A queer retelling of Romeo & Juliet, except no one has to bury their gays.A decades-old family rivalry is reaching a boiling point as the patriarchs vie for a seat in Congress. Democrat vs Republican, Muslim vs Christian, Hashmi vs Swain – the Midwestern town of Arbor Hills is one spark away from an explosion of violence. So when two men find themselves irresistibly drawn together at a party, … party, only to discover they were born on opposite sides of a bloody battle line, Matthew Swain and Rabi Hashmi know they should leave well enough alone.The pull between them is magnetic, though, and it’s too strong to ignore. Unable to resist, they meet again in secret. Generations of hatred can’t temper the passionate love growing between them, but two men falling for each other in the middle of a war zone can’t hold back the inevitable clash.And when decades of political, religious, and personal strife finally come to a head, there will be blood.
more
I was instantly intrigued by the idea of a contemporary version of Romeo and Juliet, especially one that was a romance and not a tragedy. Of course, I also knew Miss Witt would make her characters work for their happy ending. Overall, I really enjoyed Rabi and Matthew. The writing was crisp, the plot interesting and timely, and the building tension between the two families palpable. I was especially impressed with how raw the moments of conflict left me, proving just how much emotion the author wrung out of the story.
From a romantic standpoint, I didn’t quite feel as much of a connection as I typically do with this author’s work. I’m not sure if that comes from the story featuring relatively innocent new adults, or if it was that the aggressive energy coming from other parts of the story minimized their love connection. Young adult/ new adult is generally not a favorite trope of mine because the wide-eyed innocence often frustrates me. The author definitely captured that and moved the romance- especially physically- along to reflect their inexperience. However, Rabi and Matthew was such a pertinent story highlighting the senseless clash of religion and races and the harm those prejudices can create long-term, that I’m glad I didn’t pass this one up.
*eARC received via Netgalley. The author and publisher had no influence over this review*
3.5 stars
A modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet? With gay characters? Muslim vs Christian? Democrat vs Republican? Love vs hate? I am so there! This is what I was thinking after reading the blurb.
Rabi’s family and Matthew’s families hate each other. Have forever. Why? Neither young man knows why, not sure if anyone knows why. All they know is that their families hate each other, so the two of them cannot, should not, be together. And yet they cannot help themselves, and fall for each other anyway. And set off a horrible set of consequences that are almost too real to be believed in this day and age of so much hate roiling around our country.
I wanted to love this story; unfortunately, I didn’t end up loving it. I did end up liking it, for the most part, though. What I like? Rabi and Matthew. They’re both so sweet, so oddly innocent, and their love is an insta-love, romantic, fairy tale type of love. What I didn’t love? The rest of the story. I didn’t get to know any of the characters very well, or what motivated them beyond a feud none of them knew why existed. None of them felt particularly deep or layered. And the requisite epiphany came far too late in the story for it to have any noticeable effect. If it had happened earlier, had given our two young men longer to be out and in love, I would have appreciated it a lot more. And the disgusting amount of hate and recriminations that swirled around Rabi and Matthew was horrifying to read. Unfortunately, pretty realistic, though. While I can appreciate the realism of this, I didn’t particularly enjoy reading about it. So 3.5 stars for two great leads, the good writing, but because most of the characters weren’t particularly substantive, I can’t go higher than 3.5 stars.
4 Stars
Review by Lisa
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog
In this M/M retelling of the classic, Romeo and Juliet, L. A. Witt has a twist. I love this author’s unexpected take with this story line. There is so much that goes along with it. Families at war, politics, religion, racism, small mindedness and small town business. It is a lot for two people finding each other and trying to figure life out. It is so well written that you can’t help but root for Rabi and Matthew. However, as you read, you just know things are not going to be easy and you wait for that moment in the story that will happen and alter it.
I don’t want to give too much away with this story. I feel like if I mention outside the caption/heading it will give away the story.. So I’m not going to divulge anything from the actual story line.
That being said, I did enjoy this story. In the end, the twists that come are well done. The conflicts of life are written tastefully and as result, you will be ok with all that stuff that comes along with “talking” politics/religion.
A retelling of Romeo & Juliet, Rabi and Matthew is a m/m emotional, raw story. The struggle is real, the characters portrayal is convincing and the storyline compelling. I enjoyed this rendition and this author is fast becoming a must read for me with her unique take and portrayal of her stories and characters