A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this historical rom com, set 20 years after the events of Romeo & Juliet. In this version, Romeo and Juliet have a different ending, and are raising a family in Verona. Oldest child Rosaline is almost 20 and still unmarried. She’s had a few fiancés, but has matched them with other young ladies. Then Duke Stephano, widowed multiple times, encounters Rosie and wants to marry her, even without a dowry. Rosie is enamored of fair Lysander, who climbs into the Montague compound with a special ladder, and they have a few humorous encounters. Then there’s the scarred Prince Escalus, who’s raising his young sister, Princess Isabelle. Rosie’s whole family likes Isabelle, and she enjoys their lively and boisterous household, with loving parents. Many women are attracted to Romeo, but he only has eyes for his Juliet, who is pregnant, again. Romeo still has a temper, as does Rosie.

Rosie spends time at the apothecary shop run by Friar Laurence, escorted by her formidable Nurse. They all go to the scene when a young man is poisoned, and later find another apothecary dead. Rosie is soon suspected of murder and needs to clear her name lest she be sent to a nunnery, so she investigates. The investigation makes this novel a mystery, but it’s mostly a family story set in Verona with some romance and quite a lot of humor. I enjoyed the setting and the characters, and look forward to a planned sequel. The recipe for Juliet’s fruit and nut bread is available on the author’s website, here.

Brenda