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A review by delaney572e4
Roman and Jewel by Dana L. Davis
2.0
trigger warnings: mentions of suicide, police interactions (although it was nonviolent), mentions of car crash
I don't know what I was on yesterday, but whatever it was made me unable to write coherently. So I'm just re-writing this whole thing. Anyway...
Jerzie James is sixteen when she gets cast in her first Broadway role. And not just any Broadway role, in a new hip-hop musical retelling of Romeo and Juliet .Unfortunately, instead of getting the lead role of Jewel she was hoping for, she gets the understudy. Instead, Jewel is going to be played by R&B superstar Cinny. As sparks fly between Jerzie and Zepplin, the male lead of the show, conflict erupts between Cinny and Jerzie, and Jerzie is about to learn that nothing is simple in love and theater.
The thing I appreciated most about this book was that it was obviously written by a theater lover for theater lovers. I honestly enjoyed all the allusions to different musicals. That being said, I don't know how someone who was not familiar with theater would feel about it.
As a result of my being a theater fan, my favorite part of the book by far was the story behind the production of Roman and Jewel. I really enjoyed reading about the audition, the rehearsals, and the building of the show. Unfortunately, the book strayed away from this in favor of the insta-love, creepy-age-gap romance.
I was on board for the first couple of scenes between Jerzie and Zeppelin. I saw some chemistry, and their banter was really cute. I was really disappointed to find that the rest of their relationship wasn't written the same way. Part of it was just due to the writing feeling lackluster. The other part was that Zeppelin was 19, while Jerzie was 16. As a 19 year old, there is no way I would date a 16 year old. It doesn't matter that she was "going to be 17 soon." It was still too weird for me. Especially because their relationship moved so fast. It felt like they had only known each other a few weeks before they said I love you.
In general, the fast-paced relationship also just felt unrealistic. I get that it was trying to mirror Romeo and Juliet, but in this particular instance it wasn't believable.
The other main issue I had with the plot was that the second half of the book had so much drama it felt like a reality tv show. It was just too over the top for me.
Besides the parts about the show, my favorite parts were definitely Jerzie's family. I really loved Aunt Karla's character, and I really enjoyed the family interactions. Those were a high point of the book.
Sadly, that wasn't enough to pull me through. And overall, I can't really say I would recommend this book.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC
I don't know what I was on yesterday, but whatever it was made me unable to write coherently. So I'm just re-writing this whole thing. Anyway...
Jerzie James is sixteen when she gets cast in her first Broadway role. And not just any Broadway role, in a new hip-hop musical retelling of Romeo and Juliet .Unfortunately, instead of getting the lead role of Jewel she was hoping for, she gets the understudy. Instead, Jewel is going to be played by R&B superstar Cinny. As sparks fly between Jerzie and Zepplin, the male lead of the show, conflict erupts between Cinny and Jerzie, and Jerzie is about to learn that nothing is simple in love and theater.
The thing I appreciated most about this book was that it was obviously written by a theater lover for theater lovers. I honestly enjoyed all the allusions to different musicals. That being said, I don't know how someone who was not familiar with theater would feel about it.
As a result of my being a theater fan, my favorite part of the book by far was the story behind the production of Roman and Jewel. I really enjoyed reading about the audition, the rehearsals, and the building of the show. Unfortunately, the book strayed away from this in favor of the insta-love, creepy-age-gap romance.
I was on board for the first couple of scenes between Jerzie and Zeppelin. I saw some chemistry, and their banter was really cute. I was really disappointed to find that the rest of their relationship wasn't written the same way. Part of it was just due to the writing feeling lackluster. The other part was that Zeppelin was 19, while Jerzie was 16. As a 19 year old, there is no way I would date a 16 year old. It doesn't matter that she was "going to be 17 soon." It was still too weird for me. Especially because their relationship moved so fast. It felt like they had only known each other a few weeks before they said I love you.
In general, the fast-paced relationship also just felt unrealistic. I get that it was trying to mirror Romeo and Juliet, but in this particular instance it wasn't believable.
The other main issue I had with the plot was that the second half of the book had so much drama it felt like a reality tv show. It was just too over the top for me.
Besides the parts about the show, my favorite parts were definitely Jerzie's family. I really loved Aunt Karla's character, and I really enjoyed the family interactions. Those were a high point of the book.
Sadly, that wasn't enough to pull me through. And overall, I can't really say I would recommend this book.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC