Review for When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date: 26th April 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Re-telling, Romance
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Goodreads Summary:
" "What's in a name, Shakespeare? I'll tell you: everything."

Rosaline knows that she and Rob are destined to be together. Rose has been waiting for years for Rob to kiss her--and when he finally does, it's perfect. But then Juliet moves back to town. Juliet, who used to be Rose's best friend. Juliet, who now inexplicably hates her. Juliet, who is gorgeous, vindictive, and a little bit crazy...and who has set her sights on Rob. He doesn't even stand a chance.

Rose is devastated over losing Rob to Juliet. This is not how the story was supposed to go. And when rumors start swirling about Juliet's instability, her neediness, and her threats of suicide, Rose starts to fear not only for Rob's heart, but also for his life. Because Shakespeare may have gotten the story wrong, but we all still know how it ends."

Review
As soon as I heard about this book I knew it was one that I just had to read. The concept of a contemporary re-telling of the Romeo and Juliet story, this time featuring Rosaline- Romeo’s first love, I thought was such a fantastic idea. And so debut author Rebecca Serle tells a modern time Rose’s story, the love story before Juliet came along, the love story that was never told.

Rose and Rob have been best friends and next door neighbours since they were kids. Their parents are long-time friends, and their best friends are in relationships with one another and so it seems natural and eventual that Rose and Rob will end up together, and they do, and everything is perfect and right and how it was always meant to be. That is until Rose’s cousin Juliet moves back into town and well we all know what happens when Juliet meets her Romeo who is in the case Rob. When You Were Mine is an account of a devastated and heartbroken girl and is in equal parts as romantic as it is moving. This is a book about getting over your first love, experiencing lost love and betrayal for the first time, and how it feels to not be the leading lady in your own love story.

Basically if a friend of mine came to me saying she’d just broken up with her boyfriend I would tell her to read this book. It’s such a perfect contemporary read that deals with all of those horrible heartbreak moments like seeing him with his new girlfriend for the first time, and how every little thing reminds you of him because he was such a huge part of your life. I felt especially terrible for Rose as not only does she get broken up with in a terrible way but she’s also betrayed by family and loses not only her boyfriend but her best friend in Rob. This book captures the getting over your first love process perfectly and I felt like I was there holding Rose’s hand as she got back on her feet. In spite of some scene’s being sad and heart-breaking the overall message to this book is one of hope and strength and so is the perfect book to heal your heart with.

As for the adaption from the original Romeo and Juliet story I thought it was done really well and I hugely enjoyed the modern day setting. Rebecca Serle certainly gets all of those feelings of being young and in love spot on and what I loved most was that I felt everything the characters were going through. One minute I was in a total rage with Rob and Juliet, and the next I was devastated for Rosaline, then I’d have butterflies in my tummy and a smile on my face as I read a gorgeously romantic scene, and next I was getting all teary eyed at the unfairness of the whole situation! It was such an emotional rollercoaster that took me through the ups and downs of being in love.

This was such a beautifully romantic and achingly moving story that I absolutely loved. I loved Rose’s voice as our heroine and after reading this I don’t think that I’ll ever be able to look at Romeo and Juliet in the same way again! Totally recommended to anyone who loves epic romances, Rebecca Serle is a debut author to watch!