Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout

Such Sweet Sorrow

Jenny Trout

4.0/5.0

Never was there a tale of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo…But true love never dies. Though they’re parted by the veil between the world of mortals and the land of the dead, Romeo believes he can restore Juliet to life, but he’ll have to travel to the underworld with a thoroughly infuriating guide.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, may not have inherited his father’s crown, but the murdered king left his son a much more important responsibility—a portal to the Afterjord, where the souls of the dead reside. When the determined Romeo asks for help traversing the treacherous Afterjord, Hamlet sees an opportunity for adventure, and the chance to avenge his father’s death.
In an underworld filled with leviathan monsters, ghoulish shades, fire giants and fierce Valkyrie warriors, Hamlet and Romeo must battle their way through jealousy, despair, and their darkest fears to rescue the fair damsel. Yet finding Juliet is only the beginning, and the Afterjord doesn’t surrender souls without a price…

O... M... G! How could you NOT love that blurb!? I literally freaked out trying to get on Netgalley to request this. When they approved me, if I had been ABLE to do cartwheels, I would have been cartwheeling all over the place like a cheerleader on crack. I mean, c'mon, Shakespeare, Mythology, JENNY TROUT! OMG!




And of course, it's Jenny Trout, and she does NOT disappoint. I absolutely adored this story. The whole concept of Romeo not dying and venturing into the Afterjord to find Juliet is interesting enough on it's own. Then she throws in Hamlet too, and it's like awesome overload. Hamlet is, beyond question, my favorite character out of all of Shakespeare's work. Jenny Trout totally does him justice in this book. He's still that intelligent, snarky persona that I loved so much in Hamlet.




I wasn't such a huge fan of Romeo and Juliet back in the day, however, I was a huge fan of Juliet in this story. Jenny Trout transforms her into a very strong female character that I can identify with and appreciate. Romeo didn't really do much for me. His love for Juliet was admirable, but he was still whiny and annoying. However, it didn't stop me from enjoying the book at all.




The end is a bit of a cliffhanger, but I haven't heard anything official about a book two... so... FINGERS CROSSED!




All in all, I absolutely love it, and I would totally recommend it to anyone who has a soft spot for Shakespeare or mythology... or just awesomeness in general.