The Blair Book Project
Hello! I'm Janus. I am a 3D Graphics Artist by profession, and a proud Book Addict - i mean Enthusiast, and Blogger. I'm very much into Young Adult and Fantasy genre but I open myself to reading other genres from time to time. I run a blog launched as The Blair Book Project on Blogger, where I post entries such as my book reviews and other book related articles. I obviously got the name of this blog for the movie "The Blair Witch Project," why the name you may ask? I have no idea! I just thought it had a good ring to it. Ha! Ha! I post reviews twice a week and I regularly participate in book memes and features that readers and blogger all over the globe share their book interests (i.e. In My Malibox, Top Ten Tuesdays, etc). I have 230 GFC Followers. My blog has over 37,000 pageviews history and have roughly 200 page views per day. I have written over 267 reviews since my span of blogging. I am also an avid Instagram user, with over 350 followers, where I post pictures mostly of books I'm currently reading, books I got for review, galleys, purchased from bookstores, etc. (Statistics as of March 2013). My book reviews are not exactly "reviews" in a sense because I simply just type down what I feel about the book. What I write is solely my opinion and should not be taken as a definite basis of how the book is to be judged entirely. We all have different likes and dislikes so please do understand that although I'm very optimistic about the books I read, there will be negative comments towards those that I don't find suiting for my taste. BLOG URL: http://theblairbookproject.blogspot.com/ GOODREADS ACCOUNT: http://goodreads.com/janusvielle AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/AFAGLA0UYBOMH?ie=UTF8&ref_=ya_56 INSTAGRAM: @janusvielle
If you've read [or know of] these Shakespeare stories, you know they end in tragedy. As most of his plays do I suppose. Anyway, get ready to see a whole new twist to these stories.
Such Sweet Sorrow is one of those books that reel you in with such a great and unique idea for a story. So I didn't find it surprising that I took it upon myself to request for a copy on Netgalley.
While Shakespeare's plays came off gloomy and well, tragically, Jenny Trout take on them was lighter and rather spunky.
I didn't really find the original Hamlet to be a likable protagonist but, Ms. Trout's version of him was one I prefer. A teen rightful king Hamlet with a cheerful personality, although impulsive most of the time, was definitely an interesting take.
Romeo and Juliet were also interesting characters. They're still hopelessly in love but I really appreciated how their characters grew throughout the book. [This may be a bit spoiler-ish]. From an ever so serious and blood thirsty Romeo, in the end we find a more mature and light hearted man. And from a damsel in distress, Juliet turned into someone who need not be saved.
The lore of this book was impressive. I loved the idea that there can be multiple dimensions in the afterlife much like how people of different cultures view them.
Now while characters and lore are swell and all, I still have a few issues with the book. My problem with Such Sweet Sorrow would probably be the journey through the underworld. I like seeing the different dimensions, but the journey was a bit too long for me, or maybe the narratives of the characters' thoughts were getting in the way. Also, I find the creatures descriptions a bit vague, it's either the descriptions weren't vivid enough or I wasn't in an imaginative mood to visualize them properly.
I did love the idea that although this book didn't turn out a tragedy like the plays it was inspired of, it's not a definite happily ever after either.
Overall, Such Sweet Sorrow was an enjoyable read. It had all the elements I was looking for in a story: a great adventure, action packed fight scenes, and a terrific reimagining of the classics.
*Thank you, Entangled Teen and NetGalley for granting my request to view Such Sweet Sorrow.
For more of my reviews, please visit my blog:
The Blair Book Project @ www.theblairbookproject.blogspot.com
