Mercutio – Kate Heartfield

Published By: HarperVoyager
Pages: 384
Released On: 07/05/2026

On the battlefield, as warring factions deal out death, young Mercutio chances upon the charismatic poet Dante Alighieri. In their desperate stand against the enemy, they inadvertently open a crack between our world and Faerie, literally changing the stars over Mercutio’s head, and creating a mysterious presence who will follow Mercutio for all the days of his life.

With new stars come new destinies for young men who will travel to the ends of the Earth to honour the bonds of love and friendship.

As outcasts and exiles, Mercutio and Dante find family in a band of fighters called the Montecchi, near Verona. With his friends at his side, Mercutio will battle to change his stars, and to free the changeling upon whose fate hangs the future of the human world.

*****

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

Romeo and Juliet was always my favourite Shakespeare play but I admit, I’ve never given Mercutio much thought outside of reading it so I was intrigued to what detail Kate would give.

I admit, I didn’t real the blurb before requesting a copy. I requested it because a) I’m a big Shakespeare fan, and b) I like Kate’s books, and so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I wasn’t expecting was the fantasy element to the story, which was very much a surprise.

I think I would have preferred it to have been either an historical novel or a fantasy. At times they just felt at odds together.

I liked the duo of Mercutio and Dante Alighieri; a mixture of fictional characters meeting historical people, and it’s their friendship the carries the book.

I suppose the main issue I had with it is it could have been about anyone. For me, there was very little to differentiate the character of Mercutio than if it was just another historical (fictional or otherwise) figure. I think in hingsight, Mercutio only really has a story to tell within the context of Romeo and Juliet.

It was still an enjoyable and well-written book, and the characters were interesting to read, but I just found it lacking a bit in the link to Shakespeare.