This book had promise. A retelling of a great story for a pov we never got to have the first time round. But it fell flat.
Rosaline (as we all know, the jilted lover of the famous Romeo) is away to a nunnery after her mothers death, so as her father can save up for her dowry. Such an odd concept as it is, already it reeks of sexism and archaic stereotypes.
Deciding she needs one last ‘hurrah’, she crossdresses as a man to sneak into a party held at (shock) the Montagues. She meets Romeo, he woos her, she falls in love, he takes her to bed, whispers sweet nothings to her, promises her an elopement and a marriage. Perfect life for a 16 year old right?

Well you all know what comes next. Romeo goes to a party at the Capulets, meets Juliet, and if you know the play you know what happens now. Except, it doesn’t go like that.

Instead what happens next is a complete retelling of the story. Because instead of Romeo being madly in love with these women, he’s instead a ‘trap’ for the paedophile ring headed by the one and only Friar Laurence. He traps and lures these underage women into their ring, to be abused by the prominent men in Verona, which coincidentally, does not include Rosalines father & brother.

Anyway, obviously Rosaline finds all this out, busts the paedo ring, she saves Juliet and the story ends.

So instead of getting a ‘feminist’ retelling of a wonderful (albeit old) play, we have a villainous casting of the original star, a disturbing and not necessary back story of the Friar and most of the men in Verona, and still not story to Rosaline.

If you’re expecting to read this to find out what happens after that fateful night between Romeo and Juliet, to find out what was happening behind the scenes of the original play, then yes, this story does have it. It is good? No. It’s disturbing and uncomfortable and not what I was expecting at all. Instead of feminist rage we got a whiny brat of a Rosaline, washed with blatant sexism and a perverted story of child abuse. This did not give any bulk to the character of Rosaline what so ever, disappointing at best.

We all know of the story of Romeo and Juliet but why did they meet.
The romance between Rosaline and Romeo is mentioned but only in the crudest terms.
This story shows how fickle and shallow Romeo's affection are.

I am all over these historical retellings right now and was really looking forward to diving into Rosaline’s story and seeing Solomons’ take on her romance with Romeo that we hear of only briefly in Shakespeare’s play. The blurb sold this as a romance but I was honestly uncomfortable with how much this was a story of abuse, complete with theft, gaslighting, murder, and manipulation. Romeo is a predator wrapped up in a pretty package and Rosaline is young, somewhat isolated, and very vulnerable. It’s definitely not an easy read and though a realistic representation of a victim, it was frustrating to see all the red flags that Rosaline was ignoring and the way that Romeo was preying on her. It was well written, though very slow paced with not a lot of action overall so the story didn’t particularly draw me in that way either. I’m sure it will be the perfect book for some readers, especially those who enjoy seeing untold stories such as this one brought to life but please do read the trigger warnings first.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

Parting is such sweet sorrow ★★★★☆

This dark untelling of Romeo and Juliet centres on Rosaline, Juliet’s cousin, and plunges us into plague-riddled 14th century Italy.

In this version, Romeo is a deadly middle-aged seducer of young girls and Rosaline, having been taken in by him, is desperate to save her even younger cousin Juliet from a terrible fate.

Rosaline is a strong and fascinating character, limited by the confines of the female sphere. Can she unmask Romeo as a predator and even them can Juliet be saved?

A depressing take on an iconic love story which makes for a very powerful retelling.

I really enjoyed this book, it was such an interesting premise and well written. I really like the idea of taking secondary characters from other fiction or offering alternate views of stories.

My only problem was that I studied Romeo and Juliet as a teenager when the Baz Luhrman film came out and Romeo is always Leo DiCaprio, my first love. Because of this I struggled to see Romeo as an older man (and a bad one at that). I found the author notes at the end interesting and I sort of wish I’d read them first to give the story more context and nuance, it wouldn’t have spoilt anything. And actually if I picture Leo as he is now, especially with his penchant for younger women, then it makes perfect sense.

I would definitely recommend this and read more from this author.

A thoroughly entertaining and unique revisiting of the famous play, this time through the eyes of Rosaline, Shakespeare’s silent totem for Romeo’s unrequited passion. Solomons tells a much darker story, even than Shakespeare’s.; this Verona is a seedy world of humid squalid, corners, pungent markets, and the abuse of young girls is not only endemic but facilitated by those with influence.
The much maligned Tybalt is reimagined as an impulsive hero, and rather than his more sensible accomplice and friend. Definitely worth the read.

After watching, and loving, Rosaline (which is a fantastic film, if you haven't watched it!), I was really looking forward to more Romeo and Juilet retellings that focused on Rosaline as the lead. This one felt.... flat to me. I don't know what didn't work, but there was something that just made me not love it.

I do commend Natasha Solomons on the story she told, it just didn't appeal to me as much as I expected it to.

This was a different take on the Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet story.
Romeo a Montague tricks Rosaline a Capulet into a relationship and promises to marry her. She realises his game and pulls out of the marriage. Romeo has now set his sights on Juliet and Rosaline tries to prevent a disaster.
They are not the first two young girls Romeo has tricked. What happened to the others?
Rosaline races against time to sort things out before having to enter a Convent where she will be unable to influence anything.
Romeo is the equivalent to the modern online groomer who lures young girls to seduce them himself or by his friends and discards them afterwards.
Readable and enjoyable if a tale with a dark twist.

I was initially so intrigued by the concept of this book and giving a voice to an unseen character who has long been known by name alone. But rather than being an accompaniment to the classic of Romeo and Juliet, this reimagines it in a way which completely decimates the long-loved story. I found this very difficult to get through with the way that all of the characters are reimagined in the worst possible way.

More historical fiction than a YA romance that this could have been, it's an enjoyable read that ticks along at a good pace, following likeable Rosaline. A secondary character no more, Rosaline here is feisty and far more interesting than her cousin Juliet, probably due to her being only noted in a few lines by Shakespeare, leaving the space for this interpretation. I have to note Romeo is consistent here with the original text, beautiful but a textbook example of a love bomber (have never been a fan!). Interesting take on an existing story.

I really enjoyed this retelling of Rosaline’s side of the story of Romeo and Juliet. The writing is brilliant. It is readable and accessible yet conveys the style of the time and has a Shakespeare feel to it that really immerses you in the time period and story.
I loved Rosaline’s character and really felt I could empathise with her as she moved through her story. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep the story interesting and exciting despite having some idea of how it will progress due to the retelling of a classic story.
Overall this is a really interesting retelling of a character that is mostly forgotten about and really makes you question what you thought you knew about the other characters.

Summary: The story of Romeo and Juliet is one of the most well known love stories of all time but what ever happened to Rosaline, the woman Romeo loved before. Natasha Solomon helps us learn about Romeo’s first love in this powerful retelling.

Review: I could not put this book down. The writing is beautiful, reminiscent of Shakespeare but far more accessible.

The story is so compelling and Natasha Solomon manages to bring in so many twists and turns which kept me guessing throughout.

Rosaline is fierce and prepared to sacrifice anything to protect the ones she loves. Tybalt is a great defender of her honour. Juliet is hopelessly naive and Romeo the master villain.

Underlying all of this is a theme about the role of women and the decisions made by men with power over them.

I loved everything about this book and will be recommending to anyone I know.

~3.75 ⭐️
~thank you netgalley and bonnier books for a review copy
~This book follows Rosaline after the death of her mother, her father is going to send her to a nunnery and she has one more week to live with her family before she is sent away. She meets Romeo when at a Montague ball and instantly their relationship grows until she finds out what he has been hiding. This book is a great retelling, it had brilliant writing and an amazing point but it just lacked something to make it stand out.

A dark and disturbing retelling of Romeo and Juliet that was gripping and chilling in its suspense and tragedy. The story is told from Rosaline's point of view and paints Romeo as a emotionally unbalanced older man and groomer of younger women whom he uses and discards often driving them to their deaths. Rosaline, once she extricates herself from his net, must try and save Juliet who is his next and very willing victim. It's a very different view of the famous doomed lovers and a story I could not put down.

This was an incredible ‘pretelling’ of the story of Romeo and Juliet, and completely turned the traditional story on its head for me. I will never think of Romeo in the same way again. It’s rich, compelling, clever and conjures up Shakespeare’s play beautifully while at the same time subverting it. Highly recommend

Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons is the story of a girl who is only very briefly mentioned in one of the most famous "love" stories of all time, Romeo and Juliet.

After the death of her mother Rosaline discovers she is to be sent to a convent. Desperate to experience some of life she attends a party where she meets and falls in love with Romeo. After experiencing doubts over some of Romeos claims Rosaline breaks off the match leading Romeo to set his sights on Juliet, Rosalines cousin. Fearful for not only Juliets reputation but also her life, Rosaline sets out to try to put a stop to their love.

Having read Romeo and Juliet and seen a few different versions of movies etc this was an interesting take on the story.

Thank you @Netgalley and @Bonnier Books UK for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Was the greatest love story a lie? Maybe? Or maybe it’s just a bit more, no, very much more complicated? For before Romeo set his sights on Juliet, there was Rosaline.

Recently bereaved 15 year old Rosaline, a Capulet but of the very lowest order, is destined to be sent to the convent. She, a mere girl has no say in the matter; as Masseto, her father, frequently reminds her, she is nothing but his property to do what he likes with.

However, she does negotiate 12 days to live life to the fullest, and this clever and spirited young woman wants to experience all she can while she can.

One night she secretly sneaks into the Montague family's masquerade summer ball, dressed as a man, but her disguise cannot fool Romeo, who is much older than Rosaline, falls head over heels in love with her instantly.

Rosaline is unsure of Romeo's attentions, but with her father determined that she join the nunnery, Romeo offers her the chance at a different life.

He sets about wooing her and easily convinces her that only true love could make him feel this way, that her beauty enraptures him. Indeed, he cannot live without her, but their relationship must remain secret as its revealing would mean disastrous consequences for the both of them.

And so begins the story of Romeo and Rosaline. But life is never that simple, is it?

Enter stage right, young Juliet. She is innocent, playful and desperate to appear more mature than her years in order to gain her older cousin, Rosaline’s, admiration. Unfortunately, she catches the eye of lecherous, predatory Romeo and the rest, as they say, is history.

Described as Hamnet meets My Dark Vanessa, this read is fierce, feminist, captivating and chilling. I felt all the emotions reading this well-constructed modern take on this historical fiction.

Think you know the story of Romeo and Juliet? Think again! If you've any interest in Shakespeare, you need to read this stunning retelling. 4.5⭐️

Out in August, this is set to be a hot summer read. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance copy in return for an honest review.

I liked his book however, i must admit i found certain parts cringy, which it should be with teenage love!!!! References and plucked out lines from the orignal text was lovely to see and felt right. Poor Rosaline!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review all opinions are my own.

Take everything you think you know about Shakespeare's famous star crossed lovers and think again! Knowing Romeo and Juliet so well, I was surprised (in the best way) about how much this story got turned on its'head, giving new perspectives to such well known characters.