ARC Review: Julieta and the Romeos by Maria E. Andreu

Julieta and the Romeos
by Maria E. Andreu
Publication Date: May 16th 2023
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Find This Book: Julieta and the Romeos
Rating: 4/5

**An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

The summer between junior and senior year, Julieta is accepted into an elite writing course in New York City — taught by her favorite author. Having always dreamed of becoming a writer, this mentorship could drastically shape her future. Add on top of that helping out at her family restaurant and three potential love interests, and you’ve got the recipe for a great contemporary romance!

Our Romeos Include:

-Ryan, her rival, and her best friend’s twin brother

-Lucas, her childhood best friend that could be something more

-Calvin, the new boy next door (or really, Abuela’s next door neighbor)

 As the summer goes on, Julieta commutes to class with Ryan, works at her family restaurant with Lucas, watches soaps with her Abuela and Calvin, and struggles with receiving writing critiques from her idol. All of these scenarios bring out different aspects of Julieta’s personality that she both cherishes and is in conflict with.

When Julieta publishes a writing assignment for class on a Wattpad equivalent, it evolves into a piece being co-written with an anonymous author. A local reference is included and Julieta realizes that they might know each other in real life. Could they be the man of her dreams? Could they be one of her Romeos?? If only she could get them to confess…

Reflecting on her love life predicament with her aunt, one of the best quotes in the book occurs:
“The question isn’t which boy is right for you. The question is which boy helps you be the best version of yourself. Or, an even bigger question, what version of yourself do you want to be, independent of them all?”

All in all, I quickly got sucked into Julieta’s life and I enjoyed how the plot pulled in her family dynamics and friendship with Ivy on top of the romances. If you’re looking for a sweet, fun contemporary romance, with a lesson in discovering yourself along the way, this is the book for you!

Top Ten Tuesday #20

Created by The Broke and The Bookish 
Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf

1. The Ones We're Meant to Find

2. The Near Witch

3. The Young Elites

4. The Box in the Woods

5. Blood Scion

6. All of This is True

7. The Battle of the Labyrinth

8. Clockwork Princess

9. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

10. The Starless Sea

Review: This Woven Kingdom

This Woven Kingdom
by Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: February 1st 2022
Publisher: HarperCollins
Find This Book: This Woven Kingdom
Rating: 3/5

**A finalized copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

This Woven Kingdom contains beautiful prose and descriptions, but unfortunately very little plot. It comes with the territory of an almost 500-page book that spans about 3 days of in-book time. 60% of This Woven Kingdom is the main characters’ inner monologue, 20% is setting/food/clothing description, 10% is verbal dialogue, and the last 10% is where the actual occurring events happen. I prefer to be shown actions to back up character motivations and thoughts, but this book heavily relies upon the reader being told what to think. The whole experience made it hard to connect with, or even like, either of the two main protagonists.

I was hoping for a lush Persian mythology read, but This Woven Kingdom is essentially a Cinderella retelling with cosmetic Middle Eastern inspirations regarding food and clothing. A dual-POV read, we alternate between Alizeh a long-lost princess of the Jinn who is currently hiding as a lowly servant, and Kamran the heir to the human empire of Ardunia. Their lots in life place them at odds, for Alizeh was prophesized to end the reign of the current king of Ardunia, Kamran’s grandfather. Of course, Alizeh and Kamran happen to cross paths on the street and become an insta-love forbidden romance. As I mentioned, this book is about 10% plot. Over the course of about 3 days, Kamran and Alizeh think about the other non-stop and their inner thoughts take up the majority of the writing of this book. All of this builds up to a ball, (Yay, an event is finally occurring!) so you have that to look forward to in the last 100 pages or so. Check out my book recap for a more thorough summary.

If you come into this with the right mindset, I think it can certainly be an enjoyable read, but it was very different than how it was marketed and you have to be ready for it to be a slow-paced read, very trope-heavy and descriptor-heavy.