From the Stacks: Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout

For those who don't know this already, I have a B.A. in English Literature and a M.L.I.S., meaning that books are basically my life blood. Also, I really enjoyed Shakespeare. So, to find a new story that decides to wonder what would have happened had Romeo survived and discovered a way to be reunited with Juliet by traveling up to Denmark and working with Hamlet...yeah, basically a genius concept that had me drooling and begging for an advanced copy. So, thank you NetGalley, for this great opportunity.

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...

Overall Rating: 4/5

Plot: The idea for this book immediately grabbed my attention, as it should for any fan of Shakespeare. I know while studying the various plays, it was often pondered what could have happened if certain events had occurred differently, and this book tackles that concept head-on. Plus, hey, on top of all the awesomeness of Shakespeare, let's also throw in the epic idea of Norse mythology, because it wasn't an amazing idea already. Seriously, I thought it was great. As Romeo and Hamlet trek through the Afterjord they run into so many creatures and issues and questions about what they're doing, how they'll get Juliet back to Midgard, and how they'll get home as well  The Afterjord helps us to run into characters/creatures such as the Norns...oh, and Valkyries. I thought the voice and tone of the novel captured the characters and the time period quite well, and I liked how it incorporated the occasional phrase from the Shakespearean plays too, as sort of a memory or as an homage to the works that serve as inspiration for this particular novel. Based on where it all ends, with Romeo and Hamlet still together in Denmark, I honestly think there can and will be a sequel, and I look forward to reading it.

Characters: Here is why my overall rating was a 4 instead of a 5. Honestly, through the first 70% of the book I found myself thinking that Such Sweet Sorrow was going to earn a 3 star rating, but the final 30% really intensified everything and made the characters grow enough that I had to give it an extra star. As much as I love Shakespeare, I have always found Juliet and Romeo to be quite rash, and Romeo's feelings seem to swing from one extreme to the other quite rapidly. Plus he always seemed like such a wimp to me, despite apparently being a great swordsman. Well, true to form, Romeo was still sort of a mopey whiny guy, but he does still feel such an intense...love...for his now deceased wife.

Then there's Hamlet, who converses with the ghost of his murdered father, and drinks a lot, and doesn't throw himself into fights like the rash Italian Romeo. There is great growth from Hamlet as he is dragged into the Afterjord with Romeo and finds himself needing to handle a great deal more responsibility than he originally imagined. With everything he learned throughout the book, I think he actually has become a prince worthy of his father's crown and throne, and it will be interesting to watch him take it away from his uncle.

The character who wins the award for most growth and biggest badass in this book is Juliet, hands down. As those who have read Shakespeare know, Juliet is incredibly young when she dies, and therefore is still quite naive about so many worldly matters. In the Afterjord she holds much more strength and ability than either of her male counterparts, and to see her go from scared young girl to someone who is able to fight to save herself, her husband, and her friends, is an incredible transformation. Juliet is even the one who grows to understand how things work much better than the boys would and finds a way to get the boys home safely while still leaving a possibility that she and Romeo can eventually be together again. It was really her strength and courage and growth that made this book completely worthwhile, so if for no other reason, you should pick this up for Juliet. I was not disappointed by her at all.

Get Your Own Copy: B&N, Amazon, BAM, Kobo

*Oh, and as of writing this (Feb 4, 2014...Amazon has the Kindle version for only $0.99.