A Rose by Any Other Name is an excellent queer historical fantasy written by Mary McMyne, published by Orbit Books, which explores the enigmatic figure of the Dark Lady from Shakespeare's sonnets, while transporting us to Elizabethan England in a story full of love, astrology, witchery, feminism, and injustice, enhanced with a gorgeous prose.

Rose Rushe has a passion for experiencing life, from mead to music, practising astrology and hoping to one day fulfill her dream of becoming a court musician, against the desires of her mother; however, all that life is truncated when her father dies, and a noble family accuses her and her friend Cecely of practising witchcraft (naivety has a price), forcing them to flee to the house of a respected alchemist. A safe refuge, but which starts feeling as a cage when their bond deepens; an oppression which they escape turning towards the occult, an underground business that leads young Rose towards a young noble, Henry, and playwright Will Shakespeare, starting a powerful and tempestuous romance.

Taking the main role in our play is the character of Rose, who will also act as the narrator; a young woman who doesn't fit the stereotypes of what it's expected for the time. Becoming a musician is a dream that gets frustrated by circumstance, and she will be forced into a marriage to protect her family; however, that freedom she yearns for will end with her practising astrology, and entering in contact with the duo of Henry and Will, starting a romance with Will. A difficult relationship which shows the more passionate side of the bard from Stratford-upon-Avon, bordering the obsession at many points; but from passion is where the best of our creativity is unleashed.
Cecely also plays an important role in the story, and her relationship with Rose is not less tempestuous than others; personally, while it might not be likeable, I felt Rose's mother was one of the finest craft characters in the whole book. In general, McMyne gives us excellently fleshed characters, part of a more complex society.

While this is a character-driven story, we can also enjoy how well researched A Rose by Any Other Name is; McMyne paints a really complete portrait of Elizabethan England with a gorgeous prose, bordering the lyrical. A society full of injustice and that is extremely biased against women, putting our characters in difficult situations as a consequence; witchery and astrology are smoothly woven into the plot.

A Rose by Any Other Name is an excellent queer historical fantasy, bringing the spotlight to a rather unknown figure such as the Dark Lady, using her to create a powerful and feminist story. A big recommendation to any reader of the genre, similar to the Book of Gothel.