betrothal celebration and she’s looking guilty. (remember the dead set against marriage part) As she tries to uncover the true villain, more people die, and more fingers point to Rosie. A witty, romantic mystery.

More! Just more. Please. I loved it. Rosaline is a smart snarky woman and I need to know what happens to her. Who does she marry? Willingly or dutifully? Her new romantic life is mixed with murder. For someone who doesn't believe in love at first sight she jumped down that hole! Now what happens?

3.5 ⭐️

What if Romeo & Juliet survived, lived happily ever after, had a ton of kids and their eldest daughter is a smart, witty and interesting young woman that has to casually solve a murder mystery while also trying to find a husband?

Excuse me, that was such a fun concept for a book and combined so many elements that I love in a story!
I would describe this book as "Bridgerton meets Belladonna" with the charme of a historical story and the fast paced thrill of a murder mystery.
I loved our main character Rosie and how she tried to find her own place in the world while simultaneously being the daughter of THE blueprint of a couple for over the top romance and dramatic love confessions, which can be as exhausting as it sounds.
Despite her parents being a little dramatic at times (what else could you really expect from Romeo & Juliet?), the family dynamics overall where really wholesome and made me smile quite a few times.

The murder mystery also kept me invested, even though it might have been a bit predictable at times and the "big reveal" fell a little bit flat for me personally.
I was also sometimes confused by the language used in the book as i felt like it was switching up between the language they would have used back in their day and the language we use today. It felt a bit inconsistent at times and threw me off at some points.
I won't be getting into too much detail about the love interest(s), because of spoilers but let's say this: The obvious choice is not always the best, my sweet summer child.

Overall I can definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun historical book with great characters, a solid murder mystery and a sprinkle of romance!

I liked this story well enought, the writing is funny and original, and the plot was entertaining. I did feel like the ending was rushed and a bit confusing, and even though I liked the characters in the beginning the last few chapters made me question them, and not in a good way. Unfortunately this made me change my perception of the book as a whole.

I would love to read mote of Christinas work though as her writing is remarkable and for me the thing that saved this story from a 3 star rating from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Rosie is the twenty year old "spinster" daughter of Romeo and Juliet (yes, Romeo and Juliet are alive and very well in this novel). She spends the novel sleuthing out a murderer and trying to make sure Verona doesn't put the blame on her as more and more people around her, or connected to her, fall dead. Rosie is witty, sassy, smart, and just trying to do her best as a female in a world ran by men. She breaks the 4th wall and addresses the reader several times in comedic ways and is a ball of fun. I also enjoyed the reimagining of some of our favorite characters from Shakespeare's tragedy who create their own space in this novel as well. There's a couple of fun twists at the end that I didn't quite see coming. This is the first in what is tracked to be a trilogy and I'm already excited for the 2nd one to see what Rosie gets into next!

This is the start of a new mystery series featuring the daughter or Romeo and Juliet. I found the introduction to be very entertaining as Rosie explains how her and her siblings came to be in this reimagining of the original story. Clearly, they did not die tragically in this version, rather they had many children and are still madly in love. Plenty of humor and intrigue as Rosie tries to clear her name in the murder of her fiancée. Let's forget about how she didn't want to marry him anyway.... It does have a cliffhanger ending so readers be prepared for further adventures of Rosie.

✅ Shakespeare x murder mystery
✅ Romeo & Julie’s 20 year-old daughter, Rosie is being married off and her odious prospective groom is found dead in the gardens.
✅ Stylistically similar to Catherine Called Birdy 🍿

Very fun if you like Shakespeare

Pick up your headphones and listen as Taylor Swift serenades us with her 2008 song “Love Story.” “That you were Romeo, you were throwin' pebbles, and my daddy said, ‘Stay away from Juliet,’ and I was cryin' on the staircase beggin' you, ‘Please don't go,’ and I said, ‘Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.’” Admit it. The inner teenager in you sang it in your head at the top of your lungs. Most of us know that song, but more importantly, we know the story the song refers to—Romeo and Juliet. It has been called the greatest love story ever written, but let’s be honest, most teenagers know nothing of true love as they make professions with blazing thumbs and heart emojis on a digital keyboard. Barf!
What a tragic end Romeo and Juliet meet as they take their own lives and the play concludes. But what if that is not what happened? Now don’t get me wrong. Romeo still drank poison. Juliet still stabs herself after awakening and finding Romeo unconscious in the tomb. They just don’t die. Romeo vomits saving his life and Juliet accidentally stabs the pendant her family had buried her with. She has a scar, but as the Black Knight says in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, “’Tis but a scratch.”
Christina Dodd’s A Daughter of Fair Verona explores this alternate ending as Romeo and Juliet survive and Rosaline “Rosie” Montague is born. Rosie is not like her parents. Love at first sight is poppycock, and every time her parents betroth her to a young man, she plays matchmaker and fixes him up with another young lady. Romeo is not giving up on his daughter and tries one final time to betroth her to a recent widower (under very suspicious circumstances) and rapscallion named Duke Stephano.
Enter cupid and his pesky arrows of love. Rosie bumps into Lysander Marketti and thinks to herself, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, I have fallen in love at first sight.” Too bad the Marketti family are the sworn enemies of the Montague family. (Sounds eerily familiar!) Too bad Rosie is engaged to the thrice widower Duke Stephano.
Even if you roll your eyes and choke back bile when a teenager says, “But they are the love of my life,” pick up this book and as Taylor Swift so eloquently sang, “Baby, just say yes,” to reading it.