[Review] Just Julian - Markus Harwood-Jones

Summary: After years of bullying at school, 19-year-old Julian is depressed. He sees a glimmer of hope after meeting the similarly out-of-place Romeo at a party and sharing a kiss with him. The only problem: Romeo has always identified as straight and he hangs out with a group of intolerant guys. But as the two begin to fall in love, Julian finds strength he never knew he had. When Romeo's old friends come after the couple, a vicious fight puts both Julian and Romeo in the hospital. The two boys decide to take a stand for their right for respect. (Pub Date: Aug 01, 2018)

2.5, but it was cute.

Julian has been out forever, but traumatized because of homophobia. At one party he meets Romeo, whom he finds out to be part of an intolerant group, making everything come back to him.

This story is not only short, it's too rushed. Which is a pity, because I found it nice, the idea of twisting the Romeo & Juliet and writing a meaningful story to those suffering bullying for their sexuality. There are many side stories worth developing too but the way they were presented, they seemed more like examples than characters in a story.

It's even hard to discuss the main characters. Romeo seemed like a good guy, to a point I can't believe he'd be so aggressive against homosexuals. I did like that the author cared to write his redemption, though. Julian's journey was more complicated, he's truly scarred from the bullying he suffered at school to a point he stopped going and still struggles with classes. One win of this book would be that this isn't about coming out—it was never an issue for Julian—but dealing with the world.

In sum, I would have loved to read a fully developed book on this story but this wasn't it.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.


Rating: 2 out of 5.