I would first off, like to thank, Isla Cristeon, for giving me the ARC for her book In Fair Verona (Verona Saga #1). So, let’s get on to this review.

First off, I rated this on my Goodreads a 3.5 (which translates to 3 on Goodreads) because I wanted to read the second book right away. And until then, my Goodreads rating will remain a three. But, this does not mean I didn’t like it. In fact quite the opposite, I really liked it.

This is a classic modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet with a twist. I liked the way it brought my favorite classic to modern times and the way it kind of deals with race issues with one of our main characters. It kind of has the enemies to lovers aspects in terms of family enemies as of course, it’s Capulets vs. Montagues.

The way this modern retelling fits into the original is absolutely incredible and you can really tell the similarities between the original story plot and this book. I love the way it deals with some race issues (although not too much like it is the main topic of this book) which I think it wasn’t too much but it also fit well into the story.

And it includes one of my favorite tropes; second chance romance. While this book doesn’t directly fit with that trope just yet, I do believe the second book does? In general, I’m excited to find out more in book two.

One thing that added to the my rating was the fact that this wasn’t a direct modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet (because that would be rather sad), so, I’m glad that we got to see more to the Capulet and Montague story and timeline. I think I enjoyed its own twists of being a retelling of sorts and was really enjoying this book. It was very insta-love which I did expect though I do wish that it wasn’t fully insta-love but really going in another direction than the insta-love that Romeo and Juliet encountered. But if we take the insta-love out, it is a terrifically written book.

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book and when I get to book two I know I’ll at least bump my Goodreads rating to a 4 or even 5 star rating.

If you guys are reading this, please don’t let my ORIGINAL 3 star rating on Goodreads throw you off from buying this book because that’s just the beginning!

Please let me know your thoughts and if this book does interest you down in the likes and comments below!

Loves,

Veronica Chen