Natasha Solomons did a great job at retelling the classic Shakespeare play of Romeo and Juliet in her book, Fair Rosaline. I particularly enjoyed the way she exploited Romeo’s character in Fair Rosaline. She depicted Romeo as a womanizer who preyed on young innocent girls with trickery and deception. As the title implies, Rosaline, a very minor character in the original Romeo and Juliet play, played a crucial and major role in Fair Rosaline. With the untimely death of her dear mother, Rosaline’s father had declared that Rosaline would spend the rest of her life in a nunnery. Rosaline determined to buy herself more time before she was subjected to the dreaded life her father had chosen for her, Rosaline dressed up in her finest ball gown and made her way to a ball. She wanted to experience life and love before she was forced to leave her only home she had ever known. It was at the ball that Rosaline Capulet and Romeo Montague met and fell in love. Romeo was handsome, seductive and off limits to Rosaline. There was no love lost between the two families. They were indeed rivals of one another but Rosaline was instantly drawn towards Romeo and she ignored the family rivalry. He totally swept her off her feet and promised to save her from the life her father was planning for her. The more time Rosaline spent with Romeo getting to know him, though, the more she discovered about the type of man Romeo really was and what he was capable of. Then to Rosaline’s disgust, she discovered that Romeo had put his sights on her young thirteen year old cousin, Juliet. Rosaline knew she had to do everything in her power to stop this union between her innocent young cousin and Romeo. Would Rosaline prove to be clever enough to save her cousin
I just loved this what an amazing read :)

Given my love for Shakespeare and my associated affection for retellings/adaptations of his world and stories, I was absolutely elated to give this a try.

Rosaline, a character most readers are already aware of, is largely brushed over in the original text. Rosaline is fleshed out more here and given her spotlight. Debating with her father, she manages to wrangle a week of freedom before she is to take her place in the convent. In this week, she meets Romeo.

I daresay there will be minimal - if any - readers who are unaware of Romeo and Juliet in even the most basic of ways. So it will surprise nobody that Rosaline and Romeo's affair is short-lived. Romeo meets Juliet (an event that we are waiting for for maybe a little longer than we should be) and it's game over for Rosaline.

That's ok, because Rosaline is a strong, independent woman. Or so we're told. I really wanted Rosaline to display these qualities in full force and she does... at times. Unfortunately, in my opinion, there's a bit more Show than Tell.

This is still a recommended universe-expanding tale and the effort to expand the familiar is obvious.

Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet: star-crossed lovers from rival families in Verona. But before he loved Juliet, Romeo loved Rosaline. So what’s her story?

Solomons’ novel is all about the overlooked Rosaline. Her mother has died, and her father is planning to send her off to a convent. But Rosaline wants to live – and so she’s determined to squeeze the last joys out of life before she’s shut away for good. At this point she meets Romeo and is smitten. But perhaps not all is what it seems with him…

I’ll be frank: I don’t particularly care for the Romeo and Juliet story, so this novel was on the backfoot with me before it started through no fault of its own. But there were definitely some positives:

- Rosaline is an interesting main character and she’s not afraid to take action rather than sit around and wait for things to happen.
- The story provides a fresh take on both Romeo and Juliet and the tale itself – I can’t say much more without giving the plot away!
- It has a great historical setting which I really enjoyed.

So, in general, it’s really original and Solomons has tried to do something quite different rather than just “retell” an established story. The narrator of the audiobook was also good and kept things engaging. I like that it also included an interview between narrator and author at the end - it was really interesting to learn about the author's approach to the story and the source material.

I will say the book was probably a bit longer than it needed to be – some parts felt a little drawn out or repetitive. The 3 star rating is a little ungenerous, but 3 stars is still a decent book in my eyes! I think it’ll hit better for others without my particular hang ups over the source material!

So I decided to read this because it’s sort of a retelling of Romeo & Juliet and I’m a sucker for these. It especially peaked my interest because it’s from Juliet’s cousin’s pov. And I really enjoyed it. Romeo was truly the worst and I hated him so much. The coercion and gaslighting and just conning young girls into believing they were special and then ruthlessly leaving destruction on his quest for a new victim.
Rosaline gave eldest daughter vibes trying to protect juliet and i loved seeing their relationship.
The narrator was so good at keeping me hooked even though it starts a little slow but i ended up listening to it late into the night.
I loved the ending and how it was a new beginning for them to heal and start fresh after everything they went through.

Thank you Netgalley for the audio of Fair Rosaline.

I felt this was a refreshing retelling of Romeo and Juliet. The change up of it being told from Rosaline's perspective was a good direction and I liked how it flowed.

The narrator was great in her presentation of the novel and really brought the story to life

3.5 stars

I quite liked the premise of "Fair Rosaline" but the novel itself didn't quite live up to my expectations. The characters didn't feel all that developed and the story dragged on in several places with the ending still feeling incredibly rushed.

A fantastic retelling of the play. Solomons tells us the story from the point of view of Rosaline, the Capulet cousin who came before Juliet, turning everything we think we know about the story on its head. It's a testament to the quality of both the writing and the narration that the plot stays engaging despite not being new when Shakespeare wrote his version. The characters are well written, especially Rosaline herself - a fantastic mash up of Shakespearean heroines. Highly recommended.

OMG... Romeo is a love bomber! How did I not realise this before!

I really loved this untelling of Romeo and Juliet from Rosaline's point of view. Sheila Atim is an amazing narrator and really brings this tale to life!

Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons

I really loved reading this book.

It is a retelling of-sorts of Romeo and Juliet or a sort of prequel which tells you the story from the perspective of Rosaline.

It was brilliant and a fresh take.

Definitely worth a read.

Do give it a chance.

Love love loved it!
This re telling was fantastic! It was very well written and flowed well. Hit me right in the feels, I cried, I sighed… This book will always lay claim to my heart… Amazing!

I was so excited to get this one, but it honestly just fell a bit flat for me. It’s probably a me thing for sure, but I just couldn’t get into it

Admittedly, Romeo and Juliet is probably my least liked Shakespearean play, however, I loved listening to this retelling and reading from the POV of Rosaline.

Fair Rosaline puts forward a feminist retelling of the classic tale; girl meets boy, girl falls madly in love only to realise things are not as they appear. Rosaline is young and naive but quickly learns the harsh reality of life and by doing so exposes just how truly villainous Romeo is. It’s an interesting, imaginative and fast paced plot and one that I couldn’t put down. Natasha Solomons writes in a way that I found to be very engaging - it’s hard not to get entirely engrossed in this!

Thank you NetGalley and the lovely folks at Bonnier UK for allowing me to listen to this!

Fair Rosaline is an interesting alternative Romeo & Juliet story from the perspective of Rosaline, Juliet's older cousin.

This book was an interesting read. I enjoyed this feminist retelling of a classic Shakespeare play which turns the plot entirely on its head. Rosaline is a sympathetic, intelligent narrator who is initially taken in by Romeo's charms but later works to unravel his scheming and make him face the consequences of his actions.

The story takes place over the course of just one week, in which Rosaline is preparing to enter a convent following the death of her mother. The fast pace suited the story well but I did feel it would have been more realistic had the timeline been a bit more generous. A lot of action is packed into very few days and I struggle to imagine Rosaline having the freedom to act as she does, especially as she is from a wealthy household.

With such a well-known story there are some character traits that are already pre-set, but Solomons does well in her reframing of some key characters as villains rather than romantic heroes.

Personally, I tend to switch off a bit when audiobooks get overly descriptive so this did sometimes struggle to keep my attention but perhaps that would have been better had I been reading so I have not marked down for this.

An interesting take on the story of Rosaline, Juliet’s sister. I did enjoy the story and found the different take on the character intriguing. It was written well but I did find my mind wondering a fair bit while listening not sure if was the narration or the pace of the story.

Thank You Netgalley for providing me with the audiobook to review.
I had tandem read this book with the audiobook which further increased my enjoyment of this book.
The audiobook was beautifully narrated by Sheila Atim and I would definitely listen to more audiobooks narrated by her.
This book is a Romeo and Juliet retelling that centres around Rosaline.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Bonnier UK Audio in exchange of a free audio ARC in exchange of an honest review!

I really enjoyed this. I work in a secondary school and have in in Romeo and Juliet lessons for a few years till recently. This was a really good twist on the story for me and gave me a fresh perspective. Think of Wicked being from the witches perspective... this is Rosalines perspective of the events that unfold from her point of view.

I read/listened to this in 2 sittings and found it really easy listening whilst pottering around. The narrator is great and fits the story well. The pacing is great despite all events happening within the space of around a week and the second half of the book being just 24hrs.
Audio book experience was really great!

I will be sharing this review over on instagram at: www.instagram.com/readinglikeitsmyjob

5 star for the audio experience

3.5 star for the story!

Really interesting concept! Loved this original idea and it was such a fascinating listen.

Really great audio performance.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

An untelling of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is definitely a questionable character. If you know the original story, you'll know the general storyline of this. This is very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it. An easy 4 stars.

I listened to the audiobook of this, and though I wouldn’t describe myself as an audiobook fan, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it’s without a doubt my favourite audiobook so far. The narrator was an absolute treat to listen to and I was not at all surprised to learn in the accompanying Q&A at the end of the recording that she is in fact an actress. She does a masterful job of all the characters and really made the whole story come to life.
While I’m not sure I could describe this book as enjoyable (most people know how the story of R&J ends, so I’m not spoiling anything, I hope!), it was very affecting. I liked the twist the author created on the Shakespeare story and I have to say, I enjoyed getting to know Rosaline. Yes, she’s a flawed character, but this makes her relatable and realistic and she feels very much like a teenager- certainly at the start of the book - although she ages considerably in the 5 days or so that it spans. I also felt that this book gave Tybalt the redemption arc he deserved- though I knew as soon as I started to love his character that I was setting myself up for heartbreak!
I do think the book ought to have had a content warning at the start (I wasn’t anticipating Romeo being a paedophile!) and if I’m honest, I didn’t love that element of the story and felt it would have still worked without that particular twist. It’s definitely a R&J retelling for a post #metoo society.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier UK Audio for gifting me this ALC of the audiobook to review.

You should not expect an exact retelling here, but if you picked up a book with the title "Fair Rosaline", marketed as an untelling, I guess that mistake is on you.

I really enjoyed this take and really appreciated the slow transition of 'lust/ love at first sight' to toxic relationship and felt like this depiction of a toxic relationship was very accurate, although at times a bit long-winded. I could have done without the statutory tape and the age gaps between the love interests, but I guess this was done for this purpose and picked up some uncomfortable parts of the actual story. As the author has stated in her interview at the end of the audiobook, this is the Shakespeare story that is most often retold and therefore also a bit removed from the original story. So this untelling kind of circled back to the original story by emphasizing different parts of the story and I think this was done brilliantly.
I appreciated how the story unfolded and things began to make more and more sense.

This book is a very good attempt at giving a well-known story a twist. If you have mixed feelings about this book after reading it, I would recommend listening to the interview at the end of the audiobook for some more insights.