Review: Such Sweet Sorrow

Book: Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Series: None(?)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: Never was there a tale of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo…But true love never dies. Though they’re parted by the veil between the world of mortals and the land of the dead, Romeo believes he can restore Juliet to life, but he’ll have to travel to the underworld with a thoroughly infuriating guide.

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, may not have inherited his father’s crown, but the murdered king left his son a much more important responsibility—a portal to the Afterjord, where the souls of the dead reside. When the determined Romeo asks for help traversing the treacherous Afterjord, Hamlet sees an opportunity for adventure, and the chance to avenge his father’s death.

In an underworld filled with leviathan monsters, ghoulish shades, fire giants and fierce Valkyrie warriors, Hamlet and Romeo must battle their way through jealousy, despair, and their darkest fears to rescue the fair damsel. Yet finding Juliet is only the beginning, and the Afterjord doesn’t surrender souls without a price…


Overall Review:
Now I'm not a huge fan of Shakespearean plays nor the characters in said plays, but something about the fact that Such Sweet Sorrow was about Romeo, Juliet, and Hamlet with hints of mythology (which I love) in it really caught my interest! I hadn't really talked to anyone that had read it before, I was going in completely clueless but I didn't mind! I wanted to read this book so bad that it was worth the complete shot in the dark. It really paid off too because I just simply adored Such Sweet Sorrow. It was horrific and down right treacherous in Afterjord (or the underworld as I call it--much simpler and easier to understand right?) that it was impossible for me to stop reading, even when things got pretty gruesome! Trout spared no expense when it came to creating this underworld, it was everything you'd imagine it would be and so much more. My one issue with it was that Trout tried way too hard to include so many mythologies, stories, and legends into this one book. In Afterjord you had Greek, Norse, Celtic, a tad touch of Jewish, and quite a few other mythologies that I can't name off the top of my head. While it was certainly interesting, I just didn't see why Trout felt the need to include all of that into one. It got a little confusing to keep everything they said, everyone (or thing) they encountered, and everywhere they went straight because they were all from different myths and legends. Before I started reading I figured it'd focus more on Greek mythology more than anything else, and while it is there, other things overshadowed it quite a bit. That didn't make things any less addicting and thrilling though. Trout has such a compelling, spine-tingling way of telling a story that I was hooked on the very first paged and I never wanted to put it down until it came to an end in which I had to, but even then I was upset things had to come to an end! There's action, adventure, horror, mythology, with a touch of romance and truly amazing character development. Such Sweet Sorrow was such an amazing book! There's still some questions that were never answered so I'm hoping with all my hopes there will be a sequel of some kind, but I kind of doubt it.

As I stated before, I'm not a huge fan of Shakespeare's plays nor his characters, especially Romeo and Juliet (the play and the characters), so I was caught by complete surprise at how much I actually enjoyed Romeo, Juliet, and Hamlet as characters! There was a slight issue I had with it all though. It seemed that Trout forgot what time period these characters were in because the way they talked and acted sometimes were not what people of that era did. Now I'm not saying Trout had to make them all speak like Shakespeare made them (because that would annoy me to no end) but she should've done a lot more research on language and behavior for people back then because a lot of it just didn't add up. I'm not saying I didn't like what she did, because I truly did--it made the characters more understandable and likable in my eyes, but despite the fact that I enjoyed it it just didn't make sense!
Now I must admit to the fact that I haven't read Hamlet yet so I can't really judge how he is in the play compared to Such Sweet Sorrow. In the beginning, while he's faced great loss and has what he likes to call a curse, Hamlet is a bit of a spoiled brat. He thinks because he's a prince that he can say or act however he wants. He's smart and resourceful, but he'c cocky and thinks he knows all. He wasn't exactly a bad guy, he's just the result of a royal and pampered lifestyle. His know-it-all personality wasn't in your face but it was pretty noticeable. It takes him awhile to realize that he's not as great as he made himself out to be. He got a bit of a reality check and worked hard to try and become the person he needed to be for his friends and his kingdom, not the person he thought he was.
Romeo was the same yet still different in Such Sweet Sorrow than he is in Romeo & Juliet. He's obsessed with Juliet, entirely too impulsive, has a solve everything with anger and violence mentality, and a tad bit self absorbed. He can be shallow, petty, and quick to get into a fight. In the beginning he was down right annoying. Sure I felt bad for him seeing as he survived the poison yet was reduced to this awful state and he had lost his Juliet to death, but that doesn't excuse his behavior. He never seemed to think things through and he was willing to sacrifice anyone and anything in order to get Juliet back. Was it sweet? Little bit. Was it also selfish? You bet it was. After he gets Juliet back, however, he starts to realize just how messed up a guy he was. How shallow, selfish, and ignorant he acted. He tried desperately to change that not only for Juliet's sake but for his, as well as the sake of his new friendship with Hamlet. He slipped up sometimes but when he did it came off as kind of cute in an awkward teenager kind of way. It took awhile but I started to really like him as a character, though he still has room for improvement!
Juliet was nothing like she is in the play. Shakespeare's Juliet was an ignorant, spoiled, deviant girl who thought nothing of her actions and the consequences that went with him. She got on my nerves so much in the play because she was just god awful, but in Such Sweet Sorrow she was a total freaking badass. She has a heck of a lot more knowledge than I thought she did, and she wasn't at all the spoiled little brat she was in the play! She was sassy, resourceful, kind hearted, by far more knowledgeable, and she could kick ass like nobody's business. She finally understood that while she loved Romeo, how they handled their love was a huge mistake. They weren't afraid to hurt others to prove they loved each other and that was the wrong way to go, Juliet realized that. I don't know how on earth she went from a spoiled princess to a warrior queen (not literally) but she did and I loved it. Romeo had underestimated her at first but began to realize just how wrong he was about her, how shallow he was to believe he could only fall for her because she was pretty and appeared dimwitted. He even said, "He thought he to be as weak as a flower, but she was tough as oak." and it's true. 

Surprisingly there wasn't as much romance as I was expecting there to be. While Romeo and Juliet are reunited and they do express their love for each other here and there, they mostly just reveled in the fact that they were together. There wasn't much kissing, hugging, making out, snuggling, etc. They were together again and that was enough for them. Of course there was the fact that they were stuck in a horrific underworld and trying to get out without dying and ending up in a world of torment and despair in the process. There was a lot going on so the fact that they still reveled in each other's company without getting to touchy feely like they did in the play (have you guys seen the movie? They like eat each other's faces off during the balcony scene! It was disgusting!) really got to me. I don't ship the original Romeo and Juliet. I never have and probably never will. I could go on and on and on about how messed up their relationship was and how they were not in love and yada yada yada. So the thing that caught me most by surprise was the fact that I do ship Romeo and Juliet together in Such Sweet Sorrow. I do so much (and thank god there wasn't a love triangle between Hamlet, Romeo, and Juliet) and while reading I just wanted to grab them and take them away to an enchanting place where they could live happily ever after for the rest of their lives and beyond that. That is how much I wanted them together!

I wasn't exactly sure by what had drawn me into Such Sweet Sorrow as much as I was but whatever it was I'm happy about it because I simply just adore this book. A gripping, detailed, and scary world where I couldn't put it down because I simply had to know what would happen next and if everyone would survive. There was a crap ton of mythology and legends going on in Such Sweet Sorrow and while I truly don't think Trout needed to include as much as she did I still enjoyed it. It got confusing at times, sure, but I still had a great time reading! Such Sweet Sorrow is so fast paced that it flew by for me, I started and finished it in less than a school day! I never wanted it to end it was so good! While there was some inconsistencies with how the characters talked and acted not only by themselves but together, I still really liked them. I felt like Trout could've done a tad bit more research to make it all seem more accurate but it wasn't a huge thing for me that it affected how I enjoyed the book. Hamlet was a huge know it all who felt he could do no wrong and never was wrong. In the underworld he got a huge wake up call and realized he wasn't as great as he made himself out to be. After that, he struggled to become the kind of man he needed to be not only to protect his friends but to eventually become king and be the type of leader his people needed him to be. It was nice to see such a change in him, not that he was god awful before. Romeo was, however. He was moody, selfish, shallow, and thought the world revolved around him and getting Juliet back. I felt bad for him yes but that only goes so far.  After he got Juliet back he started to change bit by bit, in a good way. He started to see just what kind of jerkish person he was and was so ashamed of it. He wanted to be better for himself, Hamlet, and of course Juliet. Juliet was, surprisingly, a total freaking bad ass. She kicked ass and took names. She actually did most of the work between her and the guys down in the underworld! Not sure when she became so freaking awesome but I loved it and her! She was by far my favorite character! She had grown so much in death and it was amazing to see. Another amazing thing is the fact that Such Sweet Sorrow and just Trout in general handled Romeo and Juliet's relationship so well that I actually ship them! Something I thought I never would do! Can I just say how gorgeous that cover is? Because it is so flipping gorgeous!


Overall Rating:
I give Such Sweet Sorrow a 4.5 out of 5 star rating. It was so freaking good and I loved every page of it but there was just a few minor things that I had issues or questions about which is why I didn't rate it a 5. I'm seriously in love with this book because it was so amazing. I would recommend this to anyone who likes interesting retellings, horrific worlds, captivating story-telling that keeps you engrossed until the last page, and characters that catch you completely by surprised. Trout did such an amazing job with Such Sweet Sorrow and while I doubt it, I'm so hoping for a sequel of some kind! I'm crossing my fingers! Thanks for reading!

4.5/ 5 stars

~Kayla~