The classic play we’ve all read at some point or another. Is it a falsity? Is it truly a tale of sin and good versus evil, not a tragedy? Did Juliet truly wield the dagger ending her own life upon seeing Romeo “dead” or was it his hand that drove the blade home?

I feel very disconnected from this story, but I can’t place my finger on the cause. Perhaps it is my frustration with Ariel and Gemma. I don’t understand how she can put up with a best friend like Gemma for I would never have someone in my life who constantly talks down to me and treats me like a dog. Perhaps it is my frustration with Juliet who is an Ambassador for good and love yet harbors so much hatred and distrust.

Perhaps I feel there is an excess of drama that is unnecessary. Juliet who is Ariel is interested in Ben. He’s glowing so she assumes it’s for Gemma since she’s glowing also. Gemma adds to that belief by spending more time with Ben and getting angry with Ariel for her attraction to Ben. Meanwhile, Gemma is really into someone else altogether. Why the games with Ben if she’s really interested in someone else? Her games with Ben lead Juliet/Ariel to her own problems with Ben because she wants to be with him yet doesn’t feel she can be causing this back and forth motion between the two.

Lastly, Dylan/Romeo’s bipolar personality gives me whiplash. He tries to kill Ariel/Juliet then tries to convince her to love him again for them to be able to have immortal lives together. He quotes Romeo and Juliet to her yet has a malicious gleam in his eyes as he does so. He looks at their love as an ingredient for the spell yet goes ballistic and possessive when he sees her glowing for Ben. Then he tries to convince her he’s loved her all along and would feel it were it not for the corruption from being turned into a Mercenary. Which is it that drives him—fear, selfishness, or true love?

Overall, I do not see myself reading this one again as I feel no connection to the characters, and it did not draw me in the way some others have. However, while I liked the ending and felt it was wrapped up nicely with the possibility to read on with Romeo’s tale, I do not see myself reading the next one due to my lack of connection with this first one.

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