Unmasking Juliet by Teri Wilson. The second good book in a series of reinvented classics

A cute book loosely based on the famous star crossed couple and their feuding families. Juliet Arabella works in her family's chocolate shop which is across the street from their rivals the Mezzanottes. When she is asked to go to the Mezzanotte's masked ball, she can't resist. After turning down an unwelcome proposal from one of the Arabella merchandisers, she heads outside to get some fresh air. When she meets a masked stranger, they begin a conversation and get pretty darn close. Of course, he is revealed to be Leo, one of the Mezzanotte family and it starts a big brouhaha. 

Leo and Juliet find themselves doing a complicated dance of attraction and denial because of the families antipathy but they can't fight the attraction. Chocolate competitions become the battle ground for both the families and the relationship. 

It is finally explained how the feud started with the families and as revealed later, why the betrayal was necessary. Issues that surfaced then are still affecting the families now and are finally revealed to Juliet and Leo. It was nice not to have it be the old stolen fiancee plot! The forbidden aspect of the romance makes it all the more fun to read and Juliet and Leo have great chemistry. A plot twist makes things really interesting at the end and leads to an emotional revelation for Juliet. 

This is the second book of Ms.Wilson's to revisit a famous literary character. Her first book in this series was Unleashing Mr. Darcy which was a particular favorite of mine. I will be happily waiting to read the next book she writes.