Prince of Shadows

Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet from Benvolio Montague’s point of view. I chose this book, because I was intrigued by how the author would recount the well-known love tragedy. Also, I enjoy reading about romance and retelling of famous tales. Therefore, I chose the Prince of Shadows to read.

Instead of telling the story of Romeo and Juliet from a third-person or Romeo’s point of view, like most audiences would expect, it was told from the almost-forgotten, elder cousin’s perspective. Benvolio Montague was the extra, elder boy of the Montague family; he was the sensible and responsible one, in contrast to Romeo’s youth and foolishness. However, at night, he takes on the alter ego of Prince of Shadows, the master thief in Verona who steals, not for the wealth, but for the humiliation of his victims.

The book opens with the Prince of Shadows stealing into the Capulet’s palace and taking Tybalt Capulet’s rapier in order to humiliate the house of Capulet. However, on his way out through Rosaline’s rooms, he made a grave mistake: Rosaline Capulet was still awake, reading. Fortunately for Benvolio, Rosaline did not alarm the household, but let him get away through her balcony.

Two months later, La Signora di Ferro, the grandmother of Benvolio and Romeo, charged Benvolio with keeping Romeo from stepping out of line. This was a task easier said than done, as Romeo had been lovesick with Rosaline and refused to see reason. He even wrote her love letters, which Benvolio had to retrieve. It was on this particular visit that Rosaline knew of Benvolio being the Prince of Shadows, and they started to fall in love.

Mercutio Ordelaffi, Romeo and Benvolio’s best friend, had a ...

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...Capulets – “I moved forward, sword ringing on the new opponent’s blade with a sound like the devil’s church bell.” All these similes and metaphors made the descriptions more interesting and easier to imagine.

On a scale of 0 to 10, I rate this book with a 9. It was a breathtaking and thrilling tale of love, revenge, and hatred. Rachel Caine kept me on my toes, surprising me with twists and turns even though I knew the story of Romeo and Juliet well. I particularly enjoyed how this book was not just about love; there was magic, witches and curses, grudges, and fighting. On the other hand, the first half of the book was slow-paced and takes patience to keep going. Rachel Caine revealed a different perspective to Romeo and Juliet: The romantic tragedy was also an irresponsible, spontaneous, and dangerous love. The Prince of Shadows certainly stole my heart and kept it.