Romeo & Julio & Friends

25-year-old Julio Clifford, a successful gay black British and South African designer returns to London, Britain, from abroad after seven years. He reunites with childhood friends and through them meets the charming, handsome and disconcertingly confident Romeo Moses. Romeo is a 29-year-old white British and Italian Architect/Model. Julio is the opposite of Romeo, he is gentle, sensible and warm-hearted.

Everything is perfect and sparks are flying but there is a problem. Romeo has a girlfriend, Julio’s older sister’s childhood friend, Poppy, who is also one of Julio’s oldest and dearest friends. Will Romeo act out his yearning for Julio? Will Julio betray his old friend in the name of love falling for Romeo’s charms?

Romeo likes how smart, independent and confident Julio is. He likes the soul within Julio. Julio likes Romeo’s charisma, assertiveness, strength, and how he cares for others.

But then, Julio’s emotionally abusive ex-husband, Hassan, arrives in town and begins to stalk him. Will it tear Julio and Romeo apart?

A story about love and friendship with many twists and turns showing Romeo and Julio’s lives unfold while they, with their friends, deal with the stress of living and working in 21^st century City of London. Romeo & Julio & Friends shows the people of multicultural Britain and their queer lives unfolding in the high-pressure modern-day world.

Leo C. Akuwudike was born in London, United Kingdom in 1989 and was educated at Langdon School (now called Langdon Academy). For his GCSEs, he passed English Literature taking the test on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’. In the summer of 2005 for work experience he worked as an admin assistant for Laing O’Rourke in Canary Wharf.

On his second birthday, Leo won a baby competition for babies born the same day as him. As a child he had a passion for writing, drama, sports, and art. In his teenage years Leo attended and trained at Sylvia Young Theatre School. Whilst at sixth form, he was advised to re-take his GCSE in English Literature in the hope of getting into a good university. From there he took writing classes and for research watched Baz Luhrmann’s movie of ‘Romeo + Juliet’.

He has received a degree in Graphic & Media Design from the University of the Arts London at the institution London College of Communication, graduating in 2016.

In recent years he has modelled at Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion. He has worked with artists Sonia Boyce and Mister Rob as well as working for brand Charlotte Tilbury.

All this diverse experience has been used in his novels and screenplays.

Customer Reviews

5.0

6 reviews

Tanya

He is a gay black man who is a designer and he is about to return home to meet his old friends. He will meet a man who may just set his world on fire. How is it going to go? Can this be a match made in heaven? See if it is
Ida Umphers

I loved the way this author took me inside the lives of all these characters and their intertwining relationships in the setting of modern London. I wanted to know all about them, their careers, their friendships and their dreams and the author delivers. The addition of the stalker plot was also well handled and added a bit of suspense. Romeo and Juliet is my least favorite Shakespeare play, so I was in hopes this story's title didn't indicate some heavy reliance on plot points from it and thankfully it didn't.
L H

Boy meets boy and they find one another attractive and would like to see where things might go except. For Romeo and Julio it is not that simple. One of them has an ex-husband who is a bit of pill and determined to make things difficult by pursuing him. The other has a girlfriend that he cares about but not like that and she just happens to be a good friend of the other. This story does a good job of introducing its own version of complications in a Romeo and Juliet/in this case Julio tale as the couple tries to find their way to an HEA. It is well written and a satisfying read. I will let you delve in to see what happens. It's worth it.
sassy_39

Recently I got my hands on the book "Romeo & Julio & Friends" written by the author Leo C Akuwudike. The main characters of the story are Romeo and Julio. Julio has returned to London after seven years. He met his old friends. Poppy is one of his oldest friends. She is in a relationship with Romeo but Romeo doesn't have the same feelings for her. When Romeo saw Julio, sparks began to fly. Romeo was born in Britain. He is charming, confident and funny. When Romeo expressed his feelings for Julio, Julio told him that he can't betray his friend Poppy. Read this story to know what will happen when Hassan, Julio's ex-husband, comes back to London. The story is written well. If you love reading LGBTQ romance novels then get your hands on this one. The pace of the story is fast and I enjoyed every bit of this book. The cover of the book is nice and the characters would stay in my head for a long time. Go ahead with this book without any second thoughts.
Himanshu

This book is a beautiful story of love, romance and freindship. The plot revolves around the prime protagonist Julio Calliford who is a 25 year old affluent, gay, black British South African designer return to London from abroad after a long period of time. There he meets Romeo Moses somehow through their mutual childhood buddies. Being a 29 year old British, Italian Architect & Model, having a charming, sensible and flamboyant personality, Romeo grabbed Julio's attention. Everything was okay in their love story but there's this problem, that he has a girlfriend named Poppy and she is Julio's dearest childhood friend. But then the entrance of Romeo's ex husband Hassan led another problem & begins his abusive and brutal behaviour by chasing him. Dealing with a lot of twists and turns will Julio be able to show his feelings to the love of his life? How's Poppy gonna react to their togetherness? Who's gonna be betrayed by whom? Are they really meant to be with each other? How will the entry of Hassan be going to affect their love story? Is their story already at the dead end, without even its commencement? Read the book and figure it out all by yourself and find out the climax of their story. Meanwhile at the same time they handle the societal pressure of living in the 21 century. This story also depicts the problems they face in their queer lives ripening in high-pressure modern world. A tale of queer love with many shifts of their lives evolves wonderfully. A phenomenal work by the author and the combination of love and friendship make it so fascinating and delightful read that you can't help but wait for the subsequent scene to untangle. The major twists in the story will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the story. I was so bewitched in the storyline throughout the whole book. The story was told so simply and amazingly so this will be a nice read for anyone. I completely enjoyed it and kudos to the author for coming up with this amazing plot.
Jithendra Jithu

Talking about the title of the book, the title of the book is really so interesting to read. The cover is appealing and attractive as well.Writing style is quite appreciable .The plot revolves around the prime protagonist Julio Calliford who is a 25 year old affluent, gay, black British South African designer return to London from abroad after a long period of time. There he meets Romeo Moses somehow through their mutual childhood buddies. Being a 29 year old British, Italian Architect & Model, having a charming, sensible and flamboyant personality, Romeo grabbed Julio's attention. Everything was okay in their love story but there's this problem, that he has a girlfriend named Poppy and she is Julio's dearest childhood friend. But then the entrance of Romeo's ex husband Hassan led another problem & begins his abusive and brutal behaviour by chasing him. Dealing with a lot of twists and turns will Julio be able to show his feelings to the love of his life? How's Poppy gonna react to their togetherness? Who's gonna be betrayed by whom?