Review: Romeo & What's Her Name

Title: Romeo & What's Her Name
Author: Shani Petroff
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: February 7, 2017

Understudies never get to perform

. . . which is why being Juliet's understudy in the school's yearly "Evening with Shakespeare" is the perfect role for Emily. She can earn some much-needed extra credit while pursuing her main goal of spending time with Wes, aka Romeo, aka the hottest, nicest guy in school (in her completely unbiased opinion). And she meant to learn her lines, really, it's just:
a) Shakespeare is HARD,
b) Amanda, aka the "real" Juliet, makes her run errands instead of lines, and
c) there's no point because Amanda would never miss the chance to be the star of the show.


Then, Amanda ends up in the hospital and Emily, as the (completely unprepared!) understudy, has to star opposite the guy of her dreams. Oops?

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This... This definitely had a scene that was the most mortifying thing I have ever read in my entire life.

Emily has a thing for Wes, the super sweet, smart, nerdy, and all-over just about perfect guy at school. Even better, they grew up just down the street from each other, so she's been harboring this crush for quite some time. When he comes back from winter break, she finds out he and his girlfriend broke up and is determined to get his attention. 

Much to Emily's surprise, Wes gives her the attention she always wanted. She's shocked/confused/etc until he seems to be doing to same to all the girls. So is he just being a a nice guy? 

So let's talk about the characters. I really liked Wes. He was super sweet, and constantly tries to do the right thing. But, as Emily points out early on, he is constantly walked over by others, which leads to some interesting times later on. Because he really just can't say no to anyone for anything.

And then there's Emily. She weirded me out at first. Okay, probably because I was pretty similar to her. Her obsessive crush was maybe a bit much, but who could blame her when she lives down the street from the hottest guy in school?

I loved that when Emily found out she had to perform she really and truly did try to learn her lines. She crammed with her friend Kayla (I loved both Kayla and Jill, her best friends) before the show, and they tried to come up with a way for her to see the lines on her phone. And we're led to believe she might actually know her lines. But then things happen, and more things happen, and she's totally lost, making up the entire scene in "Shakespeare-speak". Not gonna lie, it was bad. Mortifying. Even more so because I know that part was based on a true story. 

Characters: 3 stars
Plot: 4 stars
World: 4 stars
Feels: 4 stars

4 stars