Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine: A Book Review

Title: Prince of Shadows
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: NAL
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Retelling
Release Date: February 4th 2014
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

In the Houses of Montague and Capulet, there is only one goal: power. The boys are born to fight and die for honor and—if they survive—marry for influence and money, not love. The girls are assets, to be spent wisely. Their wishes are of no import. Their fates are written on the day they are born.

Benvolio Montague, cousin to Romeo, knows all this. He expects to die for his cousin, for his house, but a spark of rebellion still lives inside him. At night, he is the Prince of Shadows, the greatest thief in Verona—and he risks all as he steals from House Capulet. In doing so, he sets eyes on convent-bound Rosaline, and a terrible curse begins that will claim the lives of many in Verona…

… And will rewrite all their fates, forever.

So I really have to say that I loved this book. It was a great retelling of the classic Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet. So be fair warned before you read this. If you aren't a fan of Romeo and Juliet or at least open to the possibility, then this book probably isn't for you. 

I have had a love for Romeo and Juliet since we were forced to read it in school. The teacher made us sit through the movie as well. (Which let's say is probably the only time I didn't skip his class lol). So when I saw this, I knew I had to read it. This also opened me up to this great author even more than I already was.

This tale we get to take a look at Romeo's cousin, Benvolio and see what kind of life he lives. We are taken through and getting a feel for how close he is with his cousin and his best friend, Mercutio. We get to see him as the allusive Prince of Shadows, who doesn't rob from the rich and give to the poor, but takes from the unjust and punishes them in other ways, by humiliating them for being "robbed" from the Prince of Shadows. However, things take a turn when Ben meets the beautiful and well forgotten cousin to Juliet. 

So we still have the ultimate family feud, heartache, love and even curses. What's not to love about this?

Rachel Caine is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of more than 40 novels, including the Great Library series, Prince of Shadows, the Weather Warden series, the Outcast Season series, the Revivalist series, and the Morganville Vampires series.

Find Rachel: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads