This was a fun read! Really kept my Internet throughout. The characters could be a little over the top and silly, but that was part of the charm. Fun and an interesting sequel to a classic story! #adaughterofverona #christinadodd #netgalley #goodreads

I don’t really know what I was expecting but this really exceeded my expectations! It was honestly super cute!

Spoilers Ahead!

A Daughter of Fair Verona was a rollercoaster. It was a slow beginning, with a great rising arc, but really went down for the ending.

I guess maybe I got my hopes up, because while I did hope for Rosie and Escalus as they had chemistry, I did not like how the ending played at all: that Rosaline was played like pawn by Escalus so he could take her hand. I wish they’d have let the chemistry speak for itself rather than the trickery that happened.

However, I did like the murder mystery plot, and would have never guessed the killer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was definitely intrigued by the premise of this story, and for the most part I enjoyed it. I don't believe this is intended to be YA fiction, but that's definitely how it came across to me. Rosie was a strong, sassy narrator, although her characterization was a bit uneven at times, and the other characters were well crafted for the most part. I enjoyed the imagining of Romeo and Juliet as middle-aged parents who are still quite "hot and heavy," much to their children's embarrassment, and the murder mystery was very well done. My biggest gripe with the book was the ending: yes, it is a cliffhanger, but as the entire story was clearly leading up to the romantic events of the final chapters, there was no clear reason not to go one for just one or two more chapters and finish the tale. The cliffhanger therefore feels really arbitrary and forced. Will I read a sequel? Probably. But I won't be on the edge of my seat waiting for it because, for me at least, the inevitable ending has already been revealed.

Still, an enjoyable read (despite some unnecessary language) along the lines of all the popular YA fairytale reimaginings that have been popular of late. So if those are your cup of tea, give this one a try!

It takes a brave writer to rewrite the iconic ending to the famed Romeo and Juliet story. And Christina did a great job of it. I much prefer this ending to the original. It isn’t hard to imagine a world where Romeo and Juliet have many children and a loving family. And then for them to have a practical eldest daughter makes perfect sense. A foil to their love story. Then for Juliet to fall in love at first sight is poetic. The mystery of this story is great and wasn’t not easily solved before the climax. Rosie is a well-developed character and the characters around her are delightful, especially nanny. This was a well-crafted and original story that I enjoyed a lot.

Retellings need more than little nods to their source text in order to be compelling. There was too much winking and not enough actual substance in this one.

What fun. Romeo and Juliet did not die and have six children. This story follows the oldest as she finds her true love and solves several murders. Not without danger and tension. Look for what we know that she doesn’t. Cliffhanger ending.

While Romeo and Juliet is a drama about suicide, Fair Verona is a rom com about murder. In a clever plot twist, Romeo and Juliet are still alive and have a smart daughter Rosaline of marrying age.
The overall plot is ingenious, and the mystery is interesting, although sometimes the book is hard to follow with the varying modern to historical tone, silly characters, and multiple action plots.
Thankfully a reviewer mentioned this is a series because I was appalled at the ending. But I have hope for a happy ending for Rosalin yet.
Thank you Kensington Books (Larissa) for the digital review copy.

A Daughter of Fair Verona, follows Rosie, the eldest daughter of Romeo and Juliet. She is an intelligent and independent young woman who has managed to avoid multiple arranged marriages. Much to her dismay, she finds herself betrothed to the villainous Duke Stephano. After he is found stabbed at their betrothal ball, Rosie sets off to find the murderer.

I did find the story entertaining. However, I would say that the voice of the book is more of a young adult book than an adult book. Never the less, I look forward to finding out what happens next for Rosie in the second installment of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for giving my early access to this title.

My review is now live on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6044501745

Thank you for gifting me with early acess to this book! I am very much appreciativeand look forward to reading other books under your publishing house.

One of the most important and underrating details would be how good the feelings are dealt within this book. Life, grieving, love, pain, guilt, genuine true love; all of it was portrayed so beautifully. These characters didn’t let me rest till I was done with the reading. It’s an emotional book that will definitely stir a reaction from you and force you to deal with it. Just perfection!!

This is a very interesting and humorous take on Romeo and Juliet. It’s historical romantic comedy fiction and not a modern retelling. Rosie is Romeo and Juliet’s oldest daughter. I found it much easier and entertaining to read than the original. It also has a murder mystery in it. We need to wait for the next book to see what happens to Rosie. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Set in Renaissance Verona, this book combines murder mystery and romantic comedy. When Roie, the eldest and most sensible of Romeo & Juliet's daughter (yes, they lived), has her fiance murdered at their betrothal ball, chaos, violence, and accusations break out. Will Rosie solve the mystery Will she marry her true love?

It's delightful and told in a fresh, modern voice.

From the opening line, this feels like a young adult book, not adult. I stopped after chapter 2 (7%). Depending on the content later, I’d have no hesitation handing this to a middle or high schooler. I was not interested in reading further and didn’t care for the voice, especially due to it feeling so young. I don’t know that this is being marketed to the appropriate age group.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC.

At the start of this book I didn't love it, but I thought it would be perfect for my school library. By the end I had decided otherwise.

Rosie, the spunky outspoken daughter of Romeo and Juliet is betrothed to Duke Stephano. When he meets his untimely end she teams up with friends and foes to solve his murder.

I didn't like Rosie's character at first, but I warmed up to her. Reading the book through the lens of a Middle/Senior school student improved my enjoyment immensely. I think it's a story that would be good and important for young women.

The topic of virginity is a bit heavy handed, and at points I wondered why it needed to be mentioned.

The reason I changed my mind about acquiring this for my library is the ending. It is two fold. One, there is no real resolution. The book is left on a cliffhanger and several storylines are left hanging. Secondly, Rosie's character was (in my mind) being built up to be an outspoken, women of her own mind but the last few chapters reduce her to a pawn in a man's game. I thought this undermined the entire story and left me with a sour taste in my mouth. If the ending were different, and then left on a cliffhanger, I would understand. My issues are to do with the retconning of character traits not really the plot itself. 3 stars.

A very interesting take on the old story of Romeo and Juliet. A light and quick read and we will have to wait till the next book to see what happens next.

What if Romeo and Juliet had lived and had a family?

A Daughter of Fair Verona is an entertaining murder mystery that focuses on the eldest daughter of the star-crossed couple, Rosaline. Rosie is an absolutely delightful main character. She's independent, smart, feisty, logical, and not at all what you'd expect of a daughter of Romeo and Juliet (for one, she hates poetry). She's fiercely protective of her family – even if her parents' frequent loud lovemaking gets kind of annoying – and will do anything for them. In a world where women don't have much power over their own lives, Rosie uses her intelligence (and I daresay her power of manipulation) to take control of of her future. Basically, there's a whole lot of “girl power” in this book and it's amazing.

The murder mystery itself is suspenseful and fun. When all suspicions fall on Rosie after her most recent suitor meets an unpleasant end (on the night of their betrothal ball, nonetheless), she must find the murderer and protect those she cares about … and maybe pave the way for marrying her One True Love in the process. I, for one, had no idea who the killer was right up until the big reveal.

There's romance in this book, for sure, but it's not the mushy, “drinking poison and self-inflicted dagger wounds” type of love that Rosie's parents made famous. Rosie is much more practical than her dramatic, poetry-spewing kin, and her exchanges with Lysander are quite amusing and witty. There's still some love at first sight going on, though.

The ending of this book was entertaining, but I'm slightly disappointed that it ended on such a cliffhanger. I know it's the start of a series so having such an unfinished ending makes sense, but since I read this novel almost seven months prior to its publication, I can only imagine how long the wait is going to be for the next installment in the series. I need to know what happens now! I was also a bit disconcerted by how much of a 180 one of the characters did in the last few chapters of the book – it felt like a complete shift personality-wise and I'm hoping that they'll end up redeeming themselves in the sequel(s).

Overall, A Daughter of Fair Verona is a light and enjoyable read, and the author did a great job expanding on Shakespeare's original tale. If you're fond of historical murder mysteries with tremendously likeable characters, you should definitely give this one a go.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd is an entertaining first installment in a new series: A Daughter of Montague.

Rosie Montague (Rosalind) is the main character in this new series that focusses on the eldest daughter of the infamous Romeo and Juliet if they would have survived and continued on. Using this angle, the book brings a fresher, newer generation of thought into fold with a historical fiction timeline. It was interesting to delve into the mind and point of view of this newer character as she sifts through the mystery presented in this first book.

Quite entertaining and I am interested to see where this goes.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Kensington Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 6/25/24.

A very nice light read. I enjoyed the alternate history aspect and can't wait to find out what happens next for Rosaline!