*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Trigger warnings: pedophilia, sexual abuse, grooming, death

In this retelling of Shakespeare's beloved Romeo and Juliet, FAIR ROSALINE takes a deeper look at not only the off-cast character of Rosaline, but the titular characters of the original play.

After the death of her beloved mother, Rosaline Capulet discovers her father has no plans to pay for her dowry-- but instead, Rosaline will live out her days at the local nunnery she visited as a child. Desperate for one last night of freedom, Rosaline sneaks into the Montague household's summer party where she meets the infamous Romeo. Quickly swept off her feet by the charming man, Rosaline will soon uncover the dark underbelly of her fair Verona and the love of her Romeo.

Rosaline is a strong heroine and her character arc was compelling, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending of the story,

Spoiler

specifically that there was hope Rosaline could find fulfillment at the nunnery, but it was let open ended for reader interpretation

. Solomons frequently pulls dialogue directly from Romeo and Juliet and blends it into the story seamlessly, and she did a superb job bringing 14th/15th century Verona to life.

However, this story was wild. Extra points to the author for creativity-- the idea of

Spoiler

a middle aged Romeo being the pimp of the upper class sex trade where he seduces literal children (Juliet is 13 in this story, Rosaline 15) and then sells them into sexual slavery is certainly creative

. FAIR ROSALINE is certainly not for the die hard fans of Shakespeare, because the departure from the source material is pretty intense.