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A Rose by Any Other Name
Juliet is the perfect daughter to her cold parents. She's devoted to her magic studies, studious and serious, and she even spends her weekends at home.
If she's a little lonely, well, that hardly matters.
Romeo writes poems, collects fancy pens, makes wine, and is, according to everyone who cares about him, a romantic disaster. He does his best to ignore their knowing looks and disregard their entirely-too-practical advice.
Juliet hates the upstart, uncivilized Montagues because they're her family's enemies. Romeo does his best not to think about the wretched and pompous Capulets because he doesn't need that kind of negativity in his life.
But then one morning they wake up in each other's bodies, and everything changes.
If she's a little lonely, well, that hardly matters.
Romeo writes poems, collects fancy pens, makes wine, and is, according to everyone who cares about him, a romantic disaster. He does his best to ignore their knowing looks and disregard their entirely-too-practical advice.
Juliet hates the upstart, uncivilized Montagues because they're her family's enemies. Romeo does his best not to think about the wretched and pompous Capulets because he doesn't need that kind of negativity in his life.
But then one morning they wake up in each other's bodies, and everything changes.
54 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2021
2 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Jamie Lackey
113 books62 followersJamie Lackey lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and their cat. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford in 2006 with a degree in Creative Writing. She studied under James Gunn at the Center for the Study of Science Fiction's Writer's Workshop in 2010 and has taken various workshops with Cat Rambo. She primarily writes science fiction, fantasy, and horror short stories.
She has over 200 short fiction credits, and has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and the Stoker Award-winning After Death.... Her fiction has appeared on the Best Horror of the Year Honorable Mention and Tangent Online Recommended Reading Lists, and she's a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
Her flash fiction collection, One Revolution, and her zombie novella, Moving Forward: A Novella of Life After Zombies, are available on Amazon.com. Her debut novel, Left Hand Gods, is available from Hadley Rille Books. She also has two short story collections available from Air and Nothingness Press.
She read submissions for the Hugo-winning Clarkesworld Magazine for five years and was an assistant editor for the Hugo-winning Electric Velocipede from 2012-2013. She served as editor for Triangulation: Lost Voices in 2015 and Triangulation: Beneath the Surface in 2016.
She enjoys reading, writing, tabletop role playing games, video games, baking, and hiking. Learn more about her at her website, www.jamielackey.com
She has over 200 short fiction credits, and has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and the Stoker Award-winning After Death.... Her fiction has appeared on the Best Horror of the Year Honorable Mention and Tangent Online Recommended Reading Lists, and she's a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
Her flash fiction collection, One Revolution, and her zombie novella, Moving Forward: A Novella of Life After Zombies, are available on Amazon.com. Her debut novel, Left Hand Gods, is available from Hadley Rille Books. She also has two short story collections available from Air and Nothingness Press.
She read submissions for the Hugo-winning Clarkesworld Magazine for five years and was an assistant editor for the Hugo-winning Electric Velocipede from 2012-2013. She served as editor for Triangulation: Lost Voices in 2015 and Triangulation: Beneath the Surface in 2016.
She enjoys reading, writing, tabletop role playing games, video games, baking, and hiking. Learn more about her at her website, www.jamielackey.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 28, 2021
This was so wholesome and just so adorable and cute😭
RTC
RTC
October 3, 2021
This is the second book by Jamie Lackey that I recently picked up from Netgalley because the premise sounded intriguing: Romeo and Juliet, only there's magic, and they swap bodies.
Unfortunately, like the other book ( Andromeda Snow, Superhero ), the execution didn't quite deliver on the promise of the blurb. The author seems mostly to write short fiction, and I often find novellas are novels that didn't get enough development; the plots are linear and the characters lack depth. That's the case here as well.
While the characters have the names of Shakespeare's characters, they are not those characters. Romeo and Juliet, for example, are young adults, not teens. Some of the redevelopment makes the characters more interesting - Tybalt is not just an angry thug, but loves cats and starts a relationship with Benvolio, for example; but because this is a PG retelling, the nurse and Mercutio both lose their bawdiness, the latter being transformed from a fan of sexual wordplay to an asexual, and the former becoming a bit of a background character. Part of the PG nature of the story is that the two young people in each other's bodies don't do any exploration of the body of the opposite gender that they suddenly find themselves in.
The retelling also turns the tragedy into comedy (in the sense that lovers are united), and this requires the implacable hatreds of the original to become quite easily placated after a bit of tension.
There are a few anachronisms; Juliet's bedroom contains stuffed animals, and she regrets not having a proper wedding dress or flowers for her wedding, both of which didn't come into common use until the mid-nineteenth century. A very good copy editor is going to need to go over it carefully to find all the missing words in sentences and the several homonym errors before it's published.
Overall, while it was entertaining enough in a light way, there's not much to it, and it doesn't do justice either to the source material or to the premise.
Unfortunately, like the other book ( Andromeda Snow, Superhero ), the execution didn't quite deliver on the promise of the blurb. The author seems mostly to write short fiction, and I often find novellas are novels that didn't get enough development; the plots are linear and the characters lack depth. That's the case here as well.
While the characters have the names of Shakespeare's characters, they are not those characters. Romeo and Juliet, for example, are young adults, not teens. Some of the redevelopment makes the characters more interesting - Tybalt is not just an angry thug, but loves cats and starts a relationship with Benvolio, for example; but because this is a PG retelling, the nurse and Mercutio both lose their bawdiness, the latter being transformed from a fan of sexual wordplay to an asexual, and the former becoming a bit of a background character. Part of the PG nature of the story is that the two young people in each other's bodies don't do any exploration of the body of the opposite gender that they suddenly find themselves in.
The retelling also turns the tragedy into comedy (in the sense that lovers are united), and this requires the implacable hatreds of the original to become quite easily placated after a bit of tension.
There are a few anachronisms; Juliet's bedroom contains stuffed animals, and she regrets not having a proper wedding dress or flowers for her wedding, both of which didn't come into common use until the mid-nineteenth century. A very good copy editor is going to need to go over it carefully to find all the missing words in sentences and the several homonym errors before it's published.
Overall, while it was entertaining enough in a light way, there's not much to it, and it doesn't do justice either to the source material or to the premise.
October 2, 2021
Well, that was delightful!
I requested this, despite having read many Romeo and Juliet retellings in the past, because of the last line of the synopsis: "But then one morning they wake up in each other's bodies, and everything changes."
I read that, and I thought, "Huh. How unexpected. Must know more." And now I know more, and I can tell you that this story is just as wonderful as the premise makes it sound.
Romeo and Juliet have VERY different voices. She's studying to be a mage, he's a poet. She's calculating, he's sensitive. This is made very clear in the beginning of the story when they first change bodies, which can be summed up thusly: Juliet wakes in Romeo's body and begins scheming. Romeo wakes in Juliet's body and begins screaming.
A lot of it unfolds similarly to the play, with obvious departures. Benvolio and Tybalt were an unexpected and enjoyable couple.
This story is very short, though certain sections feel overly long because they are more telling a series of events than showcasing Romeo and Juliet's personalities. The novelty and amusing bits make up for it though.
*Thanks to NetGalley and SFWA for providing an e-arc for review.
I requested this, despite having read many Romeo and Juliet retellings in the past, because of the last line of the synopsis: "But then one morning they wake up in each other's bodies, and everything changes."
I read that, and I thought, "Huh. How unexpected. Must know more." And now I know more, and I can tell you that this story is just as wonderful as the premise makes it sound.
Romeo and Juliet have VERY different voices. She's studying to be a mage, he's a poet. She's calculating, he's sensitive. This is made very clear in the beginning of the story when they first change bodies, which can be summed up thusly: Juliet wakes in Romeo's body and begins scheming. Romeo wakes in Juliet's body and begins screaming.
A lot of it unfolds similarly to the play, with obvious departures. Benvolio and Tybalt were an unexpected and enjoyable couple.
This story is very short, though certain sections feel overly long because they are more telling a series of events than showcasing Romeo and Juliet's personalities. The novelty and amusing bits make up for it though.
*Thanks to NetGalley and SFWA for providing an e-arc for review.
November 2, 2021
We weren't sure what to expect when we picked this one up. We did know that it was a Romeo & Juliet pastiche set in an undefined fantasy universe. It turns out this is a light, quick read (it's on the short side for a novella but on the long side for a short story) that takes the initial premise of Romeo & Juliet and then adds a little magic. We have feuding families with children of around the same age, a masquerade ball at the Capulets', some hot-tempered cousins... and two heroes who keep waking up in each other's bodies. How each of them deals with their new situation forms a lot of the charm of the book.
Sure, there are a few anachronisms, but since we were taking on Romeo & Juliet + magic, they didn't bother us. We also loved the Tybalt/Benvolio relationship and how Romeo and Juliet ended up resolving their Freaky Friday body-swapping sitch.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novella.
Sure, there are a few anachronisms, but since we were taking on Romeo & Juliet + magic, they didn't bother us. We also loved the Tybalt/Benvolio relationship and how Romeo and Juliet ended up resolving their Freaky Friday body-swapping sitch.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novella.
November 2, 2021
I'm not a huge fan of Romeo and Juliet, but when I read that this was basically a bodyswap AU set in a world with magic, I kind of had to read it!
It was a short and heartwarming story - and thankfully less angsty and tragic than the original. The whole thing seemed rushed, just in the way that the original story is too, so while I don't like insta-love stories I will let this pass here. It was just too cute and fun for me to mind!
I kinda wished to see more worldbuilding, or just more explanation of the magic system itself, as the magic element was barely there except for the bodyswap.
I also really enjoyed the added queer characters - Benvolio and Tybalt are both interested in men, while Mercutio is seemingly asexual and aromantic.
Really enjoyed it, and will be on the lookout for more works by Lackey!
Thank you to the publisher and netGalley for the arc!
It was a short and heartwarming story - and thankfully less angsty and tragic than the original. The whole thing seemed rushed, just in the way that the original story is too, so while I don't like insta-love stories I will let this pass here. It was just too cute and fun for me to mind!
I kinda wished to see more worldbuilding, or just more explanation of the magic system itself, as the magic element was barely there except for the bodyswap.
I also really enjoyed the added queer characters - Benvolio and Tybalt are both interested in men, while Mercutio is seemingly asexual and aromantic.
Really enjoyed it, and will be on the lookout for more works by Lackey!
Thank you to the publisher and netGalley for the arc!
March 28, 2022
Romeo and Juliet retellings usually take me awhile to finish…but this one had me intrigued laughing the whole time. The characters were hilarious and I found myself loving every single one of them.
I was quite skeptical of Tybalt and Benvolio’s relationship, but it ended in a way that made sense. Mercutio being on the asexual spectrum was certainly a different choice, but I loved it as it was unique and I had never heard of such a thing.
I do wish the magic part of the world was more in detail. I loved the idea of Juliet studying magic, but I wish I had seen more of her using magic rather than just talking about it.
I was quite skeptical of Tybalt and Benvolio’s relationship, but it ended in a way that made sense. Mercutio being on the asexual spectrum was certainly a different choice, but I loved it as it was unique and I had never heard of such a thing.
I do wish the magic part of the world was more in detail. I loved the idea of Juliet studying magic, but I wish I had seen more of her using magic rather than just talking about it.
October 24, 2021
This was a short and sweet read. I must confess that I’m not a fan of Romeo & Juliet, and i almost didnt put in a request for this story but the thought of each of them waking up in each other’s bodies was too interesting to pass by. I’m glad I decided to give this a try. This short story was interesting and cute and not at all the tragedy this story is famous for.
It’s the fix it ending with magic and it brought a smile to my face.
I’m very happy I got the ARC for this.
It’s the fix it ending with magic and it brought a smile to my face.
I’m very happy I got the ARC for this.
December 28, 2023
This book was so cute. I started reading and instantly fell head over heels for the story. There were a few minor editorial issues, but the story was so good, I hardly noticed. Definitely recommend.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews