Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay

Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay
Release Date – October 9, 2012
Publisher Website -  Delacorte Books For Young Readers/Random House
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages -384 pages
My Rating-  3.5/4
**obtained from publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Seductive companion to the popular Juliet Immortal, in which former lovers—Romeo and Juliet—meet, not as true lovers, but truly as enemies.

Cursed to live out eternity in his rotted corpse, Romeo, known for his ruthless, cutthroat ways, is given the chance to redeem himself by traveling back in time to save the life of Ariel Dragland. Unbeknownst to her, Ariel is important to both the evil Mercenaries and the love-promoting Ambassadors and holds the fate of the world in her hands. Romeo must win her heart and make her believe in love, turning her away from her darker potential before his work is discovered by the Mercenaries. While his seduction begins as yet another lie, it soon becomes his only truth. Romeo vows to protect Ariel from harm, and do whatever it takes to win her heart and soul. But when Ariel is led to believe his love is a deception, she becomes vulnerable to Mercenary manipulation, and her own inner darkness may ultimately rip them apart.

Romeo Redeemed is a story of redemption, and how love can shine light even in the darkest of places. The power of love to make us want to change, and what it means to truly be there for someone else is explored in this twistedly romantic novel.

This novel allows us to get inside Romeo’s head and get to know his character much more than in Juliet Immortal. He’s given a second chance and must use it to save himself, and along the way discovers a love worth fighting for. His path towards his eventual change was one of the most interesting parts of the story.

Stacey manages to create a world so easily imagined by describing things vividly. The darkness of Romeo’s mind, and the horrors he inflicted and suffered are brought to life with her words. This novel is even creepier than Juliet Immortal because so much of it is coming from Romeo’s fractured mind. His mind is a sadistic and twisted place to be, especially in the beginning and Stacey captures this wonderfully.

Ariel is a perfect match for Romeo. She’s broken, volatile, and has a penchant for darkness. Her saucy side can match Romeo’s banter for banter. They both are attracted to the demons they see in each other. Their relationship is filled with passion, fire and is consuming. They challenge each other to be better, and Romeo especially wants to be worthy of Ariel.

Those hoping for a little more explanation of elements from Juliet Immortal may find themselves saddened. I will admit to being a little confused at some parts of the story. It veers into alternate realities, while presented right away, I don't feel were fully explained. It does come together in the end, but I felt there were still some aspects of the alternate realities, and  how they interact and co-exist that were not fully developed.

Those who may wish for the classic romance of Romeo and Juliet will be happy to hear that there is a bitter sweet moment between the two in this novel. I found myself aching for both these characters, and yet felt each was where they belonged in the end.

A darkly sexy follow up to Juliet Immortal that is necessary reading for anyone who wanted to know more about Stacey Jay’s Romeo. The series works better read together, but the first novel is my personal preference of the two.