This was so interesting. I love a retelling with some grit, really getting down to the practicalities of things and showing how unhealthy something is that has been so romanticised. The author took a deep dive into the original Shakespeare and it shows in the retelling. Picking up on things like the fact that Romeo's age is never mentioned but Juliet's is emphasised and reading something wholly new into the text.

Romeo's villainous nature was really well done. Even if you don't read the blurb before going in (or you read it a while ago and only vaguely remember it, like I did), you pick up very quickly that Romeo is not what he seems. There are little seeds of bad behaviour spread throughout the text that quickly builds up to a full picture even before the truth is revealed to Rosaline. I don't think I've ever been quite so desperate for a character to go to a nunnery before!

Most of all, this made me want to read Romeo and Juliet again and see all the details that the author has drawn out for this retelling. I want to see it in a new light after reading this and I think that's a beautiful thing.

3.5 ⭐

I want to start by saying: I went into this book with completely the wrong impression. Which means this rating is partly a result of heavy fiction and out of all Shakespeare’s excellent plays, Romeo and Juliet, is not completely my jam and this is not necessarily a normally complete reflection on the writing and book itself.

While I thought I was dipping my toes into a Romeo and Juliet subversive retelling like the humorous YA movie ‘Rosaline’ (from Disney and Star), instead this was a dark feminist retelling from ‘Rosaline’s perspective. I loved that it gave her a voice for the first time and the book really explores the play with so many little details that from a different angle, shed light on the manipulative men playing with power. Obviously, this includes an older Romeo trying to bed a fourteen-year-old girl, which should have never sat right with anybody.

However, in following with the play so closely, the language used is lifted from the play, with dense lyrical descriptions and it took multiple rereads of pages and chapters to pick up on everything I was reading. Plus with the mix of dialogue almost straight from the play but without the rhythm and rhyme, sometimes it was a bit clumsy and stilted. I did enjoy that it felt so richly descriptive, as if I was there in Verona.

Rosaline was a difficult FMC to follow (apart from being the naive voice of a young teenager) because, for the most part, you knew what was going to happen, you knew young love was going to tun sour, and it was like watching back a car crash in the making. I loved seeing her develop as the story went on and it felt like she embodied an element of female powerlessness and of taking control that continues to be relatable today on both a general on more personal level. It really tugged at something in me to see her feel so powerless, so lacking in agency and voice over her own life and when she was trying to help others. I do love well-written female rage, which started to come across fantastically but was tapered off at the end without letting Rosaline own it.

I would have loved to see more of Tybolt and I still feel as though other female characters could have been developed further (Juliet’s nurse and mother, and we start the book with Rosaline’s mother dead). But considering the book was already quite long, I understand potentially why there isn’t more.

Overall, if you like dark subversive retellings with a feminist spin and heavy lyrical language, this might just be your jam.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Manilla Press for approving me for an ARC of this book. I read this with my lovely pals, Bex and Wendy.

🌹Whilst Rosaline seemed quite naïve at the start of the story I enjoyed seeing her character develop. Her determination and resilience to expose Romeo was admirable.

💫The alternative POV of this classic love story opened my eyes to many aspects I had overlooked, such as the age difference between our leading characters!

🧔🏻‍♂️Tybalt was one of my favourite characters. He was strong-willed and protective of both Juliet and Rosaline.

⭐Tragedy, corruption and secrets are at the centre of this story but it is equally balanced with love, justice and revenge.

In 'Fair Rosaline' Natasha Solomons gives us a really imaginative telling of the story of Romeo's other love. Rosaline. She very cleverly weaves her account in and out of the familiar plotlines of Romeo and Juliet, whilst casting a whole new perspective on the characters and their actions. The story moves along at a gripping pace, continuing to surprise and be totally immersive despite its overall familiarity. I even dreamed about the book a few times as I was reading it!

I enjoyed the way the novel problematises the Romeo and Juliet relationship, as well as offering us a heroine for the 21st century in Rosaline. If I have one criticism it would be thatI didn't think the use of Shakespeare quotes as dialogue for the characters worked, as it jarred with the author's generally clear and simple writing style.

Overall I enjoyed this very imaginative and thought-provoking novel.

This is the second retelling of R&J that I've read recently and I really enjoyed this take. It was from a completely different view, rather than just retelling the story of the main characters. I loved it!!

"Fair Rosaline" by Natasha Solomons is a reimagining of Shakespeare's well known Romeo and Juliet. The book offers a departure from the traditional retelling, which might divide opinions. Those expecting a faithful rendition might find themselves disappointed, but as Romeo and Juliet has never been a favourite Shakespeare of mine I was willing to keep and open mind and appreciated the fresh perspective.

Through the eyes of Rosaline, Solomons weaves a tale that brings depth and dimension to a figure mentioned only briefly in the original play. The story follows Rosaline’s experiences both before and during the events of Romeo and Juliet, providing some possible context for the original story.

It did take me a little while to get into the story and it was perhaps hindered somewhat by my own knowledge and expectations of how the plot goes. It’s hard to become invested in Rosaline and Romeo when you know he will soon be meeting Juliet and the tragic outcome of that romance. However, as the story unfolded and diverted more from the traditional narrative I became more drawn in.

The writing blends Shakespearean and modern writing styles, making the story accessible while including direct quotes in homage to the original.

Additionally, Solomons does a skilful job of not contradicting the source while adding original elements and viewing it through a modern lens. This interpretation highlights Romeo's predatory behavior and the limited agency of young women during that era. It prompts you to reevaluate your understanding of the characters' motivations and actions, which I always think is a sign of a good retelling.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A worthy retelling of one of Shakespeare’s most famous works, FAIR ROSALINE tells the story from the perspective of his forgotten lover, the cousin of Juliet. While this story does get incredibly dark and takes some interesting twists and turns, providing an alternative view of some of the key characters, it’s well-written and will definitely keep you turning the pages well after bedtime.

I loved this book that as soon as it was released I purchased it so I had a physical copy! My highlighting and tabs are at the ready. I was completely smitten from the get go, it is funny, sharp and has emotional depth. It has incredible feminist undertones and makes you feel powerful as hell as you read.

The essence of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet will, undoubtedly, stand the test of time. however, in Fair Rosaline, the author gives us an altogether different interpretation of this iconic love story which may not please the purists but hey, this is fiction and is, after all, just the author’s interpretation of the story.

There is bit of a slow start but then once it picked up pace I enjoyed watching how the story unfolded. The author writes well and there’s enough historical authenticity to help bring the story to life. Looking at the background to the story of ill-fated young lovers is what makes this interesting especially as we look more at Rosaline’s character and her role in this story. Whilst Romeo doesn’t come out of this unblemished what it does show is that women, at this time, in history had very little choice as fathers, lovers and husbands all used them for their own ambition.

Fair Rosaline is an interesting version of a story I thought I knew well so all credit to the author for providing an imaginative re-telling of a much loved classic.

I will confess that I am not always a fan of retellings. I disliked The Other Bennet Sister, couldn’t watch 5 minutes of the tv adaptation of Great Expectations, was a little disquieted by Brooks’ interpretation of the March family in March..in general I avoid them though every so often I get curious and I was extremely curious about Fair Rosaline. I had seen a few reviews which drew detailed references to the novel’s inspiration - Romea and Juliet - these reviews in part shaped my read. I determined to throw my knowledge of the play out of the window and to read this story on its own merits. I pondered that as soon as a fictional character is committed to paper it finds its own life and interpretation in the mind of the reader. Hence the huge variety of visualisations and interpretations. I am not a great fan of Romeo and Juliet and was happy to let the author have free rein!

Plot - Rosaline has only days before she is due to be sent to a monastery. Determined to experience life fully, she attends a masquerade in disguise and meets Romeo. It is love at first sight - or so she thinks. Lots of sneaking around follows and the two become lovers, soon to be married. But Romeo isn’t all he seems and things take a disturbing turn..

I really enjoyed this! Rosaline is a strong character, determined and inventive. Romeo is seriously unpleasant and rather predatory. Solomons spins a great feminist slant on her retelling - the families of Juliet and Rosaline are seen as complicit in the vulnerability of the young women to predators such as Romeo. They are pawns in the manoeuvring for money and position, being offered the impossible choice of marriage to unacceptable suitors or a life as a nun. The attention to detail, the weaving in of shakespearian quotes and language, a vividly evoked setting - ‘Verona upon Avon’, made this a colourful and entertaining read.

At the back the author provides a detailed and rather fascinating rationale for the choices she has made in her interpretation of Romeo and Juliet. Particularly interesting is the discussion of ages of the characters and the adoption of the play as an example of romantic love.
With many thanks to Netgalley and Manilla Press for my digital copy of this book.

Found this to be a really interesting concept, was good to get a take on smaller character from Romeo and Juliet but in the same breath a little hard to get into because of how well known the original story is. Not always a fan of historical fiction so at point it was a bit hard for me to get through but I’m glad I stuck it out.

If you’ve read or seen Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, you’ll remember Rosaline as the girl Romeo was infatuated with before meeting and falling in love with Juliet. We never actually meet Rosaline in the text of the play but her role is still important because she is the reason why Romeo attends the Capulet ball where he sees Juliet for the first time. In Natasha Solomons’ new novel, she gives Rosaline a voice of her own and tells the story of her relationship with Romeo Montague.

Rather than a simple retelling of Romeo and Juliet, Fair Rosaline is what the publisher has described as a ‘subversive, powerful untelling’. It wasn’t really what I had been expecting and I was quite surprised by the way Solomons chose to approach this novel.

First of all, as Shakespeare provides us with almost no information on Rosaline’s appearance and personality, Solomons has taken inspiration from some of his other characters with a similar name – Rosalind in As You Like It and Rosaline in Love’s Labour’s Lost – so that the woman we meet at the beginning of Fair Rosaline is a fully formed character. We join her just after the death of her mother, Emelia Capulet, when her father informs her that she is going to be sent to a nunnery. The horrified Rosaline suspects that he just wants to avoid having to pay a dowry if she marries, but he insists that it was actually her mother’s dying wish.

Granted a twelve day reprieve before being sent to join the nuns, Rosaline is determined to make the most of her last days of freedom. When she meets Romeo Montague and falls in love, she begins to hope that there’s still a chance of a happier future – until she makes a shocking discovery about him and breaks off their relationship. However, it seems that Romeo has turned his attentions to her younger, more vulnerable cousin Juliet. Can Rosaline save Juliet or will she be unable to prevent things from ending in tragedy?

I’ve always loved Romeo and Juliet – it contains some of the most beautiful language in all of Shakespeare’s work – and I’ve never questioned its position as one of the greatest tragic love stories of all time. Fair Rosaline, though, looks at the play through a completely different lens. Here, Romeo is not a romantic hero but a villain, a sexual predator who targets young girls and discards them when he loses interest in them. Solomons uses Juliet’s extreme youth (thirteen in the play) and the fact that Romeo’s exact age is not given, to suggest that he is an older man than we usually assume and to give their relationship a much darker tone than in the play. I think how much you’ll enjoy this book will depend on how much you can accept this new version of Romeo. Personally, I prefer characters in retellings to at least bear some resemblance to the originals and this Romeo didn’t, which was a big problem for me.

I’ve loved some of Natasha Solomons’ previous novels, particularly House of Gold and The Novel in the Viola, so I’m sorry I didn’t enjoy this one more. There were plenty of things I liked, such as the portrayal of Tybalt, who is also quite different from Shakespeare’s depiction – he is still the proud, impetuous and hot-tempered character we know, but seeing him through the eyes of his cousin Rosaline makes him much more sympathetic. I also found the setting interesting; as Solomons explains in her author’s note, there’s no evidence that Shakespeare ever visited Italy so she tried to capture the same feel, writing about Italy as though she had never been there and blending 14th century Verona with the Elizabethan England that would have been familiar to Shakespeare. I just wish she could have found a way to create a story for Rosaline and explore the difficulties facing medieval women without completely destroying Romeo’s character in the process.

I’m absolutely in love with this masterpiece. Natasha Solomons has created the most beautiful, magic novel and I think it’s one I will continue to read for years to come!

I've just spent about seven days with Roaline Capulet. Rosaline is holding a secret, she has fallen in love with a man. Not only is it inappropriate because she is only fifteen, his family are sworn enemies of her family. Rosaline is too young to realise how vulnerable she is, and that she is being used and manipulated by this man, Romeo Montague ...until he takes an interest in her much younger cousin, Juliet. "For generations we've used the story of Romeo and Juliet to define the love for young people...furtive doomed, and that it was okay if boys were pushy, with an edge of violence, where they pressured you into sex'...

I thoroughly enjoyed this although I fear Romeo and Juliet may have been spoiled forever now. Who knew Romeo was such a rotter?! A clever and compelling book - would recommend.

I think we all know the story of Romeo and Juliet but this book tells a much darker tale than the story of young love that we have all come to know and makes for a thought provoking read, and one which I certainly found wholly engaging.

The story is told from the perspective of Juliet’s cousin, Rosaline, who never speaks in the original play but is mentioned as someone Romeo previously loved - it is because of her that he sneaks into the Capulet ball where he first lays eyes on Juliet. What emerges is a portrayal of Romeo as an older man who preys on vulnerable younger women and decidedly sleazy rather than the heartthrob we have all seen him as previously.

Rosaline is a compelling, if not always entirely likeable, character who breaks the mold of women of her time thanks to her determination to expose Romeo for who he really is. Beautifully written, with plenty of nods to Shakespeare but equally contemporary in many ways, Solomons adds a feminist twist to an age-old love story and leaves the reader with plenty to reflect on. It’s a book that I have no doubt will cause a great deal of discussion as it turns a well-loved story on its head - I urge you to read it and see what you think!

ARC from NetGalley

An excellent retelling of one of the most famous love stories of all time.

I can’t watch a play of Romeo & Juliet the same way ever again. Set in the days of Shakespeare but with more modern morals (I.e the age of the women Romeo loves is put into question and the pursuit to crush the patriarchal ways of powerful men).

My heart went out for characters I barely knew and I found myself despising ones that I did.

I wanted to love this, but I found it surprisingly mediocre. It made some good use of original lines of Shakespeare, and played cleverly with the original material by interspersing Rosaline's story with Romeo and Juliet's tragically doomed courtship, but overall I just felt like this was kind of a ham-fisted attempt at subverting a classic in a way which just ... didn't land for me. Rosaline wasn't a hugely interesting character, and some interesting decisions were made about Romeo's age, and Paris's age, and the fact that Rosaline was apparently at every major event in the entirety of R+J. Look, I enjoyed this a fair bit, it was diverting and an interesting tale of subverting an old tale, interspersed with some seedy themes, but I just didn't feel like it all came together neatly. It could've been an experience where I spent every page going 'ah, so clever!' but instead I spent a lot of the latter part of the book with one cocked eyebrow, thinking 'really...?'

Overall, this was an interesting and diverting book, but not spectacularly engaging. Well-written and cleverly voiced to intersperse dialogue from the play with the events of the novel, it had some smart use of original source material, but I don't think it tied up together as neatly or as satisfyingly as I would've hoped.

Fascinating retelling of Romeo and Juliet with the perspective of Rosaline. Romeo is portrayed here as an older predator giving an entirely different feel to the conventional teenage love story.

Rosaline Capulet is a young woman, not yet sixteen, who loses her mother to pestilence.

Apparently, her mother wished for Rosaline to enter a nunnery for the rest of her days. Rosaline knew nothing of this and is obviously shocked, but she begs her father, Masetto Capulet, who allows her to stay for another twelve days before she joins the convent.

The young woman hears that the Montagues, Capulet’s enemies, are holding a masquerade ball. Rosaline, dressed as a boy, attends the party.

That’s where she meets Romeo Montague, a man nearly twice her age (Rosaline cannot be sure how old he is, but he looks to be between 25 and 30 years old) and nothing will ever be the same again…

Rosaline falls hard for Romeo and he says he loves her too.

However, she soon discovers who he really is, but at that time, Romeo is preying on Rosaline’s younger cousin, 13-year-old Juliet.

Rosaline vows to protect her cousin at all cost. Can she do it? Or is Juliet doomed like in the Shakespearean play?

I truly loved this book. Romeo and Juliet was my first play by Shakespeare, which I read as a teenager.

Solomons offers a new look on this well-known story and explores the idea of what occurred before Juliet came along.
I found Romeo’s love speeches to Rosaline overzealous and exaggerated. He definitely came across as trying too hard and slightly creepy if I’m honest. He was a predator preying on vulnerable young girls.

Rosaline’s wit and determination to expose Romeo for who he was, grew on each page. You could sense her culminating anger and desire for revenge. I wish I had Rosaline by my side when I was a teenager!

Overall, it’s a brilliant book and I urge everyone to read it. Thank you to Zaffre Books for approving my NetGalley request to read and review this title.