The indomitable Rosie is back to solve the mystery of who murdered Prince Escalus the elder. After having Prince Escalus the Younger "Cal" wreck her plans to be with Lysander, her One True Love, in the first book, Rosie is now saddled with a betrothal she doesn't want yet again. Only this time with her reputation in tatters, there's no getting out of it.

As Rosie prepares to become a princess, she also becomes embroiled in the mystery of the murder of Cal's father, not least because his dad's ghost picks her to solve it. But can she do so without becoming a target for the killer herself?

I enjoyed this book almost as much as I did the first one, with the possible exception of having ghost intervention. I know there's a lot of precedent for it in Shakespeare, but I really am not fond of supernatural elements in stories, particularly when the previous book managed just fine without them, and I am crossing my fingers that this isn't going to become one of those 'she sees ghosts and has to solve their murders so they can cross over' type series.

The first book had a serial killer as the villain and no sign of any ghosts whatsoever. I just wasn't sure why such a gimmick was needed. Other than the addition of the ghost of Prince Escalus the Elder, the other main new character is Cal's grandmother, Nonna Ursula. She's the kind of cackling, says-it-like-it-is, doesn't-care-about-offending old lady I aspire to be one day.

The rest of the characters continue to be fleshed out more, especially Cal and Lysander. Overall, the mystery is enjoyable, the quick pace of the first book was continued, and it was a fun read. 4 stars. I hope to enjoy the next book just as much. Thank you to Netgalley, Kensington Publishing and Christina Dodd for the free advanced reader copy. This is a voluntary review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rosie Montague is back—and she’s as sharp, witty, and wonderfully irreverent as ever! The delightfully bold eldest daughter of the Romeo and Juliet returns to solve another mystery in fair Verona, and this sequel somehow manages to be even more fun than the first.

With a perfect blend of historical fiction, romance, mystery, and just a sprinkle of the supernatural, this quirky tale keeps you guessing and laughing all the way through. The humor is a real highlight—Rosie’s teasing of her famously dramatic parents had me grinning, and I love how every character feels deeply human (and hilariously flawed). I’m already counting down to the next installment!

🎭 Shakespeare-inspired
🔍 Mystery with a twist
📜 Historical setting with modern charm
💋 Closed-door romance
👻 A hint of the supernatural
😂 Humor that hits just right

This series is a must if you love classic retellings with a clever edge. Rosie is easily one of my favorite new historical heroines.

Christina Dodd has probably written every different type of romance that there is. This is includes them all. Suspenseful, murder mystery with a supernatural character, and a love triangle, historical romance written tongue in cheek with lively repartee. The characters are well developed and most quite likeable.. This historical twist on Romeo and Juliet has the what if- they didn't die, but instead lived HEA with lots of children. Rosie is their oldest daughter, who has eschewed marriage until she could find her One True Love. All the matches thrown her were were rerouted to others. In the first book, she found her OTL in Lysander, but his family refused the match. They plotted a scheme to have him ruin her to force the marriage, but the Prince of Verona, overhearing the scheme, maneuvers himself in Lysander's place, because he wants Rosie for himself. That was book one. In #2, Rosie is not happy about being betrothed to the Prince. She is even more unhappy, when the Prince's father's ghost, tasks Rosie with finding his murderer, since for some reason only she can see or hear him. The author must have had a lot of fun writing this book, because it is a lot of fun to read.

I was gifted with an advanced reader's copy from the publisher via NetGalley.com. This I say honest, unbiased and voluntary review.

Rosaline Montague finds herself betrothed to the prince of Verona after being caught in a compromising situation at the end of the first book. Feeling trapped, there's little to be done so Rosie resigns herself to one day becoming Verona's Princess and sadly pines away for her one true love Lysander.

Then a strange opportunity arises in the form of Prince Escalus the Elder. He has heard of Rosie's skill in finding the murderer who terrorized the streets of Verona last season. Now, he wants Rosie to find his own murderer (did I mention it's the Ghost of Prince Escalus the Elder?). In exchange, he will guarantee Rosie will have her one true love.

Despite what seems like an unachievable task, Rosie 's investigation leads her to believe the murderer is closer than anyone thought, coupled with growing unrest on the streets of Verona, there seems to be danger around every corner.

The Shakespearean ghosts have arrived! Thus With A Kiss borrows heavily from Hamlet and I loved finding all the Easter eggs sprinkled within in including a famous skull and some positing on the meaning of flowers.


I enjoyed this one, just as much as the first. I think the mystery was really well executed. I was hooked immediately to also learn about Price Escalus the Elder's fate. Of course, being a ghost whom only Rosie can see and hear, made for quite a few comical moments. None moreso than between Rosie and her betrothed Prince Escalus the Younger, or "Cal".

If you read the first book and didn't feel the underlining tension between them, then we didn't read the same book. For all that Lysander is a kind and thoughtful suitor, he doesn't seem to challenge Rosie in the same way Cal does. Of course, Rosie does not see it that way. Being the daughter of famed Romeo & Juliet has caused her to have almost too unrealistic of an expectation of love therefore causing her to be very narrow-sighted with it. For all that I like the Montague family, I appreciated that there was more of Rosie discovering herself outside of that family dynamic. Since she's always been the one taking care of the household, I think this offered her a little time of reflection.

In that same regard, I felt like we also got a broader scope of Verona itself. There's more going on within Verona than Rosie solving a years-old murder. This book introduces some outside conflicts, although they're solved rather quickly in my opinion, but it makes me wonder if it's just the start of other things brewing.

I am very curious about which Shakespearean work will be tangentially woven into the next story because there should definitely be a next story. I liked how Christina Dodd ended things. It was satisfying yet also really makes me want to continue exploring the relationship that these characters are building.

“𝔚𝔬𝔢, 𝔣𝔬𝔯 ℑ 𝔞𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔲𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔪𝔢𝔢𝔱𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔢𝔩𝔡’𝔰 𝔪𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱, 𝔑𝔬 𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔤𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔰, 𝔰𝔪𝔬𝔬𝔱𝔥, 𝔠𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔫 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔟𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 . . .”

𝓣𝓱𝓾𝓼 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓪 𝓚𝓲𝓼𝓼 𝓘 𝓓𝓲𝓮
𝘿𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙪𝙚 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 2
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🪶Thank you so much to @netgalley and @christinadoddbooks for this book! Shakespeare has always been a favorite and I so much enjoyed the fun twist! Definitely recommend if you love good humor and romance with fun adventure.

🤍You’re right. I, Rosie Montague of Verona, am lousy at iambic pentameter and Shakespeare speak, but you get the point: Sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug. I, who for my whole life, have cruised along, unruffled by life’s trials, am suddenly smashed flat and speeding recklessly up the WhattheHellHappened Highway.

Why? you ask . . .

I’m 20-years-old and by my own design, never been wed, free as no married woman ever is. I’m beautiful, but without conceit, for Juliet, my legendary Mamma is the most gorgeous creature to ever walk the earth. Just ask Romeo, my legendary Papà. (Rumors of their deaths were premature.) I was heartwhole until I fell (literally) in love with Lysander of the House of Beautiful. But our love was not to be, for I was thwarted by Escalus, the Prince of Verona . . . who had designs on me.

I’m trapped.

Then! I’m presented with a solution. Escalus’s father, Prince Escalus the Elder, appears to me. He tasks that I find his killer. Did I mention Elder is a ghost?

Given that I only recently dispatched Verona’s first serial killer, I’m less than pleased. Yet Elder promises to unite me with my One True Love, so I gather clues. Meanwhile, revolution threatens, for beneath Verona society’s glittering surface lurk dark shadows—and an enemy eager to make me a tragic heroine in my own right . . .🤍

#renaissancehistoricalfiction #daughtersofmontague #humor #christinadoddbooks #shakespeare #romeoandjuliet

In the second chapter of Christina Dodd’s Daughter of Montague series, we continue to see Rosie’s personality develop and hear more of her voice. She kinda does it all when it comes to helping those around her—delivering babies and firing a sub-par cook and assisting the healers and skillfully using her dagger.

All while trying to decide who to marry.

It’s tough enough to be a young single girl, but Rosie’s got to keep the peace between the Capulets and the Montagues, too.

I’m looking forward to the next installment in this series!

Rosie Montague is back. The eldest daughter of Romeo and Juliet and amateur sleuth returns with her sarcastic voice and wit in the second book of the Daughter of Verona series.

This continues from where the first book stopped and I enjoyed this way more than I was expecting to.

The short chapters and the modern language worked for me. The mystery was much more fun than the first book and it was interesting trying to figure it out.

All of the characters were on point and delivered what was expected of them, including the Elder who brought his own unique wisdom and wit.

I enjoyed the budding romance between Rosie and Cal and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

This series is such a weird (in a good way) mix of historical fiction, cozy mystery, and romance. I really liked this follow-up from A Daughter of Fair Verona and thought there was some good character growth/plot development from the first one. Both the mystery and the romance feel a little surface level still, but I think it’s an improvement from the first book in the series, so I’m hopeful both of those will continue to deepen in the next one. I definitely would like a little more on the mystery side specifically since this sometimes felt a bit too light and fluffy. Overall though it’s a quick fun read and I’ve found myself looking forward to the next one! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book combines so many things I love - historical fiction, mystery, romance, a dash of supernatural elements, and plenty of wit and humor! Dodd continues Rosie’s story, where she searches for the murderer of Prince Cal’s father after he appears to her as a ghost.

I adore Rosie’s character, and Dodd had me laughing throughout the whole book with Rosie’s internal monologues and dialogues with other characters (especially Cal). Each book in this series somehow tops the last, so I can’t wait to see what the next installment brings!

I have had the best time diving into this series and Rosie has my whole heart!

I am a big chicken and don’t like reading anything too scary, so these cozy mysteries are just my speed. I love how the mysterious elements are balanced with warmth and the cheekiest quips!

Dodd does an excellent job of keeping an even pace throughout the story so it doesn’t lag and I love how the little twists keep you turning the page. That ending though! Ah! This might be the slow burn to end all slow burns! I am excited to see where Dodd takes these characters and what lies in store for our dear Rosie next.

I loved this fast paced and very funny story that goes into what might have happened if Romeo and Juliet had not died. I loved Rosaline, Cal and Lysander. I loved all the laughs in the story. I also enjoyed the bits of mystery and intrigue. I could not put this book down. I loved Rosaline and her whole family. I received a copy of the book and gave an honest opinion.

3.5 stars! I stayed up late to finish this book because I didn’t want to let go yet of Cal and Rosie. They really do suit more than Lysander and Rosie, who can be good friends more than anything. The addition of ghost/s in this book is fun to read about and made this adventure of theirs more than the first book. I wouldn't mind seeing Elder (and Eleanor) again though.

Absolutely enjoying this series and I hope we don’t have long to wait for the next installment.

Thus With a Kiss I Die by Christina Dodd

20 year old Rosie Montague is one of the most eligible bachelorettes in all of Verona. The eldest daughter of Romeo and Juliet (rumours of their deaths have been greatly exaggerated) she is witty, irreverent, and exceedingly clever. She is also a dab hand at investigating murder mysteries…
In this, the second instalment of the Daughter of Montague series, Rosie is charged with solving the murder of Prince Escalus the elder, by none other than his own ghost… This fun and zany novel is a treat for literature lovers with plenty of Shakespearean Easter eggs peppered throughout. This was a clever YA treat that made for a very different kind of beach read. Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publications for this ARC!

#ThuswithaKissIDie #NetGalley #shakespeare #fantasy #murdeystery #bookstagram #bookstagrammer

This is the second in the Daughter of Montague series. Rosie has fallen for Lysander, but Prince Escalus also has his eyes on her. As she decides to try to like the Prince, his father that is a ghost, asks for her help in finding his killer.

This book is just as good as the first one in the series! Fun characters with a great plot, with twists and turns that hold your suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

We're back with the second book in the Daughter of Montague series and another comedic mystery to solve with Rosie and Cal. This funny, witty, and dangerous pursuit of a killer in the sequel was just as entertaining as the first story.

Rosie is commissioned by the ghost of Escalus the Elder to find his killer with the promise to unite her with her One True Love. As she feels tricked into an engagement with Cal and still pining after Lysander, she agrees, but is soon thought to be going mad as she talks to an apparition no one else can see.

I really enjoyed Rosie's character growth in this book, and the world building was very descriptive and well written again. The humor was abundant and tied in the Romeo and Juliet Era with modern quips for an updated comedy with a touch of tragedy. Although there was closure at the end, it was still left open for a third book to easily follow.

This series has been a hoot to read and I am enjoying it so much. In the first book, we meet Rosie, daughter of Romeo and Juliet of Verona. (Yes, that Romeo and Juliet) who didn’t die, married and had many children. Rosie is the oldest and at the ripe age of 20 is still a virgin and not married. In this book, Rosie is engaged to Prince Escalus, the younger due to circumstances in the first book. She is not thrilled but for her family is stoically going through with it. Now, in this story, there is another murder or two and Rosie is again involved. But this time, there is a ghost involved, fighting in the city, and of course, a bad guy. I can’t wait for more!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for these free copies of "A Daughter of Fair Verona" and "Thus With A Kiss I Die" in the "Daughter of Montague" series.

These books were glorious! Re-imaginings of Romeo and Juliet (still in love and legendary after 20 years) and their boisterous, chaotic, wonderful family!

The books are narrated by their eldest daughter, Rosaline (Rosie) who is sarcastic about love and passion, even after her parents' epic love story. She's been avoiding marriage by arranging more suitable matches for her intendeds.

So when her current betrothed and others close to him start dying, she needs to find the murderer in case she's next on the list.

I was thrilled to read "A Daughter of Fair Verona" and "Thus..." back-to-back since "Thus..." picks up almost immediately after "Daughter..." ends.

We meet more memorable members of Prince Esacalus of Verona's family and Rosie has to solve another murder, this time it's one from the past. Prince Escalus' father (now a ghost) needs her to find his killer.

Fingers crossed there will be more in the series because it's wonderful!

These books are so creatively entertaining. I had so much fun reading book 1, and this one is just as good. Maybe better. *gasp*

I love how this book plays with Shakespeare tropes and bits of Shakespeare's plots beyond R&J. And my Jane Austen lens has found parallels there as well! The author is so inventive & smart, and the story is so engaging, I couldn't put it down.

"I walked - nay, I stalked - down the great walk to the far corner, aware all the time he watched with judgemental gaze. I wondered if he'd be foolish enough to try to stop me."

"Rosie, you have to let go and reach for me."

This is the second book in the series, and definitely should read in order. I really enjoyed the first book, so I was excited to receive this one. I didn’t feel like this book was as interesting as the first book. The dialog is too modern for my tastes and tries too hard to be witty in that regard.

The book moves along so slowly it took forever to get through. Some parts were good and humorous, while others not so much. The way things happen and are presented seem kind of random and thrown in, like the entire subplot with the religious zealots.

I really liked the supporting characters of her Family, the MMC's grandmother and sister. The ghost was pretty entertaining.

I didn't like the controlling and sometimes condescending attitude of her fiancé. Her reasons for picking who she does in the end I was not on board with. That ending is not in line with all the epic Romeo and Juliet love talk. That payoff was NOT worth it. There wasn't much romance in the story. I started this series because of my love of Shakespeare and this play in particular but I don't like where the story is going.

I don't like giving an e-ARC such a negative review. Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for access to the audio and digital copy of this book! First let me just say that I LOVE Suzy Jackson as a narrator—but specifically as Rosie’s voice! I thoroughly enjoyed the first book but it ended very abruptly. Thankfully this one picked up right where it left off and kept the pace well. The mystery wasn’t quite as gripping but the character development here felt more focal and I enjoyed it a lot. Who doesn’t love a medieval slow burn enemies to lovers style Shakespearean drama?! I laugh out loud and giggle and enjoy this series wholeheartedly!!