Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle

Kissing Shakespeare
Author: Pamela Mingle
Genre: Young Adult
Format: ebook
Publisher: Delacorte
Release Date: 8-14-12
Miranda has Shakespeare in her blood: she hopes one day to become a Shakespearean actor like her famous parents. At least, she does until her disastrous performance in her school’s staging of The Taming of the Shrew. Humiliated, Miranda skips the opening-night party. All she wants to do is hide. Fellow cast member, Stephen Langford, has other plans for Miranda. When he steps out of the backstage shadows and asks if she’d like to meet Shakespeare, Miranda thinks he’s a total nutcase. But before she can object, Stephen whisks her back to 16th century England—the world Stephen’s really from. He wants Miranda to use her acting talents and modern-day charms on the young Will Shakespeare. Without her help, Stephen claims, the world will lost its greatest playwright. Miranda isn’t convinced she’s the girl for the job. Why would Shakespeare care about her? And just who is this infuriating time traveler, Stephen Langford? Reluctantly, she agrees to help, knowing that it’s her only chance of getting back to the present and her “real” life. What Miranda doesn’t bargain for is finding true love . . . with no acting required. – Goodreads

When we first meet Miranda, she is resentful and hard on herself. She is the daughter of a famous stage actress and is trying to carve her own path while still vying for her mother’s approval.  Stephen’s real identity, someone from Shakespeare’s time sent to take her back and set history straight, was a bit far-fetched, but sometimes you just have to go with these things.  It is obvious that Pamela Mingle did a great amount of research because the world that Miranda travels to is full of the wonders and inconveniences of the time.  Catholics must worship in hiding, technology is non-existent and Miranda must pretend to be someone else and seduce Shakespeare.  It’s a plot that The Bard himself could have written.

Kissing Shakespeare was a fun, light read.  Although the premise was a little more far-fetched than I usually like in a time travel story, it ended up having a lot of heart with a bittersweet ending.  Miranda’s journey through time and space made her appreciate not only her love of acting and Shakespeare’s work, but it also gave her some perspective on the challenges she faced in her life.  I guess you can say that traveling back in time helped her grow up a little bit.  Fans of Shakespeare will love this book, which had a good balance of romance and intrigue.

This book earned 3 birds:
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I received this book as a galley from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Find Pamela Mingle:
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Kate

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7 responses to “Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle

  1. I absolutely ADORE Shakespeare, so this sounds like a book that I’ll enjoy tremendously. I do love the idea of the story, and it reminds me a lot of Shakespeare with its plot.

  2. I’ve heard mixed reviews of this book but it does sound like a nice, light contemporary! I like stories with a lot of heart and time travel is so interesting. Great review, Kate!

  3. Isa

    When I heard about this book I was intrigued by the concept, it sounds interesting. I’ve seen mixed reviews on it and the ‘bittersweet’ ending makes me shy away from it.

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