Back of Book: 

Once upon a time a young couple met and fell in love. You probably know that story, and how it ended (hint: badly). Only here's the thing: That's not how it ended at all.

 Romeo and Juliet are alive and well and the parents of seven kids. I'm the oldest, with the emphasis on 'old'—a certified spinster at twenty, and happy to stay that way. It's not easy to keep your taste for romance with parents like mine. Picture it—constant monologues, passionate declarations, fighting, making up, making out... it's exhausting.

 Each time they've presented me with a betrothal, I've set out to find the groom-to-be a more suitable bride. After all, someone sensible needs to stay home and manage this household. But their latest match, Duke Stephano, isn't so easy to palm off on anyone else. The debaucher has had three previous wives—all of whom met unfortunate ends. Conscience forbids me from consigning another woman to that fate. As it turns out, I don't have to...

At our betrothal ball—where, quite by accident, I meet a beautiful young man who makes me wonder if perhaps there is something to love at first sight—I stumble upon Duke Stephano with a dagger in his chest. But who killed him? His late wives' families, his relatives, his mistress, his servant—half of Verona had motive. And when everyone around the Duke begins dying, disappearing, or descending into madness, I know I must uncover the killer... before death lies on me like an untimely frost.

Book Number: One 

Genre: Young Adult | Mystery | Historical | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Meet the snarky Rosie, the first born daughter of Romeo and Juliet (yes, that Romeo and Juliet) as she investigates the string of murders that are popping up all across fair Verona.

Rosaline "Rosie" Montague is turning twenty years old and she's still a virgin. If Rosie's being completely honest, this doesn't upset her in the slightest. But as the daughter of Verona's most romantic couple, Romeo and Juliet, being an unmarried spinster at her age is unbelievable. Rosie may have a hand in that. . . Every time she is presented with a betrothal, she works her matchmaking skills to ensure that they marry anyone but her. That is, until she is betrothed to Duke Stephano. Before she can find him a new suitor, he is ghastly murdered at their betrothal ball. Everyone suspects that Rosie is behind his death. As always, Rosie has to take charge and clear her name before she is put to death, or worse, sent to a nunnery.

When I heard the premise of this book, I knew that I had to read it. Luckily, the author was willing to send me a review copy, so I was blessed enough to read this book before it was published. I had high expectations going into this book, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed! I love the wit, the characters, the iconic Shakespeare references, the intrigue, the romance, and everything else that Dodd manages to pack between these two covers!

One of the highlights of this story has to be Rosie herself. It is hilarious to hear her talk about her parents and complain about how mushy her household can be. Her wit is unparalleled and her ability to stand up for herself is wonderful, especially for the time period. The fact that she often complains about her circumstances is great, but it's made even better because you can tell she loves her family more than anything else, despite their lovey-dovey atmosphere.

The fact that this book even exists is amazing. I mean, everyone knows that Romeo and Juliet die in Shakespeare's classic tragedy, so it is so fun that Dodd wrote a story about their daughter. It makes for a very interesting scenario with plenty of comical elements to explore in the twenty-first century. The fact that it is also a murder mystery is a bonus, in my opinion.

The constant Shakespeare references were iconic. Some of my favorites are the constant allusions to "the balcony scene," "Get thee to a nunnery!," and the Toil and Trouble apothecary. Also, the characters in this story that shared names to characters from other works of Shakespeare such as Lysander and Titania are also great.

Since this book is a mystery, I don't want to touch too much on the plot, but it is full of twists and turns. I didn't find the ending to be too shocking, but it wasn't overly predictable either. As I've said before, the story weaves plenty of elements from Shakespeare's original tale with new, intriguing scenarios. I'm shocked that Romeo and Juliet still heavily rely on the Nurse and Friar Laurence even after their whole plan failed so miserably. Shockingly (NOT), this does bite Rosie in the butt a couple of times; I found this more comical than anything else, but it's great to see that Dodd didn't stray too heavily from the groundwork that Shakespeare provided.

Overall, I found "A Daughter of Fair Verona" to be such a witty, hilarious, murder mystery filled with exciting characters and plenty of plot twists. I really can't get enough of Shakespeare retellings, but Dodd's rendition of Romeo and Juliet has to be one of my favorites. This book did end with plenty of open strings, so I am desperate to get my hands on the second installment and see how Rosie deals with some of these loose ends. I can't recommend enough if you are a fan of Shakespeare, historical or fantasy romance, or a comical murder mystery.

Back of Book: 

With a boldly refreshing premise and a daring heroine to match, this delightful mystery series features the eldest daughter of the not-so-ill-fated Romeo and Juliet—20-year-old Rosie Montague, a young woman possessed of an irreverent wit, an independent spirit—and a penchant for sleuthing...

Gentle reader, I, Rosie Montague, present you with the tumultuous events of my recent months: despite my goal to remain a spinster, I fell instantly in love with Lysander of the House of Beautiful; suffered an unhappy betrothal to a duke, which ended in death for him and almost for me; am now entrapped by a compromising deceit plotted by the enamored Prince of Verona himself, Escalus...

Not only am I failing on the spinster front, but I have also failed to set an example for my seven siblings (soon to be eight, thanks to my parents’ embarrassingly undying passion.) Specifically, 13-year-old Katherina, along with her friend, Princess Isabella. In their desire to honor my romance (now ill-fated) by commissioning a sonnet, they imitated my own youthful folly and dressed like well-born young males, complete with stuffed codpieces, and swaggered into the night. Their poetic mission accomplished, they celebrated, landed in scandalous circumstances—and the princess was robbed of her mother’s priceless ring...

With our fates and family names at stake, I must save the day. What ensues will require that I visit a brothel, infiltrate the thief’s debaucherous lair, and dodge Prince Escalus. I can only hope to keep intact my virginity—and my life. The latter especially, should my parents find out...

Book Number: 1.5 Novella 

Genre: Young Adult | Mystery | Historical | Romance 

Review: 🌟

The first novella in the "Daughter of Montague" series, which is a "Romeo & Juliet" spin-off that follows their eldest daughter, Rosie. 

Rosie's grand plan to convince her parents to allow her to marry the love of her life, Lysander, just blew up in her face. She arranged to meet him in the garden in the dead of night with hopes to be caught and causing a scandal, but when she is found with Prince Escalus instead, she ends up betrothed to the prince. On the same night that her entire world imploded, her young sister, Katherina, is also in deep trouble. Katherina and her dear friend, Princess Isabella, have lost a precious royal ring while they romped around town dressed as young men. Now, Rosie must find the ring before the truth of the scandal is revealed or the Montagues will face the consequences. 

This was the strangest reading experience for me ever. I have rated the rest of the series five stars (I read both books one and two before I got my hands on this novella). The writing is humorous, the tone is light, and the plot is a jolly good time. That is not the case for this book. I think this one disturbed me so much that I'm giving it a one star rating. 

The plot of this one isn't anything special. At first, I figured this one would get a two star, because I was mostly just bored out of my mind. If I wouldn't have already read book two maybe this novella would have been a bit more exciting, but as it is, I just found it extremely boring and was waiting for it to just end already. 

And then Rosie gets raped by her future love interest. Yes, you read that right. The love interest in this Young/New Adult series literally rapes her. I wasn't expecting this at all due to the lighthearted and comical nature of this series, and it literally had me wanting to throw up. Just knowing that Escalus is capable of this and that this was the near start to their romantic relationship has my stomach roiling. I fear that this novella may taint my view of their relationship (and quite possibly this series) in a negative way, quite probably forever. Also, controlling men are a giant red flag for me and they just fill me with ick in general. So yeah, not enthused at all by this entire situation. 

Rape scene aside, this book is filled with debauchery and much of the humor is derived from salacious content. I'm sure this doesn't surprise you, but that didn't float my boat at all and I found it to be overall appalling. Much of this story also takes place in a house of pleasure, which somehow managed to be one of the least disturbing parts of the entire thing. 

Overall, I am shocked by the contents of "What Dreams May Come." I have been a fan of Rosie's adventures in the past, but this was certainly not it for me. I found this novella to be very boring, and it completely exploded after the rape scene. If you read this series, I would highly recommend skipping this novella as I found it very triggering and I'm sure it will leave a mark on my opinions of these characters forevermore. 

Back of Book: 

The delightfully irreverent eldest daughter of the not-so-ill-fated Romeo and Juliet returns to sleuth another day in fair Verona, in this hugely entertaining historical mystery series with a refreshingly bold premise. (Think Hamlet!)

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

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...

Book Number: Two 

Genre: Young Adult | Mystery | Historical | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Rosalie Montague, the daughter of Romeo and Juliet—yes, the Romeo and Juliet—is back at it again solving another murder mystery in fair Verona. 

After a lover's tryst gone awry, Rosalie "Rosie" Montague finds herself betrothed to the wrong guy. Wanting nothing more but to marry her One True Love, Lysander, Rosie is less than enthused that she now has to marry Escalus, the prince of Verona. On her first visit to the castle, she finds the ghost of Escalus' father and is tasked to find out who murdered him all those years ago. As Rosie begins to dig into the case, unease spreads across Verona and secrets abound in the darkest corners all while Rosie is trying her hardest not to fall for the roguish (but admittedly quite ugly) prince. 

This is my second romp with Rosie, and admittedly it has been a while since I read the first book. This means that it took me a minute to remember just where exactly this book picks up. At the very end of the first book, Rosie and Lysander decide to make out in her family's garden to "despoil" her leaving them no choice but to run away together. In reality nothing goes as planned and it turns out that Prince Escalus had Lysander retained and took his spot instead. After Rosie unwittingly makes out with the prince in Lysander's stead, she has no choice but to reluctantly agree to marry the prince or besmirch the Montague name forever. This is a classic twist on the ending of Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," which I totally ate up. It is only fair that Rosie attempts her own lover's tryst only for it to end in tragedy. 

It took me a moment to get back in the flow of things and remember why I love this series so much, but once I did, I was totally hooked! Rosie's sass, the allusions to Shakespeare's various works, and the bond that he Montague family has are some of my favorite parts of this series. I couldn't help but enjoy being immersed in this world once more! 

The way that Rosie meets Escalus' (I'm going to refer to him by his nickname "Cal" from here on out) father by the same name (who is referred to as Elder) is very "Hamlet" coded and I found this to be quite hilarious. I was a tad frightened that this meant that the one who killed him was going to be Cal's uncle, but luckily, it took knowing him for all of three seconds to realize he couldn't hurt a fly. The murder mystery in this one was intriguing enough, but I don't think I would have been nearly as invested if Elder wasn't there to haunt (and pester) Rosie every step of the way. 

The Montague family is truly iconic in its own right. We all know Romeo and Juliet and not much has changed even twenty years later. Romeo still stabs first, thinks never. Juliet may be a doting mother now, but that doesn't stop the pair from being wild in the bedroom. Juliet is pregnant with yet another baby (I think it's their eighth, though I'm not positive), so that just goes to show how large the Montague family is. Putting all the kids in one room is truly dangerous, but I'm always down to see the schemes that the kids come up with. 

I didn't expect to enjoy reading about the blossoming romance between Rosie and Cal as much as I did. Rosie is vehemently against him at the start of this book, so it was endearing watching Cal try to melt her icy exterior. I'm not going to touch on this too much more in this review to avoid spoilers but let me just say that Lysander (AKA Rosie's One True Love) is definitely not out of the picture. 

The action scene at the end of this one was written so masterfully! Despite knowing that nothing bad was going to happen to Rosie, I was quite concerned for her safety. And the romantic tension in that last chapter? Man does that have me looking forward to the next installment! 

Overall, "Thus With a Kiss I Die" was another great addition to the "Daughter of Montague" series. Seeing Rosie solve another murder mystery was so entertaining, as was watching her icy exterior melt as her hearts starts to warm to the prince. The comedy is also golden; I found myself especially drawn to the banter between Rosie and the ghost of her fiancée's father. I will always adore her sass and the way that she complains about being the daughter of Romeo and Juliet while simultaneously being willing to do anything for her Montague family. The ending is superb, and it has me once again so excited to read the next installment in this series! If you love historical romances, Shakespeare, or comical murder mysteries, you're missing out if you haven't started this series yet!

Back of Book: 

Fair Verona celebrates the most joyful Christmas season in all of this flat earth, and for spirited20-year-old Rosie Montague, sleuth and daughter of Romeo and Juliet (alive and well and still passionately in love), the season holds a thrilling new kind of mystery...

My famously optimistic and romantic mother, Lady Juliet, has declared, “I’m determined the Montagues and all of Verona shall experience a peaceful start to this holy Christmastime!”

Mamma... what were you thinking? Why would you so challenge the Fates? This season already promises to be especially eventful because Prince Escalus the younger is to be married. To me, Lady Rosaline.

Now a P.R. visit to Verona’s market with Prince Escalus is dampened by a fortune teller’s dire prophecy, a blaze in Verona’s orphanage forces Verona’s tempestuous citizens to unite to save their city from ruin, and I discover more about Escalus, his secret kindnesses and his many masks. And much to my discomfort, I also make discoveries about myself, and realize that Mamma's resolve may indeed be exactly what we need to create a joyous Montague family Christmas. 

Book Number: 2.5 Novella

Genre: Young Adult | Mystery | Historical | Romance 

Review: ?