Chapter by Chapter

I was really excited to get reading Such Sweet Sorrow by author Jenny Trout once I read the premise of the novel: what happens to Romeo and Juliet after their story ends with Hamlet thrown into the mix. While I haven’t read Hamlet yet but I have read Romeo & Juliet, I was interested in seeing this new twist where Romeo will go to retrieve Juliet from the land of the dead. By the time the novel had finished I was pumped and hopeful for a sequel.

In Such Sweet Sorrow, the poison that Romeo took to kill himself in Juliet’s tomb doesn’t work and he begins to live his life overcome with guilt for what has happened to her. After visiting a witch, Romeo is told to head north where a murdered king ruled and comes across Hamlet. Hamlet and Romeo become reluctant allies as both of them want to retrieve something from the world of the dead and Hamlet is the only person who can bring Romeo to the Afterjord.

Upon entering the Aferjord, Romeo and Hamlet both find that this will be a hard task to accomplish. Having to fight through beasts beyond their wildest imaginations, encountering worlds meant for sinners and for fierce warriors, and meeting Valkyries— Retrieving Juliet will be far more difficult than they think.

What I really liked about Such Sweet Sorrow was how the characters Romeo and Juliet were re-invented. They weren’t the exact same blinded-by-love, foolish characters that they were in the original play. In the length of time that Romeo has spent mourning Juliet his character has developed a lot more. He isn’t the same guy who tried to kill himself because Juliet was dead, he isn’t the same guy who would act without his plan being thought through at least a little bit. This was one thing that majorly effected how much I liked the novel.

Another thing that had me worried was the fact that I have never read Hamlet. I don’t know the first thing about his character, his play or anything. Author Jenny Trout does a very good job at describing Hamlet’s character and his situation without confusing the reader. I got to know his character, his story and I have to say that I am a lot more interested in reading Hamlet now (not to mention what a total badass he was in this novel).

Apart from the two main characters, the world that Such Sweet Sorrow is set in—the Afterjord—was crazy. It’s basically the world of the dead filled with multiple worlds for an afterlife. The boys have to fight beasts that I didn’t even imagine they would have to face, leaving the Afterjord begins to seem impossible and it’s just such a strange setting. It’s both light and dark. There are parts of it that are paradise and then there are parts that must be Hell. Very imaginative.

Judging by how Such Sweet Sorrow reached its end, I have no doubt in my mind that there will be a sequel. Which I am dying for. Such Sweet Sorrow is a well-written, unique continuation of what must have happened after Romeo & Juliet that I enjoyed every moment of. It’s a dark adventure that doesn’t focus so much on the romance as it does on the action. The best of every single world.

I would recommend Such Sweet Sorrow to readers who have been wondering ‘what happens after Romeo & Juliet? And do they end up going to some hellish realm?’  Readers who are fans of adventure novels or just want a story that keeps them on the edge of their seat will love Such Sweet Sorrow.