Rating: 
Summary: A Bouquet Of Thanks To The Author
Review: Something about that cover -- I too judged this book by it, as some readers also had expressed. To my delight, the contents also enticed.The protagonist, Julie, is a world-weary female with a sense of the absurd. The couple, Julie and Romeo, uplift via their mutual generosity, passion, caring. They are mirror-images, twin-soul florists who face the unreasonable wrath of their feuding families, over their "blossoming" romance. Unlike Shakespeare's version, which obviously inspired Ms. Ray, this novel centers on an older duo. It's a clever switch, intensifying the comic irony of supposedly mature adults forced into adolescent intrigues to hide their encounters. The story aligns with a Shakespearean theme, that of others having too much to say, about one's personal happiness. Whenever Julie seems about to degenerate into self-pity, into a lecture on the cruelty of life, or involve herself in a sensationalist "low-rent" type of sex or violence situation, the author surprises, through humor, altering such a course. She never loses her genuine empathy, insight, compassion, for her characters, for her readership. One soft-hearted misstep by the author, I thought, was at the end, turning the most despicable character to me (clue to previous readers: a "Lexus") into someone of emerging decency. That substory justified at least some comeuppance, repercussion. This work does produce stereotyping per us Italians. At first, it seemed Ms. Ray perhaps was disingenuous. From the first page onwards, she prompted admiration for her honesty: She has the amusing Julie bluntly discuss the joy of prejudice, as if, ironically, to alert readers that she, the author, is truly aware of its dangers. Yet then, sprinkled throughout the whole novel are Julie's confrontations with seemingly dense, uneducated goons -- Mafia types, she calls them. Also, the monolithic Italians clump together, for hospital visits, big parties, they play/listen to the accordion, and know the words to "That's Amore." This is not my reality (e.g., my relatives favor the mandolin, and competitive humming). Still, Ms. Ray gets points for Plummy, the intriguingly individualistic daughter of Romeo. The cumulative effect of the characterizations really ends up seeming rather harmless to me, an Italian-American. The tone, spirit, of the book seems so good-natured, I could overlook the generalizing. (Something I could not do per Frances Mayes travel journals, very inaccurate, even patronizingly so, regarding assumed physical traits, the art, history, geographical facts, about Italy, especially my ancestral Southern homeland). The ending of the story for Julie and her Romeo seems satisfyingly inevitable, with enough of a touch of mystery to it, to gratify further. I'm eager to re-read the book soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Delightful, funny, fresh and charming
Review: Jeanne Ray gives us a delightful reworking of the Capulet-Montague feud in "Julie and Romeo" - with, thankfully, a much happier ending! Main characters Julie Roseman and Romeo Cacciamani own rival florists' shops in Boston, and have been carrying on their families' long-standing and bitter feud. They meet at a conference for small business owners, and, you guessed it, something magical happens... but their families are not so easily persuaded to give up the feud (even though no one knows exactly how it all started). The strengths of this book are many: (1) the characters are a little offbeat and incredibly real (I especailly loved Mrs. Cacciamani, who is exactly like the dowager Italian women I have known, and whose antics made me laugh out loud. I could absolutely see my Italian friend Carmela's mother or grandmother doing the same things!); (2) the lovers are also atypical - instead of beautiful people in their 20s or 30s obsessed with career or getting married, they are older, experienced, a little more sober, so that their falling in love is unexpected and sweet; (3) the book is unabashedly romantic in the best sense of the term; (4) there is enough sex and irony and humor to keep things from getting sappy or maudlin -- and to make you laugh out loud (I giggled uncontrollably at the party scene at the end); (5) I enjoyed the way Ms. Ray took the familiar Romeo and Juliet setup and tweaked it in an original way; (6) the author has a fresh and refreshing voice. And, on a more superficial note, I loved the close-up photos of flowers that opened each chapter. As heartening as the first crocus of spring, as passionate as a red rose, as charming and bright as a daffodil, as lush and romantic as a peony... what's not to like about "Julie and Romeo"?
Rating:
Summary: Really "cute" book!
Review: This is just a really cute book--creates allegiances with one family or the other. It's a quick read but you don't want to put it down. The author certainly has a well-developed sense of humor, displayed in her characters and plot. Hurry up with the next one!
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing novel of romance for those over 50 (or any age)
Review: I started reading this book on a flight from Newark to Las Vegas and did not want the plane to land before I finished. (For once I was grateful for the long taxiing to the gate.) When I arrived at my final destination in California, I read it again. What a delightful novel! I liked Jeanne Ray's writing style and her art of minimally describing the sex scenes, and leaving much to our imagination. I'm buying this book for my widowed aunt's 60th birthday. Hope Ms. Ray is working on another novel! For those of you who loved this book, please read E. L. Swann's "Night Gardening."
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Summer reading!
Review: "Julie and Romeo" was excellent. Just the right blend of love and humor to keep me amused. Julie Roseman was a divorced mother with her feet on the ground until Romeo Cacciamani comes floating into her life. At the threat of being disowned by their families, the two weather the snide remarks, fistfights and business battles. I have to say that Plummy was my favorite person in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Beginning --
Review: I thought the premise of the story, Julie and Romeo, held great promise. Since I can't relate to the 20 and 30-somethings anymore, I was looking forward to a story that featured 50+ main characters and I stayed interested and delighted until - Romeo and Julie's offspring showed their true colors. Yipes! Maybe I'm living in a fantasy world, but where do these kids get off talking to their parents like this? Where do they get off making explicit and implied threats against members of the other family? And where-oh-where are these parents' brains to let these kids get away with all this? And the crackpot grandmother was no better. Nora needed a swift kick in the rear and Joe was nothing more than a thug (quite possibly with bigger aspirations in mind). Plummy was the only decent one in the bunch, with Sandy and Tony(absent for most of the book) coming in a close second. I did like Julie and Romeo (at least in the beginning). I cheered them on finding love after life had dealt them both lousy hands (although Julie was infinitely better off without Mort). But as it became apparent that neither of them was willing to take a stern stand against their kids and were content to let this second chance slip by, I began to lose interest in the story and the characters. Yes, they did 'come around' at the end, but by that time it was too late. And by this time, it really didn't surprise me that not one of the kids offered any sort of apology to their parents for the grief they caused. I do have one comment to make to the editor/author/proofreader,etc. Those of us who really *do* live in this area know that the landmark grocery giant is Demoulas - not Demoula. Therefore, on page 5, " . . . into his aisle at Demoula's." should have read: " . . . into his aisle at Demoulas.'"
Rating:
Summary: Julie & Romeo
Review: The cover is so beautiful and bright you can't help but gravitate toward it. The story is just the same. A very sweet love story, filled with warmth that demonstrates the power of love. It also proves that passion occurs at all ages and stages in life! The ending is even a bit suprising. A light read, but a lovely story.
Rating:
Summary: Loved It, Loved It, Loved It!!
Review: Excellent! A wonderfully written story involving different generations, great characters, funny, romantic, refreshing, and shows that love can happen at any age. The writer who was also the narrator did a beautiful job. I honestly did not want the story to end! Can't wait to hear her next book! Danielle Steel, (whom I love), LOOK OUT!!
Rating: 
Summary: Featherweight Love Story
Review: This well-meaning novel succeeds in its likely goal - that of showing - albeit shallowly - the madcap relationship that blossoms between two single (one is divorced, one is widowed) hard-working people in their 60's. Though this novel has been called "sexy," there is very little sex in it - and, more importantly, very little real desire. There is, instead, a complex but essentially nonsensical plot, an improbable generations-old feud between two families, uneducated references to both Italian and Jewish ethnicity, and numerous frustrations and plot twists that the would-be lovers must endure. (Their adult children and grandchildren would appear to run their lives - distressingly, to this middle-aged reader). Roy makes numerous comical references to underwear, aging, and manners. Roy is a smart observer, and a glib reporter, but unfortunately she confines her considerable abilities to jokey references and a plot that is not believable, nor interesting. I was really disappointed in this novel, which with a little help from an able editor, might have been something more than a cute, silly story.
Rating:
Summary: I'll be generous
Review: The awkwardness of dating as a single parent is a frequent subject for light comedy in TV and the movies. This book extends this genre by having the protagonists be aged 60, with grandchildren in the mix. Reading "Julie and Romeo" is like reading a screenplay for a Nora Ephron movie. You're sure that it's the sequel to "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail." Tom Hanks will have some grey flecks in his hair as Romeo, and Meg Ryan will need some lines in her face to play Julie, but otherwise everything is set up for them. I enjoyed the book. I laughed. I bought into the romance. I was more into "Julie and Romeo" than I was into "You've Got Mail." However, I have a relatively low tolerance for Hollywood manipulation (don't get me started on "American Beauty"), particularly in a novel. I'll be generous and give it four stars, but there are other novels I'd recommend ahead of this one.
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