Sabriel, in case you haven't read it yet, was an awesome book. Romeo and Juliet, not so much. Still, I had high hopes, given that it's Rosamund Hodge...however, this book was a disappointment. Which is such a shame, because this book had necromancy and zombies. ZOMBIES!!!!!!! 
 The Ruining was more than the white fog that killed every person it touched. It had changed the nature of death. Even here in Viyara, behind the walls, the dead would rise again within two days, mindless and hungry for the living. 
 The setting was dark, dramatic, but it was just so freaking confusing. I still am not quite sure of the plot. 
 This is what I think happens in the book. There's a world in which the dead rise as the living. There's some kind of a magical super powerful but cold and emotionless (because emotions = weakness, duh) protector of the people with hair like moonlight (I'm not kidding) who is "The Juliet" and her cousin Tybalt gets murdered. Paris is the guy sent to guard The Juliet and they're supposed to be bound together to protect everything, but The Juliet elopes with Romeo instead because...? Because. Paris is angry and pissed off and wants to prevent the binding between The Juliet and Romeo but consequently gets bound to Romeo instead. Awkward. 
 Oh, and there's this random ass girl named Runajo who wants to do something in a magical library somewhere to defeat all the zombies. 
 I think that's what happened. I'm not quite sure because it was all SO confusing. I would not compare this to Sabriel. I wouldn't call this a love story. It dragged on in a tremendously long, convoluted mess, and I did not care to finish this book.