ARC Review: Romeo and What’s Her Name
by Shani Petroff

Romeo and What’s Her Name by Shani Petroff is today’s featured ARC review. I would like to thank Swoon Reads for the paperback ARC, this in no way influences my thoughts and was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

 

Romeo and What’s Her Name by Shani Petroff

Category: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
Publication: February 7th, 2017; Swoon Reads
Purchase: Amazon

Understudies never get to perform

. . . which is why being Juliet’s understudy in the school’s yearly “Evening with Shakespeare” is the perfect role for Emily. She can earn some much-needed extra credit while pursuing her main goal of spending time with Wes, aka Romeo, aka the hottest, nicest guy in school (in her completely unbiased opinion). And she meant to learn her lines, really, it’s just:
a) Shakespeare is HARD,
b) Amanda, aka the “real” Juliet, makes her run errands instead of lines, and
c) there’s no point because Amanda would never miss the chance to be the star of the show.

Then, Amanda ends up in the hospital and Emily, as the (completely unprepared!) understudy, has to star opposite the guy of her dreams. Oops?

Review:

[book rating=3/5]

I got exactly what I expected from this story. Light-hearted fluff. But, having said that, I do wish it would have been a little more enjoyable.

Emily is in love with Wes. He’s the perfect guy, blah blah blah. And those blahs aren’t just me filling gaps. She literally loses the ability to function in front of this guy—a plot device I absolutely loathe. It makes the female come across weak. And sadly, Emily was just that. She also reads far younger than a junior in high school. If I didn’t know better, I’d have pegged her voice as that of a middle schooler.

And Wes? I don’t really know much about him. Nothing beyond how hot he is and amazing, anyway. He could’ve used more development (as could all the characters, if I’m behind honest).

The story itself is decent. Readable. I didn’t think this was going to be the next great literary tale, but I did hope for something I’d really enjoy. And I liked this well enough, but not enough to beg all my friends to pick it up. I’m sure most people will be able to enjoy it for what it is!

Rating: 3 stars