Isle of the Books

Often, the focus of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet  is on the two lovers whom the book is named after. While reading, my focus was often drawn by the other characters and the lessons that are imparted by them. These are the ones that caught my attention, with no particular order given as they can be seen throughout the entire book. 1. Listening to poor advice . In the beginning of the play, Romeo is lamenting his lost love. Mercutio, his friend, tells him the best way to move past it is to change his affections. Go to the party the Capulet's are hosting! Maybe you'll see someone there who you'll be attracted to instead. Mercutio essentially tells Romeo to find a rebound. While Romeo did need to move on after being rejected (he's in a really bad state and has been for a while), he really should have sought wiser council. Ultimately the poor choices that follow are his own, but it shows how life-changing accepting poor help can be depending on what it is. 2. G...

Reading DeWitt’s books has made me realize that I don’t dislike reading romance–I dislike romance only stories. I like action + romance. I need a plot besides the romance in order to enjoy the story. And her books provide just that. In Gods of the Sea , we get a captivating storyteller who happens to have plans of his own, a wayward navy soldier who’s fascinated with the supernatural, a pirate captain who struggles with his own morality, and a duty-bound enigma who has seen deep darkness.  I’m in it for the romance, but I get a cool fantasy story full of mythical adventures and roguish pirates, too. One of the aspects I loved about this story is how each of the four men each portray a different facet of what love is through their respective journeys, as well as what’s healthy and what’s not with the concepts of true feelings vs obsession. I also highly appreciated Esmeralda. She’s strong, in both her character and her personality, but yet she shows her emotions and is willing to be...