Having just finished A Daughter of Fair Verona, I'm not sure how to accurately put my thoughts on it into words. Was it an enjoyable read? Yes. Did I enjoy it and want to talk to everyone about it? No. It had an odd quality about it--like the TV sitcoms where the spunky teenager breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience about how zany their parents are. It just didn't translate well to a book in my opinion. I also didn't like the portrayal of Romeo and Juliet. Would they probably have been quirky adults had they lived? yeah, sure, probably? But it just doesn't vibe well with my thoughts on them. It had the potential to be an intriguing book, but it felt a little shallow to me. It was *almost* there but *just* not quite.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review from NetGalley.

Rated 4.5 Stars

A Daughter of Fair Verona was highly entertaining and amusing. I quite enjoyed this take on Romeo and Juliet. It was funny, over the top and ridiculous in ways yet also serious. I loved the mystery aspect of it.

I expected the romance to take a more leading role but it was more of a backseat passenger in this one. I expect that in the next one it would be at the forefront especially with the way things ended.

I loved the characters especially Rosie and the prince. I loved Rosie's voice and wit. I'm intrigued by the prince and can't wait to learn more about him.

I think the narrator did an amazing job of bringing this story and its characters to life in vivid detail. I truly enjoyed this book, highly recommend it and can't wait for the next in the series.

Based on the escapades of the eldest daughter of Romeo and Juliet (yes, in this author's imagination, they survived) this charming mystery/romance thrills and leaves the reader wanting more.

Rosaline, or Rosie, is determined to be a spinster and at the ripe old age of nearly 20 it looks like she will get her wish. But when her family betroth her to an evil man who is later killed she has to solve the mystery to save her reputation and finds love along the way.

Rosie is a compelling and interesting character with wit, intelligence, humour and heart. She doesn't want to be susceptible to passion like her parents but the course of true love never runs smooth, or according to plan.

While the plot moves quickly and Rosie's narration is light and funny, there is still plenty of character development. I was completely thrown when the mystery was solved, but it made sense.

Although the murder is solved the reader is left wondering what happens next in Rosie's life. I have a feeling there will be more adventures in store for her and I am here for it!

The narration was excellent - Rosie's voice is wonderfully captured. I can't wait for the next one.

I received an advance copy of this audio book from Netgalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A fun romp of a murder mystery. Romeo and Juliet's death is quickly explained away, and we're able to rove through Verona with their spunky oldest daughter. Cozy mysteries in the world of classic literature is exactly my wheelhouse, and this did not disappoint on that front. I wasn't totally sold on the direction the story went in the last 10% of the book, but will definitely pick up the next installment to see if I can be swayed.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Christina Dodd for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC audiobook for A Daughter of Fair Verona coming out June 25, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I thought it was a pretty fun book. I really enjoyed the narrator. I thought she really brought it to life. I love Shakespeare, so I really appreciated the alternative look at Romeo and Juliet. Rosie was a strong character and I loved the witty parts. I think I would’ve liked to see a little more of the family dynamic. I think it centered a lot around Rosie and finding a husband. I enjoyed the murder mystery aspect though. That definitely brought some action. Of course the ending was a cliffhanger since there will be other books in the series. I would definitely be interested in checking them out.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Romeo and Juliet adaptations!

That ending…….i seriously went wait what……..this can’t be over…….THANK GOODNESS IT’s A SERIES. I probably should have paid closer attention to that and then I wouldn’t have had a near heart attack when the audiobook said “the end”.
This book is a cozy mystery take on what might have happened if Romeo and Juliet had a happy ending and went on to have A WHOLE LOT of children. Told from the viewpoint of their eldest daughter…….who did not inherit the family tendency to love and poetry.
A hilarious good time. I listened to this on my ride to and from work. Already ready to see where they take this series from here.

I received a ARC of this title. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the arc of "A Daughter of Fair Verona" by Christina Dodd.

I absolutely loved this audiobook! I thought the premise of the book was so unusual and interesting. I loved Rosie and her no nonsense attitude and the snarky comments towards her parents own love story. I am sometimes annoyed with stories set in the past bc the FMCs tend to be very timid so I enjoyed Rosies' outspokenness and progressiveness immensely. The scene at the end had me gasping as I did not see the last bit coming. I can't believe that the book ended on a cliffhanger! I need the second book!

What if Romeo and Juliet had lived?? Hmm . . . an unusual premise. I think the story itself is good without the unusual reframing of Romeo and Juliet. Rosie, the oldest daughter of Romeo and Juliet, is a spinster and becomes betrothed to a Duke whose previous wives have died. Juliet does not wish to marry the Duke and he is soon murdered. Rosie stands accused and murder and needs to solve the mystery. There is romance, mystery, danger and an otherwise well told story. Thank you to Net Galley #netgalley RB Media and Recorded Books for my advanced audio copy.

2 stars

I absolutely love Shakespeare, but retellings of his works tend to be hit or miss for me. A Daughter of Fair Verona caught my eye both because of its focus on the children of Romeo and Juliet and the fact that it is a MURDER MYSTERY. On top of that, I have seen Christina Dodd's name come up a lot in the historical romance space and figured that this would be a good place to see what she's all about.

The best part of the book for me personally was the character voice of our protagonist Rosie. She is a strong, sassy young woman who loves her family, her city, and her independence. Her relationship with her Nurse is an absolute delight and listening to her trade barbs with the Prince of Verona was probably the highlight of the book for me. Unfortunately, my enjoyment begins and ends there.

The rest of the book felt like watered down lemonade - something that you should theoretically enjoy based on the components, but ends up being spoiled by weak execution. Considering that this book is marketed for adults, the humor is incredibly juvenile and I actually considered DNFing after the first murder because of how grating I found the constant talk of virginity. The mystery aspects are minimal at best and for all that we are told about Rosie's intelligence, the author gives her precious little time to actually go out and try to figure out what is happening. With the romance, established character traits take a backseat in favor of both moving the plot in a particular way and emulating the Bard (neither of which I found particularly appealing).

Despite the fact that this book was a miss for me, I would honestly consider reading another book by Dodd. It probably won't be in this series, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book follows the oldest daughter of Romeo and Juliet as she gets caught up in a murder mystery.

This was a good book and I liked it! There was a lot of humor and I liked the setting of this one. Since it’s during Romeo and Juliet time, it happens a long time ago and that was interesting. There were a lot of interesting twists throughout this one.

I loved the characters and it was a fun read. I like the audiobook for this one too! I liked the narrator and the pacing.

Thanks so much to netgally and Kensington and RB media for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

An intriguing read- not my usual genre, but I was hooked from the first chapter. Sometimes a bit hard to follow with a large cast of characters as an audiobook so I would recommend it as a hard copy read

Straight away I noticed this book was a bit too modern, and far too American - jumping right on the 'woman power' train. However, I'm ever so pleased that this story didn't tear the original Romeo and Juliet to pieces (like another book released this year). The spinster daughter of the most romantic couple in history gets embroiled in a murder mystery! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC/audiobook, although I would have preferred a European narrator and less of the 'YA' speak I did enjoy this book, so 4-stars. Bring on the second in this series!

This was a cute book with a lot of goofy and melodramatic moments. It worked for the story, but threw me off at first! It was still a fun read, but I wasn’t really a fan of how it ended, since it was more of a “we’ll see what happens…” instead of just writing it lol. Some funny commentary on Romeo and Juliet in there, so probably a 3.5 rounded down.

🌈Queer rep: none

The premise of this book hooked me. How fun to explore an imagined world where Romeo and Juliet lived, procreated, and continued to cause mischief. Told from the perspective of their daughter, Rosie, this is a fiercely contemporary take on historical fiction. I enjoyed the humor but the ending felt very abrupt. Also, this read very much like YA, but it wasn't marked as such. The audiobook narrator did a lovely job portraying Rosie's youthful exuberance and flair for the dramatic. I'm left curious to read more in this series.

Thank you to RBmedia for gifting me with an ALC to review. All opinions are my own.

This is an interesting "sequel" to Romeo and Juliet. This is the story of Rosie, the eldest of their seven children. She's getting pretty old and her parents would like to marry her off. However, the man they arranged for her has already lost 3 wives under perhaps suspicious circumstances. Rosie does not want to marry him so she's not terribly upset when he dies.

Rosie is a modern girl. And I mean modern by today's standards, not of the time when Romeo and Juliet's offspring might have lived. The book seems like it's for a younger audience, perhaps teenager. I listened to the audio and the narrator had a young voice, which is appropriate for the character.

This is a well done retelling of Romeo and Juliet. In this retelling they lived and had many children. This story is about their 19 year old daughter Rosaline.

Many thanks to Net Galley and RB Media for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 ⭐️
I really love retellings, specially if the MFC is a strong, sassy, independent, smart and fearless one, and this Christina Dodd’s novel has exactly that. What if Romeo and Juliet had a daughter? Enter Rosie, who will captivate you from the very first page. This is a very entertaining mystery book.and the good news is that it is the first of an upcoming series so we will have more Rosie Montague’s adventures to come!

I really disliked the first 15% of this book and was ready to skip but I pushed through the difficult start and it was a fun ride. Rosie was adorable and quirky, the murder mystery was engaging. I did not expect it to wnd on a cliffhanger but I would be very interested in reading the next in the series

In "A Daughter of fair Verona" we follow Rosaline, the daughter of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, the Romeo and Juliet, who are still nauseatingly in love and parents to seven children. Rosie is the eldest and not romantically inclined at all. She has been betrothed several times but managed to matchmake every intended to someone else yet . Until now. Now, she is betrothed to be the FOURTH WIFE of Duke Stephano. All of whose previous wives have met their end by poison. She has no plans to marry the duke, thank you very much, but before she can do anything about it, Duke Stephano turns up murdered at their engagement party...

This book was so much fun! It is very tongue in cheek and makes fun of the unbelievable actions and "romance" in "Romeo and Juliet" .

Rosie is a very pragmatic and rational heroine, whose main goal in life is to keep her family safe. So, when she is accused to have killed the Duke and more people she knows turn up dead, she (and the original nursemaid from the play) start to investigate.

I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the story very much and wouldn't have guessed the culprit at all!
Seeing Romeo and Juliet as grown ups was fun and I liked their kind and compassionate character. I especially loved Romeos relationships with his children / daughters.

The language used in the book is reminiscent of Shakespeare's original work when the original characters are talking. Rosie's inner thoughts are much more modern. This didn't bother me, but I can imagine that some people may dislike it.

This was a 5 star read for me up until the last 2-3 chapters. For one, I think Rosie's actions regarding her "true love" don't really match her thoughts towards love up until this point. For another, I was of the impression that this is a standalone (and that further books will focus on the other children), but this book ends with a cliffhanger! I'm so frustrated! I want to know what happens next.
I listened to the audio version narrated by Suzy Jackson. Her voice fit Rosaline very well and her diction made it easy to understand the "old timey" language.

4.75⭐

Also, love the cover!

I saw this book around a few times and thought oh that’s a cute title but never picked it up. This could be because I never liked the story of Romeo and Juliet until someone mentioned the story makes a lot more sense when viewed as a comedy. This book (or audiobook in this case) does just that! You follow the daughter of Romeo and Juliet, Rosalind (might be Rosaline again I was not reading words but listening to them) the most sensible of the Montague family, and unusually old for an unmarried woman. And that is where all her problems stem she is happily unmarried but fate seems to have other designs for her and from here forth hijinks ensue. This book was so charming and the mystery part of it engaging! I was honestly disappointed when it ended. I so dearly hope that this book gets some sort of sequel I would love to hear or read (for if I do end up finding this book in the wild I may just pick it up and actually read it) this definitely feels like a very rereadable book and that is surprising for me because I rarely want to reread books.