I really enjoyed this exploration of a "minor" character in Shakespeare's play, and how she moves through grief about her mother to dealing with the fickle nature of young men (particularly Romeo himself). I would suggest this to reader who enjoy adaptations of Renaissance literature, and/or who enjoy young adult fiction about young women finding their place in the world. This novel does both.

This was a brilliant story line and I was completely absorbed in this. This is a great romeo and juliet retelling and I think it's the best retelling I've read. This was so good!
I just reviewed Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons. #NetGalley
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It's all the rage lately to re-imagine beloved characters from classic books and give them new life, new adventures and sometimes to right the wrongs perpetrated upon them by their original creators, but is this fair to the reader? One assumes that the reader has read the original text and realizes that this next iteration is only a teasing out of possibilities, but what if they haven't? I suppose the irony of Fair Rosaline is that Shakespeare did the very same thing. Shakespeare's source material were the classics of his time that he mined to create enduring characters relevant in his time and now in ours. So instead of the question of fairness to the reader or the possibility of confusion the real question becomes does Solomons' Fair Rosaline impart wisdom for today's reader. I say yes.

Fair Rosaline tells the story of Romeo's first love, Rosaline, Juliet's cousin. We never meet Rosaline in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet but here Solomons gives her life and agency to expose the corruption of patriarchy and the imbalance of power that would have a grown man(Romeo) marrying a 13 year old girl(Juliet) and the world believing it a love story.

Solomons delves into the original character motives and questions our longstanding belief that such characters were benevolent, such as Friar Lawrence, should he really be helping an older man marry a child? And although generations of readers have questioned the role of Juliet's parents Solomons spares no mercy casting both her mother and her father as selfish and unfeeling social climbers.

I loved this novel. Solomons has taken a well known and well loved story and made it reflective of our current social conversations around women's rights and power. Well done.

Overall, I enjoyed this book as a new perspective and retelling of a story we all know. The language was a little confusing because it almost couldn't decide what it wanted to be - old or new? However, I do think that will make this a more approachable book for younger readers. I think I went in expecting a little more humor, and found it to be very "on the nose" so to speak. I did enjoy Tybalt being a more prominent character in this retelling, as well.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced in exchange for an honest review.

I saw Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet when I was at a very impressionable age and I wasn’t sure I wanted an “untelling” of the story. But Natasha Solomons is one of my favorite novelists, so I gave it a go. I couldn’t imagine how Rosaline might save Juliet from her fate and I assumed that whatever Rosaline did, the story would end as usual. Solomons hews pretty closely to the play’s plot basics, but she colors in a whole new background and shades the meaning of many of the lines in a different direction.

The book is almost like a mystery story as Rosaline slowly comes to learn of Romeo’s fickleness and fondness for seducing young girls—and of Friar Laurence’s motivations in his aid to his friend Romeo. (<spoiler>While another review says that Romeo has a role in Friar Laurence’s pedophile ring—i.e., to seduce, despoil and abandon young girls for Friar Laurence to turn over to the privileged members of the ring (à la Jeffrey Epstein)—my reading was that while Friar Laurence did, indeed, operate the pedophile ring, Romeo was not part of the ring. He seduced and abandoned the young girls, with no care about or interest in what happened to them afterward, but with no knowledge that his supposed friend, Friar Laurence, scooped up Romeo’s castoffs.</spoiler>) Rosaline’s strong personality means she concocts her own scheme to ensure that her (even) younger cousin Juliet doesn’t meet an even worse fate than seduction and abandonment.

Let’s get it right out there: this is a feminist story and may be polarizing. Solomons emphasizes how young women like Rosaline and Juliet had no power in their own lives. Rosaline’s father is going to send her to a convent despite her strong aversion to that life. Juliet’s parents plan to marry her off to a much older man, Paris, when she is still 13 years old and playing with dolls. Romeo preys on young girls (there are many others before Rosaline and Juliet) by giving them the illusion of someone who cares about them and their dreams and desires. A feminist “untelling” of Romeo and Juliet may offend some, and some will definitely find the idea of a 15th-century pedophile ring outlandish, but Solomons makes some good points about women’s lives in Verona at that time. Obviously it’s true that they had little opportunity to make their own life choices. Is it so hard to imagine a young woman with Rosaline’s or Juliet’s prospects naïvely grasping at an opportunity to escape with a Romeo? Is it so hard to imagine a corrupt priest titillated by his friend’s sexual exploits and the chance to gain personal power and influence by making his friend’s castoffs available to influential people? Neither is unimaginable to me. And it helps that Solomons makes the Verona of the period feel so real, with its oppressive heat and bugs, the stink of rot of all kinds, but lush beauty and ripeness as well.

As an avid Shakespeare fan, I was very interested in the premise behind this retelling. After all, is it not theater's fundamental purpose to hold a mirror up to the audience and reflect what is captured there? And, if that is true, shouldn't Shakespeare's universal themes only benefit from being refined for a modern audience?

However, coming out of this reading experience, I felt like this book couldn't decide what it wanted to be. A historical drama ala Maggie O'Farrell? A relatable retelling for the gen z generation? The language of the book itself reflected this uncertainty, oscillating between dramatic and #relatable. I also felt confused by Rosaline's character, like she wasn't fully realized. I suppose this makes sense, as I read that the author made her as a composite of many Shakespearean heroines, a good idea in theory, but I felt like her character needed more honing. She didn't seem fully real, instead like she slipped into one of three or four different shoes depending on what the scene demanded from her. I'm by no means a Shakespeare purist, but I didn't like the way Romeo was villainized. He is a very nuanced and morally grey character in the source material (like many of the Bard's heroes), so the author certainly had a lot to work with. However he felt very one note. Like the author's friend described the plot of Hamlet to her and she made a character based on that secondhand recollection.

Ultimately, this novel had a promising premise but didn't work for me because I didn't get the sense the author had a genuine and individual interpretation of the source material. It read as theater nerd wants you to think they understand classics better than they actually do (I know this type intimately, as I have a degree in theater and dramaturgy). It read as ingenuine and it didn't feel like it built off the source material. Overall I was quite disappointed in this. I went in really wanting to like this, and between the language and the characters I was hard-pressed to finish it. Maybe I'm being too harsh because I love the source material and think there's so much there, it just seems a pity this is what we got. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ok, so I know Romeo and Juliet is a play by Shakespeare and not real, but this book wraps itself around the play like and glove and the reader almost believes it is real. Rosaline begins as a product of her time, but shows her true colors when she bargains with her father, goes to a party, meets a man and flirts with him--and then the next night sleeps with him, after all she only has a few days until she is to be locked up in a nunnery. But then this and that happens and she finds that it is left to her to set everything right. And so she does. In a convoluted plan (concocted with the Abbess of the nunnery, no less), she makes everything come out correctly although no one really knows it. The only thing I would like to know: will there be a part two? at one point the Abbess makes a comment about making the men of Verona pay for what they have done--I would really like to know how Rosaline and company would pull that off.

Since I love a good retelling of Shakespeare I was very excited for Fair Rosaline, especially since Rosaline was not fleshed out in the original work and ripe material for a novel. Rosaline is an older cousin of Juliet, another Capulet in the Capulet/Montague feud and Romeo’s original love.

The novel begins for Rosaline after her mother dies from the plague. She discovers that her father has relegated her to the nunnery and the novel takes place over the 12 days before she has to enter the convent. In this retelling, Romeo is a cad; a man who falls in love easily and just as easily leaves his women (well girls) behind after using them for his purposes. Once Rosaline realizes this she spends her time left trying to save Juliet from a similar fate.

I enjoyed the first half of the book but the romantic in me was a little thrown off by the character of Romeo in the story (I did enjoy a deeper character study of Tybalt though). I felt the book was a little slow and tried a little too hard to balance the language of the original work and be modern at the same time which came off as a bit awkward. It was a creative take on a classic and I’m glad I read it but it was not a memorable one for me.

3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader copy

As a fan of Romeo and Juliet, I knew I wanted to read this retelling/companion book about the mystery girl, Rosaline. She’s barely mentioned in the play, but I always wondered who this girl was since Romeo was supposedly so in love with her before meeting Juliet. Of course as readers, we are rooting for the love story with Juliet but how must this other girl have felt, being discarded so easily by her love?

The author answers this question - and more! - as she explores a more devious side of the tragic love story. This novel isn’t for purists of the original text, but it’s fascinating for someone who enjoys the story and doesn’t mind a twist on the original. In this novel, Rosaline gets to be the protagonist in her own story, finding strength and courage that she didn’t know she possessed.

Romeo is not the doe-eyed lover of Shakespeare’s play; he’s a lothario that preys on teenage girls. For someone who enjoys the original plot, it can be hard to see Romeo portrayed this way, but I thought it was an interesting (although disturbing!) twist on the play. I liked how the author explained little things from the play (the poisons, etc), and my favorite part was the expanded character of Tybalt.

Again, if you love the original play too much to see it changed, this book probably isn't for you. However, if you like retellings that modernize and change the source material, this book will be intriguing!

A retelling of Romeo and Juliet but from the point of view of Rosaline. I was enjoying the first half as a historical fiction novel as we follow Rosaline before the beginning of the Romeo and Juliet story. I didn't particularly love Rosaline as a character, but I enjoyed seeing her world as she tried to figure out how to avoid being shunted off to a nunnery. Once we hit the Romeo and Juliet story though I ended up just kind of losing interest and the end and "reveal" was kind of wild? In a way that I put the book down and said "um what did I just read".

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this story or characters. I was interested in a different kind of retelling but it just fell flat and I felt disconnected from the plot and characters. DNF'd at 15%

I immediately requested this when I saw it described as an untelling of Romeo and Juliet. Especially because the main character is Rosaline and especially because I have always wondered about her!

I love Romeo and Juliet, particularly the 90's movie, which is really fun. But, I have always had this question in the back of my head: What is Rosaline's story. And, this untelling of Romeo and Juliet has a really great focus on many of the today, the now, issues with the original story. Yes, it's a piece of it's time which trust me, I really appreciate. But, also, I am alive right now in this time, so I feel like having some issues with or questions about what is right and wrong in classic plays and literature is completely normal.

This really takes those kinds of questions and gives this story the shake-up it needs. And, if this sounds interesting to you, if Rosaline, as a main character actively calling the shots on the relationship between Romeo and Juliet, sounds interesting..... Definitely check this out!

Out September 12, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

This book just wasn't for me. I didn't care for the flowery language. as I checked out quickly. However, I do weirdly think fans of Madeline Miller may like this? The writing styles are very similar.

What an insanely creative spin on Romeo and Juliet. I love that the author didn’t just tell Rosaline’s story as a preface to Romeo and Juliet but imbedded her into the entire tale making her the true main character. I am a fan of any retelling told from a minor character but this was so much more than that. It completely salvaged a story that has always felt very wrong to me.
You don’t need to know the story of Romeo and Juliet to enjoy this at all, but if you like Romeo and Juliet you’ll like this, and if like me you dislike Romeo and Juliet you’ll probably LOVE this.

A very charming switch of perspective of a classic. Could be used in English classrooms. The writing is still of it's time yet more approachable than typical Shakespeare texts. Overall, very useful.

Retelling that subverts a classic? Sign me up!

I was excited to read Natasha Solomons’ reinvention of Romeo & Juliet and I really enjoyed her lively and inventive take on this classic tale. I came into the novel with what I’d say is an average level of familiarity with R & J. I know the main characters, the premise and the ending, but I’m by no means a Shakespearean scholar. I should also add that I have a healthy distrust for anything that’s considered part of the Western (white, male) canon (more on that shortly) and I personally love retellings that subvert classic tales (some people don’t—more on that shortly as well).

Moving on, the novel is told from Rosaline’s perspective, and she’s an engaging and well-drawn character. I loved how Natasha Solomons really breathed life into this minor character from Shakespeare and drew you into her world with vivid detail. Whether you’re at the Montagues’ masked ball (deliciously hedonistic) or the tomb of the Capulets (dreary, frightening, noxious vapors from corpses), you feel like you’re a part of Rosaline’s Verona with all its sights, sounds and smells. The voice plucks from Shakespeare (you’ll run across your fair share of “fie,” “hark,” “methinks,” etc.) but it’s combined with a modern sensibility, so don’t let that put you off.

Now, because I’m not new to having opinions about book but I *am* new to sharing my thoughts other people’ books, I scanned some reviews before I wrote this. I have to say I was a bit shocked at some of the negative feedback, and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that some people simply don’t like when canonical stories are reimagined/reinvented/subverted. As for me, I’m all about un-canonizing stories. (De-canonizing? Non-canonizing?) Whatever we want to call it, I think stories can and should be reinvented and retold.

I also saw some comments questioning why so many retellings are from a feminist perspective, and I think the answer is that for a very long time, women’s voices weren’t centered (or even acknowledged) and now we’re beginning to correct that. I welcome retellings like this where the writer lets her imagination loose and gives a woman who’s historically been relegated to the background her own distinct voice and narrative. And from a pure storytelling perspective, putting a woman’s voice at the center of a male story opens up a host of new possibilities for plot twists, endings, etc. Maybe the “hero” is the villain! Maybe the “shrew” is the hero!

All that to say, if you’re a fan of retellings, add Fair Rosaline to your to-read list and enjoy this creative take on a classic.

Thanks so much to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing me with me a review copy!

Release date: September 12 🗓️

If you have ever wondered about the true story behind Romeo and Juliet, look no further. From an extensive pool of retellings comes this mermaid unicorn of a tale that sparkles in its lyricism and originality. Fair Rosaline is the retelling we’ve been waiting for.

Grieving her mother, Rosaline is granted 12 days before being sent to a nunnery by her father- something apparently agreed upon with her mother before her death. During her last days of freedom. Rosaline decides to live - and attends a Montague party where she meets Romeo. It isn't long however before his sights turn to Juliet, and from there the story we think we know is completely turned on its head with this retelling, exploring a more uneasy perspective.

Rosaline as a character is the story's greatest strength in my opinion. She is incredibly fleshed out, has a great arc, and becomes a protagonist you really root for and sympathize with. The author took an interesting approach combining features of other Rosaline's that appear in Shakespeare - I found it worked really well in the story.

The details are gorgeous, it is clear research put in here. The scenes are set up really well and the story is very engaging. I was invested through most of it, minus some minor pacing issues I had toward the end and the repetition of internal monologues.

Looking at Rosaline as a retelling, I feel like it does what most retellings aim to do. Modernizing and trying current societal problems to the past. This book explores grooming and a deeper conspiracy of sexual misconduct in institutions... basing this off of Romeo and Juliet which has been in the pop culture sphere as a story about star-crossed lovers - it feels original but also presents a bit of a hurdle to jump over. The execution did miss sometimes for me and some of the Shakespeare references and lines felt forced when compared to the rest of the writing style.

Now, I am not someone who was very attached to Romeo & Juliet so I didn't mind the some of what may be perceived as character changes to explore certain themes and societal issues but I can definitely see why others may be. I am still left questioning a little if this was the work to tell this story using.

Unfortunately, this title was a DNF for me. I was super excited & intrigued by the premise of this book, which was why I requested it. I've always enjoyed a good spin on a well-worn classic, but something in the way this one was done just read as a forced takedown of certain aspects of the original that was sometimes unnecessary and often unnecessarily harsh.
There were some good parts for sure - the writing was beautifully done, and I really enjoyed getting a fresh take on Rosaline. The pointed takes and overtly historical vibes just weren't really working for me.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet hints at Romeo’s involvement with Rosaline before Juliet. But were there others? This is addressed in Solomons’ new novel about the unsung lover in the play. After her mother’s death, Rosaline’s choices are slim. Granted twelve days of freedom before being locked in a convent, she decides to “gorge herself on pleasure,” sneaking into a lavish Montague masque, thereby encountering Romeo. Rosaline is instantly besotted, and who can blame her? Her fate of a henceforth somber convent life is bleak.

Romeo is a practiced lothario. At 25-30 he is much older than the scholars’ estimate of Shakespeare’s 16-21-year-old, making the age discrepancy with Rosaline (15) and Juliet (13) a bit unsavoury. For all his godlike beauty, he is a predatory, smooth-talking lecher. He plies Rosaline with honeyed words and drink, encourages her to steal, and pretends outrage when she challenges him. Their intimacy is callously self-serving.

Rosaline is given a strong voice, but empowering women by vilifying all things male can detract from the message the author is trying to convey. Tybalt is the only exception in a cast of unerringly horrid men. Father Laurence is Romeo’s procurer; Romeo’s father is abusive; Rosaline’s father is cold and distant. My biggest concern is there is nothing left of the original romance, despite liberally scattered quotations, imagery and Shakespearean dialogue. The oppressive humidity of Verona is overworked, as are Rosaline’s obsessive thoughts of guilt, filth, sin, and pain. Given the mean-spiritedness of so many of the characters, I puzzled long over the author’s intent. This is a sad tale of children negotiating the adult world without suitable parental guidance. Characters are well-developed and held my attention, despite the melancholic and unsettling feel of the novel. This might be best read with no prior knowledge of the play.