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Caleb + Kate

by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma (Goodreads Author)

3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 · rating details · 1,874 ratings · 149 reviews

""Romeo + Juliet "gets an update in this story of forbidden love. Shakespeare's never been so hip." -- Jenny B. Jones, author of The Charmed Life Series

As the popular darling of the junior class and heiress to the five-star Monrovi Inn empire, Kate has both everything and nothing. She's bored with school and life...until she locks eyes with Caleb at a school dance.

Caleb is...more

Paperback, 279 pages

Published May 4th 2010 by Thomas Nelson Publishers (first published April 10th 2010)

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Jun 18, 2010 Nic rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, romance-awww, young-adult, realistic-fiction, swap

Rating 3.5-4 stars

"Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like a thorn." - William Shakespeare

Caleb + Kate is quick and light retelling of Romeo and Juliet. It is a beautifully written novel all about true love. Not only is the cover gorgeous but at the beginning of each chapter is a different quote from Shakespeare making it one of the most beautiful books I ever seen.

This book has dual narration and I enjoyed getting both points of views. Caleb and Ka...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jul 26, 2011 Isamlq rated it 2 of 5 stars

Keeping it short again...

I have mixed feelings about Caleb+Kate. Picture this a family feud, on one side is a family that's well-off, and on the other one is one that does not seem as wealthy. From the first is the girl, and from the second, the boy. Where the girl is bored and lacks passion, the boy is loyal and passionate and fiery. By some twist, they meet. Initially, they rub each other the wrong way, but after some exposure, they realize (after a month!) that they might be falling for each...more

3 likes · like · see review

Aug 17, 2010 Jackie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Caleb and Kate is a really cute novel. Kate is the popular girl of the school and when the new scholarship boy turns out to be working at her family's hotel and there is actual history between their families, things get interesting. I really loved the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. They were all from various Shakespeare plays and they were really well picked.
It was really easy to get into this book and it had such a cute cover too! I also like the varying narrators. Kate, then Caleb....more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 28, 2012 Annabel Maghirang Parado rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: inspirational, my-fav-book

Ahhh!!! Love, love, love!
I don’t know if anybody ended hating the word love after reading this one.
I first, I really thought this story was written to a modern Romeo and Juliet add to the fact the there is the Shakespeare quote’s in every chapter. Caleb and Kate being in the middle of decades old family feud; visualizing the story that both their parties will condemned the two being together. Yes, we may have the that particular scene in this book, Kate and Caleb parents and grandfather both me...more

1 like · like · see review

May 18, 2012 Shxrxn rated it 3 of 5 stars

The course of true love never did run smooth.
- WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE The Tempest (Act 1, Scene 1)
Love is like death’s cold grip crushing the beats from an innocent heart.
- Elaine
Once upon a time, I believed in love, I believed in the entire happily-ever-after dream.
- Kate
Rules were made to be broken.
- Maggie
Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.
- WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Measure for Measure (Act 1, Scene 4)
Revenge is more fun than love.
- Monica
When a...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 15, 2012 Karla Mae rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, contemporary, covers-me-like, e-books, favorites, young-adult, multiple-pov-s

This love for her consumes my brain like a fire and pounds through every cell in my being...

Kate Monrovi has the perfect little life everyone is rooting for. Her family has the money to buy whatever she wants and she goes to one of the most elite private school on their state. With her family's status, she could do whatever she wants for her life, but as the story progress we learn more about her and realize that she absolutely have no idea what she really wanted for her life. She is not the typ...more This love for her consumes my brain like a fire and pounds through every cell in my being...

Kate Monrovi has the perfect little life everyone is rooting for. Her family has the money to buy whatever she wants and she goes to one of the most elite private school on their state. With her family's status, she could do whatever she wants for her life, but as the story progress we learn more about her and realize that she absolutely have no idea what she really wanted for her life. She is not the typical spoiled-brat type of girl, in fact, she is very down to earth and carries no pretentious attitude regarding her status on the society. To her, people are equal, no matter who you are or where you came from all of them deserve the same amount of respect.

Caleb Kalani on the other hand already knows a thing or two about Kate since seeing her in school. Their families had been on a feud for fifty years now and every instict he got told him that Kate would be the biggest mistake of his life.

As these two meet, all status and society ranks vanished. For them, they are simply Caleb and Kate. And so start their forbidden romance.

The star-crossed lovers things has been done over and over again, but we all know people never get tired of it. I, for one, never get tired of it. The story resembles the classical Romeo and Juliet story. I must say it's a pretty catchy book and although you already know that everything will all work-out in the end, you won't be able to stop reading it.

Both the characters are very much likeable. There was really more to them than meets the eye. They were both slaves to their emotions because when they were starting to feel something for each other they don't fight it away, because they know that what they really need is each other. And what they have is the real thing.

I was just a little bit bothered with some of the meaningless, repetitive internal-dialogue the chhracters are having. But in all, it is very entertaining and cute story. It was sweet and very innocent. Definitely work a look and read. :)(less)

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Jan 17, 2012 Kita rated it 1 of 5 stars

I'm sorry but whomever described this god-forsaken book as a 'quick, light Romeo+Juliet retelling' needs to go read it again. Paying special attention to that 70% of the book which is bogged down in meaningless, repetitive internal-dialogue. Let's go through the bad points of this book shall we?

The Characters \
Everyone from trying-hard-to-be-a-modern-Romeo Caleb to the Gossip-girls-in-the-sweet-valley-of-the-travelling-pants minor female characters, reeked of daytime-soapie fakeness. None of th...more I'm sorry but whomever described this god-forsaken book as a 'quick, light Romeo+Juliet retelling' needs to go read it again. Paying special attention to that 70% of the book which is bogged down in meaningless, repetitive internal-dialogue. Let's go through the bad points of this book shall we?

The Characters \
Everyone from trying-hard-to-be-a-modern-Romeo Caleb to the Gossip-girls-in-the-sweet-valley-of-the-travelling-pants minor female characters, reeked of daytime-soapie fakeness. None of their relationships were interesting and I personally found them impossible to relate to.\

The Ties to Romeo and Juliet
-didn't work. Just absolutely failed. So yes, there was a 'big' family feud (something about land rights and blah-di-blah-di). However, it just about amounted to near-zilch. The 'plot' ended up being some dusty old-guys being mad at each other for something that happened decades ago. This would have been fine if something interesting was added in; perhaps the new generations had been informed about this and were ready to off each other at the nearest opportunity. Instead the only feuding that goes on is petty school-ground teasing at the initial meeting of Caleb and Kate

The Ties to Religion
I wasn't aware that this book was Christian lit. Otherwise I wouldn't have purchased it. However I did. Trying to push through the PAGES and PAGES of teenage musings about God and Love and blind Faith and what-not was absolute torture. I don't hate religion, I don't hate God, however I'm not a particularly religious person so these reflections bored me to tears. I understand that this calibre of Christian lit. was probably not intended for a person such as me who cannot stand the stuff, I understand that I probably should have checked before I bought it and that it is my fault. However even for someone who doesn't read a lot of Christian lit. I understood how terrible it was. Kate goes ON and ON for pages about how (direct quote) "I don't know how to live without him now."

I was really disappointed in this book. I love Romeo and Juliet retellings and was quite upset when I realised this book was pathetic.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 29, 2011 Keary Taylor rated it 4 of 5 stars

What a fun spin on Romeo and Juliet! Meet the Monrovie’s and the Khalini’s. Their grandfathers have been feuding for years, over land, and over a woman. Kate and Caleb know they’re not supposed to like each other, and they sure try not to, but sometimes you just can’t help the one you love.

This really was a cute story. I really enjoyed the romance between Kate and Caleb. It was sweet, innocent, and with a touch of forbidden, I couldn’t resist. I also appreciated the cleanness this book held. Th...more

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Dec 24, 2011 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Caleb plus Kate? Beautiful. Loving. Great. Just perfect. They're the shapes to a puzzle, one cant be without another. Cindy made a wonderful, breath-taking exploration of a combination of two people. I 100% cherished every page, every word, of this book. I'm still stunned at the beauty of love shown between Caleb and Kate.

I dont know why, but these days, all the books I've read keep suprising me. This book wasnt what I expected, and I kinda blame it on myself(since I didnt pay too much attent...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Katie added it

Shelves: books-i-own

I am a huge fan of the "opposites attract" and "starcrossed lovers" kind of books, and Caleb + Kate seemed to fit both of those categories perfectly. And while their the story was packed full of that angsty prejudiced goodness, I didn't love it nearly as much as I hoped I would.

You've heard of instalove, but I'm coining a new a term ... instaconflict. That's what seems to happen with Caleb and Kate before they even meet each other. And I could've gotten past that very easily because hey, you can...more

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Sep 25, 2011 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: clean-young-adult, contemporary-ya, christian

I was browsing through the YA section of the library when I found Caleb + Kate. I love discovering a great new book and this one doesn’t disappoint. It’s a modern (loose) retelling of Romeo and Juliet, and very sweet.

I liked that the author incorporated texting and social media into the book, because it very realistically depicted teens these days and I don’t think enough YA authors incorporate it to the extent that they should.

Kate and Caleb’s relationship does develop very quickly, as many...more I was browsing through the YA section of the library when I found Caleb + Kate. I love discovering a great new book and this one doesn’t disappoint. It’s a modern (loose) retelling of Romeo and Juliet, and very sweet.

I liked that the author incorporated texting and social media into the book, because it very realistically depicted teens these days and I don’t think enough YA authors incorporate it to the extent that they should.

Kate and Caleb’s relationship does develop very quickly, as many people have mentioned. Or at least it goes very quickly to the “I love you” and this is “true love,” phase. It is also a bit dramatic at the end – though teens’ emotions are always over the top, and the story of Romeo and Juliet, which the novel is based on, was also a bit extreme (at least in the: I’m going to kill myself because I can’t live without you).

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a Christian novel. Or at least Kate and Caleb are Christians, who are also regular teens. Thus struggles they have are depicted realistically. I’ve been pretty disappointed with a lot of contemporary YA books where teens jump to having sex without any hesitation. I like that this book shows both the feelings and desires that a couple has for each other, but also teens (well one anyway) who are committed to abstaining. Although it’s written about in a very mild way and there’s no real reason given for the person’s convictions, it was refreshing to see.

I found it interesting that the author chose to have Kate and Caleb notice issues going on with their friends (view spoiler)It’s common to have friends who deal with these issues as teens, but neither Kate nor Caleb confronts their friends. I know this book was focused on their relationship with each other, but I think the author may have missed an opportunity to address some real situations that teens deal with.

(view spoiler)
(less)

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Sep 11, 2010 YA Reads Book Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kate Monrovi has the quintessential perfect life. Her family is loaded, she’s got the money to buy whatever she wants, whenever she wants, and she goes to one of the most elite private schools the West Coast of America has to offer. She could be anything she wants, go to any college in the country, do whatever she wants with her life, but as we learn more about Kate, we realize that Kate has absolutely no idea what she wants from life. Money, it seems, can buy a lot of stuff, but it can’t buy Ka...more Kate Monrovi has the quintessential perfect life. Her family is loaded, she’s got the money to buy whatever she wants, whenever she wants, and she goes to one of the most elite private schools the West Coast of America has to offer. She could be anything she wants, go to any college in the country, do whatever she wants with her life, but as we learn more about Kate, we realize that Kate has absolutely no idea what she wants from life. Money, it seems, can buy a lot of stuff, but it can’t buy Kate’s happiness. Before you go thinking that Kate is one of those rich kids so spoiled she’s unhappy with everything she has, think again. As far as characters go, she’s as down to earth as they come, especially compared to the snobs that make up her friendship circle. She carries no pretentious attitudes regarding her status, class, or position in society. To Kate, people are people, no matter who you are and where you come from, and all people deserve the same amount of respect.

So when Caleb Kalani – the new scholarship kid – saunters on into the prom, Kate doesn’t see the apparent differences between them that everyone else seems to. To her, he’s not ‘the scholarship kid’ or the poor laborer working for her dad – he’s just Caleb: strong, beautiful, Caleb.

Caleb knows a thing or two about Kate Monrovi even before he lays his eyes on her. Their two families have been locked in a feud for almost fifty years now, and every bone in his body tells him that getting to know the Monrovi girl is the biggest mistake of his life. But how can he help himself, when his heart thumps so forcefully when she’s around? Caleb quickly realizes that, when it comes to matters of the heart, sometimes the head has no control, no idea about these things.

And so starts the forbidden romance that is Caleb and Kate. Yes, it resembles a very Romeo and Juliet-esque story – but it’s supposed to. It’s very clear that Martinusen-Coloma intended this to be the case. But you know what? Even though the star-crossed lovers thing has been done over and over, I never get tired of it. Caleb + Kate is a real pageturner, and although you just freaking know that it’s all going to work out in the end, you wont be able to stop reading.

Kate is a very likable character. If there were more Kate’s around, the world would probably be a much better place. I think she’s a great role model for young girls everywhere. And Caleb is swoon worth for so many reasons, but his most attractive quality is the fact that he’s a complete slave to his emotions. He doesn’t try to fight it, because he knows Kate is the real thing.

Although it has an air of predictability about it, this story is definitely worth a look in. I think you’ll find being in Caleb and Kate’s heads is a complete delight. Two very big yaReads thumbs up.(less)

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Jun 13, 2010 Kari rated it 5 of 5 stars

In a simple form, Caleb + Kate is a modern take on Romeo and Juliet but the “house divided” aspect manifests in a different form. Two separate families from different backgrounds and cultures, holding a common link in the past but now in battle make up the most basic premise for this book. Built on top of that is a relationship formed out of teenage emotion and one sparked on despite each party’s original intent to ignore the other.

Kate is a rich heiress, the daughter of a man who owns a large c...more
In a simple form, Caleb + Kate is a modern take on Romeo and Juliet but the “house divided” aspect manifests in a different form. Two separate families from different backgrounds and cultures, holding a common link in the past but now in battle make up the most basic premise for this book. Built on top of that is a relationship formed out of teenage emotion and one sparked on despite each party’s original intent to ignore the other.

Kate is a rich heiress, the daughter of a man who owns a large chain of wealthy hotels. The original hotel- and the one most important to her family- makes up the setting for a large part of this novel. Despite her money and status, Kate is a mostly down to earth girl and aware of how fortunate she is. Though she isn’t sure she could easily give up her life of luxury, she holds no delusions that anyone with less than her is beneath her. Attending a private college prep school completes the rich snob image but the chapters from her perspective get the point across quickly of her worldly and mature mental state. Though she has her moments of weakness and at times slips into the “rich brat” type of mindset, her compassionate nature overrides the rest of the book.

Caleb is from a different background, full blooded Hawaiian and used to spending his days surfing rather than wearing a uniform to a school full of stuck up people. Working alongside his father as part of the landscape and maintenance team for Kate’s family hotel creates some interesting- and opportunistic- situations. Caleb is a genuine guy, devoted to his faith and his family but not so closed minded as to shut everything else or ignore chances and people because they don't immediate fit into the mold set out for him. In many ways, he compliments Kate and though only a teenager, he has a mindset of long term dating rather than someone for now.

There is a strong faith and Christian element in this book but it is brought about in defining the characters. Both Caleb and Kate are mostly unwavering in their faith, thinking of their beliefs even when teenage emotions and situations threaten to take control. Despite this facet, this is certainly a book to be received by a wide range of readers regardless of religious views. It never comes across as preachy or pushy. Caleb and Kate are Christians. Their faith is a part of them and this isn’t glossed over or held back as a method to please the masses.

As the plot progresses, both the reasons these two families are feuding as well as the relationship between Caleb and Kate develop and intertwine. The teenage appeal of first love is strong and the reader will fall into it, wanting more of the budding romance while also wondering what will happen under the pressure of their families. Rarely did the plot drag as there were enough elements and events woven together to keep things fresh and paced.

The teenage main characters come across strongly and develop beautifully, giving a strong backing to teenage first love- and something that very easily could continue to last. Their love is tested increasingly more as the novel progresses, leaving the reader wondering if things will work or if these two will be separated. The intrigue is present throughout before leading to a wonderfully written ending. Clear mental voices, personal struggles, and overall accomplished writing help pull this novel together, making it a must read for anyone looking for a teenage romance.(less)

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Jun 18, 2012 Ariel Avalon rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2-stars, 2012-challenge, reviewed, relationships, classics-inspired

A modern day Romeo and Juliet story, Kate is the heir to the Monrovi hotel chain. She meets Caleb at her school and falls for him right away. Their families have a history based on the land the first Monrovi hotel was built on, which causes issues in their lives. The families tell them to stay away from one another, but love cannot be stopped.

I was horribly disappointed in this book. I was expecting much much more from it than what I got. Kate and Caleb were both rather drab characters. I like i...more

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Jun 24, 2010 Molly rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone; all young adults

Recommended to Molly by: Cindy Martinusen-Coloma

Shelves: book-review

Okay. I'm a sucker for YA novels, I guess! I read Beautiful for Cindy's Beautiful blog tour and fell in love with her teen fiction novels. I was absolutely thrilled to participate in this Caleb + Kate tour. I was highly pleased with this book, too. Cindy has a wonderfully natural talent at creating a story that appeals to all ages.

My favorite part of this book, was the way Cindy wrote in both Caleb and Kate's points of view. That really helps to keep the reader hooked! It really made it hard to...more

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Apr 29, 2010 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: christian, ya, romance

"Caleb + Kate" is a young adult romance novel. Though Caleb had a point-of-view role and was portrayed well, this novel will appeal most to female teens. The story switched between Kate and Caleb's point-of-view with both sections clearly marked and written in first person present tense ("I stand" instead of "she stood"). Though I noticed it, the present tense read smoothly and didn't bother me.

On the actual printed cover, Caleb's skin is darker than it looks in the above cover picture. This is...more "Caleb + Kate" is a young adult romance novel. Though Caleb had a point-of-view role and was portrayed well, this novel will appeal most to female teens. The story switched between Kate and Caleb's point-of-view with both sections clearly marked and written in first person present tense ("I stand" instead of "she stood"). Though I noticed it, the present tense read smoothly and didn't bother me.

On the actual printed cover, Caleb's skin is darker than it looks in the above cover picture. This is good since Caleb is full-blooded Hawaiian and is described as having deeply tanned or brown skin.

The pacing and world-building were very good. The characters were realistic and usually very likable. I was irritated by Kate's selfishness in deliberately doing things that tempted Caleb physically when she knew that they tempted him and that HE wanted to wait until marriage, but it did fit her "if you want it, you can have it" upbringing.

Kate, after seeing affairs and divorces in other families, doubted that there was such a thing as lasting love. I liked that the author brought up this issue. But I was a bit disappointed that Kate's "this is what true love is like" answer started with lust at first sight (on her part) and an "electric" feeling at every touch. The lasting loves I've seen (like my parents and grandparents) started with no excessive attraction or 'spark' at first sight but grew due to similar interests and time spent together. However, it was a nice love story about building trust and overcoming prejudice, and it finished with the idea that staying 'in love' was a decision rather than based solely on feelings.

The teen characters did muse some about their faith--about God and how what's in the Bible and in sermons (like forgiveness) worked out in real life. There was no sex (though a lot of temptation). There was a minor amount of "he cussed" style bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this novel as well-written, clean reading.

I received this book as a review copy from the publisher. (less)

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Apr 05, 2011 Say rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: april-2011-reads

awwww.....i just loved this book. romeo and juliet set in the modern times. actually its more of poor romeo and rich juliet falling in love with each other, their families not totally happy about it and an old dispute among the two families.

caleb who works at a maintenance department along with his father falls in love with kate (his boss' daughter). i just love how the story evolves between the two characters especially the part wherein caleb shows kate the cave (it's part of their "trust" pro...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Sumaya rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is one sweet romance.. i can see it as a film.

it was a little cheesy for me but it has a good story.
Caleb is from the Kalani (did i mention i love the surnames) family and Kate from the Monrovi. Kate's granddad and Caleb's granddad fought in the war together and even started a business together, but then they had a big falling out. Which is utterly believable.
Years later Caleb leaves his grandfather who is in Hawaii to work with his dad at the Monrovi Inn which is one of the chain of hotel...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Ashli rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.7**
It's a Christian modern day version of Romeo and Juliet with a mix of Perfect Chemistry (the Christian aspect is NOT forceful at all though).

Writing: It's simple and understandable. This is the first book I read by this author and I really enjoyed her writing and I hope to get more into her books. I like how the Christian aspect was not forceful at all. It went from the point of the main female character, Kate, to the point of view to the main male character, Caleb. The love went really fas...more

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May 29, 2010 Victoria Burke rated it 4 of 5 stars

My Opinion: I fell in love with the characters almost immediately. However, I didn't really like Kate's best friend Monica but she wasn't that much part of the story. The characters are a lot different then what I was expecting and I was expecting a story more traditional to the Romeo and Juliet story. It was a lot like it but of course with a happy ending. I didn't like Kate's sister in the story either. (She was the pregnant one in my teaser Tuesday post). I loved how it was mainly the grandfa...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Kristi rated it 3 of 5 stars

So I totally would have given this book 4-5 stars if I hadn't read the last 2 chapters. It was an easy, fun love story full of lots of cute scenes between Caleb and Kate. Just a good relaxing read. But the ending was so anti climatic for me that it kind of made me finish the book and think, what was the point of all that? The family feud turned out super lame as far as family feuds go, I never really felt like I understood why anyone was mad and it turned out no one actually was except the grand...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-romance, favorites, i-own, romance, young-adult

I never thought I could read this one, but then, I got lucky enough to purchase this book at a bargain bookstore. Awesome! I was actually having a hard time to rate this book whether giving this a 4 or a 5 but then decided on a 4.5, not bad.

I actually thought this is all too cliche for me. That Caleb is your average bad boy with the I-hate-you-from-the-start-and-that-our-family-is-up-against-each-other towards Kate, and that Kate is all spoiled-brat type of girl that could have her way because...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Alyson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 09, 2013 Corie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-reads

Watch out Romeo and Juliet here comes Caleb and Kate. This book is pretty much a modern day version of the beloved tale of Romeo and Juliet. Of course they have similar struggles of forbidden love but Caleb + Kate still holds its own.

Coming from two completely different lives; Kate being a rich heiress of a hotel owner and Caleb who works as part of the grounds crew still manages to fall in love. Despite all the money Kate is very down to earth and kind to everyone. She is very aware of how for...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Jan Bethel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: just-the-ebook-maybe, contemporary, forbidden-romance, goodreads-recommended, over-night-reads, realistic-reads

So I finally read this book! :) My thoughts? Well, three stars.

I did not really LOVED it. But I did not HATED it either. I can't say that it bored, but also I can't say that I enjoyed it so much. So I guess I'm in the middle.

This is the modern Romeo and Juliet. Just minus all the swords and fights and of course the tragic ending. It's Romeo and Juliet in the sense that Kate and Caleb's family has a hate or feud going on that runs decades back to their grandfathers who actually used to be friends...more

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Jul 07, 2010 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: preteens, teens, anyone wanting to remember first love

Recommended to Donna by: saw on website

Though this book is targeted at a teen reader, I enjoyed reading Caleb + Kate! Well written, Martinusen-Coloma's book took me back to the thrill of first love - the delirous joy and the trememdous angst.

Caleb + Kate is a clean, Christian novel, which covers various teenage issues as well as touching on God, without preaching. This is a 'classic' novel - in the sense of a love between a rich girl/poor boy and a love that others think shouldn't happen. Martinusen-Coloma's "Caleb + Kate" is a jo...more

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Sep 25, 2011 coffclass rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, urban-contemporary, insta-love, young-adult, 00-read-2011

I really liked the plot, and even if they liked each other a little too fast, I was willing to overlook it. But really, there was not much happening. It seemed like it tried very hard to be dramatic, but the lines were really not touching or tear-jerking--it was cheesy, weirdly placed, and incomplete. It mixed the story-telling with the emotions. And it was not that pretty.

I wanted a romantic read, and although it was nice how they met and how they're not supposed to be in love with each other,...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

This book was read for a book of the month club -
It's more of a PG version of Perfect Chemestry - which I liked - but this time he wasn't in a Gang - Caleb is Hawaiian and a good studen/example - just comes from a family that has years of hatrid between them - so it's a story of forbidden love from the family - a Romeo and Juliet story -
It was told in sections from Kates POV then Calebs POV so you got both sides of their true love (same as perfect chemestry)
Both are Christians who have strong...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Teepee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Caleb + Kate didn't quite leave a mark on me. I did like it, but not really something that will stay with me for a long time.

The romance element of the story was okay. But considering that it is supposed to be a modern day Romeo and Juliet, "okay" isn't good enough. I just felt that some moments that were supposed to make you go "aaaaw" and make your tummy tingle, didn't really do anything to me. In other words, it is a bit short in that department.

The family feud isn't as intense as I hoped it...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Christina Wilder rated it 3 of 5 stars

I usually steer clear of Christian fiction as I am no longer Christian and I don't want to be preached at, but this book looked interesting. Usually I also avoid Romeo and Juliet pastiches as I disliked the original play and therefore anything based on the pairing would also irk me.

This book flowed so well, and I really liked the characters. I also liked how the author avoided the obnoxious fake teen dialogue ("Like, what are you saying?" "Oh em GEE!" etc.) and treated her teenage characters li...more

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Quotes from Caleb + Kate

“My nature has always been to fight. My faith forces me to forgive.” — 35 people liked it

“I might be falling in love with you," I whisper, finding it hard to focus on his face.
"Kate," he says, almost sadly.
"what? You might be falling in love with me too?" My voice is hopeful, pathetically hopeful.
He shakes his head.
"You aren't falling in love with me?"
He doesn't respond. I touch his face carefully with the tips of my fingers. His skin is incredibly soft above the line of hard jawbone. I touch his silky black hair. His eyes close and i want to kiss his eyes, but I'm afraid. Afraid of all this. This could destroy me.
He opens his eyes. "Kate, I'm already in love with you.” — 20 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7148780-caleb-kate?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348585758l/7148780.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7148780-caleb-kate?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Caleb + Kate by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma[/url]

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