When You Were Mine

Written by Rebecca Serle

Narrated by Sarah Grace

From the New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years comes an intensely romantic modern recounting of the greatest love story ever told—narrated by the girl Romeo was supposed to love.

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 stand a chance.

Rose is devastated over losing Rob to Juliet. 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: May 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781455818990

Rebecca Serle

Rebecca Serle is the New York Times bestselling author of One Italian Summer, In Five Years, The Dinner List, and the young adult novels The Edge of Falling and When You Were Mine. Serle also developed the hit TV adaptation Famous in Love, based on her YA series of the same name. She is a graduate of USC and The New School and lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews for When You Were Mine

[Dawn Jameson · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps I was looking for a steamy romance, but this was not it. This book needs to be catered to young adults. It was super basic, and I felt the plot was lacking. I didn’t feel the characters were well developed and the story, although it did have one twist, was not well thought out enough for a 40 something woman. I kept listening, hoping for an upturn in the entertainment value, but was left unfulfilled. Perhaps the younger audience can relate.

[Nessie-Aly Black · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A really nice quick read! I liked the reader’s ability to differentiate the voices which was really nice! There was some predictability with the story, outside of the R&J storyline I mean, but this was a really interesting read! I cried and felt heartbroken when Rob left Rose, I almost wanted to stop reading haha. Rebecca Serile does a really amazing job writing heartbreak and relationships. I also loved how the chapters were written as scenes and acts! They really embraced the Romeo and Juliet story without it being too ingrained in it. I would have liked more from Rob’s perspective on the relationship as more of an explanation than just “I didn’t expect to fall for her” but I get this isn’t his or Juliet’s story. The beginning as well Rose kept saying Rob was her best friend over and over, but I didn’t feel a present bond with them, just memories of them growing up together. I think more time with them together beforehand would have been better for the reader.

My one complaint about the actual audiobook is that sometimes the scene would change and jump in between dialogue and in chapters with no pause in between so I’d get confused with the sudden shift. The chapters are also not formatted properly for Scribd (intro also has part of the first chapter and the same goes with the last chapter and epilogue with the ending credits). Otherwise, I say it’s worth a read! I don’t usually like stories told from the popular girl’s perspective but she didn’t come across that way which was strange but she was still relatable!

[emily_anne-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Note: This is a short ramble. I won't be doing a full review :)

I was very disappointed by When You Were Mine. I enjoyed Rebecca Serle's most recent novel, The Edge of Falling, and expected to enjoy this one even more. However, I was very bored most of the time and, in my opinion, the writing was very bleh. Also, I feel as if the portrayal of Rob and Juliet was poorly done. I hated the way Juliet was blamed for the relationship. I won't be writing a full review as I feel as if the slew of other negative reviews on Goodreads adequately describe my feelings for the book. *sigh* What an interesting premise put to waste. If you want to read a book by Rebecca Serle, try The Edge of Falling or her future release, Famous in Love.

[tsawyer5-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just purchased this book for my high school library where I am the Librarian. I read it immediately, as I do so with every book that I purchase, so that I can make recommendations to my students. I was fascinated by the idea of Romeo and Juliet being told in a more modern setting that teenagers could relate to. I was even more fascinated with hearing Rosaline's side of the story as it has never been told before. For a ya romance novel, I loved this book! Everyone always focuses on the relationship between Romeo and Juliet, but what about those that got tossed aside and hurt by their decisions? Great story!

[lmrayvon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4Q, 4P: Everyone knows the story of Shakespeare's Rome and Juliet. However, not many people, including myself, ever remember Romeo's first lover in the book, Rosaline. When You Were Mine retells the Romeo and Juliet's love story through Rosaline's eyes. Note, some of the names in the novel were slightly changed (Rose= Rosaline, Rob= Romeo, and still Juliet= Juliet). I think there is a large appeal to spin-offs and retellings, so I believe this would be a pretty good selection for many of my patrons. I don't think it would take that much to sell it to them either. If they like love stories, heart break stories, the story of Romeo and Juliet, then this is any easy one to recommend. I actually really enjoyed this book! It's probably my favorite that I've read all quarter! The fact that it is narrated by the girl that Romeo was supposed to love was a completely different take on the classic that I never thought of before (mostly because I too am guilty of forgetting poor Rosaline). Still the book does have it's slow moments. The review from SLJ points out that "The story moves towards the climax with sometimes unnecessary detail to the mundane." This definitely worries me for teens, mostly because it may be hard to keep their attention with a slower book like this. They would probably find to be a bit tedious and would put it down, never to try it again. However, I also found out on SLJ that there is a film version in the works, would help to build some reader interest.

[ceilidhann · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Sometimes a book calls out to you, be it for all the right or wrong reasons. When it comes to re-imaginings of age-old tales and classics of the literary pantheon, one must tread lightly, particularly when entering the realm of William Shakespeare. It’s important to remember the cultural and historical context of his work when applying it to a modern day setting. It’s possible to remain faithful to the source material while still adapting it to fit today’s moral & societal changes. A good example of this is the movie “10 Things I Hate About You”, a high school retelling of the very archaic “The Taming of the Shrew”. Said play is pretty misogynist, emphasising the important of subduing a woman’s fiery spirit in favour of making her an obedient wife. In “10 Things I Hate About You”, the “shrewish” heroine does not change for a man, nor is she forced into it. Their romantic resolution is witty, equally matched and doesn’t rely on either of them completely changing their personalities. I highly recommend the film if you haven’t seen it. However, today’s review is about a less successful Shakespeare modern day retelling. “When You Were Mine” actually manages to be just as, if not more sexist than the play it’s taken from, the ever popular “Romeo and Juliet”.

I have a big revelation for you all, dear readers. It may shock you, it may not (I hope not), but I’m sick of the world still living by this false assumption in 2013 and think it’s time to set the record straight for the good of us all.

There is no such thing as a slut.

Seriously. They don’t exist.

If someone calls you a slut, then ask them to define it. Usually they can’t, or the definition changes with every person you ask.
That’s because there’s no such thing as a slut.

The term “slut”, and variations on that term, are so casually tossed around towards women, basically exist to shame women for being vaguely sexual, although they’re just as commonly used as insults to women for completely unrelated reasons (wearing a low-cut top is tantamount to being the whore of Babylon according to some). Women are often depicted as being manipulative, stupid, malicious or just plain evil solely based on their sexuality – they’re evil because they’re a slut, and they’re a slut because they’re evil. Poor innocent men are snatched from their true loves by those evil sluts, who don’t have real human emotions like the nice girls, and leave men completely merciless to their slutty wiles. These women all look a certain way – usually blonde, wearing lots of make-up and revealing clothing, often compared to porn stars or blow-up dolls, frequently cheerleaders. Many jokes will be made about sexually transmitted diseases towards these sluts, although male “players” are clean on this front. More often than not, bad things happen to these women, but don’t worry, because they deserve it.

Remember, these women don’t exist.

I stress this because after reading “When You Were Mine”, I seriously began to believe that the author, a woman herself, hates other women, or had a cousin who seriously messed with her at some point during her life. In this modern version of the oft-imitated tale of star-crossed lovers, Rosaline is beginning a relationship with Rob Caplet (see what they did there?) just as her cousin Juliet returns to the scene and immediately snatches him away. Rob goes from being besotted with Rosaline to completely obsessing over Juliet, that slut. Juliet is, of course, a heavy make-up wearing spoiled brat with bleach blonde hair who snatches away innocent men and turns them into little lapdogs. But never fear, good readers, because underneath that harsh and fake exterior is a broken little girl who is just jealous of her plain but intelligent cousin, and will meet a tragic end that will be entirely blamed on her.

Do you see where this book goes wrong?

In “Romeo and Juliet”, Rosaline is never on stage, and serves more as a plot point than anything else. She is a means for Romeo to attend the Capulet family’s party and meet Juliet, his true love. A lot of great literary analysis has been written on her and I implore you to check some out because you won’t find any of that here. In the play, where Rosaline serves as a contrast and plot point, here she is the angel to Juliet’s whore. The naïve teenage girl consumed by first love in the face of petty familiar conflict has been turned into a slut, and later on a dead slut.

This is not okay.

There is literally nothing else to Juliet’s character except her evil sluttiness and the consequences of it. In this book, being a slut is literally described as being a defining quality!

"Charlie says there's a difference between being a slut and being slutty. She thinks Olivia was slutty for hooking up with the Belgian, but she would never call her a slut. Her theory is that the distinction is between how you act and who you are. Olivia's was an action, whereas Darcy's is a defining quality."

Charlie and Olivia are Rosaline’s friends. So there you go – good friends can be slutty but they’re never sluts. That’s for other women.
Juliet is entirely blamed for Rob’s actions, which is both sexist and daft. The last time I checked, men were autonomous creatures completely capable of doing as they pleased. Women can do that sometimes as well. By putting all the blame on Juliet for Rob’s actions (as if his penis just fell into her vagina), his responsibility is completely removed from him. He’s not a victim; he knew exactly what he was doing! Of course, in the end he tries to run back to the good and sweet Rosaline, but it all ends badly (do I even need spoiler alerts for “Romeo & Juliet”?) because that is the normal way of things. In 2013.

I actually have nothing else to say about this book because I can’t remember a single thing about it outside of the weapons grade level of slut-shaming. Taylor Swift looks like bell hooks in comparison to “When You Were Mine”. I honestly can’t get over how much this book hates women. It’s archaic and makes Shakespeare’s Elizabethan era play look progressive in comparison. At least in “Romeo & Juliet” the pair were supposed to be blind with infatuation and Juliet didn’t shove the poison down Romeo’s mouth. It’s not as if the original material is untouchable, and it’s not as if there isn’t great potential in giving some depth to Rosaline, but absolutely no effort is put into that here because the author is so concerned with demonising Juliet to the point of insanity. Take my advice and stick to the source: It’s better written, makes some sense and doesn’t loathe women.

1/5.

[joyce.leung · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I’ve been meaning to write a review for this book for quite some time now. Things got in the way – exams, competitions – life got in the way, I guess. But now that I’ve finally gotten time to review this book, I find that it wasn’t as good as I originally thought.

At first I was like

Oh my God this is a great book! It’s well-thought out, follows the plot, and develops the oft ignored character of Rosaline!

But now I’m like

What was I thinking? The only part of the story that actually follows the original plot is that there is a pair of star-crossed lovers called Romeo and Juliet – not even that, actually – Romeo’s call Rob in this book, so that technically doesn’t count any more.

Despite the conclusions you may garner after reading my comments in the above paragraph, I do think this is a good book. That is, if you look at it as an independent novel instead of a retelling of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. There have been too many superbly written retellings of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ over the years, and no matter how good an author Rebecca Serle is, she’ll find it hard-pressed to top the hundreds of different Romeos and Juliets falling in love and then dying.



Biology grows on certain people, I imagine, much in the same way this book grew on me. At first, I started off thinking that it was boring and it started to drag on endlessly – and all that in the first two, three chapters! And then things started getting interesting, and it finally stopped becoming a chore to read this book.

The thing with retellings is that you already know the end when you’re at the beginning – especially with ‘Romeo and Juliet’, which is usually listed under tragic romance, or romantic tragedy. Hello? Tragic romance? Doesn’t that alone give the ending away? So, naturally, I was apprehensive when I was reading this book – after all, I already knew from the outset that they were going to die in the end. This, I think, kind of dimmed the happiness I felt at the start, when everything was really kicking off for Rob and Rosaline.

What I'm trying to say is, I guess, that this is a good book to read if you're looking for a book, not a retelling of 'Romeo and Juliet'. In that, you - or at least, I - will be sorely disappointed by the lack of similarities in the original play and this retelling. However, if you’re approaching it as merely a book – nothing more, nothing less – you’ll find that, after the admittedly very slow start, it is well worth your time and patience to see it through to the end.

[superducky · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I actually really enjoyed this book. Although i really felt no sympathy towards Rob or Juliet at the end, I enjoyed watching Rosaline grow throughout the book, even if she DID get annoying at some parts.

[darkfaerietales_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: This novel takes a long time to get rolling, mainly because the characters stick to their stereotypes and this retelling brings nothing new to the table. Opening Sentence: Shakespeare got it wrong. The Review: I’m going to preface this review by saying that I study Shakespeare. I’ve taken classes devoted entirely to him. So I probably have more background in Shakespeare than the average reader. I have expectations to any retelling I pick up, which is namely that if you’re going to re-work one of the most famous stories of all time, you do it well or not at all. Serle didn’t make the cut. In her version, everything you think you know about our star-crossed lovers is wrong. It all goes back to our characters. Rosaline’s in love with Romeo — I mean, Rob — so when he finally asks her out, she thinks it’s true love and roses for eternity. The reader knows his attention won’t last longer than it takes for Juliet to show up and is forced to wait for the other shoe to drop. There are so many ways Serle could’ve worked this, but because she didn’t take the time to flesh out our characters everything they do seems silly and pretentious. They’re shallow and self-serving. Rosaline over-analysing everything Rob says until you just want to reach into the pages and pull her hair out. The good part is, this doesn’t last. Just like in Shakespeare, everything interesting happens after Act Three. This is mostly because we finally see Rosaline and Len together. Their budding romance makes them far more likable — especially Rosaline — and their scenes are far, far more interesting than anything we saw between Rob and our heroine. Serle works hard to make Rosaline and Len the endearing characters Romeo and Juliet were in the play. As a result, Serle drags Rob and Juliet through the mud. I really, really hate when authors slut-shame their characters as a way of making them “evil.” Juliet’s role is that of the psychologically unstable boyfriend-stealing slut, and she sticks pretty close to what you would expect her to do. Rob also becomes more and more unstable — which is mostly alarming because he ends up yelling at Juliet in a very threatening way, in public, and no one cares. I found the lack of reaction slightly disturbing. Rosaline’s halfhearted attempt to befriend Juliet (again) at the end of the novel seemed like Serle’s way of trying to make Rosaline the better person, but because I was never completely invested in the characters to begin with, I didn’t really care. It’s a light book — I knew that picking it up — but I still found myself disappointed that Serle brushes over the darker aspects of Romeo and Juliet that have made it such a lasting work. The theme of the novel is choice, and the fact we all have choices, which I did like. The writing wasn’t anything special, but it also wasn’t bad. I flew through the book in a little over two hours, so you can be sure that even though it’s 300 pages it’s an easy read. Notable Scene: “Jeez,” I say. “You look like a mess.” “Thanks,” he says. “You’re not so bad yourself.” “Do you want some ice?” “I’ll be fine.” “I know, but that thing looks pretty bad.” “Can I just come in?” “Sure,” I say, stepping to the side. “Sorry. My room’s upstairs.” “You run a tight ship,” he says. “No guided tour.” “Later,” I say. “Right now we have to work.” He’s holding a bag of Twizzlers in his hand, and his backpack is missing. “Where’s your study stuff?” He holds up the bag. “That’s candy.” “Your favorite kind, no less.” I stop. “How do you know that?”FTC Advisory: Simon Pulse provided me with a copy of When You Were Mine. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

[thehidingspot · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love the premise of this novel. I've adored Romeo and Juliet since junior high, but I've never thought it was the greatest love story of all time. I mean, it's horrible and sad, there is no happy ending... but I think that's partially why I liked it. For anyone who actually paid attention as they read the story, it can serve as a cautionary tale: love isn't everything. And sometimes wild, crazy love isn't all that great... sometimes it gets you killed. Sure, this is obviously a worse case scenario, but still. Rebecca Serle's retelling of this classic, from Rosaline's point-of-view, the girl left in the dust when Juliet enters Romeo's life, is entirely too reminiscent of some of the logic that I remember happening in my high school years.Rosaline and Rob (the Romeo of the story) have been neighbors and best friends for years, but, in the last few years, things have changed. Rosaline and Rob teeter on the edge of something more than friends and Rosaline feels that he might be the one. Rob finally asks Rosaline on a real date, they kiss, and things are progressing just as Rosaline had hoped... better even. That is, until Juliet, Rosaline's cousin, moves back to town, riding waves of drama. Overnight, Rob and Rosaline, which took years to happen, has been replaced by Rob and Juliet. Rosaline is shocked and heartbroken, but there's nothing she can do except watch tragedy unfold.Take away the drama and Juliet's instability and the basis of When You Were Mine will speak to many readers. High school love is a special kind of love. Many are feeling love, or what they think is love, for the first time. It's overwhelming and exciting and terrifying... That's exactly what Rosaline is experiencing. Now take that and add a old family scandal, a cousin bent on revenge, and a very public diss from the boy you truly feel is the one. Poor Rosaline.It's obvious from the start that Juliet isn't exactly stable, but, as the novel progresses, Juliet shows herself to be more than just your average emotional teen. She's dealing with some sort of deeper issue, perhaps very intense depression or bi-polar disorder, and she's bent on taking others down with her. This is very different from Shakespeare's Juliet, but I think readers will recognize her nonetheless. Even with her destructive ways, it's hard not to feel for Juliet. She needs help - professional help - and nobody is there to notice that.Another aspect of this book I particularly like, is that I felt that Serle called Romeo (Rob) out. One day he's completely in love with Rosaline, a girl who's always been there for him, and the next he's head over heels for Juliet, a girl he barely knows and is Rosaline's cousin? He's obviously not the stand-up guy Rosaline thought he was. Regardless of the other drama and the tragedy that ensues, Rosaline was better off without a fickle guy like Rob. I highly recommend When You Were Mine to both fans of retellings and those who are looking for an intense contemporary read. And don't worry, Rosaline isn't left all alone. Not only does she find some inner strength she didn't know she had, she finds a guy who's much more deserving than her past Romeo.

[ewyatt_16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rose Caplet is looking forward to senior year. There is a spark growing with Rob Monteg, her best guy friend, and they have their first date. When her cousin Juliet comes back to town, things really fall off the rails. There is some old family division and her cousin is not exactly friendly. A modern imagining of the Romeo & Juliet story told from the point of view of Rosaline, the initial object of Romeo's affection. Rose has two besties, a loving family, and an odd lab partner named Len. An appealing story of heartbreak, family, friendship, and romance.

[lynnm_71 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A book that begins as something fairly light and fluffy but takes a bit of a dramatic turn.Rosaline has been at least partially in love with Rob her entire life. They've always been best friends, but as they begin their senior year of high school, it seems like Rob is finally ready to take the last step into something more. Rose couldn't be more thrilled. Their first date is a smashing success, and everything is as it should be.Then Rose's estranged cousin, Juliet, moves back to town. Before she knows what's going on, Rose discovers that Rob has fallen hard for Juliet, and she's not only lost her fated boyfriend but her best friend as well. But then Rob begins to change, and family secrets begin to come out. And Rose isn't sure any more what she really wants or what she's just always thought she wanted. Rosaline is a bit of a frustrating character because so much happens to her, and many times I wanted her to grow a backbone. Both Rob and Juliet deserved a hearty smack, so to see Rose suffer a major broken heart without any justified anger was beyond frustrating. Even Rose's best friend Charlie comes off as a bit of a bully until she redeems herself in the last third of the book. Too, the character of Juliet is portrayed as pure villain, however, constantly Juliet implies to Rose that somehow, Juliet has been the wronged party and everything she does is justified as some sort of get-even with Rose. It isn't until near the end of the story that we find our why Juliet feels betrayed, and to be honest, the reveal of the betrayal is a let down. Net net, Juliet is a horrible person, and Rose comes off as a somewhat wimpy victim. Add to this the fact that Rob is a tool who treats Rose terribly and I wanted her to tell them both off.That said, this book kept the pages turning for me. It becomes rather dark at the midway point, and Serle does a good job capturing Rose's feelings and despair. An interesting premise - Serle got her inspiration from Romeo and Juliet (a few nods via the names in the book) and the fact that after he saw Juliet, Romeo for all intents and purposes dumped his current girlfriend, Rosaline. This is Rosaline's side of the story.

[lauramoore_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've always been a huge fan of Shakespeare ever since taking honors Shakespeare in high school, so as soon as I heard this was loosely based on Romeo and Juliet I knew I needed to read it. I'm so happy I had the oppurtunity to read and review this book, because it was phenomenal. I absolutely loved it and ended up reading this in pretty much one sitting, because I simply needed to know what was going to happen (although you kinda knew where the story was going to lead).Although you could guess which way the story was going to end, it still ended up being a shock to my system and brought tears to my eyes. I felt so horrible for Rosealine and felt her pain. I wanted to punch Rob simply because of his stupidity for leaving Rose for Juliet. I felt like Juliet was so coniving in this story, and the fact that Rob couldn't see right through that fustrated me to no end. I wanted to love Rob because he seemed like a good guy that got blindsided by a "bad" girl, but I had a love/hate relationship with him; I hated that I wanted to love him. Rebecca Serle hit the nail on the head with this Romeo and Juliet re-telling. I adored this book from start to finish. Although it could have felt extrememly predictable because of the fact that its a re-telling it didn't to me at all, and still left me guessing a bit which was the story was going to go, which is a sign of a great re-telling in my opinion. This so far for me has been my favorite contemporary i've read so far this year! If you haven't picked this one up yet, and you're a fan of YA contemporarys or Shakespeare re-tellings don't pass this one up!

[melanie_mccullough_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hmmm. I think I wanted this to be so much better than it was. My fault. The highest expectations often lead to the biggest disappointments. It wasn't that I thought it would be some moving, life-altering, legendary piece of literature. I just wanted a great love story. This is how it's billed on Goodreads: In this intensely romantic, modern recounting of the greatest love story ever told, Romeo’s original intended—Juliet’s cousin Rosaline—tells her side of the tale. Is it too much to ask then that this reworking offer me something intensely romantic? I just didn't feel it. I'm sorry. Rose & Rob's love wasn't sweeping and epic. It was two childhood best friends deciding to give the whole, let's-see-if-we-should-be-more-than-friends thing a go. Then the instant another pretty girl walked into his line of sight, he forgot all about Rose. Huh? If they were so meant to be together, IMO, Juliet wouldn't have been able to tear them apart merely by existing. Seriously, Juliet had Rob hooked and tore him away from Rose a mere two days after her introduction. They had spoken maybe twice before then. It wasn't a terrible book though, so I won't take my disappointment out on it. I liked the growth of Rosaline's character, how she came into her own towards the end and started to see that there would be a life after Rob. I also really enjoyed her budding relationship with Len, though why he liked her in the first place, I'll never know. She was awful to him. In the end, When You Were Mine is just a good book that failed to live up to my expectations. Doesn't mean you won't love it, so give it a go. If you do choose to read it, or have already read it, I'd love to hear what you think.