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Summary
Summary
A deliciously funny and wickedly sexy novel of love found (finally!) and love threatened (inevitably) by the families who claim to love us best. Romeo Cacciamani and Julie Roseman are rival florists in Boston, whose families have hated each other for as long as anyone can remember (what they can't remember is why). When these two vital, lonely people see each other across a crowded lobby at a small business owners' seminar, an intense attraction blooms that neither tries to squelch. They're not sure what fate has in store for them, but they're not about to let something as silly as a generations-long feud stand in the way of finding out. That is, not until Romeo's octogenarian mother, Julie's meddling ex-husband, and a cast of grown Cacciamani and Roseman children begin to intervene with a passionate hatred that matches their newly found love, stroke for stroke. Think Montagues and Capulets, think wise and witty and thoroughly modern. Julie and Romeo is a love story for the ages. All ages.
Reviews (1)
Kirkus Review
A clever, sexy, comic version of Shakespeare's love story. In place of Montagues and Capulets are Rosemans and Cacciamanis, rival florists in Boston who have always despised each other. `The first time I heard the name Cacciamani," says Julie Roseman, the 60-year-old narrator, "I was five years old. My father said it, and then he spit.` Julie has been avoiding Romeo Cacciamani for years. Seems that long ago Julie's daughter, Sandy, and Romeo's son, Tony, were star-crossed teenagers in love; the unexplained hatred between their families, though, plus interference from Julie and Romeo, squelched their relationship. Now, when Romeo and Julie accidentally meet again at a seminar for ailing small businesses, everything has changed. Julie's divorced from her husband, Mort (who took off with another woman), and Romeo is a widower; both are available, willing, and regretful. That they fall in love is no surprise except to their children, who manifest their disapproval in disarming ways. Adding coincidence to complication, Sandy is now a divorced mother of two, and Tony never married. Will Julie and Romeo get together? Will their children let them? Will Sandy and Tony be reunited? Of course, the real question fuelling this rollicking tale is: What's the story behind the hate? Only Romeo's mother knows, but she's too busy salting the enemy's roses, and too stubborn to tell--until forced to at the end. Julie's appealing narrative voice and refreshing role reversals like the parents meeting in secret make this Shakespeare Redux engaging rather than gimmicky. While there are no "happy daggers," there's plenty of rapier dialogue, benign bloodshed, a note-bearing priest, and a wacky , revelatory birthday party reminiscent of the final scene in Moonstruck. Sure-handed and compelling, though it won't be nudging Shakespeare off the shelf anytime soon. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.