Book Review: When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

Book: When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

Genre: YA contemporary
Rating: ★ ★ ★

This book was...okay. So it took me bit to get into it and get invested and I was worried at first the direction it was going. But it ended up okay and I was hoping for a certain direction! (Not the one I thought it was going in case you wondered.)

So this is a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet, told from Rosaline's point of view. Okay, so I don't remember Rosaline from the original Shakespeare, but I guess Romeo liked her first and then Juliet came and ruined everything? Which is pretty much what happens in the this story.

Our main character is Rose and she likes Rob, her boy next door best friend for years. And just when she thinks they might be making the move to switch to bf/gf status, her rich and snobby cousin (who the family hasn't spoken to for ten years) suddenly shows up. And she nabs Rob right from the get go. Poor Rose.

But there's this other boy who I thought was especially intriguing hanging there in the wings. And he steps forward just then and makes Rose see things differently. His name is Len... and does this character have a counter part in the original? Someone tell me 'cause I can't remember!! Anyway, I thought he was awesome and interesting and so wanted to get to know him better! I feel like we were just getting there when the story ended!

SPOILERS: Anyway. It ends tragically as per the original if you must know. But I didn't feel very connected to those two and just wanted the happy ending for the other two. And now, like I said above, I feel like their story was just starting and I could handle more.

The writing in this one was just so so and it actually made me feel like if this one can make the cut, then all the stories I've started and are in my head totally could too! LOL! Is that bad? I mean like next week when I read Markus Zusak I will think, there is no way I can do this. But this one made me think I totally could.