*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Fair Rosaline is a retelling of William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet and follows Juliet’s cousin Rosaline Capulet and her love affair with Romeo Montague before he met Juliet. This version characterises Romeo as a predator and manipulator that places a feminist spin on Rosaline and Juliet freeing themselves from the clutches of male dominance at the novel’s denouement.
I was intrigued by the concept of this novel and the idea of retelling Shakespeare’s famous Romeo and Juliet that has a less tragic outcome in terms of lovers united in death. Natasha Solomons characterisation of Romeo, as a predator who has form for seducing and manipulating young women, is an interesting take on the play. Romeo’s romantic past is not touched upon in Shakespeare’s version and this retelling fills in the gaps in a way.
Rosaline’s staging of the scene of Romeo and Juliet in the tomb to tie in with the original ending was a clever suggesting the idea that fiction and reality blur over time with many people changing the story of events to fit a specific narrative that is far from the truth was amusing. This idea suggested that Shakespeare’s version is the watered-down version of what actually happened has changed over time. However, the language was difficult and dense in places that attempted to emulate Shakespeare’s language for a modern audience. I liked this element, but the story and clarity of events, thoughts and feelings was lost in places throughout the novel. This lack of clarity halted the pace in the second half of the novel.
I initially enjoyed the idea that Rosaline, before being sent to a Nunnery, would experience life to the fullest and this begins her ill-fated love affair with Romeo. However, I was expecting more illicit activities and Romeo exposing Rosaline to this darker and dangerous side of life. But the story focused on Rosaline’s deceptions by Romeo and saving Juliet.
Similarly, Rosaline’s honour was touched upon throughout the novel, but there were no real consequence for her losing her virginity before marriage. I think this element could have been exaggerated more, considering the values and ideals of the time period. Rosaline and other characters brush this off as irrelevant and not life-changing. The novel explores a darker and violent side of Romeo who falls in and out of love quickly and becomes emotional in bursts of anger and love – this was interesting character development that fleshed out his personality. However, I would have liked an exploration of the Montague family and understand what caused Romeo to become the ‘monster’ that he is in Fair Rosaline.
Overall, I enjoyed the alternative idea of this retelling that presented a dangerous side of the male characters, but the language was difficult at points and lacked pace in the middle of the novel. The exposition and danger needed to be greater and explain the consequences of these character’s actions in the wider sense of society and how this impacted their families.
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