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jennelsey's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I feel this book was based on a flawed interpretation of the original text. The author said she read Romeo and Juliet differently as parent and saw it as a story of adults failing to protect the children in their care. I feel like a very interesting story could have been written in that vein, without resorting to pantomime villains as she did. I was disappointed by this book, I feel like it had a lot more potential and I feel that it gave a very bad faith interpretation of Shakespeare’s original characters. This was like a Q-anon retelling. There was some interesting use of Shakespeare’s original language and good use of elements of his other works. A lot of potential, this could have been so good.
rosiethesheep's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was quite slow to start with and took a while for me to get into it. I loved the weaving of the Shakespeare play and the nods to others through out. The ending was superb! Hope the author does more retellings.
arwenauthor's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
northernfleabag's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
crystalleighwrites's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Drags a bit in some places but a wonderful and feminist update to a classic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Pandemic = plaguelolsouth's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
recycledwords's review against another edition
3.0
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.
Thanks to #Netgalley and #ManillaPress for providing a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
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.
Thanks to #Netgalley and #ManillaPress for providing a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
this_little_bookshelf's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
3.5
This is Romeo & Juliet told from Rosaline’s perspective, where Romeo is a serial predator who love bombs young girls then casts them aside. This really picked up at the point that Rosaline breaks free from Romeo and he moves onto Juliet. The novel gets progressively darker as Rosaline fights to take down Romeo in an attempt to save her cousin.
laurag98's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75