A John Scognamiglio Book
Featuring: Rosie Montague
304 pages ISBN: 1496750160 EAN: 9781496750167 Kindle: B0CK5DXYPR Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook Add to Wish List
Rosaline “Rosie” Montague is fast approaching the old age of twenty and is still unwed. Though betrothed four times, Rosie has managed to escape each one of those gentlemen by finding them their perfect matches. Her latest betrothal may not be so easy to escape. Though Duke Stephano buried his last wife just two weeks ago, he’s so determined to marry Rosie that he’s even willing to forgo a dowry for her.
Unfortunately for Rosaline, not only does she finally meet a stranger who makes her believe in love at first sight, but she also discovers the duke murdered in the garden during her betrothal ball. Now all eyes, and suspicion, are on Rosie, who is determined to clear her name and discover who the true villain is, particularly now that more bodies have started dropping.
Christina Dodd’s A DAUGHTER OF VERONA re-imagines Romeo and Juliet’s lives if they had managed to live happily ever after. Focusing on the firstborn Montague, the story follows Rosaline who loses her betrothed fairly quickly after she acquires him. If you ever wondered what kind of parents Romeo and Juliet would end up being, the answer is not great ones. To save themselves, her parents agreed to betroth her to a man who’s suspected of killing his first three wives and who has made it clear he wanted to be the one to take Rosie’s virginity. The obsession with her virginity can be quite a bit much at times and talked about quite openly.
It takes a bit of building up before the story begins to pull you in. Things start getting interesting once the lecherous fiancé is found murdered but that’s not really the main focus. More than the mystery of the murders, the story focuses on Rosie, the people around her, and her quest for true love. The writing flows well and keeps you invested in all the shenanigans going on throughout the book. Though A DAUGHTER OF VERONA is categorized under new adult, I would say it’s more of a young adult read. Dodd gives a delightfully creative twist to the much-loved story of Romeo and Juliet and presents us with a glimpse of what their lives could have been like had they lived. With Bridgerton mania currently sweeping the world, readers will be delighted with this offering. There are a few threads left hanging to keep readers wanting more and they absolutely will want more. I’m looking forward to seeing what adventures the next book brings.
I’m the eldest daughter of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, that Romeo and Juliet. No, they didn’t die in the tomb. They’re alive and well and living in fair Verona with their six wildly impetuous children and me, their nineteen-year-old daughter Rosaline…
Knives Out meets Bridgerton in Fair Verona, as New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd kicks off a frothy, irreverent, witty new series with an irresistible premise—Romeo and Juliet’s daughter as a clever, rebellious, fiercely independent young woman in fair Verona—told from the delightfully engaging point of view of the captivating Rosie Montague herself…
"A sharp, determined heroine, a clever historical mystery, sparkling wit, a unique setting, family drama and a dash of romance.”– AMANDA QUICK, New York Times bestselling author of The Lady Has a Past
Once upon a time a young couple met and fell in love. You probably know that story, and how it ended (hint: badly). Only here’s the thing: That’s not how it ended at all.
Romeo and Juliet are alive and well and the parents of seven kids. I’m the oldest, with the emphasis on ‘old’—a certified spinster at twenty, and happy to stay that way. It’s not easy to keep your taste for romance with parents like mine. Picture it—constant monologues, passionate declarations, fighting, making up, making out . . . it’s exhausting.
Each time they’ve presented me with a betrothal, I’ve set out to find the groom-to-be a more suitable bride. After all, someone sensible needs to stay home and manage this household. But their latest match, Duke Stephano, isn’t so easy to palm off on anyone else. The debaucher has had three previous wives—all of whom met unfortunate ends. Conscience forbids me from consigning another woman to that fate. As it turns out, I don’t have to . . .
At our betrothal ball—where, quite by accident, I meet a beautiful young man who makes me wonder if perhaps there is something to love at first sight—I stumble upon Duke Stephano with a dagger in his chest. But who killed him? His late wives’ families, his relatives, his mistress, his servants—half of Verona had motive. And when everyone around the Duke begins dying, disappearing, or descending into madness, I know I must uncover the killer . . . before death lies on me like an untimely frost.